Timing belt - when to change

[allanmcc]

I have what i thought was a 2001 model year legacy 2.5 lt. According to the service booklet for it the timing belt is to be done at 60,000 miles for MY2001 but at 45,000 miles for MY2000. I have also seen a spec in a US manual for 105,000 miles. Previously I had the belt changed @ 60,000 miles and it was OK. Yesterday @ the 90,000 mile service the main Subaru dealer changed the belt saying for my model it was 45,000 mile intervals. This despite the fact that when they did the 45,000 mile service before they did not change the belt! Surely for 2000 and 2001 the belt would be the same and thus be changed at same interval? Based on my previous experience I think I will stick to a 60,000 mile interval. Where can I get definative info for my particular car and how do I determine which model year it is? I guess Subaru UK would be the best place? My local dealer seems confused!!

[nipper]

I have what i thought was a 2001 model year legacy 2.5 lt. According to the service booklet for it the timing belt is to be done at 60,000 miles for MY2001 but at 45,000 miles for MY2000. I have also seen a spec in a US manual for 105,000 miles. Previously I had the belt changed @ 60,000 miles and it was OK. Yesterday @ the 90,000 mile service the main Subaru dealer changed the belt saying for my model it was 45,000 mile intervals. This despite the fact that when they did the 45,000 mile service before they did not change the belt! Surely for 2000 and 2001 the belt would be the same and thus be changed at same interval? Based on my previous experience I think I will stick to a 60,000 mile interval. Where can I get definative info for my particular car and how do I determine which model year it is? I guess Subaru UK would be the best place? My local dealer seems confused!!

 

Sheesh I dont have a clue.

 

Here in north america its 106,000 miles for the 2.5L engine. If this wasnt an interference engine, I would say let it go. But since its an interference engine i would be cautous. What I would do is call another dealership and ask them when your timing belt should be changed. I have never heard of such a short interval as 45,000 miles. Even when timing belts were "new" (1970's) they had to bechanged at 60,000 miles.

Something stinks here, and i'm not sure what exactly. Subaru is a small company, so to save costs if something works in one country, they should be carrying it over to all countries.

 

Is your "serivice manual" the owners manual? Also are you confusing inspect with replace? I would expect it to be a 106,000 mile interval.

 

go to www.cars101.com to see the North America specs.

 

nipper

[porcupine73]

Is the timing belt part number different for U.S. vs other spec vehicles? It is possible they are made from different materials. Generally the >100k mile recommended service intervals have to do with emissions specs such as Calif. where certain items cannot have required maintenance intervals of less than 100k miles.

[nipper]

I just asked my freind in London, UK who drives 30,000 miles a year. He said the recomended interval there is between 60,000 - 80,000 miles depending upon the car.

 

So i was correct in thinking that 45,000 is really too low.

 

 

nipper

[LuckyStrike]

Haynes says replace at 105,000 miles or 105 months, whichever comes first.

 

inspect every 30,000 miles

[nipper]

Haynes says replace at 105,000 miles or 105 months, whichever comes first.

 

inspect every 30,000 miles

 

 

Thats for a north american vehical. Cars that look exactly the same can be very differnt on differnt continents and in differnt countries.

 

nipper

[welly]

Thanks for the replys guys. It does seem a bit of a lottery. Did a search here for timing belts and there has been lots of discussiion threads and varying milages recomended. I think I will go with at least 60 k miles and probably inspect for longer mileage.

[idosubaru]

i've never heard of less than 60,000 miles on any subaru...though what nipper said trumps the US folks that don't know much about over sea markets.

[GWT500]

Hi New Here

 

Got a 99 Outback with 142K. I suppose its time for the timing belt switch, overdue actually. I ask my mechanic and he won't say yes or no. He also said that the problem is not so much the belt breaking as it is one of the idlers seizing up and you can hear a bad idler bearing. He is a Very experienced Subaru mechanic and only works on Subarus. No doubt he has replaced timing belts/idlers and related parts 100s of times. He has over 30 years experience.

I've heard here that its recommended if you arn't sure to at least check it before:-\ letting it go. So how does one check it? If you go to all the trouble of having a mechanic remove the belt covers. Doesn't it make more since to just finish the job and replacing the parts?

[nipper]

800.00 vs 2000 dollars

Just change it when in doubt. It is every 105000 miles. You can not just look at it and tell .

[ShawnW]

We drive a lot more miles per year than most countries average driver does. I can see it being lower overseas to account for this. I recall it being a time interval as well like 8 years or 105K miles.

 

I still think 60K is a good idea. I do the belt every 60, and the WP and belt idlers every 120.