abeauch Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 I have a 98 Outback 2.5l dohc engine in the middle of a timing belt installation problem. I bought a timing belt kit from a local parts store that contained belt, two idlers, and tensior pulley. One of the idler pulleys off my engine is the double bearing idler. The kit contains only single bearing idlers. I also found I have the older style tensioner in my vehicle. I called the dealer and my vin states I should have the newer style tensioner. He's telling me that at some point the engine must have been replaced? The big question is will it hurt to use the single bearing idler? Could I use the old idler. It seems to be in good condition. Still rolls smooth. I have 190,000 on the car, not really sure what the engine really has for mileage. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincentmoy Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 I have a 98 Outback 2.5l dohc engine in the middle of a timing belt installation problem. I bought a timing belt kit from a local parts store that contained belt, two idlers, and tensior pulley. One of the idler pulleys off my engine is the double bearing idler. The kit contains only single bearing idlers. I also found I have the older style tensioner in my vehicle. I called the dealer and my vin states I should have the newer style tensioner. He's telling me that at some point the engine must have been replaced? The big question is will it hurt to use the single bearing idler? Could I use the old idler. It seems to be in good condition. Still rolls smooth. I have 190,000 on the car, not really sure what the engine really has for mileage. Thanks How many Cam sprocket you have on each side? If it's a 2.5 it should have 2 (up and down) on each side and a total of 4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebugs Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 I'd look again. Most kits come with double bearing idlers. It must be an incredibly generic set. I'd take it back and get an Ebay kit. I assume you're doing crank/cam seals, WP, oil pump screws, spark plugs, etc - the usual stuff? Comcast issues today - my first response was lost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Skip had a failure where the single row bearing was in the spot for the double row bearing. Subaru now ships the double row bearing for both positions. Not sure what some of the aftermarket kits are using. Someone posted a pic of a kit recently and it looked to me like both smooth idlers were single row but was hard to tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebugs Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Yea - I love that pic of Skip's engine. The Ebay kits ship nothing but doubles, so do the dealer kits but they are pricey. My local parts place the kit somes with doubles. But they aren't cost effective. Ebay with the PCI kits with the GMB bearings has been working for me as the best value. Compared to no replacement, dealer prices, or chain or local parts store's kits. I use and stick with "theimportexperts" because I like to build relationships. Others appear to sell the same kits at the same prices. I just stick with these guys even though they are at the other side of the country (as all these guys seem to be). On the rare occasion that I have a problem I'd like to think that I get better service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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