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Timing Belt Kit To Use Now That Gates Is Made In China


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I'm at the point where I need to change out the timing belt. Gates used to be the go-to kit but there are a bunch of negative reviews that the kit has changed to Chinese parts and some say the tensioner makes disturbing noises.

 

I did a bunch of searching to see if there is another recommended kit but I couldn't find it if it's already been covered.

 

Do I go OEM? Here is my parts list for that but I'm missing the 4th idler pulley that the kits say they include. I couldn't see where it is in the online parts diagrams.

 

-OEM Belt 13028AA240 $112

-OEM Tensioner 13033AA042 $114

-OEM Idler, Left Upper 13085AA080 $65

-OEM Idler, Left Lower 13073AA230 $57

-OEM Idler, Right 13073AA142 $57

-OEM Idler, ?????

 

That comes to $405 which is a far cry from the GATES TCK328N kit at $175 or even the GATES TCK328RB blue kit for $275. However much better than a failure in the end.

 

Pricing is from subaruonlineparts.com and rockauto.com

Opinions?

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I'm at the point where I need to change out the timing belt. Gates used to be the go-to kit but there are a bunch of negative reviews that the kit has changed to Chinese parts and some say the tensioner makes disturbing noises.

 

I did a bunch of searching to see if there is another recommended kit but I couldn't find it if it's already been covered.

 

Do I go OEM? Here is my parts list for that but I'm missing the 4th idler pulley that the kits say they include. I couldn't see where it is in the online parts diagrams.

 

-OEM Belt 13028AA240 $112

-OEM Tensioner 13033AA042 $114

-OEM Idler, Left Upper 13085AA080 $65

-OEM Idler, Left Lower 13073AA230 $57

-OEM Idler, Right 13073AA142 $57

-OEM Idler, ?????

 

That comes to $405 which is a far cry from the GATES TCK328N kit at $175 or even the GATES TCK328RB blue kit for $275. However much better than a failure in the end.

 

Pricing is from subaruonlineparts.com and rockauto.com

Opinions?

 

Whatever kit you decide on, the 2010-12 Legacy Gt has a water pump that is not compatible with any other models. I ended up buying a Continental kit, figuring out the pump was a no go and ordering a Subaru pump. Still waiting on the pump

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You may get Chinese idler(s) in your Gates kit. That happened to me and I felt compelled to spend an extra $55 at the Subaru dealer parts counter for an OEM idler.

 

I do not want cheap Chinese parts to do a timing belt service on my interference engine. Ancient Chinese saying: "Your engine may have short life." Avoid Gates until they go back to doing things right! Don't encourage this kind of crap. :mad:

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I recently bought the Gates timing kit w/water pump from another member on here, price was to good to pass up. Luckily to my surprise, everything was made in Japan, so no need to swap out any of the pulleys.

 

Yes, there are several issues with the newer Gates (Chinese kits) where the pulleys would only last 20k miles.

 

Since you order the Gates timing kit, make sure you look at each pulley from where it's made. If it's made in China, send it back for a refund. This is something you don't want to go cheap on, because if the pulley fails and the belt skips, you'll be looking for a new shortblock or valves.

My wife's balls are delicious.
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Haven't heard any members using the ACDelco kit, but the brand is reliable. You can be our 1st to keep us updated on this kit.

 

Do you know where all the pulleys where made from? This would be good info for the rest of the members.

My wife's balls are delicious.
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OEM or go away.

 

It's not worth a $225 gamble to see if the engine explodes. There are some stuff I'll buy aftermarket, but critical engine components are OEM every time. Cheapasses.

I could suck start a snow blower.
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...critical engine components are OEM every time. Cheapasses.

If you look at the photos of the components from the Aisin kit, you can see they are OEM components. So, less expensive than the Subaru dealer, but not cheap.

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That's what I'm getting at. Buy good stuff. Quit trying to save a buck on something like a timing belt.

 

Gates used to be the OEM for the 4 gens, but that has now change. Even if you buy OEM, make sure to look where it was made from.

My wife's balls are delicious.
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So I've had three 4th geners tell me to go with an Aisin kit. From what I see Aisin does not make a kit for the 5th gen LGT. Does the 4th gen kit fit the 5th? Am I missing something? I'd purchase from Aisin in a heartbeat if I knew they had something that would work.
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So I've had three 4th geners tell me to go with an Aisin kit. From what I see Aisin does not make a kit for the 5th gen LGT. Does the 4th gen kit fit the 5th? Am I missing something? I'd purchase from Aisin in a heartbeat if I knew they had something that would work.

 

If I was one of them, I apologize. I sometimes don't realize when I'm replying to a 5th Gen thread :redface: Continental is another brand that can be trusted.

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partsgeek.com will tell you what's OEM. I used them to find which parts to buy then cross shopped Amazon and Rock auto for the lowest prices when I did the timing belt and water pump on my Supra.
I could suck start a snow blower.
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partsgeek.com will tell you what's OEM. I used them to find which parts to buy then cross shopped Amazon and Rock auto for the lowest prices when I did the timing belt and water pump on my Supra.

 

Thanks for the tip, Unfortunately Gates is listed as OE or OE Improved. Improved profit margin no doubt.

 

Also, thank you 4th genners for letting me know I wasn't missing something huge. I'll check out the idlers that come with the Gates kit paying special attention to the mfr and markings on the bearings.

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In that case I'd check with some of the vendors on here, someone should be able to get you a discount on OEM parts. That or find a dealership that has an enthusiast client base. My local Subaru dealership has a phenomenal local club discount for example.
I could suck start a snow blower.
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