I have a 95 accord ex vtec 4cyl. 5speed which I purchased a couple of years ago at a police auction with 163k.

This was a salvage car which had been sitting for a couple of years and after I replaced one of the fans because of the overheating, the car has been running fine for the 2 years till recently.

It started overheating again, and I had to replace a busted hose, and now the water pump is leaking so I have to put water in the radiator about once a week.

My question is regarding the timing belt: is it possible that the belt has never been replaced? I've heard that the belt should be replaced anywhere from 60k -100k. Should I run immediately to Mr. Goodwrench to replace my timing belt before I do some serious damage?

I've gotten a couple of estimates- one for 500 for the timing belt and water pump and another mechanic who said he'll do it for 265.

Is the 265 estimate realistic...can i trust this mechanic?

 

Yeah that all sounds ok. It is recommended that you change the timing belt at 100K...so youve been running on borrowed time. It is also recommended to replace the water pump at the same time because the that part of the engine is already broken down and it easy to replace at that time. If you do thise things seperately, you will have to pay the labor charges to tear down that part of the engine twice.

So in short...its probably best to suck it up and pay to have the timing belt and water pump changed at the same time.