Acura MDX Water Pump and Timing Belt! (2nd Gen 2007 - 2013) Honda 3.6L

Save a ton of money (over a $1200!) by doing this job yourself. Parts and supplies are about $300 and it's about a 6 hour job. This video will walk you through all the steps plus tips and tricks for the easiest process plus making sure it's done right.
Parts used for my 2010 Acura MDX (double check part numbers for your year):
Water pump/tensioner/pulley kit: amzn.to/3Uj6zgK
Serpentine belt: amzn.to/3DCFsXm
Handy spark plug tool: amzn.to/3UKhtfR
Air impact gun: amzn.to/3FJs5Hv
Thick walled 19mm socket: amzn.to/3U1fT9f
Alternative crank bolt tool if using manual tools: amzn.to/3t4DHNH
Spill proof coolant funnel: amzn.to/3sZco7x
Serpentine belt removal tool: amzn.to/3t1a0Nn
Warning! Most of this job is just nuts and bolts. The part you want to be sure about is the belt install itself. Make sure your crank and cams are aligned correctly with the number 1 cylinder at top dead center BEFORE the old belt comes off. When the new belt goes on, it needs to have very little play (1/4 inch) between the cam gear and the pulleys. The only slack should be at the tensioner. THEN you can pull the pin to release the tensioner rod and apply full tension on the belt. Once that's done, double check by rotating the crank two times by hand. The marks will all line back up after this if everything is correct.
As always, use good judgement, and I'm not liable for any issues!
OGPedxing is all about DIY, gadgets, and tools.
Some links may be for my affiliate pages which earn the channel a tiny amount if you click through. It's an easy and free way to support the channel and helps me bring more content to you! I greatly appreciate it!
See my recommended tools and parts here (all stuff I use personally):
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[@kimokahikolekalihi]

Most aren't aware but they make hi-flow fittings for air hoses and tools that will significantly increase output by increasing the CFM flow of your air tools. The difference is like +50%. These are a must if you use impact tools. Milton makes them and so does DeWalt and harbor freight. They'll be labeled hi-flow V style.

[@alanlewis82]

Excellent video. Thank you for taking the time to post!

[@rickp.2770]

I did mine and i bought my parts at the honda dealership its expensive but worth its OEM made in Japan

[@JohnUllrey]

Thanks for posting this video. I did this same procedure 3 years ago on my wife's '07 Honda Odyssey. I'm about to do it again on my '09 Acura MDX and was wondering how similar it looked to the Odyssey. It looks almost identical to what I remember from before. I don't remember having to put the transmission in neutral though, considering the engine idles in Park I would think that it isn't necessary.

[@rickybaez2970]

Im about to so my wife tomorrow i hopw i got everything down

[@TheHienax]

The manual said that you can put the battery clamp bolt to hold the timing belt adjuster in position since not lock tool is need it..

[@BUDS228]

Acura charged me $4,000.00 to do that plus new oil pump seals and two new rear shocks on 2010 Acura TL SHAWD + TECH. Edit, all this was proactive maintenance except for the right rear shock that was blown.

[@SENSDAY1]

Great video and learned some very needed knowledge.

[@Tommy971321]

You can just use the breaker bar on the pulley nut and bump the starter..

[@baje9579]

Thanks for taking the time and effort to do the video. However I tried to follow your steps but found many missing and had to look at other videos to complete some steps. I still don't understand the need to put the car in neutral when the motor turns freely with the auto in gear. A little more detail when removing parts would help the novice more especially clear location of hidden nuts and bolts.

[@OGPedXing]

Yes in gear or neutral. Just not park. Yeah, unfortunately the video was getting super long so a couple of parts got abbreviated on edit. Glad you got it done, though, it's a long process, especially the first time!

[@lilokyang6280]

Great video! I done the same way to my 2011 Acura MDX. Keep it up. 👍

[@garibardyguillen0101]

I want to do the same my Acura mdx 2011 by myself and I’m watching this video to learn.

[@SoSeven30]

That Thor impact is crazy powerful just use hi flow fittings

[@JamesValentineBaja1000]

What's a 3.6?

[@AdamConstantine]

Check out weighted harmonic balancer sockets. Takes off anything with ease they a torque multipliers

[@LoneWolfSnowplowing]

are you fucken serious?

[@theoriginaltm66]

This is a fantastic video

[@garibardyguillen0101]

Great video.

[@johnparton92]

So which way does the pulley bolt come off??

[@howardhutchinson]

Enjoyed the vid and learned a few things. Somewhat disappointed that you didn't include the sparks plug change information. Like you I was flabbergasted with the sparks plug replacement repair quote from the dealer, and interested in a DIY

[@OGPedXing]

Sorry about that, the video was getting long and my wife was like "so can I have my car now?" Soi did the plugs on a different day. It's super easy though with the right tool, I left a link to it in the video description. Basically you just remove the 10mm nuts holding down each coil on plug and pop those out. Then use the spark plug socket tool with the short extension built in to get each plug out. This makes it a snap, even the three on the back side.

[@Tommy971321]

Ngk iridium are oe.. and it may be expensive but Honda/acura recommends replacing the spark plus every 100k miles. In the long run.. the longitivity outweighs the price of using iridiums.

[@Amaymay1000]

Can I torque the cam gears bolt down after the timing belt is on correctly? Will it mess up the gears and the rest of the timing?

[@rickybaez2970]

The ryobi high torque came thrugh with my acura cranshaft

[@mrmarcink1300]

“Didn’t get that filmed it’s just 3 bolts straight into the engine block” Riiiiight! Haha after you edited out all the cussin and walk-in around didnt have much after that eh? I didn’t either

[@donaldmarcellus5949]

What size impact gun will do the job on that crank bolt? With the correct socket of course…

[@OGPedXing]

I was using an astro tools "thor" 1/2 inch which is rated at 940 ft lbs/1600 breakaway. I still needed the torch for my bolt but it got it out.

[@TheOutwiththeold]

Yeah I have the Thor gun as well the thing is you need a lot of hair for that one I've taken these off with the IR gun and that special socket is the key but if you don't have a large enough air compressor you're just pissing in the wind

[@OGPedXing]

What's your setup for the thor gun? I'm using 3/8 connector on about a 50 foot reel, but I crank the pressure up a bit, 110 to 120 psi at the compressor. It did it eventually but it needed some help from the torch.

[@TheOutwiththeold]

@@OGPedXing Yes I use high flow connectors 3/8 hose I have a 50 gallon tank and I think a 50 ft hose reel as well if you don't have a big enough tank it's it's useless. Like I said before I've done these with the Lyle socket and just an IR gun.

[@OGPedXing]

@TheOutwiththeold I use a 26 gal tank at 175 psi. It works fine with that but it had to hammer a while for that crank pulley bolt.

[@Casinolife07]

Great video! Thanks ! I have a question, I’m trying to align both cams , the one closet to the firewall is off when I rotate crank it lines up perfect including top cam closest to radiator but the cam near fire wall is off , can I use a open wrench and move that only cam until it’s lined up? Or just keep rotating from crank unto all three match ??

[@OGPedXing]

If it's off by only a little, or that cam slipped and suddenly turned about 30 degrees, then yes, you can move it with a wrench on the cam bolt to line it up exactly while you get the belt on. This is often needed because the valve springs put a little tension on the cam, making it turn slightly, and this will get the tooth on the belt off by one (or a lot if it slipped). Always test it afterwards, by doing 2 slow revolutions of the engine...it should line back up. If you hear any metal on metal contact or get more resistance than just the regular compression then STOP. This is an interference engine, and if not timed correctly you can cause valve damage.

[@Casinolife07]

@@OGPedXing will try turning it. thank you! ,

[@MILLERGAMIN1YT]

I can't find a video to tell me how to turn the top can pulleys I tried to turn mine with a wrench but it felt spring loaded I felt like it was going to break so I stopped to find a video to show me how so my question is can I just turn them to TDC I know carefully but it won't hurt anything as long as I'm careful right ? This is my first timing belt so I'm super nervous I'm not brand new just first timing belt lol 😅

[@OGPedXing]

It is spring loaded but it will definitely not break. What you're feeling is the tension of the valve springs on the cams. They have a tendency to make the cam spring forward away from TDC. They will turn about 30 degrees. You can safely reverse that turn with a wrench until the marks line up again. When putting on the belt and making sure the tension is correct, it can help to have an extra set of hands holding a wrench on the cam to keep it from moving as you set the belt or to move the cam a mm or so to help get the belt over the correct tooth.

[@MILLERGAMIN1YT]

@OGPedXing awesome thank you the belt broke so I have to do TDC before I replace it and yes the engine is still good it happened at very low speed I think I got lucky and I didn't know to put it in neutral thank you for saying that in your video so the timing marks on the top are way off point towards the bottom of the block so I just wanted to make sure I could turn them without breaking anything like i said I'm nervous the wife is counting on me lol 😆 thank you for responding I really appreciate your knowledge 💯

[@MILLERGAMIN1YT]

Also sorry I forgot to ask I can clockwise to TDC right and if it's off I can safely turn them back slightly and I was planning to have someone hold them when I do the tensioner again thank you 😊

[@OGPedXing]

@millergamin1YT if the engine is completely out of time, it is possible for the valves to touch the top of the piston. In this case you'll feel a difference, it will stop harder with no springy resistance. You'll want to stop if you find yourself applying more than about 20 foot pounds of torque on the wrench. It requires a bit of force to overcome the valve springs but not so much that you're leaning into it really hard.

[@OGPedXing]

@millergamin1YT clockwise should be ok, but be careful not to force anything too hard. It may be that you'll need to do it in steps...you may need to turn the crank as well to get the pistons out of the way so the cams can be set and then get the crank set to TDC again.

[@hanselldisla4643]

@OGPEDXING how are you sir ? I do have a question how many miles was your MDX when you decided to changed the timing belt kit? thank you .

[@OGPedXing]

It was just under 100k miles. So I was late I think...I think i should have done it around 75 or 80k. These engines are interference type so a broken timing belt is a very bad thing. Better to be a little early.

[@arthurr8670]

​​@@OGPedXing You actually changed the belt early by miles. It's interval is 105k miles and ever 7 years, which ever is first. With that said, if you didn't wait a long time to post this video, and this was the first timing belt replacement, you were way over by years. It should have been done in 2014 or 2015.

[@HirschPower]

Where did bro disappear to

[@OGPedXing]

Haha, still alive. I have some more content filmed but not edited. I'm trying to get back into again. Thanks 😊

[@rileymatthews8637]

I just have one question. I've followed every step to a tee and completed the timing belt job on my 08 mdx. Runs fine its been 2 months or so but now I noticed there is a thin flat washer that never got put on that came with the kit. There is a little tab and it has the word OUT printed on it. I don't believe that it fit anywhere so I didnt use it. But I think it would go on the guide pulley if anything. How Important do you think this washer is?

[@OGPedXing]

I don't think I had and washers come with my kit...I think the only on that sort of matches that description was the large thin washer on the outside of the crank pully. It was about 2 inches wide. The other possibility is the washer you got in your kit was for a different application, sometimes kits will work for multiple vehicles. For the other pulleys, I'm not remembering one.

[@rileymatthews8637]

I made sure that thin crank pulley washer got out back on and the right way but yeah that's what I'm thinking is it may have been for a different application

[@rileymatthews8637]

I made sure that thin crank pulley washer got out back on and the right way but yeah that's what I'm thinking is it may have been for a different application

[@bigjay1970]

It's if the vehicle had the tsb done regarding the idler pulley being off from the factory. The out makes sure one side is thicker than the other.

[@djreeves9249]

All that work and you forgot to replace the crank seal while you were in there.

[@OGPedXing]

I thought about it but on these Honda v6s they last forever. If there's no sign of seepage you can be as likely to introduce a leak as to prevent one. I'll do it on the next one. 😁

[@djreeves9249]

@OGPedXing understandable. I'm getting ready to replace my crank seal at 280k, I've missed a couple timing belt changes. Lol

[@Tommy971321]

The reason for using the Honda type 2 coolant (blue) is because green coolant eats aluminum. The Honda engine is all aluminum. Head and block... that's why.

[@anthonye3680]

Green coolant is also used for aluminum

[@Tommy971321]

@@anthonye3680 get out

[@JSRAutomotiveLLC]

Skipped the actual belt installation just like every other video.

[@OGPedXing]

Very hard to film, that's why. The important part is what it looks like over the cam gears. Physically putting the belt in mostly the right spot is very simple. I always start from the bottom and work my way counter clockwise. The tensioner is always the last thing.

[@ryanlopez4371]

Is this a Flaw in The Acura MDX?

[@Tommy971321]

I mean.. if it snaps.. bye bye valves and pistons

[@Only1Nono]

Im strugglin with mines, I figured out most Mdx’s have this issue. Maybe the Engineers didnt process it right??? Im not sure

[@herson19omar]

How did you torque the crank bolt?

[@OGPedXing]

Technically it's supposed to be 47 ft lb plus an additional 60 degrees. I did a traditional torque wrench to 180 ft lb which is likely about the same. However the manual says to lightly oil the threads with motor oil, which I failed to do. So "guttentite" it is. 😀

[@Tommy971321]

3.7*

[@deanstevenson6527]

🥝✔️

[@buciolove1346]

😩

[@mattnordlich184]

3.7 L

[@behnammohajeri7047]

Talking too much

[@Dieselpwr]

Buy real tools and you won’t have a issue

[@OGPedXing]

Haha, whatever 🤣 😂 😜

[@philipcbarrera1537]

That’s one weak ass impact wrench. You need to get an IR or a Snap On .