timing belt failure damage

[Mike]

I have a 1985 Accord that the timing belt just failed on while driving
at freeway speed. Anyone have experience as to how severe the damage
might be inside once I get it apart. Should I just start looking for
another engine?

 

[Eric F]

I think Honda fixed the motor to be non-interference, so you shouldn't have
experienced piston slap.
Swap the belt out and see what's in there. shouldn't to bad, just a bunch
of rubber pieces lying around.

 

[Mike]

according to the listing this year engine was an "interference" engine
and failure of the belt should cause damage to valves and possibly
pistons. I just trying to see if there is some personal experience as to
just how much damage to expect- like will the pistons be broken/ bent
valves/cracked block or head. etc.

 

[Bill B. Johnson]

I have a 1985 Accord that the timing belt just failed on while driving
at freeway speed. Anyone have experience as to how severe the damage
might be inside once I get it apart. Should I just start looking for
another engine?

There is no way to give you the exact correct answer. Some timing belts
cause major damage when they break and other timing belts cause no damage
when they break. The only thing you can do is to take off the cover and
remove the old belt and all of the rubber that you see. Place a new belt
on it and start it up and see what happens. If you have never before
replaced a timing belt, have the Honda towed to your favorite mechanic or
a Honda dealership and have them do the work for you.

 

[David L]

If it's an interference engine and you were driving on the freeway *expect* bent valves. I have an '89 Prelude Si and was also on the freeway going to work when the tach went to zero and the car died. Timing belt snapped (was going to have it replaced with the seals & water pump the following month). New car wasn't in the budget and I didn't want to go for a different used car.

Hate to say it, but unless you're extremely lucky expect bent valves. If you're intent on keeping this car, may as well put in a used engine vs. putting in a new head. I can tell you now it'll cost much much more $$$ to do it at the dealer. Unless you're adept at swapping an engine I'd recommend finding a reputable shop with experience in swapping engines.

Good luck!
-Dave


according to the listing this year engine was an "interference" engine and failure of the belt should cause damage to valves and possibly pistons. I just trying to see if there is some personal experience as to just how much damage to expect- like will the pistons be broken/ bent valves/cracked block or head. etc.

Eric F wrote:

I think Honda fixed the motor to be non-interference, so you shouldn't have
experienced piston slap.
Swap the belt out and see what's in there. shouldn't to bad, just a bunch
of rubber pieces lying around.

I have a 1985 Accord that the timing belt just failed on while driving
at freeway speed. Anyone have experience as to how severe the damage
might be inside once I get it apart. Should I just start looking for
another engine?

 

[Mike]

Having a shop or mechanic work on a car this old with as many miles as
it has (262,000) would not be cost effective. I have done a number of
engine rebuilds so I am comfortable doing all but major machine work
(since I don't have the tools for that). Timing belts are easy to change
and pulling the head to have it's valves repaired/replaced is not a
problem. I was just curious as to whether I might also find broken
pistons or cracked block or head. Just trying to see what type of
experiences there are out there

I have a 1985 Accord that the timing belt just failed on while driving
at freeway speed. Anyone have experience as to how severe the damage
might be inside once I get it apart. Should I just start looking for
another engine?

There is no way to give you the exact correct answer. Some timing belts
cause major damage when they break and other timing belts cause no damage
when they break. The only thing you can do is to take off the cover and
remove the old belt and all of the rubber that you see. Place a new belt
on it and start it up and see what happens. If you have never before
replaced a timing belt, have the Honda towed to your favorite mechanic or
a Honda dealership and have them do the work for you.
[/QUOTE]

 

[Eric]

Mike wrote:

[snip]

I was just curious as to whether I might also find broken pistons or cracked
block or head. Just trying to see what type of experiences there are out there

It's usually not the case with a broken timing belt to find broken pistons or a
cracked block or head. The valves usually bend, but on some rare cases they do
not. When they do bend, they'll leave small dents in the top of the pistons but
I've never seen a broken piston due to a bent valve (I'm not saying that it's
not possible just that I've never seen this chain of events on a Honda).

You can easily check for bent valves by checking the valve clearances. Bent
valves will not seat and the clearances should be excessively large. I would
perform this check before you put a new belt on the motor. Just set the crank
such that the pistons are at the mid point of their stroke. This will allow you
to turn the camshaft without worrying about causing more damage.

Eric

 

[Bill Freeman]

If you suspect cracked heads etc. contact a shop to have a "leak
down" test done with compressed air. That'll tell you if everything else is
shipshape.

Mike wrote:
[snip]

I was just curious as to whether I might also find broken pistons or cracked
block or head. Just trying to see what type of experiences there are out

there

It's usually not the case with a broken timing belt to find broken pistons or a
cracked block or head. The valves usually bend, but on some rare cases they do
not. When they do bend, they'll leave small dents in the top of the pistons but
I've never seen a broken piston due to a bent valve (I'm not saying that it's
not possible just that I've never seen this chain of events on a Honda).

You can easily check for bent valves by checking the valve clearances. Bent
valves will not seat and the clearances should be excessively large. I would
perform this check before you put a new belt on the motor. Just set the crank
such that the pistons are at the mid point of their stroke. This will allow you
to turn the camshaft without worrying about causing more damage.

Eric