Timing, Oil, etc

[tsii]

I'm getting ready to replace the timing belt in my 99 Forester. The
car has 130,000 Miles on the original timing belt. I'm gonna try this
myself as I'm a poor student. The plus side is I'm in no hurry, I
don't drive it very often. I'm already going with the new belt and
water pump. Should I assume I need a new Tensioner? (How do I tell?)
What else should I replace while I've get everything open?

Also, I'm leaking/burning oil. I loose 1 or 2 quart every 3000 miles.
Any ideas on this?

Thanks.

 

[Jim Stewart]

I'm getting ready to replace the timing belt in my 99 Forester. The car
has 130,000 Miles on the original timing belt. I'm gonna try this
myself as I'm a poor student. The plus side is I'm in no hurry, I don't
drive it very often. I'm already going with the new belt and water
pump. Should I assume I need a new Tensioner? (How do I tell?) What
else should I replace while I've get everything open?

Also, I'm leaking/burning oil. I loose 1 or 2 quart every 3000 miles.
Any ideas on this?

Thanks.

Here's my post on the subject:

http://groups.google.com/group/alt....ru+"timing+belt&rnum=1&hl=en#fe85098ab1eaf22a

 

[Edward Hayes]

The o-ring on the back side of the oil pump should be replaced. Most
of us replace the water pump together with the timing belt. Go to
www.endwrench.com for more good information & pictures. Ed

 

[AS]

In my experience, every time I get to replace a timing belt I find that
the idler bearings do not sound too well.

YOu may need to replace the tensioner if you see that it is leaking oil
from the shaft seal. Remember that to reinstall it, you need to
compress it slowly, and hold it retracted by using a strong pin.

Make sure you have the means to tighten the cranckshaft harmonic
balancer bolt. You need to keep the motor from turning and give the
bolt the proper torque (about 120 ft-lb) to avoid costly damages.

I never had the need to replace the water pump or the oil pump o-ring,
but it seems to be a common practice.

Remember to mark all relative positions of the belt and sprockets so you
can be sure everything ends up in sync.

Good luck

 

[Kurt Krueger]

I'm getting ready to replace the timing belt in my 99 Forester. The car
has 130,000 Miles on the original timing belt. I'm gonna try this
myself as I'm a poor student. The plus side is I'm in no hurry, I don't
drive it very often. I'm already going with the new belt and water
pump. Should I assume I need a new Tensioner? (How do I tell?) What
else should I replace while I've get everything open?

There's a good chance that anything with a ball bearing is bad at 130K
miles. With my Toyotas, the idlers get replaced every other timing belt
change (at 120K). By that time the bearings are starting to get loose
and noisy.

BTW, on the 2002 WRX Subaru is very picky about how you compress the tensioner.
They say is it must be done vertically, not in a vice. It would be a good
idea to get a peek at the factory service manual before you start. Also
lining up the two cylinder banks is non intuitive as described in the book.
I haven't done one yet so I don't know if things make more sense when you
have the engine opened up. The WRX engine is a bit more tricky to work
on because the valves can run into each other. I have no idea if any of
this applies to the 99 Forester.

One trick I've used is to put match marks on the old timing belt and
then transfer them to the new one. This helps a lot if you run into
the case where the belt wants to mount between two teeth.

Also, I'm leaking/burning oil. I loose 1 or 2 quart every 3000 miles.
Any ideas on this?

This would be considered 'normal'. If you don't see any obvious leaks,
don't worry about it. It's on the high side, but within the engine's
specs.

 

[tsii]

I'm getting ready to replace the timing belt in my 99 Forester. The
car has 130,000 Miles on the original timing belt. I'm gonna try this
myself as I'm a poor student. The plus side is I'm in no hurry, I
don't drive it very often. I'm already going with the new belt and
water pump. Should I assume I need a new Tensioner? (How do I tell?)
What else should I replace while I've get everything open?

Also, I'm leaking/burning oil. I loose 1 or 2 quart every 3000 miles.
Any ideas on this?

Thanks.

Ok, I pulled the driver's side belt cover today to take a look at the
belt. It looks perfect. I don't see any signs of breaking or cracking
in the teeth. A fair amount of dust, but I can't see any oil. As far
as wear, nothing obvious, but I've never seen a new one. As I can only
see a small portion of the belt I turned the engine over and looked
again, nothing new. Do you think this is a good enough sample to call
it good?

As a side note on the milage, the engine was replaced at 40K do to a
hole in the oil pan. Assuming the (used) replacement engine had a new
belt, I could be looking at only 100K on this belt. (the replacement
had about 30k miles on it). Either way, how long can you push these
things? I know the consequences of a failed belt, but I really don't
have the money right now and it looks fine to me.

 

[Edward Hayes]

I changed out my TB at ~ 100K miles and careful inspection indicated
it was good for many more miles. An external inspection however, will
not show when the cords i.e. Kevlar start to break down. I assume that
Subaru, like most other respectable manufactures put a 2 X safety
factor into the their recommendation for stuff like timing belts. How
long will it last? Too many factors like temperature, idler bearings,
TB tensioner and water pump to predict but, I'd be uncomfortable going
out more than 130,000.

You may want to check the PCV valve & hoses that can cause
increased oil consumption. Ed

 

[Jim Stewart]

Change the tensioner. If you muck up reinstalling
the old one by not compressing it right, it could
cost you a damaged engine.

Not a worry given your engine mileage and age.

Ok, I pulled the driver's side belt cover today to take a look at the
belt. It looks perfect. I don't see any signs of breaking or cracking
in the teeth. A fair amount of dust, but I can't see any oil. As far
as wear, nothing obvious, but I've never seen a new one. As I can only
see a small portion of the belt I turned the engine over and looked
again, nothing new. Do you think this is a good enough sample to call
it good?

Your call. I'd change it if it were mine.

As a side note on the milage, the engine was replaced at 40K do to a
hole in the oil pan. Assuming the (used) replacement engine had a new
belt, I could be looking at only 100K on this belt. (the replacement had
about 30k miles on it). Either way, how long can you push these
things? I know the consequences of a failed belt, but I really don't
have the money right now and it looks fine to me.

No way to tell. It could run another 100k miles
or it could break in 20k. We can't predict the
future.