Some questions regarding timing belt, waterpump and rubber hoses, 1991 car

[|Adeel]

Hi

1) I was wondering when the waterpump on a NA1 is recommended to be replaced. How many miles/km. the car can safely be driving before a replacement is neccessary.


2) Timingbelt/waterpump job was done in 2000. The sellers mechanic who works on 4 local NSX's and has been a Honda mechanic for 20 years, says he wouldn't do this job (timing belt) every 6 years/ 100.000 km. as Honda recommends but every 10 years/ 100.000 km (whichever comes first).
What do you think about what this mechanic said?


3) I also hear about old rubber hose getting weared out over time, and have found these two kits;
a) Science of speed which contains 6 hose: http://www.scienceofspeed.com/products/engine_performance_products/NSX/SFS/engine_coolant_hoses/
b) Dali Racing which is OEM and contains all 22 hose: http://www.daliracing.com/v666-5/catalog/index_browse_part.cfm?focus=1056
My question is wether or not the Dali Racing kit is neccessary with all those extra rubber hoses or if the SOS kit is enough to cover those parts where the hoses are weared out.


4) Any other "must do on a 1991" things I must have in mind? The seller has already taked care of the window- and stereo issues which are common.


5) The car has now 85.750 miles. Can I drive it safely after picking it up until the 90.000 miles service?



I will be hopefully picking up the car March 15th and the first thing I want to do before some mod's is to make it bulletproof, so that I can't drive it without concern of timingbelt snapping etc...


Edit; Some teaser photos (property of Mr. David (Enzo on NSX Prime)) What do you think?

 

[nsxtasy]

1) I was wondering when the waterpump on a NA1 is recommended to be replaced. How many miles/km. the car can safely be driving before a replacement is neccessary.

There is no "official" recommendation from Honda for replacement, only for inspecting it. However, most people replace the water pump when replacing the timing belt, because all the labor is the same for both operations. It's wise to spend a couple hundred bucks on a new water pump at that time, rather than leave the old one in there and risk having to do all the same labor a second time if it fails.

In North America, the timing belt on a '91-96 NSX is recommended for replacement every 6 years or 90,000 miles, whichever comes first. On a '97-05, it's 7 years or 105K miles. I don't know if the recommendation is different in the European market.

2) Timingbelt/waterpump job was done in 2000. The sellers mechanic who works on 4 local NSX's and has been a Honda mechanic for 20 years, says he wouldn't do this job (timing belt) every 6 years/ 100.000 km. as Honda recommends but every 10 years/ 100.000 km (whichever comes first).
What do you think about what this mechanic said?

Stretching the interval a year, maybe two, is one thing, but four more years? I sure wouldn't. Remember, if the timing belt fails, you're looking at a HUGE repair bill. I can tell you the approximate cost of rebuilding an NSX engine. It's well over USD10K. By comparison, the cost of replacing the timing belt and water pump every six years is around USD200-250 per year, vs doing it every ten years for around USD120-150 per year. So in order to take that risk of a USD10K+ rebuild, you're saving under USD100 per year. If you are willing to take that risk, feel free; it's your car and your money. I sure wouldn't.

My question is wether or not the ***VENDOR NAME DELETED*** kit is neccessary with all those extra rubber hoses or if the SOS kit is enough to cover those parts where the hoses are weared out.

First of all, those parts are OEM Honda parts you can get at any Honda dealer, so you don't have to get them from a mail order vendor with a problematic reputation (do a search).

If it were my car, I would replace all 22 hoses. (In fact, I just did, for the second time on my '91.) This is good preventive maintenance. Do it when you're replacing the TB/WP and you won't get stranded somewhere with a blown hose.

4) Any other "must do on a 1991" things I must have in mind? The seller has already taked care of the window- and stereo issues which are common.

Only the rest of the scheduled maintenance, if it is now due (or overdue), such as the fluids and filters that are part of the 30K/60K/90K/etc maintenance.

5) The car has now 85.750 miles. Can I drive it safely after picking it up until the 90.000 miles service?

Since it was replaced in 2000, I would think it's okay to do so. (Assuming it doesn't take you 5-10 years to reach that point. )

 

[|Adeel]

Thank you nsxtasy!

This was exactly was I was looking for. I guess I'll do timingbelt, waterpump, the rubber hoses together.


How big job are the rubber hoses? :smile: Looks like quite a lot work to do replacing them all.

 

[Enzo]

The car has now 85.750 miles. Can I drive it safely after picking it up until the 90.000 miles service?

Hi Adeel,

FYI, my NSX is planned to go for service before the 15th of March for a complete fluids change as each spring !

 

[|Adeel]

Hi Adeel,

FYI, my NSX is planned to go for service before the 15th of March for a complete fluids change as each spring !

Hi David

that is great, I see you take good care of it :smile: Will be replying to your e-mail soon, have trouble signing in on hotmail at the moment.......

 

[mickeylex]

Stretching the interval a year, maybe two, is one thing, but four more years? I sure wouldn't. Remember, if the timing belt fails, you're looking at a HUGE repair bill. I can tell you the approximate cost of rebuilding an NSX engine. It's well over USD10K. By comparison, the cost of replacing the timing belt and water pump every six years is around USD200-250 per year, vs doing it every ten years for around USD120-150 per year. So in order to take that risk of a USD10K+ rebuild, you're saving under USD100 per year. If you are willing to take that risk, feel free; it's your car and your money. I sure wouldn't.

I like the logic Ken gives us for replacing the timing belt per the factory interval. Saving less than $100/yr to get four more years out of it isn't worth the extra risk. Cheap insurance, really.

 

[BATMANs]

I've logged a little over 100k miles on the Goodyear Gatorback belt on my RX7 FD prior to replacing it with another.

Suppose to last longer due to a synthetic rubber and is suppose to be quieter due to the belt design.

If I need to replace the belts on my NSX, I'll install the Gatorbacks.

My total miles that I have used Gatorbacks in 2 cars and trucks is 300k+.

 

[|Adeel]

I've logged a little over 100k miles on the Goodyear Gatorback belt on my RX7 FD prior to replacing it with another.

Suppose to last longer due to a synthetic rubber and is suppose to be quieter due to the belt design.

If I need to replace the belts on my NSX, I'll install the Gatorbacks.

My total miles that I have used Gatorbacks in 2 cars and trucks is 300k+.

I think I will stick to OEM, can't be any worse than other aftermarket ones :smile: Wonder how much extra tension the belt gets from Air intake, chip, headers and exhaust modification?

Must... resist... mod-bug... lol...

 

[jond]

What do you think about what this mechanic said?

Ask the mechanic how much it would cost to fix the engine if the timing belt broke at 8,000rpm and then ask yourself if you feel comfortable bouncing the rev limiter and enjoying your car knowing you have an old timing belt?

Personally, I had mine changed the same week I bought my car.

 

[|Adeel]

Ask the mechanic how much it would cost to fix the engine if the timing belt broke at 8,000rpm and then ask yourself if you feel comfortable bouncing the rev limiter and enjoying your car knowing you have an old timing belt?

Personally, I had mine changed the same week I bought my car.

Hey, I was 99,99% sceptical myself. Just checked if people here felt the same way I did. The car has couple of thousand miles left to a 90.000 miles service, so I will be changing timing belt, waterpump + all belts and hoses and spark plugs etc within a couple of months. Last thing I want, as you, is a blown engine. :smile: