toni1595 Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 Well the Legacy my daughter just picked up last a few weeks ago has evidently blown a cam seal out which then caused the timing belt to let go. Of course she is at school nearly 150 miles away but, she did send me a picture of an oil trail from where she was parked. Not too much I could do for her from here. She ended up going to a local garage and they are going to replace the belt and seal to the tune of $530. Ouch! What timing, we just got done shelling between us $1900. She may have been better off at a dealership? I figured she would be good for a little while. Too bad, I probably could have done that job for under $100, and done BOTH cam seals as well. Not sure on the price of the belt. I know the 1.8 Liters have 2 belts that are around $40 at NAPA. I hear that the 2.2 L's have 1 belt and that getting the cam pulleys and such lined back up is kind of tricky. What do you guys think? Was the seal dried up from setting for a while and let go or does this type of thing happen from time to time? Toni. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 It was more likely the belt let go and the seal was going. If it truly was the seal that blew out, she should have the PCV valve replaced also. If the PCV valve is stuck it can build up pressure, but usually it will push out the dipstick. The price is actually not a bad price. How many miles are on the car? I would also replace the tensioner, idler and waterpump and be done with it. nipper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R2 Subaru Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 Bummer. I am in the middle of doing the whole timing-belt-cam-seal-deal right now on my '98 Impreza. The parts cost me about $200 or so with a new water pump. The belt was like $50 and the seals are cheap. getting in there has been kind of interesting. From the research I have done the seals go all the time. Like ALL THE TIME. Mine dribble oil though not big pools in the driveway. My mechanic said he would do the t-belt for $400-$500 so $530 sounds totally reasonable. you might as well have the water pump done too while they are in there and check the other seals too. If they do the water pump make them use a Subaru t-stat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R2 Subaru Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 So when your doing cam seals and the water pump should you use sealant with the new cam seals? how bout on the water pump? Also if a cam seal isn't leaking should I replace it or just leave it alone? Sorry to steal the thread:rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcspeer Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 I see from past post you have a 95, that's good you wont have to worry about the interference of valves and pistons. Well the Legacy my daughter just picked up last a few weeks ago has evidently blown a cam seal out which then caused the timing belt to let go. Of course she is at school nearly 150 miles away but, she did send me a picture of an oil trail from where she was parked. Not too much I could do for her from here. She ended up going to a local garage and they are going to replace the belt and seal to the tune of $530. Ouch! What timing, we just got done shelling between us $1900. She may have been better off at a dealership? I figured she would be good for a little while. Too bad, I probably could have done that job for under $100, and done BOTH cam seals as well. Not sure on the price of the belt. I know the 1.8 Liters have 2 belts that are around $40 at NAPA. I hear that the 2.2 L's have 1 belt and that getting the cam pulleys and such lined back up is kind of tricky. What do you guys think? Was the seal dried up from setting for a while and let go or does this type of thing happen from time to time? Toni. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toni1595 Posted March 25, 2007 Author Share Posted March 25, 2007 It has approximately 137K on the clock and according to the maintenance records the belt shouldn't have been on there too long. Well at least she has a base to go on from now. I told her to make sure she keeps track of the miles for that purpose (timing belt change). I hope this will keep her going for now because I am currently working on the Wife's Chevy Venture trying to get that so it will take a sticker. Meanwhile, the belt on my daily driver has over 60 K on it right now and it don't look like it will get done for at least another couple of weeks. By the way, do any of you guys know how far one of those belts will go? I'd like to just keep driving it and use the parts that I bought for the Sub. I picked up last summer. Not that it needs them but, I'm sure that down the road I'll have to do the same to that one, which I can't get on the road until warmer weather comes. I know first hand that if you lose one of the belts, the car stops running immediately. And then I'm faced with getting it towed to a place where I can repair it. I'm probably better off just putting on the belts to make sure I'll stay going for the time being. I'll see if I can set some time this summer to have her come up and I'll go in and replace the parts that need to be done. She seems to worry a lot about her vehicles but, I suppose she is a women and doesn't want to get stuck somewhere in harms way. Toni. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltik Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 If were talking about a Legacy here then it will of course have an EJ series engine and ONE timing belt, unless of course your referring to the EA82 which does have 2 belts. Yes getting the marks lined up is tricky but im about to do the same job (replace seals and belts) on the front of a quad cam motor. I see headaches in my future. Oh also i managed to pick up a kit containing all front seals, tensioners, cam belt and water pump for $500 NZD. Not sure how good a deal that is compared to what you get in the US of A. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toni1595 Posted March 26, 2007 Author Share Posted March 26, 2007 Not to get off topic but,she called yesterday afternoon to tell me that the car wouldn't start. I guess she went to Pizza Hut and was in the car eating and had the radio on and it just died. When she tried to start it, nothing. So, she called someone and got a boost and it took right off. Then she had only went a short ways and it quit again and would not start of course. Funny thing, she had just been to Sears a week ago or so and they checked out the battery and said it was fine. I guess the general consensus from her nearby relatives is that the alternator is shot because they unhooked the cables while it was running and the motor died. I've heard that this isn't a good thing to do on newer cars, is this so? Does anyone have any ideas about this one? I guess she is considering taking her old Buick back and let me keep the Sub. so that I can work on it for a while. Toni. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OB99W Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 [...]I guess the general consensus from her nearby relatives is that the alternator is shot because they unhooked the cables while it was running and the motor died. I've heard that this isn't a good thing to do on newer cars, is this so?[...] It does seem that the alternator isn't putting enough (or anything) out if the engine won't run when battery cables are disconnected. That doesn't necessarily mean the alternator is defective; since the front of the engine was recently worked on, I'd suggest first checking that nothing got disturbed in the process. Someone may just have forgotten to reconnect something, and the car ran on what charge the battery had for a couple of days. You're correct, it's not a good practice to disconnect the battery with the engine running. Alternators need the battery load to smooth their output; it acts like a large capacitor. Without the battery, voltage spikes from even a properly functioning alternator can sometimes be high enough to damage electronics in modern vehicles. Since the engine died when the battery cable was pulled, however, it seems that the alternator wasn't putting much out and so the likelihood of damage is pretty low. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashleem Posted March 28, 2007 Share Posted March 28, 2007 hi all... i am the daughter with the '95 legacy that has given me more pain than joy over the last week or so... at the mechanics, i got the timing belt, cam seal, crank seal, air filter, fuel filter, spark plugs, wires, and pcv valve replaced, for a grand total of $231.80 in parts, plus another $275 in labor. it had just hit 138k about 5 miles before i got to the garage. i brought the car home on friday. two days later, on sunday, it died in the middle of a busy intersection by the mall that i work at. my grandfather and uncle came to the consensus pretty quickly that it was the alternator, and i was in no position to disagree. i had seen what happened to my buick when the alternator in that went. my uncle took the alternator off, noticed it had been spray painted (!) silver to make it look new (although the receipts my father has indicates that it was purchased used). he took it to NAPA and got it tested, and sure enough it was deemed dead as a doornail. another $140 down. he also mentioned that the belt was on wicked tight, thanks to the mechanics. could that have caused the alternator to go? can anyone give me any words of encouragement here? i do love the car when its running, but right now i have a pretty gloomy outlook on it. i'm considering taking bets on whats gonna go next. i just hope it waits at least a little while so i can allow my poor bank account to replenish... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzam Posted March 28, 2007 Share Posted March 28, 2007 Keep your chin up, plenty of 95 Subies with more milage than yours. We have one with almost 160k on it. I replaced the alternator in it at 120k. The bearings when in it. I've never had good luck with Sears automotive either.:-\ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toni1595 Posted March 29, 2007 Author Share Posted March 29, 2007 On behalf of the USMB, welcome aboard Ash. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the worst is probably behind you now........ Many times when buying a used car, the previous owner knows of the problems but, isn't going to let on and risk not selling it. That is one advantage of buying at a sales place, you usually get a 30 day/ 1000 mile warranty at the very least. Which would have covered the repairs in this case. I know the people here will make you feel right at home just as they have me. So if you have a problem, don't be afraid to get online and ask away. Good luck (from now on) with your Subie, Love, Dad/ Toni. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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