Friday, November 19, 2010

What was your experiense with timing belt change for Subaru Impreza?

This is a major maintenance I got to do and I'd like more information on it.



How important is it to do it early, versus being 10k to 30k over recommended mileage?



Was it fixed right away or did it need adjustments afterwards?



How did the car feel with the new timing belt?



Did you select a particular brand of a timing belt?



What other repairs did you do simultaneously to cut down on cost?



That should keep you busy for a hot minute dear answerer!What was your experiense with timing belt change for Subaru Impreza?
Depending on the climate that the car is driven in , I would say that the timing belt should be replaced no later than 90,000 miles. This is to prevent having a timing belt failure that could cause more damage... Especially on a 2.5 DOHC engine, I believe that those are considered ';interference'; engines and if the belt brakes during running, you will most likely bend several valves and that requires cylinder head repair...

There is a possibility that the water pump is driven by the timing belt and if so the labor would be less to replace the pump at the same time as the timing belt as compared to doing it at a different date by itself...

As far as adjustments, the timing belt has a self adjust feature and should not require adjustment..



I always use Gates belts, Just my preference based on my experience..What was your experiense with timing belt change for Subaru Impreza?
Sincere thanks to all who gave advice,



I changed it at 84K - mechanic's comment ';it was old, good time to change it.';

Cost 421 USD for belt, waterpump and labor.

Estimates I had for just the timing belt: dealer 450, AXP 300, Another Mech 550.

Report Abuse


For Subarus, the maintenance schedule recommends replacing the timing belt at 105,000 miles.



This is not something to skimp on. Is it going to fail exactly at 105k? Not likely. Is it worth risking your engine? Your call. If the timing belt breaks, you will be looking at new cylinder heads and a engine rebuild. Your car isn't going to feel any different with a new timing belt, unless your timing happened to be off beforehand. This is just a wear item that needs to be replaced. There's no ';adjustments'; unless you screw up the timing. There's really no benefit to going to anything other than the OEM belt, unless you just like the peace of mind a kevlar belt might give you. You'll also want to replace the water pump, the oil pump, timing belt tensioner, and idler pulleys while you're in there.



I don't consider this the easiest task for the average shadetree mechanic, so depending on your skill level, you might want to consider going to a mechanic for this particular maintenance.
It is very important to have the timing belt changed. If it breaks while driving it could damage your engine. Take it to the dealer they will do it right. Follow that maintenance schedule in your manual that is all you need to do. Subaru will warranty the parts for 1 year. If within the one year that car is damaged due to say a faulty part that was installed during a service Subaru covers that. No other garage will do that
Timing belt replacement is recommended for cars with 60K miles (for 1997 and older cars) ...or at 90K miles for 1998 cars and newer) When a timing belt breaks, your engine stops. That is why it should be done before that risk occurs.

No comments:

Post a Comment