Timing belt mileage records?

[Guest D1Driver]

Well, I know everyone recommends you change them at certain mileage, but what is the longest some of you have gone? I wanna hear from the gamblers out there!

 

All I see is posts from people changing their belt, and rarely do you see one that failed. If you have one fail, tell us how long since it was changed, and what was the cause of the failure, if other than lack of maintenance.

[porcupine73]

I always replace on schedule. If you have a 2.2 non-interference engine the biggest part of the gamble is you could be stranded. If you've got the interference type the gamble is either $$$$$$ for replacing potentially bent/knicked valves/dented pistons or spending time and money doing it yourself.

[Wayne Boncyk]

Sorry, as the owner of an Outback with a 2.5, (and as the past owner of a Honda CRX that ran for 162K miles before the belt broke -- was my first small import and I was used to Detroit timing chain designs prior to that one -- I had no idea that they used belts, and that the belts could break!!) I don't take any chances. Most I've let mine go has been 92K miles.

[Virrdog]

Gl I bought had the driver side belt go at 91k (the day after I bought it...). Original belt + nearly 19 years of weathering + 91k miles didn't work out in this case.

[Manarius]

Going on 100k on a belt. 95k atm.

[seanski06]

83,000 miles on the belt.....203,000 on the car....i'd love to change it but i dont have the knowledge or garage/tools to do it....so i just gotta wait till i save enough money to get it all done

[rottenhead]

I tried to have mine changed at 120K and the shop said they'd never seen one go so don't bother.

 

At 191K it went. Luckily I wasn't in the middle of nowhere.

[idosubaru]

not a subaru but my best friend has a toyota 4-runner. it's over 200,000 miles and the only thing that's every failed was the power steering pump. sick, absolutely sick how little he does to it. his engine has a timing belt, he bought the vehicle at 60,000 miles many moons ago and the belt has never been changed since. if the belt was never replaced then it has 200,000 miles on it. if it was replaced just prior to him getting it then it has 140,000. (recommended interval on his is 60,000)

 

the shop said they'd never seen one go so don't bother.

.

i think that's because in maine cars usually rust to death before they hit 50,000?? something doesn't sound right there, you wouldn't get that response from thousands of mechanics across the world on a 120,000 mile timing belt. i've seen lots of belts go and i'm not even a mechanic. saw one about 3 weeks ago, a friend of mines honda.

[rottenhead]

It was actually in upstate NY at the time.

 

I was dumbfounded too b/c I think a t-belt job is pretty easy money for a shop.

[b1pig]

....If you have a 2.2 non-interference engine the biggest part of the gamble is you could be stranded.....

 

here's my question. what year(s) did the interference engine run? I have a '96 Legacy L with the 2.2, so I'd love to know. The Haynes manual doesnt always have that info.... and if it does, it is buried in there somewhere.

[Guest D1Driver]

Well, my subie has 142k on it, and I have no idea if the belt has been changed. I plan on doing the job myself this weekend. Believe me, I will let everyone on here know if a DIY'er like myself can change their own belt on a 2.5 DOHC engine or not. It seems too easy of a job for me to take it and pay someone big dollars to do it. The local dealer wants $650. The OEM belt only costs $50 online!!!!!! Who is kidding who?!?!?!?!

[wondercow2]

Well, my subie has 142k on it, and I have no idea if the belt has been changed. I plan on doing the job myself this weekend. Believe me, I will let everyone on here know if a DIY'er like myself can change their own belt on a 2.5 DOHC engine or not. It seems too easy of a job for me to take it and pay someone big dollars to do it. The local dealer wants $650. The OEM belt only costs $50 online!!!!!! Who is kidding who?!?!?!?!

 

I bought my '98 2.2 leggy with 120k on it, and the owner insisted it had never had a timing belt replaced. His mechanic apparently never got the memo that 97-98 2.2s were interference!!! When I took the belt off, it looked practically new- the Subaru lettering was in excellent condition on the back of the belt and not a single tooth looked worn. I still have it rolling around my truck as an emergency "spare" (though not a useful one if my pistons have a meet 'n greet with my valves :-\ )

[porcupine73]

D1driver, sounds like a plan on replacing the timing belt! Highly suggest going OE on that belt. Also check for loose/leaking idlers. Might want to replace crank and cam seals while you're in there. NOTE: you must lock the cams on the DOHC before removing the belt or you could smash the valves into each other if the cams turn.

[Wayne Boncyk]

D1driver, sounds like a plan on replacing the timing belt! Highly suggest going OE on that belt. Also check for loose/leaking idlers. Might want to replace crank and cam seals while you're in there. NOTE: you must lock the cams on the DOHC before removing the belt or you could smash the valves into each other if the cams turn.

 

Almost, but not quite true, porcupine! Actually if you line up everything according to the Subaru alignment marks BEFORE you remove the old belt, the driver's side cams will be under spring tension and will tend to SNAP away from that alignment when the belt is removed, BUT they are both tending to go to a spot where the valves are closed, and so no valve interference will happen. Also, the pistons are all far enough away from the heads in that alignment that there is no danger of piston-valve contact. HOWEVER, if you don't start from the proper alignment position before you pull that old belt, you very well can do some valve damage.

 

In my experience (having done the job twice on my 2.5 now), it is handy to have a tool that keeps those driver's side cams from snapping out of position, but it is not necessary. Proper alignment of things before you take the old belt off is critical, though.

[idosubaru]

for the 2.2 question mentioned earlier, all 1997 and up 2.2's are interference engines. yours being the last year might be wise to double check for future reference. i don't know how to verify the new engine though.

[firstwagon]

I've driven em til they break a couple times though not on a Subaru and not on purpose.

 

I had an 88 Buick SkyHawk which snapped it's belt at 101,000 km (recommended change interval is 100,000 km). I was in the middle of nowhere (passing through Lac la Hache for anyone who knows BC) so the the towing bill and repair cost sucked.

 

The new belt snapped at 202,000 km (close to home that time). Changed it myself in under an hour for less them $50.00. (No damage to the engine either time.)

 

I think GM hides little micro charges in their belts to catch anyone who doesn't change them on time. :mad:

[RedRum]

My first car was an 85 GL and that timing belt went at 150K miles. My 97 Legacy GT I had changed at 90K and then retired the car at 190K. My wifes 01 Legacy is at 102K and it is getting changed tuesday.

[operose]

my last few cars I've changed the belt when I got them as I couldn't be sure they had ever been replaced..

 

the xt6 I'm driving now, I still haven't replaced it. or even taken the t-belt covers off....

 

setting myself up for failure, as we speak

[ericem]

SO recommended interneral is 100k? MILES, i did it every 100k KM not MILES so? Just wondering, if it wasnt install correctly would there be a noticable amount of loss in power? Or it just wont start?

[Manarius]

SO recommended interneral is 100k? MILES, i did it every 100k KM not MILES so? Just wondering, if it wasnt install correctly would there be a noticable amount of loss in power? Or it just wont start?

Recommended is 100k miles. If it's not installed correctly, the car will not start, or it will run so horribly that you might as well have not even started it. And if you install it wrong on an interference engine...byebye top end.

[Danbob]

105k and I just changed it last week. Now my idler pulley is possibly going LOL... so my car is all squeaKy...I kept the old timing belt and aside from just a little bit of marking and stiffness in the belt itself, it looks pretty good for an 11 year old 105 thousand mile piece of equipment.....Non interference is nice though because if it goes, all you have to pay for is the replacement and the tow:)

[johnceggleston]

they didn't invent the 100k limit until california demanded it. when that started, calf cars were 100k, and all others were 60k miles. and you could ignore both since the cars were non-interference.

 

once they went to 2.5 they all got 105k limit, 2.5 and 2.2s. apparently the difference is in the quality and durability of the belt.

[porcupine73]

Yah I think the 105k mi belts have Kevlar or something in them that makes them so durable. From what I've seen on endwrench it seems the vehicle will probably start if anything is one tooth off but there will be power loss; two teeth off it probably won't start and that drops compression pressure quite a bit.

[michaelbteam]

For sure-- anyone should know if their engine is interference or not. Learned the hard way with my daughter's 93 Jetta--just hadn't gotten around to changing the belt because I did not understand the consequences. I was driving it the day it stalled. Had an interesting shade tree learning experience pulling the head for valve service. That's one reason we're sticking with non-interference 2.2 subies, and even have a spare legacy in case one car dies during our hectic winter. They don't last forever, but it's fun to see how far they'll go!

For anyone with serve-yourself wrecking yard access, this summer I found a wreck with new belts, water pump, pulleys, tensioner...all for cheap, tensioners were $5, dealer price around $70. Also, good covers, since rusty cover bolts break covers. Silicone also works to glue 'em back on.

If the car does not run perfectly after TB replacement, you know you missed a tooth, do it again.

[yarikoptic]

In my experience (having done the job twice on my 2.5 now), it is handy to have a tool that keeps those driver's side cams from snapping out of position, but it is not necessary. Proper alignment of things before you take the old belt off is critical, though.

 

Guys, could you recommend any DIY manual for TB change on Outback 2.5?

I am about to "upgrade" my legacy wagon 1995 to outback ~2000 and the one I am looking at has 110k miles and no records provided, so I can't safely assume that TB was ever changed -- so I have to take things apart and have a look at it and probably I should better buy a new kit first.

The problem is that I don't have a garage and it the weather is not that great these days already but, o well, not for the first time ;-)

 

I would appreciate any directions/hints/links