legacycentral bbs

how do you know when it is time or getting close to time to change it. i have 236000 and it seems to be running well but should i be aware. i do drive my leg a little hard sometimes on these mountian roads. it is in the plans to replace it just cause since i have had the car i know it has not been done. it couldnt be the original still could it?

def not the original, supposed to be replaced every 60,000 miles, look for cracks, oil, and missing teeth on the belt, if any of the above are noted i would replace it, and the seals, and the water pump, and idler pulley's if there gone, and maybe even your oil pump

You are supposed to replace it every 60k miles.

I ran my old 95 Legacy on a timing belt for just about 200k miles before replacing it, and I only did so because I resealed the front engine. Not a suggested practice, that's for sure.

Open the cover and visually inspect it. If it is cracked or worn on the edges time for a new one.
Also, my motto with any wear item which eventually needs to be replaced is "If you don't know how old it is, its probably time to replace it."

Bdub that is a good motto. so do you just take of the timing belt cover. i am guessing that is the black plastic cover right behind the radiator. is it ok to open or does oil and crap come out. so if you see oil on the belt i guess there could be a leak. how much would this cost 200.

cost for someone else to do it...alot cost for yourself to do it w/ wp,op,seals and rollers is going to run you between 230-300. to take the cover off you need to remove the alternator and ac pulley belts and then take off your crank pulley. the covers are easy to break and the gasket between them will be gone to shit if it has oil on it. don't use the old gasket if it has oil on it, thats why i had to tow my car home one early monday morning because the gasket got caught in the camm pulley and caused the belt to skip a few teeth.

especially if its been a long time since the crank pulley has been off, you are going to need one hell of a breaker bar or a cheater bar to slip over a regular 1/2" drive.

Kinda off topic but I have a JDM motor from Tiger Japanese importers and they say they have like 40-60K miles on them. I have a new timing belt and idlers already. Do I need to replace the water pump and oil pump and any seals? Or should I just hope they're good and just doing the idlers and belt?

Where would I get these items from for a 95 EJ20 DOHC motor?

You never "need" to replace anything until it fails. If you get on down the road with old parts, then they are (by definition) fine.

I have almost 190k on an original water pump, it's fine. Same oil pump too. I Just took it apart last night and the oil pump gears look great. No interference problems and no spacing issues. Water pump looks good too. both spin fine. I'm replacing them just because I'm rebuilding the whole engine, but it was my choice. They are both east enough to do with the engine in the car but since I have the engine out, and have a huge laundry list of things to do to this car and I'll probably sell it after I'm done, I figured a new part here and there is in order.

You only need to replace seals if they are leaking. So check around for oily residue. My outlook on seals though is they are cheap and easy to replace, especially those since you'll have the timing section apart mostly anyways. That being said, K.I.S.S. and "if it aint broke, dont fix it" both apply.

The engine is not in the car so anything that needs to be done would be best if it were done now.

I'm always parnoid of trying to replace something that works fine and end up with something else that no longer works afterwards or breaking something.

I think I'll leave the stock oil and water pumps until they break and check the seals to see if they're leaking. I doubt this motor will be in the car for a real long time anyways.

Sounds like a logical plan. Yeah they are super easy to do while the engine is out, but if they are fine then why mess with it and why spend the money. I even had a hard time convincing myself to replace the water pump in this one, but hell 190k the thing has done its job. Seals are easy enough so check for previous leakage and if even any is suspected, you might as well do those.

How can you tell if it's the original belt?

I need to check both (actually all three now), white wagon is 210K, Wife's Blue wagon is at 184K, and the new '95 shows 137K.

You pretty much can't. I bet that there is no writing left on the belt if there was any to begin with.

You just need to look at the condition of the belt, to see if it's on its way out. Any wear on the teef, and it should hit the trashcan before it leaves you on the side of the road.

cool... They shoulda stamped a build date into them at the factory. I know when I change them I'll put it on the core support in perm marker w/ the milage....

Yep I just put data like that either in a binder, or in an excel file....

When I got my first legacy I was driving it the next day and the timing belt snapped while I was passing a truck with a horse trailer in tow and 2 cars in one pass. I got almost passed them all and all of the sudden I had no power and started slowing down and all my dash lights came on. Then I had to let the people pass me while I was still in the wrong lane so I could pull over. I think they had written in the engine bay with a marker what the milage was when it was last changed and it had 120K miles on the belt. So I would definately change that thing if it's got 60+ miles on it unless you don't mind being stranded somewhere.

well there is no oil leaking. there is oil buildup on the oil filter always. i just want the car to be good as new even though i have not had any major mechanical problems yet except for axles. that seems to be the weak link

on the FWD cars, you bet. Those front halfshafts take a beating, especially if you light them up. With stock size tires it doesnt take much throttle, and really wears em out when driving out of turns.

If you want the car to be "good as new", then you gotta long ways to go If it runs great, just keep an eye on it. What did the timing belt look like? If there is oil on exterior of the filter, it may be coming from above (cam seal or valve cover).

I just took my timing belt cover off and was going to replace the idlers and belt but there is an oil leak in the oil pump.

Where do I get an oil pump for a 95 JDM EJ20?

when i did mine a couple monthe ago, it still had the stock belt on and the three white lines and it said made in japan. the thing seemed to be in nice condition even though it was covered in oil. but, i'm doing it all again this weekend because i did not use oem seals and now there leaking after 2 months. when you do the seals make sure u use oem and dont get any oil at all on the outside edge of the seal and clean the seal housing really well. put 1 small drop of oil on the inside ring of the seal where it goes on the crank. the last one that failed, non oem also, was shredded to shit cause it popped out

If they put a mfg. date on the belt, it wouldn't help since it could sit in a warehouse or shelf for a while.

Replacing the water pump is always good practice, especially if you don't know how old it is. Why wait until you're leaking coolant a week, a month, whatever later and have to do the job again? Parts should be under $120 from subaruparts.com (might be more now). I've seen local dealers offer $160 timing belt replacements. Add $100 for a water pump (and the part's mark up) and that's about what you should pay someone else to do it.

If you do it yourself, check all pulleys for free spinning movement and scratchy noise. Replace as necessary and I'd do the tensioner at that age. Had one go. Seemed good when I changed the belt not long before. That sucked. That's another $130 or so, but it going can eat the belt and leave you stranded, making you do the whole thing again, plus a likely tow charge.

Crank pulley bolt needs to be 110-120 ft./lbs.

IF the belt goes... are Subies a zero clearance (valves hit pistons)or is it just a PITA to get everything retimed?

non interference and easy as pie

That makes be feel a little better, I had a Mitsu Eclipse Turbo, and heads for them are $$$ because they are zero clearance ... I've seen some really screwed up valves and heads, and didn't want to be worrying about that.

I don't think all subaru engines are non interference motors. I think the EJ22s are but I thought I read yesterday that the DOHC motors are interference.

kimokalihi wrote:I don't think all subaru engines are non interference motors. I think the EJ22s are but I thought I read yesterday that the DOHC motors are interference.

that's right