Timing, Oil, etc

I'm getting ready to replace the timing belt in my 99 Forester. The car has 130,000 Miles on the original timing belt. I'm gonna try this myself as I'm a poor student. The plus side is I'm in no hurry, I don't drive it very often. I'm already going with the new belt and water pump. Should I assume I need a new Tensioner? (How do I tell?) What else should I replace while I've get everything open?

Also, I'm leaking/burning oil. I loose 1 or 2 quart every 3000 miles. Any ideas on this?

Thanks.

Reply to
tsii
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Here's my post on the subject:

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Reply to
Jim Stewart

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Reply to
Edward Hayes

In my experience, every time I get to replace a timing belt I find that the idler bearings do not sound too well.

YOu may need to replace the tensioner if you see that it is leaking oil from the shaft seal. Remember that to reinstall it, you need to compress it slowly, and hold it retracted by using a strong pin.

Make sure you have the means to tighten the cranckshaft harmonic balancer bolt. You need to keep the motor from turning and give the bolt the proper torque (about 120 ft-lb) to avoid costly damages.

I never had the need to replace the water pump or the oil pump o-ring, but it seems to be a common practice.

Remember to mark all relative positions of the belt and sprockets so you can be sure everything ends up in sync.

Good luck

tsii wrote:

Reply to
AS

There's a good chance that anything with a ball bearing is bad at 130K miles. With my Toyotas, the idlers get replaced every other timing belt change (at 120K). By that time the bearings are starting to get loose and noisy.

BTW, on the 2002 WRX Subaru is very picky about how you compress the tensioner. They say is it must be done vertically, not in a vice. It would be a good idea to get a peek at the factory service manual before you start. Also lining up the two cylinder banks is non intuitive as described in the book. I haven't done one yet so I don't know if things make more sense when you have the engine opened up. The WRX engine is a bit more tricky to work on because the valves can run into each other. I have no idea if any of this applies to the 99 Forester.

One trick I've used is to put match marks on the old timing belt and then transfer them to the new one. This helps a lot if you run into the case where the belt wants to mount between two teeth.

This would be considered 'normal'. If you don't see any obvious leaks, don't worry about it. It's on the high side, but within the engine's specs.

Reply to
Kurt Krueger

Ok, I pulled the driver's side belt cover today to take a look at the belt. It looks perfect. I don't see any signs of breaking or cracking in the teeth. A fair amount of dust, but I can't see any oil. As far as wear, nothing obvious, but I've never seen a new one. As I can only see a small portion of the belt I turned the engine over and looked again, nothing new. Do you think this is a good enough sample to call it good?

As a side note on the milage, the engine was replaced at 40K do to a hole in the oil pan. Assuming the (used) replacement engine had a new belt, I could be looking at only 100K on this belt. (the replacement had about 30k miles on it). Either way, how long can you push these things? I know the consequences of a failed belt, but I really don't have the money right now and it looks fine to me.

Reply to
tsii

I changed out my TB at ~ 100K miles and careful inspection indicated it was good for many more miles. An external inspection however, will not show when the cords i.e. Kevlar start to break down. I assume that Subaru, like most other respectable manufactures put a 2 X safety factor into the their recommendation for stuff like timing belts. How long will it last? Too many factors like temperature, idler bearings, TB tensioner and water pump to predict but, I'd be uncomfortable going out more than 130,000.

You may want to check the PCV valve & hoses that can cause increased oil consumption. Ed

Reply to
Edward Hayes

Change the tensioner. If you muck up reinstalling the old one by not compressing it right, it could cost you a damaged engine.

Not a worry given your engine mileage and age.

Your call. I'd change it if it were mine.

No way to tell. It could run another 100k miles or it could break in 20k. We can't predict the future.

Reply to
Jim Stewart

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