wysubey

For my timing belt tension, I used a 2-pin spanner into the cam gear holes. Mine is 1 foot long. Left side you will pull from the underside outwards, right side from the top outwards. Using a luggage scale and a ratchet strap tied to a tree or other solid object you can pull at a right angle to the spanner to pull the proper tension on the cam sprockets. I didn't have a luggage scale, so I just put 17-19lb of water or rocks in a bucket over a pulley. Voilla- 19 lbs at 1 foot with no special tools. I initially did the Miles "close enough" hand tensions but I don't trust that, belt was flapping around too loose for my liking. Also, after checking my spark timing it was off, so I realized I was off 1 tooth on the crank sprocket. Because of the 1:2 ratio, it can be hard to notice that small difference. Re-check the spark timing because old stretched belts can cause it to be off compared to new belts and tensioners. Another mistake I made was to replace the 2 crank pulleys inverted which made the LH belt track too far inboard. Pushed the inner flange off the oil pump sprocket. JB weld has held so far. They're tough to tell the difference. +1 for open covers, I would have not been able to make these adjustments after the fact with them on. Timing belt is part of my normal weekly maintenance check now.

Hi all, 2005 outback auto trans with 180k, new to me. Great service records and babied by first owner. First start of the day doesn't catch for about 10 seconds if I turn the key directly to start. If I wait in the on position for a few seconds before starting, it will catch right away. Car runs great otherwise, new upstream o2 sensor, new plugs & wires, no CEL. Ideas? Fuel pump? Fuel pressure regulator? Live with it?

Been running good for a couple weeks now. Starts right up every time, and I re-tensioned the belts. Troubling development now though. When I took apart the oil pump, the inner ring that keeps the belt centered on pump sprocket was off. I put it back on and re-punched the sprocket to hold it tighter. Well... it didn't hold and now the belt is running too close to the block. It's completely on all sprockets besides the oil pump. The inner edge is running maybe 1-2mm off that sprocket. Not rubbing on anything, but it does catch the guard ring a bit. There's a tiny bit of fraying from that. Anyone have a source for OP sprocket? Or should I try to weld that ring on the sprocket? Really glad I kept the covers off to keep an eye on this! I think the low power is due to exhaust leak making the engine run rich at low RPMs.

Thanks all, successful operation here. Seems to have a bit less power than I remember, but it's idling smoother. I adjusted the spark timing to 20 degrees. How much pressure do you guys put on the tensioners? Just spring pressure and tighten the bolts, or do you apply hand pressure as well? Also, since the work, cold starts are not going until I disconnect and reconnect the battery. It clicks, but no crank. Warm re-starts are fine.

No covers it is! Just finished cleaning the oil pump, waiting on my caliper to get here to check the rotor dimensions. New shaft seal is in, as well as crankshaft seal. headed to town for fresh camshaft seal carrier O rings. Whats the torque spec for oil pump sprocket? Haynes book doesn't say. Has anyone used oil compatible RTV to backup mickey mouse gasket?

Car broke down before Christmas. Left timing belt tensioner threw its bearings and the belt skipped a few teeth. I ignored the squeaking too long. Previous TB replacement ~30k ago likely didn't replace tensioners. So, here I go on the re-seal odyssey. I have new cam & crank seals, idler sprocket, tensioners, timing belts, oil pump seals & water pump. Anyhow, there are a couple issues I want some feedback on. On the R side front of the engine by cylinder 1, there is some orange gunk at the head gasket joint. Any ideas what that is? No signs of HG failure from the rad cap or oil. The failed tensioner rubbed against the belt cover and wore it through. About 1" crescent. Should I worry about finding another cover? Duck tape to the rescue? Also, the R inner cover is a bit warped behind the cam sprocket and is rubbing slightly. Any other trouble areas to look at while I'm in there? Crossing my fingers the oil pump is OK.

Same thing happened to me last week. Just died coasting into town after driving fine for 30m. Checked all the easy things on the roadside and then pushed 50yards into gas station. Really good place to break, but its a bad time of year to not have a garage. Any suggestions for brands to buy or stay away from?

Success! The alternator was quite bad, tested only 10v at the store. They replaced it for free, very nice. New one charges right up to 14.2 and spins freely. Unfortunately the threads stripped on the lower mounting ear. The bolt was long enough so I just put a bolt on the backside. Pain to get to, but it works. Thanks Naru and Rampage.

Haha yeah it's not the cleanest setup! Just keeping the ol gal running until she rusts out.

Thanks Rampage! Very helpful diagram, I've been a bit fuzzy on what the pins on alternator actually do. So, I unplugged the 2pin connector. Alligator leads with a larger bulb to +12v. Still weak charging. At this point I'm taking the alt back for testing Monday or Tues. I'm getting 8v on the lamp wire at idle and less than 8amps from the alt, 12.5v at the battery with only headlights and HVAC fan on 2. Tired of futzing with this especially with the weather turned cold. I want my seat heater ASAP!

Happy Thanksgiving all!

Yes, sounds like EGR. On mine, I determined that the solenoid was clogged and burned out and replaced it with OEM style. Check the impedance on it and see if it clicks nicely when you connect to 12v.

Ok, so I'll check into putting a bigger wattage bulb, or put a resistor in parallel with the bulb to reduce the impedance. The voltage drop of .1 for the replacement diode seems low enough, but its only a 1a rated rectifier diode. Should be enough, given that 12v to the L terminal is pulling 1a exactly. Is there a way to test the field winding without dismantling the alt? Unfortunately I traded in the original already.

+1 for DaveT and CTS issues. One of the first things Dave helped me with. Didn't realize the codes blink without test mode.

So I put 4oz of Seafoam in the oil, and it made quite a difference! Could tell almost immediately when the stuff made it to the offending HLA, since then it only ticks for less than 5 seconds on really cold starts.