fwiw, i discovered that it's possible to over-tension the timing belt if
the tensioner bolt is too loose when adjusting.  book spec is that it's
half a turn loose - on this occasion, i'd made it looser, so that the
base of the tensioner pulley had tilted.  on tensioning, the base
leveled out and therefore pulled the belt a lot tighter than it should
have been.  i discovered this later when another project required
re-entry, and on loosening the tensioner, not only could i see the belt
loosen, but the cam gear relax - it had been elastically distorted it
was pulled so tight!

bottom line, if he's a pro, he knows what he's doing.  but we all make
mistakes on occasion.  short of a massively defective belt, [possible,
but unlikely], that would be the only other thing i can think of to
explain the problem.  other potentials such as mis-routing the belt,
i've seen, but are usually immediately evident and don't get the vehicle
out of the shop.

oh, and the other thing to look out for with an over-tensioned belt is
potential damage to the cam bearings.  in fact, the cam doesn't even
have bearings, it sits directly on the aluminum casting and is oil
lubed.  under normal belt tension, that is sufficient, but under excess
load, the oil film that normally separates can get too thin and the
aluminum can get gouged.  if that's the case, the head is done and needs
to be replaced.

    Work was done by professional Honda-Acura mechanic. He is sole
proprietor in his own shop. He has many years of Honda dealership
experience, and does about three timing belts a week.
    Tensioner wasn't replaced, but feels fine. Water pump was new (Honda)
with belt, and also rotates freely and has no rough spots on gear.
    Will replace all valves and needed gaskets. Probably will replace
tensioner too.
    Can give more info next week as work progresses.

        Thanks for your info.     bob

indeed.  or a seized water pump.

don't need new head bolts in the d-series motors - ok to re-use originals.

Sounds like either a bad tensioner or an overtightened or defective belt.

Either way, you are now looking at least at about $1000 repair bill to repair
the valve train.  Depending on the damage to the timing cover, you may need a
new one (possibly could get from a wrecker, but unlikely).  Also, the Crank
angle sensor could have been damaged, its a $130 dealer part.

When this happend on my sister's 99 civic, it ended up costing over $1200.
Also, not all of the valves may be bent.  You'll need a new head gasket and
head bolts as well.  Go for a honda head gasket for sure.

t

    "02 Civic, 7000 miles on new Honda belt and water pump.  Belt began
making noise, and while driving to have looked at belt broke and engine
quit.
    Belt scraps were in long pieces of rubber coated string. Can see some
wear on lower cover. Bent all the valves.
    Anyone out there seen a belt give up like this?

        Bob