possible timing belt????

hi,

its a 98 legacy GT limited, 2.5, automatic with 84K miles. Mom passed it to my son after she bought a new legacy a few months ago. He's not quite ready for it so I put the last 4K miles on it and its performed beautifully until this morning.

Its an unusually cold day here in the Atlanta area, about 19 degrees this morning but I do park the car in the garage. I turned the key and it ran for about 3 seconds and quit. When I tried to re-start it, it doesn't sound like a typical timing belt where the crank is the only thing spinning, it sounds like the distributor (if it had one) has been turned and the timing is way off.

I do most of my own work but I'm not so familiar with the Subaru motor. Any thoughts on where to start looking?

thanks!

Jeff

It could've possibly skipped a tooth. If you're familiar with the timing system and the sounds advanced or retarted timing makes, then I'd say pull the timing cover off and take a look. In fact, while you're in there it might be a good idea to replace the belt, thermostat, water pump, and any other tidbits, seeing as it's nearing the 100k mark. That's where I'd start at least.

You'll need to pull the radiator to do this, and loosen the bolt on the crank pulley to pry it off using a puller. If you need any help, just ask, and let us know how things go.

it could have jumped time.

the timing belt change interval on these engines is 105k miles or 105k months. you might ask the service department or who ever your mother took it to and see if the belt has been done. and if it was, what all was done.

if the belt breaks there is a good chance you will end up with bent valves. the 2 weak points in the timing belt setup on these is the sprocketed idler and the tensioner (new style). i'd bet the idler sprocket bearing is gone and the timing is off.

the timing belt is not hard to do if you know your way around a tool box, but there is a good chance you will do it wrong if you don't do your home work. using the wrong timing marks will end up bending valves. do not assume you can identify the right marks just by looking at the motor. you have to know before you look.

> FOR TIMING BELT ARTICLES CLICK HERE

> great timing belt pictures - click here