Questions and Answers
Belt Broke On The Freeway
Q. Hi, I have a 1991 Honda Prelude five speed. I was on the freeway and the car stopped. I took it to the Honda dealer and they found that the timing belt broke, they also said that the valves seals need replacing also. By having the timing belt brake could this have caused the seals to go bad? They want $500.00 dollars to do the repair, is this amount reasonable, I have 83,000 miles on the engine.
Thank you.
A. I think you may have misunderstood what they told you. That has what is known as an interference engine. That is to say that the valves and the pistons occupy the same place in the combustion chamber at different times. When the timing belt breaks, it will bend the valves, at the least, and they will need to be replaced. Of course when the valves are replaced, they will get new seals as well. $500.00 is not an unreasonable price for this type of repair.
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