i was studying the haynes manual today i was thinking about changing my timing belt myself. its my only car i have an i need it to get to an from work. its 15 miles each way. an i need it to take my girl to work. i never tryed doing anywork myself that serious. but it looks like maybe an hour or 2 to do that. am i seriously mistaken??? the only this is that when it has to be timed? how does that work? the manual said:

install timing belt with no.1 piston at tdc of the compresstion stroke

ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm yeah............. what dio they mean when they say tdc at compression stroke???? an also on another tech problem. im leaking gas!!!! it looks like its at a connection. i was probably going to take a pic of it an post it on here tomorrow for all to see along with another problem. my dizzy o ring i think is leaking or maybe the valve cover gasket not sure yet. but i went to the local parts store well i went to 2 of them an 1 said my car dont have an o- ring. an the other showed my a gasket that didnt seem right to me so if u have a pic of the ring i would need to replace to stop the leak please post.

ok i think thats it. lol yea i been very neglectful to my honda but i been having problems with personal inssues but imn back. lol so thank in advance for the posts.

oh yea i have an 1989 honda civic 1.5 base model 4 speed all stock.

 

Timing belt
Diagram 1 below shows how to synchronize the camshaft and crankshaft at Top Dead Center (TDC) for installation of the timing belt. I expect that if you haven't ever done a job of this difficulty level then you will likely need more than 2 hours. The most difficult step is removal of the crankshaft pulley bolt. You'll need either a very good impact wrench or a special Honda hex tool and two long breaker bars. Get the 88 Civic service manual (see link in my signature) and read the timing belt section carefully.

Distributor
Yes, the distributor has an O-ring (see diagram 2). See manual for more details.

 

Also, side note onto what he said. Each piston goes up and down twice per explosion. One time it goes up all the valves are closed and it compresses the fuel/air. Then it explodes and goes down. The next time it moves up, the exhaust valves are open and it pushes all the exhaust out of the chamber. Then it goes down again, taking in fuel/air. then it repeates. I believe by saying compression stroke, they mean TDC of the stroke where all the valves are closed.

Someone please correct me if I'm mistaken or that it doesn't matter which stroke you set it at.

 

Yeah, TDC also refers to piston #1 for initial synchronization of the camshaft and crankshaft by the timing belt.

 

Yea it definatly matters what stage of combustion tdc is at. It has to be on compression. the easy way to tell your on the compression stroke is to turn the motor over by way of crank pulley bolt. (all the plugs out of course) put your finger in the no1 plug hole and turn the motor over, wait untill you feel pressure and your finger will kinda get pushed out of the hole by the air pressure also you'll hear a wooshy noise. lol! Just remember the 4 compression strokes, suck, squish, bang, blow. Intake, compression, combustion, exhaust.

 

Changing the timing belt takes less than an hour once you know how and have all the tools ready. You might want to get some quotes from garages. Make sure it is someone who has done it on a Civic before. The simplicity of the situation makes it cost a lot less than most other cars.

Before taking the old belt off, turn the engine so the marks on the cam pulley line up and "UP" on the cam pulley is up. This is TDC1. Put the new belt on and double check the marks on the cam pulley as well as the crank. Note that with the big accessory pulley off, you align to the little dot on one of the crank pulley teeth, not the keyway.

Oil, not gas, will leak out of the distributor or valve cover if the seals are bad.

 

pics of gas tank leake an valve cover. question are is the dizzy leaking oil or the alve cover? and any ideas on what to do about the gas leak?

 

also. does the engine have to be lifted to replace t belt?

 

might make it eaisier but you dont have to. as far as the gas leak, check the phone book for a junk yard or something and call around for a new one. You might be able to patch it but with something like gas I wouldnt want to risk it. see if you can find a used one off a junk car, a new one from an auto parts store would be better but $$$$.

 

im not sure if its the tank itself leaking or just a line. the mechanic i used to goto dont want me there anymore until i get a new car he said. he thinks im dumb putting money into this car but i love honda an i cant afford a new 1. but i had him check it out once he said he thinks its the pressure line leaking.