Timing Belt change question...

I know, there have been a few topics about this lately, but...

 

I called up Fred Beans to get a quote on a timing belt change; I spoke to someone in the service department and he told me that it would be around $650 total. I had an idea that it would be that much. I am not worried about the price, however I am worried about the service, and here is why; I asked what is included in the timing belt change and he told me the belt and tensioner pulley. I asked about the water pump and I was told that it is not included.

 

Am I missing something? Isn't it standard procedure to change the water pump? I just want to be sure.

 

Thanks.

I can't directly answer your question about the legacy, but I know on other cars I've worked on, it's sort of something that you do change while you're in there as a precaution b/c changing it later involves taking the timing belt off anyway.

 

In other words, if the water pump goes in another 10k miles, you need to do the timing belt job again (not with new parts, just removing and reinstalling and setting the base timing)

Some service departments feel that the waterpump can last twice as long as the timing belt. There are few if any cases of the waterpump failing on our cars, and Fred Beans, among others, don't automatically replace the waterpump unless you ask for it.

 

Some say do it since you're in there, some say it doesn't need done. It's your call.

Most seem to also not replace the tensioner either...hmmm, does that sound safe?

 

Cheers,

Mike

Most do say not to replace the tensioner. I didn't replace it in mine when I did the t-belt. I did however replace the waterpump. Which btw still looked minty fresh still in comparison with the brand new one.

Isn't it standard procedure to change the water pump?

 

in the performance world it is SOP to replace tensioner, pulleys, water pump, and sometimes even the oil pump when you do a timing belt.

 

the dealerships and most non-performance oriented shops are going to tell you what they read in a manual. Manuals follow the guidelines set forth by Subaru, which does not have a change interval for the tensioner, pulleys, water pump, and oil pump. the factory manual even tells you how to reuse the tensioner.

i used fb for my 100k, they did just fine, imo. i'd use them again.

tensioner is standard, as it should be; water pump is not, it's generally not considered a weak point -- fwiw, i had them do it anyway as cheap insurance.

i also gave auth to replace whatever necessary upon inspection (idlers, etc.) -- none needed replacing.

Thanks for the replies. It seems that it would be a good idea to spend the money on the cost of the water pump and have them replace it while they are in there changing the belt already.

 

Thanks again for the info.