hameline

For those of you who have had this service done on a 3G TL at the dealer, what were the prices ? I'll have approx. 105K when the MID goes off with this code.

Ron A

Probably not a whole lot of 3Ger's with enough miles to do this service so I'll throw in a little hearsay in until someone with actual experience can reply.

I paid around $400 for my 1G TL several years ago, and I heard someone say $600 recently but I don't remember what car it is for, which sounds about right for the current labor and parts prices. Hope I'm hearing high and not low.

Have you gotten any quotes yet?

TeknoKing

I've paid $600 on my 2G.... The belts and the water pump are cheap, will run you under $200, it's the whole labor what really raises the price, it's a lot of work just to get to all the stuff.

Dealership will rape you, without saying a thank you. Do this at a trustworthy mechanic shop.

Kennedy

iTrader: (2)

... and USE ONLY OEM PARTS. These components are not the kind to "skimp" on.

01tl4tl

agree there!
The OE water pump and timing belts have proven to be solid performers

toocoolcord19

Where you located at Hameline? It's like a 4 hr job, so most of it is labor.

KeithL

I was going to guess $600-$700 depending on what else they change besides pump and timing belt. Sometimes they look at pullies and hoses to see if they need to be done soon as they are taking it apart anyway.

SodaLuvr

Depends, but generally about $700 to $1000 if you include the spark plugs.

Book rate is 5.5 hours I believe if you do the timing belt, water pump and spark plugs. Parts run a few hundred.

We have shops around here (independent) that'll replace your timing belt, water pump, drive belts, tensioner and idler roller with dealership parts for under $700.

The Dougler

iTrader: (1)

I just looked through the manual, you can DIY if your mechanically inclined, but this is not for the weak at heart. I'd say book yourself a full saturday to do it.

Otherwise expect 150-200 for parts, and 5-6 hours labour, so your right about in the 800 bones range. FWIW the guys at the dealer can probably finish the job in 3-3.5 hr, but if the book rate is 5 you'll be charged 5. If you go to an independent shop they'll charge you more fairly and usually the hourly labour rate is $10-15 cheaper per hour.

TeknoKing

hourly rate is 10-15 bux? which illegals are doing your work?, lol

Most mechanics get from 60-80 bux an hour.

This is not a DIY project, unless you have your own shop or lift. The hardest part is getting to the belt and the pump, setting the belts, aligning the gears to perfection, and putting everything back in....

pokin

+1
...and really know what ya doing.

Approx. $800. Try a good independent. I will hate to see a $tealer quote on this.

hameline

Northen Vermont, so not a lot of choices. I was actually fine with the procedure in the repair manual until the "supporting of the engine with a wood block" stage.
Also, if something goes wrong, I won't have to kick my own ass.

Tech7427

The last 105k i did on a tl last week was about 1600 in parts and labor..

its 6.9 hours labor.. we are at 99.50/hr..

so parts is a big hunk of that.

the 99-03 tl timing belt job , on average takes about 1.5 hours. its a simple job.

You dont have to support the engine with a block of wood. lol. just take off the side mount, and you have 4 other mounts supporting the engine.

hameline

Thanks. I was quoted $1,000-1100 from the only dealer in Vermont. From what I can gather, that's probably not too outrageous, and I get a loaner, And someone else to blame for anything ugly.

SodaLuvr

How the heck did you get $700 in parts? Either your dealer has a high mark-up or you had to replace a lot of components?

What did you replace? Timing belt, water pump, drive belts, coolant, plugs, tensioner, idler roller?

The Dougler

iTrader: (1)

What my post says is that an independent shop usually charges $10-15 per hour less than dealers. so a dealer that charges $99/hr an independent in the same area would charge $80-85/hr. FWIW, you absolutely do not need a lift, this is an easy jackstand job. I've done this before and it's easy. Just sucks removing the crank pulley bolt.

inpeng

dang dealer here in oregon quoted me 1950 for the 105k service with water pump replacement. That price doesn't even include all the other belts and tensioner! dang if someone knows any good independent in the portland, oregon area, let me know because i ain't paying almost 2 grand for a car that is maybe worth 8 grand.

phatbastard

I just had my timing belt pulley replace at only 18k on a 06 TL. It was free with warranty but the labor was 2.9 hours. The bearings went bad and the engine made alot of noise when idling.

shooter

I'm in the bay area & I got a quote from Acura-Honda Connection for the 105/120k service at $775, replacing timing belt, water pump, etc ....

Tech7427

yes, believe it or not. parts dept here is a rip.

all of the above. we charge 27 a piece for plugs..haha. and 107 for the hydraulic tensioner.

were trying to get parts to scrap the idler pully and put the auto tensioner in the package consider they always leak and ive only seen an idler make noise once.

04WDPSeDaN

iTrader: (1)

ASE certifed?

If not I don't think so...

BTW I am a technician those numbers are fabricated figures and a lot of dealerships are struggling because of economy so I don't see where most mechanics make 60-80 bucks an hour.....

04WDPSeDaN

iTrader: (1)

Most logical way of doing this job is

Timing belt (Drive belts as well if needed)
Water pump (Coolant service as well)
Tensioners and pulleys because if one locks up your SOL when the belt snaps.
Optional minor tune as in plugs and air filter if needed.

Private shop I work in will charge in the range of almost 1500-2k Depending on what is needed. Shop charges 110 an hour, timing belt job for a 3.2L V6 honda is about 5.5-6.0 varies with water pump and tensioner/pulley. On top of which to do a coolant service and anything else the veh needs easly gets the price up to 2k before you know it.

So trying to bargin for 1k or less on this job will only get you the bare min. of a timing belt job, which in my case is nothing to be half-ass'd about.

The Dougler

iTrader: (1)

$27 per spark plug at the people that pay that.

shooter

I agree with your accessment 100% .... but to add more than 2k on a 2G TL which might be worth around 8k is a bit too much to ask IMHO ...

bakerauto

check e-bay OEM parts- belt,tensioners,seals, H2o pump $300 free shipping

DMZ

a for using OEM parts when it comes to timimg belt replacement.

Remember, you're dealing with internal integral moving engine parts.
So if you care about your car, DON'T SKIMP !

Legend2TL

I just replaced the timing belt and water pump replacement on a 2003 Pilot myself , it's also a J-series engine but in a much more open compartment compared to the TL. Here are some brief notes.

1) You can do it yourself, it's not as easy as changing your oil but also not like rebuilding a engine. It's not as easy as some folks have said, but also not as hard as others have claimed. ~6 hours of taking my time and not rushing myself, if I was in a hurry I could probably do it in 4.

2) There are two difficult parts to doing it yourself, breaking loose the crankshaft pulley bolt and releasing the pin on the hydraulic timing belt tensioner. For the bolt you DEFINITELY need a crankshaft pulley holder tool ($25 for Amazon, Alltrade brand worked great). The timing belt tensioner is easy to recompress in a metal vise BUT I needed to grind down a masonry nail to hold back the tensioner (there is a small hole in the body and center pin for this purpose). Getting that nail out once the tensioner was reinstalled was also hard to remove (ALOT of force on that pin)

3) Compared to the other ~20 timing belt/water pump replacements this was my first J motor which is actually pretty easy to get the timing belt on and aligned (much easier than the my C-series 1989 Legend). Aligning the belt and pulleys was pretty straigforward.

4) I always buy OEM belts and water pump as others have suggested.

5) The shop may replaced the timing belt tensioner. Honda/Acura did have some problems with early hydraulic tensioners. Mine I re-compressed and released a couple times and it worked OK so I did not replace it. The tensioner is sorta a maybe replacement for most folks. To me if is still functioning OK, I don't see a need to replace it.

6) Some shops also replace the serpetine belt tensioner and sometime the idler pulley. Both of mine looked OK in inspection so I did not replace them only the serpetine belt. If they did go bad they are easy to get to and replace.

7) In addition you also want to replace the plugs

8) You have to replace the antifreeze if you replace the water pump. KEY TIP, put a rag down the oil dipstick hole in the block when you remove the water pump or anti-freeze will go into the crank and you'll have to drank and replace the oil, I discovered this the hard way.

9) Also if you do it yourself, get the Acura factory shop manual. It's essential for this job.

Tripnbeats

not for nothing but i have the manual and i rip shit up all the time and i have no problems doing it myself buuuuuuttttt I still let acura do it..... i had it done 2 weeks ago and most of it was covered under warranty and I paid a little bit of the labor because the car was in for the 4th time for a rack and they dropped the price big time as long as i paid for the pump n belts the rest was on them and I paid 200 for the labor. On top of that they changed a bunch of other crap that was either going or done and ready to be changed... all under warranty. Another reason I wouldnt do it myself. they find stuff we wouldnt.

On the brighter side of things I got the type s exhaust put on yesterday with a mid muffler delete.....the car sounds nasssssssttttyyyyyy!!!!!!!!

kevin1

For your love,joy and ride or your TL just take it to the Acure dealer they might be high on prices but at less u know the your baby is being will takeing care of wright;depend on how much u really care for your TL....What u pay is what u get.....

K.Rock

What is the torque spec for this bolt? I tried to replace the timing belt on my 93 Del Sol, and could not break that bolt loose. It required 100-125 ft/lbs of torque. I didn't buy the tool, I wish I would have. $25 tool or $300 in labor to pay someone else to. Can you go into more detail about breaking this bolt loose? Did you use a breaker bar with 20 feet of cheater bar attached or is it really that much easier with the $25 tool.

Thanks,
K. Rock

Legend2TL

I believe the torque spec I believe is 181 ftlb. However from the factory they are either torqued on to much higher than that or the dissimmilar metals caused the bolt to "fuse" to the crankshaft. I broke one Craftsman 19mm socket and one Craftsman 1/2" extension trying to break that bolt free. Their replacements did the job.

I used this tool to hold the crankshaft pulley.

http://www.amazon.com/Alltrade-64879...5075938&sr=8-1

It is essential to doing the job yourself.

I also used a 5' breaker bar and 24" of 1/2" extension to clear the fender. I had to preload the extensions ~1/2 turn before it broke loose. I previously tried three different 1/2" impact wrenches to no avail. I spoke to a Honda service tech about this bolt and he simply replied they all come from the factory that way and too be careful loosening it but it will come off with enough torque. I figured with my neighbor and myself on the breaker bar it was in the 600-800 ftlb. range.

I tried to do it under the engine but that can be dangerous (I had a jack and two jackstands but still felt nervous). That way you do not have the torsion effect of all the 1/2" extensions but it's also still hard to get a decent angle on the bolt.

One thing I can say is that loosening the bolt after this initial loosening (for replacing the timing belt the second time) it is not as hard. I've replaced timing belts on older Honda/Acura's back when 60K mileage was the replacement mileage, and that bolt was never as hard as the first time.

Also look on the bright side of this a friend just had the timing belt and camshaft seals replaced on his Ferrari 328GTS. It was $3.5K.

K.Rock

I too tired three different 1/2 impact and a 3/4 impact and my honda just laughed at them. I got too scared to actually put that much force to break it loose. This is all great information to keep in mind when it come time to do my belt. Hopefully not for 2-3 years or more.

I would love to have a Ferrari, but don't think I could live with myself paying the cost for the maintenance.

When is it supposed to be changed on the TL (Mileage)?

91octane

whoa whoa whoa.....dealerships may do you in on prices but they also guarentee satisfaction too!.. you really get what you pay for and its very crucial especially for an important service like this one....

K.Rock

So your saying that if the dealer does it and it breaks 50,000 miles later, I get a new engine, for free?

Tripnbeats

lol at the dealers it all depends on who u deal with and how they work with u..... if they wanna keep u comin back and realize ur willing to spend some bucks and save some bucks; they'll be ur bestest friends in the whole wide world and make sure ur car from top to bottom and back up again is running in smooth condition..... I cant complain about the dealership I use...I actually send people there. =)

Legend2TL

The J-class crankshaft pulley bolt is in a class of it's own when it comes to getting it loose.

The TL 3G timing belt is suppose to be replaced at 105K miles.

K.Rock

I didn't check Guinness, but maybe it should be submitted for the world record.

I thought it had to be around 100K. The salesman at the dealer told me 60-70K. I thought that was unreal. The another one told me that they had one that came in with 198K and hadn't be changed once. I seriously doubt that was the case, but if it was, that owner was really asking for a valves job.

TLS101

Or 7 Years..........

Legend2TL

Yes, forgot to add that. Timing belts are time and mileage, whichever comes first. So 105K miles or 7 years for the current J-series motors.

My friend with the Ferrari 328GTS timing belts was original from 1988 when he replaced them last year, that was pushing it. My Dad has a 2000 Accord that only has 20K miles (he's in his late 70's and doesn't drive much) that I'll replace the timing belt sometime this year.

I can't recall anyone I know breaking a timing belt when the belt is too old, but it's not a reason not to replace it if it goes past the time limit. Going past the recommened mileage on timing belts I know 3 people who broke belts (all with 80's Acura's and Honda's).

donkeypunck

I was at my Acura dealer yesterday and was quoted $1100 to replace the timing belt, water pump and tensioner. Acura is now recommending that you have this service at 60,000 miles for extreme driving conditions (whatever that it is). My dealership believes 60,000 is way to early they are recommending about 75,000 for this service. What does everyone think about the timing on having this service. I am very sensitive to this one since my timing belt broke on my VW and destroyed my engine.