JayCog44 Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Hi All, I found a 2002 subaru legacy limited 2.5L on Craigslist which seems to be in real good shape. The only problem is that the woman selling it doesn't have any of the service records. It has about 127,000 miles on it and she says that the timing belt has been replaced. Its not that I don't trust her, but I don't know her. It's my understanding that the 2.5L engine needs the timing belt replaced around 100k miles. Anyway, my question is, on that engine is it easy to check if the timing belt has been replaced? I mean is there just a cover I can take off to look at it or is there a lot of work just to look at it? Not sure if it would even do me any good to look at it but I figure I would be able to tell the difference between a timing belt with 127k miles on it vs. a timing belt with 20k miles on it. Any help would be appreciated... this forum rocks and I've gotten a lot of great info here already. Cheers, Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 (edited) You probably won't be able to tell the difference between old and new and in any case looking at the belt doesn't tell you if the water pump, idlers, tensioner, or seals were replaced. With a 105k mileage belt it is frankly a stupid idea to not replace that stuff because it is unlikely to go till 210k before failing. But people do it all the time to get off cheap and Subaru doesn't actually say those components need to be replaced so of course people are skeptical when the dealer or shop reccomends it. The unromantic truth is that no matter what's been done - if there are no records of it - you have to assume it was done poorly or not at all. Thus that needs to be considered into the price. I always explain that to sellers when I'm looking to buy. If they don't have paperwork then I have to assume it needs it - thus I'm going to need $500 (or whatever) off the asking price to account for that...... frankly you shouldn't have to be removing covers on other people's cars to check for maintenance they should have paperwork on. It's her fault for not keeping the records now she's going to pay the price. GD Edited June 3, 2011 by GeneralDisorder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 pulling the cover (passengers side has 3 10mm bolts, that's it) will reveal the belt. rotate the engine over until you get to the writing on the lettering. if it's crisp and new then it's been replaced. if it's aftermarket (not Subaru) then it's been replaced - definitely easy to tell in that case. you can even take a picture and post it here for us to help identify. like GD said though - if the idlers and tensioner weren't replaced it's not ideal. i'd plan on pulling it apart again at 50,000 miles if not right away. they don't always fail and *probably* will make it but there's enough failures and this is an interference engine that it just makes sense not to risk it in my opinion. there have been one or two posts on here recently about a broken timing belt just in the past week. granted people with problems come here though, but still not a risk i'd want to take. some simple questions usually reveal if someone is telling the truth or not. when was it replaced, why was it replaced, how much did it cost and where? once you know where - you can call them and verify it. local Subaru dealers have been very helpful when i've called and given me all the service records of a vehicle i purchased. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bheinen74 Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Pull the 3 bolts off that hold the driver side cam cover. Look at the belt. New belt will look, well, new. Old belt will be glazed looking. Kinda like when you get new tires, the rubber is nice and black looking. After a few months, you need to armor-all them to make them look newish again. A belt will look like new tires if it has been replaced, and if not it will look like old tires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebugs Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Another thing is that if the stamp is something other than Subaru you know it's been replaced somewhere along the line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General chaos Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 with the additional posts above here is an opinion. how much is she asking? is the engine dirty rewal dirty or oil caked? is their proof of the mileage? i sit still in the car? where did a woman get an engine without a man around? or did she pull it herself? those are the questions i would aks myself. if i liekd the answers. i wouldnt worry about a timing belt. that job isnt that hard to redo if needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayCog44 Posted June 3, 2011 Author Share Posted June 3, 2011 Thank you for getting back to me so quickly guys. I figure I'll take a look to make sure something drastic doesn't jump out at me. I really appreciate the help. $6,800 for a 2002 outback limited in good shape with 127,000 sound about right to y'all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ocei77 Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 (edited) Way too much in my neck of the woods. Check craigslist for going prices in your area. Here( hudson valley, ny), price would be no more than 5K, if that. for instance http://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/cto/2418630603.html and that's an 06 O. Edited June 3, 2011 by ocei77 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olnick Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Where is Inman? Might be helpful to add state initials to your city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebugs Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 Where is Inman? Might be helpful to add state initials to your city. Yep! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 $6,800 for a 2002 outback limited in good shape with 127,000 sound about right to y'all? that's a reasonable price for a good car. beware of pricing advice on here, many on here are adept at getting really cheap cars. i usually compare autotrader adds and check edmunds values (kelly blue books are usually too high), local papers if subaru's are common. if $6,800 is putting you in newer/lower mileage subaru's then maybe it's too high. if $6,800 is mostly older or higher miles you're doing good. i think you'll find that's about right, it's not too far off either way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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