PRODUCT DETAILS
Honda OEM Balancer Belt - F Series / H Series Engines
You're doing a timing belt on your Accord, Prelude, Odyssey, or CL and you're staring at the balancer belt behind the timing belt wondering if you really need to replace it. Here's the answer. Yes. Replace it. The balancer belt drives the balance shafts that smooth out engine vibration on F and H series motors. The shafts are spinning at twice engine speed. When the belt's fresh it's quiet and everything's smooth. When it's old it starts squealing. Then it cracks. Then it breaks. We've seen balancer belts snap at 75 mph on the highway. The engine starts shaking like it's going to fall out of the mounts. The balance shafts stop spinning. Sometimes the gears jam and you're looking at oil pump damage or worse. You've just turned a timing belt service into an engine teardown. The balancer belt's the same age as your timing belt. It's got the same wear. You're already in there with the covers off and the timing belt in your hand. Replace the balancer belt now or do this whole job again in six months when it fails. We've seen it happen. Don't be that guy.
Here's What the Balance Shafts Actually Do
F series and H series engines shake. All four-cylinder engines shake. It's physics. The pistons are moving up and down and the forces don't cancel out perfectly. Honda uses balance shafts to fix that. The balance shafts are weighted counter-rotating shafts that spin at twice engine speed. They create vibrations that cancel out the engine's natural vibrations. When they're working you've got a smooth idle and no buzz through the steering wheel at cruise. When the balancer belt breaks and the shafts stop spinning you're feeling everything. Rough idle. Vibration in the seat. Buzz in the wheel. It's annoying as hell. Worse than annoying is when the balance shaft gears lock up because the belt snapped. The gears are driven by the oil pump. They jam. The oil pump fails. You're done. Motor's toast. All because you skipped a belt.
You're Already In There - Just Replace It
Timing belt service on F and H series engines means you're pulling the valve cover, the timing covers, the accessory belts, the crank pulley, and the timing belt tensioner. That's an afternoon of work. Once the timing belt's off you're looking right at the balancer belt. It wraps around the crank pulley and drives both balance shaft pulleys. You can see it. You can touch it. You can see the cracks in the rubber if it's old. The balancer belt interval is the same as the timing belt interval. Honda says 90,000 to 110,000 miles depending on the year. If your timing belt's worn out, your balancer belt's worn out. They're the same age. They've been running in the same engine seeing the same heat and oil contamination for the same amount of time. Some people skip the balancer belt because they think they're saving money. Six months later the balancer belt fails. Now they're back in there pulling the same covers, removing the timing belt they just installed, replacing the balancer belt, and putting it all back together. They're paying labor twice. We've done that job more times than we want to count. Don't do it twice. You're already in there. Replace both belts.
OEM or Nothing - Don't Cheap Out on This Belt
This is genuine Honda OEM part 13405-PT0-004. It's the belt Honda puts in the engine at the factory. The rubber compound's correct. The tooth profile matches the pulleys. The tensile strength's rated for twice engine speed. It fits. Aftermarket balancer belts exist. They're cheaper. Some of them are fine. Some of them are garbage. We've seen aftermarket belts that are too thin and they stretch after 10,000 miles. We've seen belts with wrong tooth profiles that squeal or skip. We've seen belts that crack after a year. The balancer belt's spinning at twice engine speed behind your timing belt in a hot oily environment. It's a critical part. You don't want to find out your aftermarket belt was junk when it snaps on the highway. Buy the Honda belt. It's engineered for your motor. It lasts. You install it once and you're done for 100,000 miles. That's what you want.
What You Get
- Honda OEM balancer belt - part number 13405-PT0-004
- Drives balance shafts (sits behind timing belt)
- Genuine Honda part - not aftermarket
- Replace every timing belt service (90k-110k miles)
Fits These Motors
- 1990-1997 Honda Accord - F22, F23 engines
- 1995-1998 Honda Odyssey - F22, F23 engines
- 1992-2001 Honda Prelude - H22A, H23A engines
- 1997 Acura CL - F22, F23 engines
Note: Balancer belt for F and H series engines (also called balance shaft belt). Sits behind main timing belt. Drives balance shafts that spin at twice engine speed to cancel vibration. Belt failure causes rough idle, vibration, and potential balance shaft gear damage or oil pump failure. Replace every timing belt service (same age, same wear). Typical interval 90k-110k miles. Genuine Honda OEM part 13405-PT0-004. Labor to replace balancer belt is same as timing belt labor (must remove timing belt to access it). Don't skip this belt.