Change just the timing belt?

[fastrat37]

My '98 Legacy Brighton 2.2L has 220,500 miles and is due for a timing belt. Since there is no cooling system issues or bearing noise can I just change out the timing belt and keep on going? Money is tight so I am trying to do it as cheaply as possible. Who has the best belt besides the dealer? Thanks in advance for your input.....Mike

[bstone]

For the love of Jah, please replace the water pump, every pulley, tensioner and idler in there. If you want to keep the car this is the right thing to do.

[Mike104]

search for theimportexperts on google and get one of their kits. You should probably change the water pump too. If one of the idler bearings or water pump goes after you just change the belt, count on having to remove the heads (HGs) and getting valves replaced after they get hit by the pistons if the timing belt jumps (interference engine).

 

Its false economy to save a few bucks on something that will bite you in the butt if it fails. Much cheaper to spend a few bucks more now than spending a whole lot more later!

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/3-1997-1998-SUBARU-LEGACY-IMPREZA-2-2-TIMING-BELT-KIT-/390298367064?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item5adf987458

Edited September 7, 2011 by Mike104

[idosubaru]

the belt is less likely to fail than the pulleys and tensioner so i'd just leave it be until you can afford to do it right. failing pulleys, tensioner, and water pumps cause the belt to break regardless of whether it's new or not.

 

kits are only $160 on ebay for the belt and all new pulleys and tensioner. you can probably even get a kit without the tensioner for less, that's usually like $100 itself. so maybe for $60 (timing belt cost at dealer) you could get a kit.

 

if your belt breaks (due to pulley, tensioner, or water pump failure), you'll be paying $1,500 - $2,000 for a head job and replacing bent valves....or looking for a new car.

 

or for $200 you could have another inexpensive 105,000 miles from your car - that's an unbelievable value. i would do whatever it takes to do that.

 

*IF* the belt breaks - it's probably going to be due to poor pulleys that are heating up, seized, or otherwise compromised - all things that are going to break a new belt too - so might as well wait until you can do it right.

 

if you're really that hard up for cash you can buy a needle insert for a grease gun (for $2 or less) and gently pry up the seals on the pulleys and give them some fresh grease. then carefully press the face seals back in place. not perfect, but better than nothing. then you can regrease all your pulleys and install a new belt - reusing only the tensioner and water pump.

 

you do not fill the pulleys up, that would be too much and heat expanding will push the grease seals out and grease all over the place. add grease and spin them until it's nice and smooth and tight like a new bearing. i've done that multiple times on vehicles whose timing kits are outrageously priced or older models that aren't interference, i generally don't do it on interference engines though i haven't had a problem doing it yet.

[fastrat37]

Thanks for all the replies to my question. I might as well spend a little more $$ now than a whole bunch more later, better safe than sorry. Doesn't look that hard to replace the rest of the idlers and tensioner. Any hints as to how to break the front crank bolt loose? Hold the pulley w/a strap wrench and pull the inspection cover/plug to use a screwdriver to hold the flywheel? Seen this on a youtube video.

[johnceggleston]

on a slightly different note,

 

my '00 lego auto trans has 83k miles and original everything. i plan on doing the timing belt , all idlers and the water pump soon, this fall.

 

question, since the seals are not leaking, is it better to do them or leave them. seems a little silly to replace prefectly good seals, and factory seals may last longer than replacements installed by me. if i do them i'm good for 100k, if i don't, i figure i'm good for ~70k - 80k? and a seal failure probably will give me a warning sign before a disaster.

 

same for the tensioner? (the idler will be new regardless.) do these usually get noisy before they fail or only sometimes?

 

and finally, i know i can swap in an old style tensioner and bracket on a 98. is it smart or dumb to swap one in on a '00.??

 

thanks, and sorry of the hijack. but at least it is all belt related.

[the3rsss]

I just did a timing belt job on my 99 obw. I got a complete kit from gates. Was a lot less then oem , a quality product. Came with everything but the seals and water pump. Picked seals up at the dealer. Got a gates pump on eBay for 45. I am super cheap. Was going to replace just the belt, but after reading a few threads, figured I'd be crazy not to do a complete job.

[davebugs]

My opinion on seals. I always do them.

 

If they are black they MUST be done in my opinion - either older style OEM or aftermarket crap.

 

If it's someone else's car and the seals are brown and the folks are cheap they can skip them. But it makes NO SENSE to me for maybe 30 bucks to literally be right there and not do them. IIR like 8 bucks each.

 

As I've posted I did get some seals for a 2001 Legacy (IIR) in a kit from theimportexperts that looked the same as OEM at half the price. I didn't install them and don't know their longevity. They claim they are from the OEM manufacturer.

[The Dude]

Thanks for all the replies to my question. I might as well spend a little more $$ now than a whole bunch more later, better safe than sorry. Doesn't look that hard to replace the rest of the idlers and tensioner. Any hints as to how to break the front crank bolt loose? Hold the pulley w/a strap wrench and pull the inspection cover/plug to use a screwdriver to hold the flywheel? Seen this on a youtube video.

 

 

I recently changed the timing belt on my 2006 Forester. This is how a broke the crank bolt:

 

Forget about the Habor Freight chain wrench, it is no longer available.

I bought the Duralast 19" locking chain wrench (part 77-519) at Auto Zone. I bought an 18" piece of galvanized pipe at Home Depot. I wrapped a piece of the accessory belt around the crank pulley to protect it from the chain wrench. I then put the chain wrench on the pulley. The 18" piece of pipe went over the handle of the chain wrench. The pipe "hits" the driveway surface and keeps the chain wrench from spinning

This set up worked like a charm for both breaking and tightening the crank bolt on my Forester. Obviously, I can not say that it will work on your Brighton. You will need access to a torque wrench with high enough capacity properly to tighten the crank pulley. DO NOT FAIL TO USE A TORQUE WRENCH ON THE CRANK BOLT OR YOU WILL REGRET IT.

 

Depending on the amount of space in the engine compartment, you might want to pull the radiator. The problem I saw with the "screwdriver" method is if anything breaks or goes wrong you'll probably have to pull the engine. One poster had his screwdriver break and he considers himself very lucky that he was able to fish the broken blade out with a magnet.

Edited September 7, 2011 by The Dude