timing belt age limit

vinny said:

..30,000 on the final fluid should be a good interval.

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That seems like quite a while between changes. I have not looked either and it may be OK. But I like to change it every year, it is a quick job and gives me a warm fuzzy feeling.

Ron said:

I use the moly 60 and do have a few miles on the ol' ST. I bought a tube about a million years ago and am still using it. That said, I'm not sure how big a deal the moly part is. I put 40K miles on my old Suzuki and used wheel bearing grease on it. I ask the guy I sold it to what he was using on it. He put another 40K miles or so on it using wheel bearing grease also. He sold it and the splines were still in good shape. Does the moly really matter? Does Honda recomend it 'cause it is their product? Did Suzuki make a better spline part? I think the main thing is to have grease in there to protect from moisture and some lube for the very small amout of movement in there.

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You could be right Ron. For all we know the Molly may be a small part of keeping the splines in shape. Perhaps it is a combination of a good quality lube and making sure the O-rings are not worn out. Someone who is not concerned with the lube will surly not look at the rings.

I too have never understood the hype on this site with the Honda Moly 60. I'm sure it's a fine product, but I think any type of grease would do fine. When I sold my GW last year, it had 170K and the splines looked excellent with no appreciable wear. I put almost 100K of those miles on and had all my tires changed at Country Chrome, a local independent GW shop, and they use a Belray product. What was used before that I have no idea, but I'll bet it wasn't Honda Moly 60.

Last year I went to the Marietta, Ohio Honda shop to buy some moly 60 only because of the hype here and they told me they don't carry it or use it in the shop. I was told they just use whatever they happen to pick-up that's laying around close on the splines??!!! Now I did feel that seemed kinda haphazard. Matter of fact, his exact words were "oil, grease, just whatever we see first that's close is what we pick-up and use"!!!!

As far as the final drive, I too like Mark do it every year as it costs next to nothing and takes no time but feel it's not neccessary. I have never changed the gear oil in the rear-end of a car and have put over 200K on one vehicle and close to that on several others with no failures. I've always felt if they really wanted you to change it, there'd be a drain plug. Are the gears in a m/c final drive under any more stress or doing anything any different than in a car's rear-end?

Gary

I take it then that the ST has an "interference" design? I think I replaced the timing belt on my Miata at 15 years and 125,000 miles, but it is a non-interference design.

I understand it to be an interference engine.

Yep, it's an interference engine..... goes well if you interfere with it as little as possible.....

......and of course if the rubber band breaks, you discover what "interference engine" means.......

Yeah, interferring with my ability to ride soon.

Honda New Zealand, advise me that the belts should be replaced around 160,000 k's.There is no age limit on the belt.

We replaced ours belts at ~177027 k's and they looked great.
One was a '93 and the other was an '01 and they both looked great.

When my belt comes off at 22 years old I'll be sure to post pictures. I've heard a story of the new belt and old belt together on the floor during some maintenance and they were easy to mix up new vs old at first look.

The problem is, old rubber can look just fine, but rubber breaks down as it ages. Heat, natural age, use, and contaminants can all shorten their life. Most people on here wouldn't run a brand new tire that had sat in a climate controlled warehouse a few years, but they don't bat an eye at leaving that old timing belt in place. The ones who have it out for other maintenance, then reinstall an old belt just because it looks fine, are the ones who really amaze me. I've removed failed timing belts from cages and had the majority of the belt look brand new, except the section where they broke, or the rubs peeled off. I know the 1100 belts aren't cheap, but the alternative isn't either. I'm far from a rich guy, but I would be willing to give up a weekend's riding to offset the cost of a new timing belt.

I've dealt with failures at 50k, and swapped out belts that looked great after 150k+ miles. Lots of things can affect how long they last...do you know which ones your belt has seen?

nhdiesel said:

The problem is, old rubber can look just fine, but rubber breaks down as it ages. Heat, natural age, use, and contaminants can all shorten their life. Most people on here wouldn't run a brand new tire that had sat in a climate controlled warehouse a few years, but they don't bat an eye at leaving that old timing belt in place. The ones who have it out for other maintenance, then reinstall an old belt just because it looks fine, are the ones who really amaze me. I've removed failed timing belts from cages and had the majority of the belt look brand new, except the section where they broke, or the rubs peeled off. I know the 1100 belts aren't cheap, but the alternative isn't either. I'm far from a rich guy, but I would be willing to give up a weekend's riding to offset the cost of a new timing belt.

I've dealt with failures at 50k, and swapped out belts that looked great after 150k+ miles. Lots of things can affect how long they last...do you know which ones your belt has seen?

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A "+1" does not do this justice sir. It doesn't do it justice.

Our belts saw desert heat most of the year..
And I completely agree a weekend and some extra for parts well worth the cost of an interference engine...
(Especially with the 'told you to change it' reminders you'd get around here! )

Getting my 1992 back on the road with the upgraded alternator. It's only got 25,000 miles (I'm so ashamed), but I'm thinking I should replace the timing belt due to age.

What are old belts looking like when they are removed? I see posts about belts still looking new when changed due to mileage.

Thanks,
Chris

FWIW I have not read anyone posting that a belt looked "old" As you said, even when changed at the mileage point they generally look very good.
A belt goes out when a pump or pulley takes it in most cases. That being said, I think I would feel better knowing my pump and pulley was in good shape. And once in there, it is not much more work to do the belt too.

The '93 I did 18 months ago looked very good.
I had to put the belt in the trash right away so I didn't mix it up with the brand new one.

This is one of those questions that's multi-faceted, so here's my take on it. The belt seems to be ageless, 15 year old belts look like new. I know people will say but there could be hairline cracks, etc. but I couldn't bend, twist or otherwise distort my old one into anything that looked like it was anywhere near replacement time (mine was 16.5 yrs, 97k miles). Same story on the tensioner pullies, those things are made like a swiss watch and seem like they could go on forever. The water pump is the other variable that is well made, but the bearings don't appear to be up to the same standard as the pullies. In my case the WP bearings started making noise, so I had to swap it out immediately. While I was in there I changed everything, because I didn't want to do all that work and then be second guessing on what might happen to the old original parts I chose not to replace. Kept hearing Clint Eastwood's voice saying "Do you feel lucky?" But when I look at the old belt and pulleys I removed I know they had plenty of life left in them.

So if you're mechanically inclined and all you have to invest is the cost of the parts and some of your time, then I'd suggest that you do it, and consider changing everything to remove any doubt. Go with the Gates belt on Amazon, its identical to the OEM belt. If you're planning on having a Honda dealer do the work, then that's a different story because with parts and labor you're talking a substantial percentage of the value of the bike. In that case you may want to roll the dice, but the problem is if the belt goes for any reason, then the motor is toast along with it, and it will cost more than the bike is worth to repair.

Excellent thread here. Still perplexed over my new ST purchase. 93', 26k miles, beautiful condition. I think I will ride this summer and do a belt change this fall. I have low miles, but who knows what 21 years can do. Thanks for all the good info here. Rod

That's great advice guys, mine was changed at 70,000 and that gives me a warm fuzzy

Now 28kmiles plus, planning on a change in the fall on my 93".