Red97PreludeSH

So cruising in traffic this morning, hit VTEC in 2nd (nothing crazy; not over 6,500). Slowed back down and stopped at a light. Pulled away, normal acceleration, and less than an 1/8 of a mile later I started hearing a faint whirring/grinding noise. Turned off the radio and I could hear it more clearly, definitely my car. After quickly experimenting with the clutch and A/C, I determined it wasn't either of those. Great, something serious, and by this point it was a very loud grinding/clattering/ticking/whirring...type noise. Very noisy, but still running very smooth.

I was pretty much at work by this point, so I pulled in. Popped the hood and took a listen, first thought it was valves/rockers...that sort of thing. Took a second listen and determined it was more likely coming from the timing belt and components. Pulled the valve cover and poked around, nothing appears(ed) to be broken/bent/loose/out-of-place...so check that off for now. Pulled the side cover for the belt and noted the side of the belt on the intake side, side nearest tensioner, was very loose.

So, the low down:
-Nearest I can tell the tensioner is bad
-If the timing has jumped/slipped, I don't believe there has been any piston-valve contact
-Planning on doing a complete timing belt(s), water pump, tensioner, and seal replacement

Could I get a list of part #s for all the seals, idler pulleys and other misc. parts I would replace?

indylude18

Before assuming it was the timing belt tensioner, make sure it wasn't the crank pulley that broke. Just start the car and look at it, if it's wobbling...then that's the culprit. They are a somewhat common problem nowadays.

As for parts, PM mike95lude or just go to his website. He is a longtime member and sponsor here and runs Importrp.com, which sells manual tensioner conversion packages for cheap, as well as everything else needed to do the t-belt job.

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Bluetop H23a Vtec Swapped NHBP '99 Base

Red97PreludeSH

Oh my crank pulley is wobbling alright, but I highly doubt it is broken. You see, assuming/hoping the wobble was just a bad pulley I replaced it along with a new bolt. This was a few months ago. Wobble didn't go away so I know my crank snout is bent, but seeing as how long it was likely wobbling before I noticed it vs. how long the new one has been on there, suggests it's still got a lot of life left.

My question is: If the crank pulley broke, how would it break in such a way as to make a lot of noise but still allow the vehicle to run smoothly?

indylude18

That is certainly possible. If it wobbles, the bolt that holds the pulley in place may have backed it's way out or damaged the keyway in the crank, which could make it wobble worse or eventually fall off completely. If it fell off or totally fell apart, then the car would immediately stop running because the t-belt would stop rotating.

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Bluetop H23a Vtec Swapped NHBP '99 Base

Red97PreludeSH

Very true, however that hasn't happened, and I don't plan to start it until the repairs are complete. I'll hopefully know more on Saturday, when I tear into this thing.