Honda/Acura hydraulic tensioner-grenade type

[aaronac8]

When I do my timing belt replacement I want to replace my grenade type hydraulic tensioner (as per Eric’s recommendation). Should I buy a new tensioner from honda or can I go with an after market brand? What aftermarket brand would be recommended?

I will probably buy a honda oem water pump, but a gates timing belt (since I believe gates makes the oem belt).

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Topic

[college man]

Go OEM Honda

[Matthew Ross]

[quote=”aaronac8″ post=50817]When I do my timing belt replacement I want to replace my grenade type hydraulic tensioner (as per Eric’s recommendation). Should I buy a new tensioner from honda or can I go with an after market brand? What aftermarket brand would be recommended?

I will probably buy a honda oem water pump, but a gates timing belt (since I believe gates makes the oem belt).

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.[/quote]

Are you replacing it as preventative maintenance or for another reason? I have a 2009 civic with a hydraulic tensioner, so I’m curious about Eric’s recommendation to replace it.

[aaronac8]

[quote=”matthewross1987″ post=50872][quote=”aaronac8″ post=50817]When I do my timing belt replacement I want to replace my grenade type hydraulic tensioner (as per Eric’s recommendation). Should I buy a new tensioner from honda or can I go with an after market brand? What aftermarket brand would be recommended?

I will probably buy a honda oem water pump, but a gates timing belt (since I believe gates makes the oem belt).

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.[/quote]

Are you replacing it as preventative maintenance or for another reason? I have a 2009 civic with a hydraulic tensioner, so I’m curious about Eric’s recommendation to replace it.[/quote]

The grenade like tensioner tends to leak oil if reused, so it is recommended to be replaced when the timing belt is replaced.

[EricTheCarGuy]

I would say stick with as many OE parts as you can when it comes to buying Honda parts.

[ramrice]

Just out of curiosity….

Eric feels the “smaller” hydraulic tensioners (as opposed to the longer “grenade” type) are very reliable. It appears they became obsolete around the early 2000s. I was wondering if the two types of hydraulic tensioners found in the J-series engines are interchangeable? Are the hardware and space needed to get them installed are the same?

[Tom]

I don’t know about using the other type of hydraulic tensioner, but I know that a lot of Honda guys convert the hydraulic units over to old school manual tensioners to avoid the possibility of catastrophic failure.

[Walter Cheryba]

Check RockAuto.com. They carry full kits for timing belt replacement. I’ve purchased from them for Hondas under the Aisin Brand they carry. Aisin is the Mfr. for a lot of the Japanese brand parts.

[Tom]

For genuine Honda parts at a good price, try majestichonda.com. They are a dealer in the North East US . . . New Hampshire I believe, but sell most parts via their website as well. They have good prices, and pretty fast shipping.

[Author]

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