Over 100k Miles: T-belt & Water Pump JH4NA1156MT000106

[TigerNSX]

Hello,

The car that I am looking at has about 103k miles, and the owner (who had the car only for 6months and accumulated 1k mile in his possession) does not know if the water pump and timing belt has been replaced.

I know that it's impossible to check visually whether they have been replaced, and the local dealer of his residence does not have any record of it.

If I were to get the car, I probably have to drive about 1,500 miles. I am worried that it may fail on the way and I may get stranded in the middle of the road if they were not replaced.

Also, if they were indeed replaced, I would like to save the cost for something else.

Is there a way to find out at all?

Thanks so much.

 

[MJK]

Re: Over 100k Miles: T-belt & Water Pump

Ask for the contact info of the person he bought it from?

 

[TigerNSX]

Re: Over 100k Miles: T-belt & Water Pump

I have, and he would not reveal it.
I think that I am going to pass on this: too much risk..

 

[Joel]

Re: Over 100k Miles: T-belt & Water Pump

Good call. Why on earth would he not reveal it? That's just plain ludicrous. Obviously he's hiding something.

 

[AaronR]

Re: Over 100k Miles: T-belt & Water Pump

I have, and he would not reveal it.
I think that I am going to pass on this: too much risk..

If he did not know it I could see, If he knows and won't reveal there is probably some other info that guy knows that he does not want you to find out. PASS

 

[nsxtasy]

I won't comment on the issue of his refusal to divulge the previous owner's information, since others have covered that.

However, if I were buying a car 1500 miles from Boston, and I were concerned about driving it home, I would consider having the service done by an experienced NSX mechanic in the seller's area or somewhere along the way home. There are great NSX mechanics all over the country and there is undoubtedly one convenient to your drive. You could arrange it to provide a loaner for the day, and get to spend a day playing tourist in Dallas, Nashville, Milwaukee, Chicago, Atlanta, etc while your car is being serviced.

Just a thought...

 

[Larry Bastanza]

Re: Over 100k Miles: T-belt & Water Pump

Tiger,

It would be much appreciated by all if you would consider posting this car's VIN, so someone else, not as educated as you, will know the seller may be hiding something.

Also, for future reference, you can inspect the timing cover for the 1997 model water pump to know if the service has been done.

Appreciated,
LarryB

 

[0ctan3]

Re: Over 100k Miles: T-belt & Water Pump

how to check if your belt's been replaced:
http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21457

 

[KGP]

Re: Over 100k Miles: T-belt & Water Pump

It would be much appreciated by all if you would consider posting this car's VIN, so someone else, not as educated as you, will know the seller may be hiding something.

Amen. One of the best things we have going for us in the Prime comunity is the ability to hit the search button and type in a VIN, especially since we started making the VIN's mandatory in selling a car here on Prime.

 

[mitchell smith]

Re: Over 100k Miles: T-belt & Water Pump

Before buying a car, always have it checked out from top to bottom by an expert NSX technician . Having a well documented repair history is always a good thing but I would not base the decision on lack of info. If the car is the one you want and passes the inspection have it towed home. If the car is close to Boston I would be happy to check it out for you. Mitch, Mechanics Direct Modifiers.

 

[TigerNSX]

Re: Over 100k Miles: T-belt & Water Pump

Tiger,

It would be much appreciated by all if you would consider posting this car's VIN, so someone else, not as educated as you, will know the seller may be hiding something.

Also, for future reference, you can inspect the timing cover for the 1997 model water pump to know if the service has been done.

Appreciated,
LarryB

Thanks so much for your help.
And guess what I found. The car has a Salvage Title (the owner told me that the car had a clean title). I told some other sellers that I was not going to pursue their cars since I found one, and now I find this . I feel stupid now:

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15281&highlight=JH4NA1156MT000106

 

[Soichiro]

Re: Over 100k Miles: T-belt & Water Pump

There are two ways you *might* be able to find out this information (I know this person has lost interest in this particular car, but this might be helpful in future). One is to run the VIN thru the Acura service computer and see if any dealer had performed this service. The other method applies to 91 and 92 NSX's only. Some of these cars had a service bulletin based on replacing the water pump, some of the coolant hoses, or both. If this update was performed by an Acura dealer they should have placed a mark following the VIN in the engine compartment (this is stamped into the rear bulkhead, just in front of the trunk). This would indicate a newer water pump, but gives no indication of the timing belt's age.

 

[AaronR]

Re: Over 100k Miles: T-belt & Water Pump

Thanks so much for your help.
And guess what I found. The car has a Salvage Title (the owner told me that the car had a clean title). I told some other sellers that I was not going to pursue their cars since I found one, and now I find this . I feel stupid now:

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15281&highlight=JH4NA1156MT000106

You should feel smart now, disaster dodged! Much better than feeling stupid after buying the car

 

[Larry Bastanza]

Re: Over 100k Miles: T-belt & Water Pump

There are two ways you *might* be able to find out this information (I know this person has lost interest in this particular car, but this might be helpful in future). One is to run the VIN thru the Acura service computer and see if any dealer had performed this service. The other method applies to 91 and 92 NSX's only. Some of these cars had a service bulletin based on replacing the water pump, some of the coolant hoses, or both. If this update was performed by an Acura dealer they should have placed a mark following the VIN in the engine compartment (this is stamped into the rear bulkhead, just in front of the trunk). This would indicate a newer water pump, but gives no indication of the timing belt's age.

Soichiro,

Unfortunately #1 only works at the local dealer level, there is no national connection of general service records within the dealer network. So you would have to be checking at the dealership who performed the service. #2 is viable since they do track nationally all recall work.

HTH,
LarryB

 

[nsxexotic]

Re: Over 100k Miles: T-belt & Water Pump

just curious where is this car being listed? and how much is asking price.
thanks.

 

[Vegas Boy]

Re: Over 100k Miles: T-belt & Water Pump

I have, and he would not reveal it.
..

Wow, talk about a "red flag".....
I would suspect he would not reveal it because he represented to the
subsequent owner that all services were up to date. To admit otherwise to you would expose his fraud. Just a guess, perhaps he's a saint