Timing Belt advice

[rweddy]

I am getting ready to do my timing on my 91 LS with 171k on the ticker.

 

I plan on keeping this car for a while and want to do this right.

 

Should I swap the idler pulleys? What about the gears? I have never done these before on cars but this is the highest mileage roo I have done this one.

 

What about cam seals? I have been of the camp if they aren't leaking leave them alone.

[uniberp]

Should I swap the idler pulleys? What about the gears? I have never done these before on cars but this is the highest mileage roo I have done this one.

What about cam seals? I have been of the camp if they aren't leaking leave them alone.

If the idlers spin freely replace those. Bearings should be smooth but not loose in any way. I'd go ahead and get the cogged lower left idler, as that one seems to be the most common loose one.

 

And aligning the timing marks before removing the old belt is nearly impossible. Get the marks close and carefully move the pulleys. I'd recommend an OEM belt, just because the marks are more accurately placed.

 

Check that the crank pulley is not 'hogged' out. You might face replacing the woodruff key and possibly the crank sprocket if so. Lots of thread about that here.

 

I agree about seals.

 

Be sure to torque the crank bolt to 105 lbs.

[idosubaru]

i'd get an ebay kit that includes all of the pulleys. even though i've found the aftermarkets fine in quality and haven't heard of failures, i go with those for non-interference engines and stick with Subaru only for the most part on newer interference engines. i have no reason, and in the future i'll probably start using them more and more on the interference engines.

 

if you want to avoid aftermarket stuff a cheaper solution than new from Subaru is to just replace the bearings in the all the pulleys. they aren't very expensive but costs can quickly escalate and it depends much on your ability to find a good shop to press them in an out, sourcing the bearings, etc.

 

no matter what, i'd plan on addressing all or most of the pulleys as they are very old and most 20 year old pulleys don't have much grease in them.

 

on the XT6 all of the bearing seals are accessible and can be regreased yourself. there's a thread in the USRM with pictures on how to regrease them yourself. not sure how accessible they are on the older generation EJ stuff though. i think most of the EJ stuff is accessible and this would be a good option as well. and it's nearly free...a few cents worth of grease i suppose and a needle fitting for your grease gun if you don't have one for a few dollars.

[rweddy]

If the idlers spin freely replace those. Bearings should be smooth but not loose in any way. I'd go ahead and get the cogged lower left idler, as that one seems to be the most common loose one.

 

And aligning the timing marks before removing the old belt is nearly impossible. Get the marks close and carefully move the pulleys. I'd recommend an OEM belt, just because the marks are more accurately placed.

 

Check that the crank pulley is not 'hogged' out. You might face replacing the woodruff key and possibly the crank sprocket if so. Lots of thread about that here.

 

I agree about seals.

 

Be sure to torque the crank bolt to 105 lbs.

Thanks I agree, I never do anything with timing belts other than OEM.

I will read up about woodruff key, what is this about?

 

-R

[rweddy]

 

if you want to avoid aftermarket stuff a cheaper solution than new from Subaru is to just replace the bearings in the all the pulleys. they aren't very expensive but costs can quickly escalate and it depends much on your ability to find a good shop to press them in an out, sourcing the bearings, etc.

 

no matter what, i'd plan on addressing all or most of the pulleys as they are very old and most 20 year old pulleys don't have much grease in them.

 

on the XT6 all of the bearing seals are accessible and can be regreased yourself. there's a thread in the USRM with pictures on how to regrease them yourself. not sure how accessible they are on the older generation EJ stuff though. i think most of the EJ stuff is accessible and this would be a good option as well. and it's nearly free...a few cents worth of grease i suppose and a needle fitting for your grease gun if you don't have one for a few dollars.

Great idea about just swapping the bearings and regreasing. Thanks !

[rweddy]

What do you think about this kit?

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230160092442&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:us

[Gloyale]

Looks decent. Good price. I'd probably buy that just for the pulleys adn get a Subaru belt. I've seen issues with marks on aftermarket belts being wrong.

[idosubaru]

i've bought a number of those exact kits. they are excellent and have always worked great when i've used them. they are much better than 20 year old bearings with not much grease left in them. we've seen a number of threads involving failed pulleys, it's quite common for those with significant experience.

[Reveeen]

Water pump?

 

When was your water pump changed last?

[rweddy]

Water pump?

 

When was your water pump changed last?

I did not mention this but I always do them also while I have the front end tore apart.

 

They will sell me the kit without the belt so I will use OEM belt, oil pump & crank seal, water pump, & thermostat.