lmdew Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 I'd recommend the Kits from theimportexperts . I've never had a problem with them, good belts, marked for alignment and quality bearings. I tried Domestic Gaskets and they sent the kits in a box that was so small it put a kink in the belts, making them junk. The bearings look the same, with the toothed gear being the red seal, instead of green. Lot's of the OEM seals are red, so I though they may be a higher quality kit. I'm going back to the theimportexperts. Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 (edited) I'd recommend the Kits from theimportexperts . I've never had a problem with them, good belts, marked for alignment and quality bearings. I tried Domestic Gaskets and they sent the kits in a box that was so small it put a kink in the belts, making them junk. The bearings look the same, with the toothed gear being the red seal, instead of green. Lot's of the OEM seals are red, so I though they may be a higher quality kit. I'm going back to the theimportexperts. Larry me too. when i did my 2.2 swap i called them because the 'ebay' kit didn't have exactly what i wanted. they put together the right parts for me and shipped it quickly. i didn't study on the price to see if it was equal to the 'ebay' special, but i think it was and i got what i needed. belt all idlers water pump & metal gasket all front seals (except the oil pump o-ring) valve cover gaskets and bolt seals / gromets. i forgot to ask for the exhaust gaskets and the local parts stores didn't carry the single port gaskets so i went to the dealer. i also ended up needing the exhaust donut at the flex joint which i got at the dealer. i should have ordered them with the seperater plate and t-stat from online dealer. next time i'll know. Edited November 23, 2009 by johnceggleston Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmdew Posted November 23, 2009 Author Share Posted November 23, 2009 They are sending new belts, but next time I think I'm still returning to the Import Experts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 (edited) I got this kit for $117 shipped from mizumoauto 32600+ feedback - 100% positive. I've got no complaints. The water pump was a cheap aftermarket but I see no reason why it won't hold up till the next t-belt change. For the price you can just do it every time. Came with everything and the bearings were NTN's - nothing to complain about there. No alignment marks on the belt but those are for wussy's. I don't need em anyway. Water pump "gasket" was paper. I used it - no leaks. I prefer the OEM metal one's as they aren't as fiddly to install but...... again: $117 shipped. The EA's used paper for years and never leaked so again I see no issue here. Packaging was acceptable. No crimped belt. Nothing damaged. Would I prefer higher quality? Absolutely - but not at 2x or 3x the price and I'm 100% confident that the parts I received will last 105k till the next belt change. I informed the new owner that in 105k miles ALL those parts need to be replaced. My hands are clean. GD Edited November 23, 2009 by GeneralDisorder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisd Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Just wondering but the belt in that picture looks like it has white stripe marks on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Just wondering but the belt in that picture looks like it has white stripe marks on it. Yeah - the one I received only had a single white line on it. So not very useful - I think the belt pictured may be different. The seals in the bearings were black instead of the orange in the pic - souldn't make any difference though. I just ordered two more kits for the '91 and the '95 currently in my garage. We shall see but I doubt it will have the lines. They aren't neccesary anyhow. Just as long as all three marks are straight up you are good. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmdew Posted November 30, 2009 Author Share Posted November 30, 2009 They shipped me new belts, I had them in 2 days and the new belts were marked and in their own boxes. Good results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulwnkl Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 Triangle Auto Supply (that's the actual business/store who uses the Flea-bay name 'theimportexperts') has always been good to deal with for me. They're in the Yakima, WA, area, and used to have a store in Kennewick, too. That one closed some years ago now. I bought my timing belt kit for my Baja from them. I didn't use all the pulleys because some of them didn't have bearing support all the way across the actual pulley the way the stock ones did. The stock ones gave no hint of wear, so I just put them back in. I was on the phone with Triangle about the issue for some time, and for quite a while they were having trouble understanding what I was talking about. They thought I meant that the pulley was not wide enough. It was fine; the bearings were what was not wide enough. I'm sure I could have gotten some pics exchanged and gotten different/better resolution, but I frankly wasn't very worried about those couple original idlers anyway. I'd still do business with Triangle (aka 'theimportexperts') again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 The bearing size difference on the inside of the idler pulley's is a change made by Subaru at some point along the line. IIRC, the original Subaru design used a single row ball bearing on the top idler and a double-row on the bottom. I *think* they got rid of the single row one's completely or maybe it's the other way around. At any rate I've installed a number of the single-row aftermarket's on both top and bottom and never had a problem with them. I don't remember why Subaru did this..... GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulwnkl Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 That's good info. It was indeed that the replacement bearings were single-width (leaving ~half of the pulley unsupported), vs. double-width on the original ones. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisd Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 I'm planning to do my timing belt and water pump while I'm in there. looking at the two suggested sellers. The import experts kits do not show the seals, do they need to be ordered seperately? mizumauto shows everything to be included however I'm wondering about quality of water pump and gasket. I see generaldisorder passed on car to another buyer but I plan on holding this car till it can't give anymore. Also wondering about this Universal Camshaft Pulley Holding Tool. I looked for one online for the subaru and saw that. would it be better than chain wrench with pulley protection under? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 I'm planning to do my timing belt and water pump while I'm in there. looking at the two suggested sellers. The import experts kits do not show the seals, do they need to be ordered seperately? the seal kit, belt, idlers, water pump and seals, is about 190$ (2.2L any way), look at their other items for sale. you can call them, they will sell what you need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 I see generaldisorder passed on car to another buyer but I plan on holding this car till it can't give anymore. Realistically, these are 60k serivice kits. For the price just replace ALL the parts every time. They may be cheaper in quality, but the difference is negligible if you replace them as a maintenace item. Remember that Subaru NEVER reccomeneds replaceing the water pump and I've personally seen EJ22's with 200k+ that had the original factory water pump still going strong (scary, but dealerships do it and don't tell the customer it ought to be replaced so.....). For little more than the price of *just* the belt from Subaru you are getting every single part that could conceivably fail - thus virtually gauranteeing flawless operation *at least* till the next belt change - at which point you just replace it all again. It's not rocket science, nor are they swiss watches. It's simple economics and regardless if the vehicle is mine or I'm selling it - I would still use this kit for the price. If you think I would sell a car with substandard parts on it that I had any inkling were going to fail before the interval I have passed on to the new owner you are quite mistaken. Also wondering about this Universal Camshaft Pulley Holding Tool. I looked for one online for the subaru and saw that. would it be better than chain wrench with pulley protection under? What do you need that for? Just use a socket and ratchet. They stay in their respective posistions without much effort and it's a bit useful to be able to move the passenger side pulley a little as you put the belt on. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petersubaru Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 ....should the "tensioner" also be included in this exchange or wait until the next belt change 60k from now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmdew Posted December 6, 2009 Author Share Posted December 6, 2009 The old style tensioners are very good. Unless they are leaking or fail the compression test you can use them over and over again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisd Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 If you think I would sell a car with substandard parts on it that I had any inkling were going to fail before the interval I have passed on to the new owner you are quite mistaken. What do you need that for? Just use a socket and ratchet. They stay in their respective posistions without much effort and it's a bit useful to be able to move the passenger side pulley a little as you put the belt on. GD GeneralDisorder, I did not mean for that to come across as an insult or that you do shady work. My apologies for sounding like that. I don't know everyone personally or their character so sometimes I lean towards the side of caution. I'll be more considerate in the future. as for the pulley tool I just ask because this is my first timing belt job ever and am wanting to make sure I am prepared and do it right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 I see generaldisorder passed on car to another buyer but I plan on holding this car till it can't give anymore. that's awesome! many of the frequent contributors here know what they're talking about and are not "used car salesmen". suggesting that is a bit on the mean side considering he's donating his time, free of charge, and helping you and others out. shady, cheap a## people don't do that. and, back on topic - i do about the same thing that GD does with cars i'm selling. new is typically not an option, cost prohibitive. so it comes down to leaving 10 year old grease deprived bearings in there to hopefully last 200,000+ miles or having brand new ones in place. if someone argued the OEM are better - well you have 10 year old better bearings verses brand new lower quality. either way they should always be checked at every timing belt interval and it is unlikely the new ones will fail before that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebugs Posted December 6, 2009 Share Posted December 6, 2009 I'm pretty much in agreement with the others here. I get theimportexperts kits, and get all seals(and WP gasket) at the dealer because I think the OEM's are worth the money. I install Dayco timing belts sourced locally and a new Cardone all metal WP source locally along w/NGK plugs and accessory belts. I've never installed anything other than OEM seals on a suby. I've seen too many black ones leak. If the engine is out - or you're doing HG's a tube of ultra grey and you're all set. I haven't advertised a car for sale for probably 5 months because I'm swamped with my "real" work. But I've sold several - all to folks that Iv'e sold cars to before, or their friends. Folks come back because they DON'T think I've cut any corners. And I know that atleast several of these kits I've installed have gone 80-100k because folks have called me to ask about me doing the next timing belt job. The other folks probably haven't hit 100k or actually listened when I said I don't work on other folk's cars. I've never had a complaint about pre-mature failure. I think these kit are an excellent value, and much better than not addressing the idlers as has already been stated. Them's my thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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