TIMING BELTS!

[klskagen]

i just got a 1986 subaru GL wagon for free. it is not running because
its timing belt broke. the previous owner put a new one on, but it is
not timed. do i go to my local subaru shop and just ask them to time
the car? is there more to this? it was running fine before the belt
broke.

oh and the prices are 30 bucks to time the car, and 180 bucks to
reinstall new belts. are those good prices?

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

i just got a 1986 subaru GL wagon for free. it is not running because
its timing belt broke. the previous owner put a new one on, but it is
not timed. do i go to my local subaru shop and just ask them to time
the car? is there more to this? it was running fine before the belt
broke.

oh and the prices are 30 bucks to time the car, and 180 bucks to
reinstall new belts. are those good prices?

I would definitely seek the advice of folks at www.ultimatesubaru.org as
they are very good at keeping older soobs running. It might be a DIY job
if you are mechanically inclined. There may also be other components you
would want to change and how long it has been since the car ran, etc.
are all issues that should be considered before firing that puppy up.

Carl

 

[Rick Courtright]

i just got a 1986 subaru GL wagon for free. it is not running because
its timing belt broke... it was running fine before the belt
broke.

Hi,

If you're handy and want to get a book, it's not that big a job. One
problem w/ replacing the belts on two-belt systems is getting the timing
180 deg off on one bank cuz someone misses the step to turn the engine
over a full revolution between installing (and timing) the first side
and the second.

On single belt systems, the problem can be similar: something slipped
its timing while installing the belt and somebody forgot to check their
work to make sure all the timing marks were still aligned at the end of
the job.

If you're not handy, the prices you quoted seem fair enough if the guys
are familiar w/ older Subies.

Rick

 

[Joe Kultgen]

(e-mail address removed) wrote in @m73g2000cwd.googlegroups.com:

i just got a 1986 subaru GL wagon for free. it is not running because
its timing belt broke. the previous owner put a new one on, but it is
not timed. do i go to my local subaru shop and just ask them to time
the car? is there more to this? it was running fine before the belt
broke.

oh and the prices are 30 bucks to time the car, and 180 bucks to
reinstall new belts. are those good prices?

This manual is for an '89 but the timing belt section is the same for
your '86.

http://www.ch601.org/engines/files/SubaruEA82-ServiceManualPart1.pdf
http://www.ch601.org/engines/files/SubaruEA82-ServiceManualPart2.pdf

The longer belt on the drivers side of the engine breaks more often than
the other one. If you're just checking that the new belt was installed
properly you only need to remove the outer end covers so you can see the
timing marks. Also open the distributor cap and verify that the rotor is
pointed towards the number one cylinder when that piston is near TDC on
the compression stroke. It's possible the guy who did the belts got it
180 degrees off. The exact setting varies with different years and
whether or not you have fuel injection but it should run if it's
somewhere close.

The prices you've been quoted are very reasonable but if you'd like to
learn how to DIY you'd have to search for quite a while to find an easier
car to work on. I converted my own '86 GL from carb to SPFI. I had to
pull the timing belts to replace the camshaft seals and left all the
timing belt covers off when I put it back together. Since my car has no
AC and uses manual steering the only belts on the front of the engine are
the two timing belts and the alternator/water pump belt. It doesn't even
have the conventional fan mounted on the water pump, just the electric
fan offset towards the passenger side. I'll admit the setup looks kind
of snarky. Sort of "Road Warrior" meets "Mickey Mouse", but it does make
it a lot easier to keep an eye open for leaks and belt adjustment.

Later,
Joe

 

[cale]

everyone, thanks so much. this sounds like its gonna be a free daily
driver!