chenryva Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 Hey Thanks for taking a minute to read my posting. I have a 2005 Subaru Forester with 115,000 miles on it. I just recently changed the timing belt not even 7,000 miles ago and on my way across country from Pennsylvania to California I stopped in St. Louis Friday June 15th, to fill up with gas and as I went to start the engine there was a loud "clanking" noise coming from under the hood and once I looked it sounded more so coming from the engine. AAA towed it to the nearest Subaru dealer which was closed the following morning so I was recommended to an auto repair shop well known in the city for good repairs and there I found that it was the Idler Pulley for the timing belt. We went ahead and replaced that for about $400 and drove off and the engine sounded great, everything seemed to be working just fine. About 50 miles down the road to our surprise the check engine light comes on and we stop off at an Advanced Auto Parts to check the report. Turns out that there is a cylinder 4 misfire and we decide to reset it b/c with the check engine light on the cruise control isn't working and we have 2000 miles left of driving and 1,000 until we hit another Subaru open on Monday (today). We get from MO to the edge of Colorado and it comes on again, again we do the same and have it reset. Today is Monday and we are now at the Subaru dealer in Salt Lake City, UT (the engine sounds fine except for upon start up and there is a rough idle feeling and then dismisses after I drive off) . They told us here that now there is a cylinder 2 misfire as well and it is possible to have bent valves or that maybe just the timing might be off. What I am curious about is why didn't the check engine light come on many more miles before 50 of driving after having the idler pulley switched out?? The dealer is saying it is going to cost 300 just to look in the engine to see if the timing is off and then if not they would have to go in to see how the valves looks which is really pricey. He said it could be fine to keep driving and wait till I get back to Pennsylvania to tear apart the engine. If you can help with any information in any way it would be awesome. We still have to drive to California and then back to Pennsylvania. Not to mention the head mechanic said if it is the valves that I might need a new catalytic converter b/c of the gasoline flow getting inside if the valve wasn't closing all the way and driving such a far distance. This is starting to get expensive and I don't understand why the engine light came on an hour after driving when everything was fixed ?? The engine seems fine but the tests dont lie and all the sensors were good to go! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 $300 to check the timing? That's pretty insane. It only takes maybe an hour to pull the cover, check the marks, and put it back together. Check the timing marks, run a compression test. That should be enough to confirm bent valves. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chenryva Posted June 18, 2012 Author Share Posted June 18, 2012 Hey thanks, yea that's what im going to have done once I reach San Francisco. The Salt Lake Subaru said nothing of compression testing. They would've had to have known that was an option too. Do u have any idea why that check engine light came on so much later and after the idler pulley was replaced?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bstone Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 They are called stealerships for a reason. There really ought to be laws regulating how much they can steal...er...charge. Wow. It is possible that you have bent valves. If the engine is sound good and you're gas mileage isn't terrible then go on ahead to your final destination and worry about it then. Find a good independent shop that specializes in Japanese cars. If you want to do it yourself then we can probably help you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chenryva Posted June 19, 2012 Author Share Posted June 19, 2012 Hey thanks a lot. It's good to know there are still good people out there willing to give a helping hand. I will definitely give an update after I get into seeing what the compression test reveals here in the next few days.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 $300 is insane to just look at the timing belt. Good call pushing on to the next place. A compression check and/or leakdown test will confirm bent valves if that is the problem. I'm not convinced that's the problem. Sounds more like the timing is off. Being just one tooth off can cause all sorts of gremlins but the engine can still run well enough that you may not notice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1997reduxe Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 (edited) If I were you I'd reset the check engine light, and see when the light comes back on what they say at Autozone again. "If" it says both 2 and 4 now. It sounds strange to me that you can drive so far with it only coming on twice? With bent valves? I suppose that's possible. But it may only be intermittent. And look through the members on here and/or ask for shops in the city you'll be in. Lotta info here. Oh yes, one other thing, if one pulley went bad, the others may as well. I'm assuming they didn't change any of them when they did the belt, and it sounds like the 400 got you one pulley... Keep it in mind. (That was a good one about the stealerships, at first I thought you said Dealerships because you can also buy crack out the back door...) Good luck. '97 Edited June 19, 2012 by 1997reduxe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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