Replacing TimingBelt and Clutch - Difficulty.

[neurobound]

I'm not skilled with working on cars at all, but I'm generally pretty patient and careful and deal with technical things on a daily basis. My dad on the other hand is pretty confident when it comes to working on cars. A while back he replaced my 91 integra timing belt. He was quite cautious when doing it, understanding the side-effects of doing it incorrectly The car worked beautifully after he completed the belt change / swapped out the water pump etc. He's also replaced/purged/charged my AC unit and some other general maintanance.

After reading a few threads here I get the impression that the NSX is somewhat more involved... perhaps I'm reading too much into it. With his experience as a guide for me, would anyone suggest we not attempt to do this ourselves, and if so - why? What is proceedurally drastically different on my 99' NSX timing belt compared to the integra?

I'd like to learn to work on my car not just to save a bit of money, but I don't want to own a car like this and not know how to properly take car of it myself. I'd like to have people I don't know work on my car as a last resort. I'm at 62k miles on the car - it's probably ok but I think it would be responsible to do it now rather than waiting.

With all of that said - is the Clutch more/less difficult? I'd imagine the challenge with the clutch has more to do with some potential heavy lifting, though I'm not sure.

Thanks for reading,
.jeremy

 

[Thom]

If your father helps you again it should be no problem. There are great DIY instructions you can find here on PRIME that will guide you through it. I'm like your dad, been doing it all my life, and it was no problem.

 

[EIFFEL]

mid engine= cramped working area=harder than integra. Clutch on NSX requires some special tools and fairly knowledgeble about NSX in general. Hopefully you have access to a lift to do this kind of work. Doing it at home in your garage=PITA=very long weekend. Unless your funds are tight, this kinds of work are better done by very experienced techs. You can probably make more money doing what you do best anyway.:smile:

 

[DDozier]

I'd like to learn to work on my car not just to save a bit of money, but I don't want to own a car like this and not know how to properly take car of it myself. I'd like to have people I don't know work on my car as a last resort. I'm at 62k miles on the car - it's probably ok but I think it would be responsible to do it now rather than waiting.

You can save money, but I am glad that is not your first motivation for doing the work yourself, I do all my own work and this is what pays for my mods.

This is a great way to learn, but if you do not have the right tools, a lift being the main tool, things will be much harder. I did exactly what you are talking about over the winter. I decided to remove the engine, transmision and lower suspension as a unit, the removal of the whole rear package is easier if you are doing work on both the engine and transmision, but without a lift this is going to be very, very difficult. It took me about 3-4 hours to remove everything and we were being very carefull and taking our time. If I had to do it again I think I could do it in 2.5 - 3 hours. Once it is out everything is easy from there, the whole front of the motor is out in the open for you to work on and I did the timing belt and water pump in about 2-3 hours. I did spend a lot of time cleaning and going over everything as mine is a 91 and needed a little cleaning under the glass.

This is a great way to learn about the car, nothing on this car is difficult to do as long as you are willing to take your time and have the time to work on it without being rushed, mine is not my daily driver so if I had it apart of a week it was no big deal. Also get all your parts in hand first, waiting for parts can be an issue with these cars. Plus there is a wealth of knowledge on this board, lots of people who do not mind helping. Just get a service manual and read though the job at hand several times, then ask for some pointers about the specific part of the job you are working on, others will help. The manual is a great guide, but most of us have found some time saving short cuts to just about every process in the manual.

If you have the time and can use a lift I say go for it.

Dave

 

[Ko-nsx]

i still havent replaced my alarm fuse!!!!!!!!

 

[96 NSX-T]

WOW!!!!!!!!!You da man, Dave!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[DDozier]

WOW!!!!!!!!!You da man, Dave!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some say its more of a problem, I start what always starts as a little project, then the next thing you know I have the engine out.

I did the same of the interior, I had a smudge on the radio knob and a few 15 year old car squeaks, so I pulled out the interior, all of the interior, (seats, dash, carpets, trim panels, head liner) and replaced all the fasteners and the knob, no more squeaks. I do enjoy the process of making the car as good and clean as possible, the problem is as sson as I get one done, I sell it and start again. My old 92 red NSX was almost perfect when I sold it to get the silver project going.

Dave

 

[Daedalus]

That's what I'm talking 'bout! Engine out and go to town!

 

[neurobound]

Thanks very much for the replies guys - interesting to see those pics Dave.

The lift may be a difficulty. Do you own a shop or are you borrowing time from someone?

I do wonder, are there any sort of shops or groups that let you rent time/space/tools (like using their lift) for such projects?

.jeremy

 

[VBNSX]

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22883&highlight=diy+clutch

by yours truly :wink:

x

 

[nicholas421]

timing belt change gone wrong by an experienced diy'er
http://www.danoland.com/nsxgarage/bent/index.htm

 

[MvM]

This is a great way to learn, but if you do not have the right tools, a lift being the main tool, things will be much harder. I did exactly what you are talking about over the winter. I decided to remove the engine, transmision and lower suspension as a unit, the removal of the whole rear package is easier if you are doing work on both the engine and transmision, but without a lift this is going to be very, very difficult. It took me about 3-4 hours to remove everything and we were being very carefull and taking our time. If I had to do it again I think I could do it in 2.5 - 3 hours. Once it is out everything is easy from there, the whole front of the motor is out in the open for you to work on and I did the timing belt and water pump in about 2-3 hours. I did spend a lot of time cleaning and going over everything as mine is a 91 and needed a little cleaning under the glass.

Dave

Hi Dave,

I noticed that you removed your engine complete with the wheels, brakes and shafts as one unit.
Was in a shop about a month ago where they removed the engine and tranny also but they removed the drive-shafts. Took them quite a while I believe.

I doing it your way faster & more convenient or did you have a specific reason to do it that way ??

 

[schuey1010]

I'm not skilled with working on cars at all, but I'm generally pretty patient and careful and deal with technical things on a daily basis.

I am pretty mechanical, and also very nervous about doing anything major on my NSX.

When you said you are not skilled on working on cars at all, that to me means your father will be doing all the work. I would recommend that you start on something a little less involved maybe to get your feet wet.

 

[OLDMNSX]

Purchase the FACTORY MAINTENANCE MANUAL!!!!!!! They are worth their weight in GOLD. Read about what you are going to do, at least twice. Then GET'er DONE!!!. With your dads' help you can do anything you need to do. The worst part about doing the timing belt is getting the crankshaft pulley off. It is torqued to 150 ft/lbs. You will either have to borrow the tool from a Acura shop, or purchase one. There is no other way to get it off, too tight. Have everything ready for the tool and try to borrow one. Something that has worked for me in the past is show up with a $100 bill to use as insurance for the shop and then get the tool back to them just as soon as you can. Make sure they will let you use it to reinstall too. Yes they are tight, but well designed.
Enjoy the journey,
Brad

 

[Daedalus]

The worst part about doing the timing belt is getting the crankshaft pulley off. It is torqued to 150 ft/lbs. You will either have to borrow the tool from a Acura shop, or purchase one. There is no other way to get it off, too tight. Have everything ready for the tool and try to borrow one.

Ditto, it is on there GOOD. I kid you not, I think I put about 700 ft-lbs on it before it gave. With a 5' cheater bar, I had to put most of my body weight on it. I have removed V-8 crank bolts in the past that go on with twice as much torque and those were nowhere near as difficult to remove. It's almost like they spot welded the bolt to the pulley. I had to stop and search on Prime to make sure it wasn't reverse-threaded. The "R" on the head of the bolt had me wondering.

 

[Larry Bastanza]

It is an interesting thing about the crank bolt.... It is actually torqued at 181 ft. lbs. And.....The rear wheel axle nuts are torqued at 242 ft. lbs. My impact gun will blast off 99.9% of the axle nuts I have ever tried to take off. However, I can NEVER get a crank bolt off with the same gun.

I think the size of the fastener 19mm vs. 36mm has something to do with the way the torque gets transfered to the fastener head, but not sure. Also the pitch of the thread on the crank bolt is finer.

Regards,
LarryB

 

[drew]

My impact gun will blast off 99.9% of the axle nuts I have ever tried to take off. However, I can NEVER get a crank bolt off with the same gun

Are you using any extensions or reducers? I find that any play in the "power train" of the impact wrench will render it ineffective....every little part adds a little slop.

In your case, I'm guessing that the crank moves a slight amount losing the torque transfer??

Drew

 

[Larry Bastanza]

Are you using any extensions or reducers? I find that any play in the "power train" of the impact wrench will render it ineffective....every little part adds a little slop.

In your case, I'm guessing that the crank moves a slight amount losing the torque transfer??

Drew

No extensions. I will try locking it next time. But it is just a SOB.

LarryB