91 accord broken timing belt

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89y49rexsi

New Member
well like the title says my pos accord snapped the timing belt thrusday night while doing about 50mph gettting on the freeway so now what what are my options for a head swap cuz if im going to do the work to this pos i might as well make it faster

id really like to make it vtec but i dont know what my options are or what model to get the head off of or if its even the same as doing an ls vtec on a bseries
 
Well there is the ever so slim chance it is fine- get a timing belt from someone who changes them and has used ones around and strip your timing covers off. You can loosen the ps pump, remove the alternator, valve cover, upper timing cover, lower timing cover, crank pulley, basically put the belt on, then once you get the belt and balance shaft belt on and tightened, you can check your luck for free. Just set the valve cover back in place, snug the crank pulley down, and crank the engine. It will fire off the battery long enough to tell if the valves are bent. SOme would say use a boroscope or whatever, but this is probably the fastest way. If it runs fine (you could use a compression guage if it seems fine but you want to be damn sure) then you just put the thing back together and learn your lesson. If it doesn't run, you haven't put it all back together to find out; you just proceed to remove the intake and exhaust manifolds, the distributor, and unbolt the head.

Back when I first started doing timing belts I would start then engine up for just a second like that to make sure I wasn't going to have any problems. Once I realized I was actually quite good at it I stopped being a pussy and just put the thing back together, knowing I got it right.

So my advice my man is to do that and report back. If it runs, and you plan to have it a bit longer, go get all of the following parts as preventative maintenance (something you should see the value of more now ) and replace all of this while you have the chance:

Water Pump
Balance Shaft Seal
Crankshaft Seal
Camshaft Seal
Timing Belt
Balance Shaft Belt
TIming Belt Tensioner
Balance Shaft Tensioner
(You can buy those last four parts in a kit all together for less at Napa/Advance etc)
Thermostat
PCV valve
And do all your hoses if they look shady too-
Upper radiator hose
Lower radiator hose
Head to valve heater hose
valve to heater core hose
heater core to block hose
(You have to get one or more of the hoses at the dealer sometimes if all your local auto shops are shitty)

I know its an older car and you probably don't want to sink money into it left and right, but if you want to be able to just drive the thing for a couple more years and not sweat that the engine is about to screw you, then I'd do at least all that. In my experience, three things take a Honda off the street. 1) Broken Timing Belt (can be prevented by keeping the timing components replaced) 2) Overheating (ruins the head and or block, can be prevented by making sure no antifreeze leaks out, ie maintain radiator, hoses, water pump, and be sure that the car doesn't overheat, ie fans and thermostat). 3) Oil system failure (Usually by letting oil get low; replace all seals when you have the chance).

If you end up having to replace the head, you will have the exhaust pipe out of the way of the pan gasket. Replace the pan gasket while you're at it. also, replace the oil pressure sending unit so the little f***er doesn't start leaking on you, I've seen that happen on multiple Hondas. The final two oil seals you can do if you really feel compelled are the valve cover gasket (you will have off anyway) and the distributor O-ring (you can do this while you have the distributor off anyway if you are replacing the head).

OR, your best bet- buy an engine rebuild kit. It comes with everything above in it, you can just not use the engine internals from the kit like the rings and bearings. It would come with the head gasket, all your oil seals, all your intake/exhaust gaskets, your timing belt and possibly water pump, lots and lots of parts for a lot less than buying them individually.

90-93 HONDA ACCORD DX EX LX SE ENGINE REBUILD KIT F22A : eBay Motors (item 330377032556 end time Feb-11-10 11:53:58 PST)

Something like that. Oh and if you take the distributor off, mark it first for where it was in relation to the head. The new head may be slightly different but "kinda close" is a better starting point than "a mile off."

Geez, a head could be a couple of hundred, the gasket and a belt are at least like $80 or so- so before you dump money into this ride, I guess you have to ask yourself all those important questions- do I want to make this my racecar and put money into it? Do I want to do the bare minimum to have cheap transportation again and reliability is unimportant? Do I want a solid daily driver for another 2-4 years? Is the condition of my transmission good enough I can feel good about dumping money into the engine?

I know its all a lot to consider but I just wanted to run some thoughts past you to try to help.
 
well ive decided to just get ride of the damn thing lol it was just a dd beater and ive allready put too much into it so im going to sell it to a friend and save up and buy a 92 teggy and gsr swap it lol to hell with accords lol i actually didnt really like it at all it had a few things i liked but it was big and bulky body and i want a smaller lighter car to build so yeah im done with this car
 
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