"Camshaft Drive Belt" = Timing Belt?

Yes this is the timing belt. It's not really necessary to take half the engine apart to access the belt, just the stuff on the front- crank pulley, accessory belts and timing covers. It's a few hours of labor but not that terrible. To inspect the belt it's only necessary to remove one of the covers, which can be done without any other disassembly. As long as a small portion of the belt is visible it can be checked for tightness, cracks, and damaged teeth. You can certainly replace it now if you want, but unless you expect to reach 100K in the near future this may be premature. Have it inspected at least, this will give an idea of its condition. It is also recommended to replace certain other parts at the same time as the timing belt, due to their being located under the timing cover and therefore exposed at the time the belt is being replaced. This will avoid duplicating the same labor should those parts fail later on. This includes the timing belt tensioner and pullies, water pump, crankshaft seal and cam seals. How much of this additional work you choose to perform at the same time depends on how long you plan to keep the car and how much you are willing to spend on preventive maintenance.

I'm going to change the timing belt on my 2000 Forester next month at ~100,000 miles. As suggested by others it's wise to change the water pump at the same time and if there is any evidence of oil pump seal leaking the pump should be resealed and the same for the crankshaft seal. My dealer quoted me 5-$600 for the belt & water pump replacement. I've decided to do it myself as the OEM belt is 87 dollars and a new Bosch water pump is 55 dollars9 $91 for a new Suby pump). I will of course check the oil pump and crank seals as well as the tensioner and idler pulleys. I do not like timing belts in general because I consider them a maintance wear item that is costly. My old Saab had a roller chain that ran in oil and had no replacement schedule. O-well my Suby has had Zero problems in 99,000 miles so I'm way ahead of most vehicles I've owned and I love my vehicle and will buy another when I get to 150,000 or so. Cheers. Ed

I don't understand the worth of inspecting the timing belt. My mechanic showed me a few out of his garbage. Except for the break, they looked perfect.

Yes a belt can look good but have broken cords inside so you'll never know till it breaks or so I have read.

In message - snipped-for-privacy@x.files writes: :>

:>On Sat, 12 Nov 2005 19:30:05 -0500, BRH wrote: :>

:>>In the manual for my 2001 Forester, it recommends that the "Camshaft :>>Drive Belt" be inspected every 30K miles. Is this the same thing as the :>>timing belt? If so, how does it get inspected? (I've always been told :>>that replacing it is labor-intensive due to the need to take half the :>>engine apart to get to it, so I assume the same needs to be done to :>>inspect it.) :>>

:>>The manual recommends Camshaft Belt replacement at 105K miles. I'm :>>right at 62K right now and anticipate a number of long trips in the next :>>2 months. So, if this is the timing belt, Should I consider replacing :>>it now? :>>

:>>Thanks! :>

:>Yes this is the timing belt. It's not really necessary to take half :>the engine apart to access the belt, just the stuff on the front- :>crank pulley, accessory belts and timing covers. It's a few hours of :>labor but not that terrible. To inspect the belt it's only necessary :>to remove one of the covers, which can be done without any other :>disassembly. As long as a small portion of the belt is visible it can :>be checked for tightness, cracks, and damaged teeth. :>You can certainly replace it now if you want, but unless you expect to :>reach 100K in the near future this may be premature. Have it inspected :>at least, this will give an idea of its condition. :>It is also recommended to replace certain other parts at the same time :>as the timing belt, due to their being located under the timing cover :>and therefore exposed at the time the belt is being replaced. This :>will avoid duplicating the same labor should those parts fail later :>on. This includes the timing belt tensioner and pullies, water pump, :>crankshaft seal and cam seals. How much of this additional work you :>choose to perform at the same time depends on how long you plan to :>keep the car and how much you are willing to spend on preventive :>maintenance.

Speaking from experience ($$) - Get the crankshaft seal replaced (even if the mechanic says "it looks ok")!!

When the dealership replaced my timing belt (94 Legacy), they didn't mention about replacing anything else. About 6 months later the front oil seal let go and it was a very expensive repair.

Rob

You do not need to replace the belt at 65,000 miles. The book says

105,000 and some run far more than that. I'm replacing mine at ~ 100,000 as it is convent to do so.

I changed the timing belt on our '85 Volvo turbo when I found out I should have done it years before 8^O Anyway, sometimes it is better to be lucky than smart. My motorhead brother happened to visit in the middle of the job and showed me how the teeth could be picked off the old one with his thumbnail! The belt looked okay otherwise. (Good thing it was a non-interference engine, though.)

Probably the only thing an inspection will do for you is reveal if oil is leaking on it (bad news) or if it is being chewed up by a foreign object.

Mike

I've owned a 1996 Legacy 2.2 since new, the car has only done 62 Kays but as the car is nearing the ten year mark I decided to get the cambelt changed. Mechanic charged me for three hours work which I was happy with, and according to him the belt was still in as new condition.

Point he did mention that eased my mind was that the engine was free running, so even if the cambelt did snap there would be no damage to the engine. John.