How to Install a Timing Belt on a 2000 Honda Civic DX

Honda recommends that the timing belt be changed every 105,000 miles under normal service or 60,000 miles under severe service. The previous service history is the major contributing factor in its determination. Honda has identified the 2000 Civic DX engine as an interference engine. This is important because it is designed with small chamber cylinder heads and valve to piston clearance is only present when the timing belt is in place. If the belt should break when the engine is operating, in all likelihood the valves will contact the pistons resulting in serious damage. The moral of this story is always change the timing belt at or before it is time to do so.

Instructions

Loosen the lug nuts on the drivers side front wheel using the lug wrench. Raise the front of the car with a jack and place jack stands behind the front wheels on the subframe rails on both sides of the car. Lower the car so it rests on the stands. Continue removing the lug nuts on the left front wheel and remove the wheel.

Remove the inner splash shield, using a socket. Place the floor jack under the oil pan with a block of wood on the lifting point. This will protect the oil pan. Raise the jack just enough to touch the pan. Remove the accessory drive belts. The alternator and air compressor belt is tensioned at the alternator. There is a slotted bracket below the alternator with an adjusting bolt and locknut.

Loosen the top pivot bolt with a socket and ratchet. Loosen the lower locknut facing the fender using a socket and ratchet. Using the same tool, rotate the adjusting bolt counterclockwise to relieve the tension. Lift the belt off the alternator.

Loosen the power steering belt in the same manner, except the bracket is on the bottom of the pump. Loosen the pivot bolt at the top and the locknut on the bottom adjuster bracket. Turn the adjuster nut counterclockwise to relieve the tension. Remove the belt.

Remove the power steering pivot and adjuster bolt and move the power steering pump aside so the timing cover can be removed. Do not remove the hoses.

Remove the top engine mount, using a socket and ratchet to remove the bolts. Remove the valve cover bolts with the socket and ratchet. Label each spark plug wire and remove them from the cylinder head and valve cover. Remove the valve cover from the engine.Remove the timing belt upper cover, using a socket and ratchet.

Using a socket and ratchet on the crankshaft bolt, turn the crankshaft counterclockwise, the normal direction of rotation, until the timing groove on the crankshaft pulley aligns with the two vertical pointers on the lower timing belt cover at 12 oclock.

Check the alignment on the top camshaft sprocket. The word Up must be straight up at the top of the sprocket. There is a groove in the sprocket at the 9 oclock and 3 oclock positions that must align with the cylinder head upper surface. Another timing mark is on the sprocket at the 7 oclock position that must align with the left end of a raised piece below the sprocket. If the marks do not align, turn the crankshaft one complete turn counterclockwise and they will align.

Remove the crankshaft pulley bolt, using the breaker bar and a socket. Pull off the pulley. Remove the lower timing belt cover, using a socket and ratchet. Loosen the timing belt tensioner bolt and push the tensioner away from the belt. Loosely tighten the tensioner bolt to hold it in place. Remove the belt.

Recheck the timing marks to make sure they are still in place before installing the timing belt. The crankshaft timing mark with the pulley removed is a notch on the face of the crankshaft sprocket between the gear teeth. It must align with an arrow on the block at the 1 o'clock position. Install the new belt starting at the crankshaft pulley. Make absolutely sure that the tension side of the belt is opposite the tensioner. Hold the belt tight and stretch it from the crank pulley, around the adjuster pulley, around the water pump and around the camshaft pulley.

Check the timing marks on the camshaft sprocket and make sure the word "Up" is at the 12 o'clock position and the notches at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions are aligned with the mating surface of the cylinder head. The timing mark on the crankshaft sprocket is a notch on the sprocket and it must align with an arrow on the block at 1 oclock. Loosen the tensioner bolt and allow it to apply tension to the belt. Tighten the tensioner bolt to hold it in place for the moment.

Install the crankshaft pulley and bolt. Turn the crankshaft counterclockwise six turns and realign all the timing marks. The timing marks on the crankshaft and camshaft must still be in perfect alignment. Loosen the timing belt tensioner bolt. Torque the tensioner bolt to 33 foot-pounds. If they don't align, remove the belt and repeat the process of seating the belt.

Remove the crankshaft bolt and pulley. Install the lower timing belt cover. Install the crankshaft pulley and torque the bolt to 14 foot-pounds plus an additional 90 degrees. Install the upper timing belt cover. Install the upper engine mount to block bolts and torque them to 40 foot-pounds. Install the through bolt and nut and tighten it to 47 foot-pounds.

Install the valve cover onto the cylinder head. Install the valve cover mounting bolts and tighten to 7.2 foot-pounds with the torque wrench. Install each spark plug wire according to the labels made previously.

Install the power steering pump. Install the power steering belt, the alternator belt and air compressor belt. Tension the power steering belt by rotating the lower adjuster bolt clockwise. Place the fish weighing scale in the center of the largest span between pulleys. Hold the small ruler base even with the top of the belt. Apply 22 pounds of pressure upward on the belt. The tension is correct when the belt can be lifted or deflected by 3/8 inch. Adjust the tensioner until this is achieved.

Torque the power steering adjuster bolt to 17 foot-pounds. Torque the pivot bolt to 33 foot-pounds. The same applies for the alternator and air compressor adjuster nut at 17 foot-pounds and the pivot at 33 foot-pounds. Install the inner splash shield.

Install the wheel and torque the lug nuts to 80 foot-pounds. Raise the car with the floor jack and remove the jack stands. Lower the car.