My timing belt story

So I have had a legacy gt turbo for almost two years. I have read many things on this forum that helped me. I needed a timing belt changed, so i found Fred beans parts on here and ordered the timing belt kit. Now Subaru recommends you change it at 105,000 miles or 169,000 kilometers. I'm in Canada we use kilometers. i didn't have the money so i had to wait. Finally got the money together and bought the parts from Fred beans. They were stuck in Canada customs for 3 weeks . Finally got the parts this week and got my mechanic to do the work, Now car runs good

 

Reason for this post is my mileage> As i said i didnt have the funds to fix the car. My mileage was 177,000 km or 110,000 miles. SO Subaru recommend intervals should be taken with a grain of salt. As my car was still running and im a daily driver. I'm not saying you should not listen to recommended maintenance intervals but my back was against the wall and i had no choice(funds weren't available). My little legacy survived. I love fred beans parts the kit even my mechanic commented saying thats how you should do a timing belt when you do it. I ordered the kit that included the water pump. You might as well its like 5 bucks extra. Do the gears, idler tensioner, timing belt, water pump completed.

 

took a pic of my mileage to prove what im saying.

 

I have a 2005 legacy gt turbo.

 

just sharing for the benefit of the owners on this forum:)

Well - it's not like the belt is designed to go "snap" after 105k miles, it will hold longer than that so your extension of the lifetime didn't put you in any immediate danger.

 

It's more important to change oil because bad oil can be a real killer.

I have a while to go. I only have 57k mi on my '05. Does changing the belt only go by miles or by time?

Miles.

I have read that if you drive your car hard you should change the timing belt a lot earlier due to the increased stress.

Just give your timing belt a Xanax and you won't have to worry about stress anymore.

Well - it's not like the belt is designed to go "snap" after 105k miles, it will hold longer than that so your extension of the lifetime didn't put you in any immediate danger.

 

It's more important to change oil because bad oil can be a real killer.

 

Agreed I had my winter beater/work car it was a 96 Legacy wagon. Beat that thing a lot. Belt had 196k on it. Sold it with 220k on it.

I have never pulled a belt out of one of these cars at 105,000 that looked bad/worn/cracked. You could probably get 125K out of it no problem. (i dont recomend trying)

My 93 mx-3 interval change is at 60K just like most cars. However I had it changed at ~72K and it still looked fine.

I have a while to go. I only have 57k mi on my '05. Does changing the belt only go by miles or by time?

 

Both. The maintenance schedule specifies a change at 105,000 miles or 105 months, whichever comes first.

105,000 miles is just to be on the safe side. If you drive 100% highway and put 3-400 miles on your car on a highway at a time, you could probably go until 175,000 miles. What really matters with rubber components is heat cycles that degrade the quality of the rubber. If you do a lot of city driving and turning your car on and letting it cool 9-10x a day, your timing belt will need to be changed MUCH faster than if you turn your car on 2x a day and go 300 miles just for a commute.

I have read that if you drive your car hard you should change the timing belt a lot earlier due to the increased stress.

 

Every 60k is a good interval, I hear.

Every 60k is a good interval, I hear.

 

After every race weekend then!

well maybe it wouldn't break but it was nerve racking driving. These legacy turbos are interfernce engines i hear so i didn't want it to break and pistons start slamming into valves> Been driving the cars the last few days> drives sooooo much better and no CEL light.

Most car manufacturers put in a good amount of slack with regards to when their stuff should break, this saves them the hassle of going through the process of replacing an engine because the timing belt snapped 1000 miles before the change interval. That slack allows them to say "105000 miles" when the belt should last well past 125000 miles. Don't take this as gospel on when you should actually change your belt, just know that the car companies have been at this a long time and would much rather give you a shorter change interval then push their luck and have to replace stuff because it broke before the interval.

It's not the belt that's the issue, it's the tensioner. If the tensioner fails, or an idler pulley fails, then it's just as bad as the belt snapping. I have no doubt the belt could last 150K or more, it's the tensioner and idlers which concern me.

I'm new to this scene, but is there a market for a manual timing belt tensioner for the EJ series? That's what i have on my MX6 as opposed to a hydraulic one and I like the fact that it's reusable. I imagine the only concern with idler pulley is the bearing freezing which would be preceded by a decent amount of noise.

yeah i was having a hard steering problem when the car was cold> maybe it was the tensioner being worn out. I just replaced my alternator belt so that couldn't be the problem. Since i got my car back the steering is flawless. No squeaking noise when turning. Also no CEL light either. Maybe misfires stopped cause timing is set with new belt and tensioner. Its driving so much better> once i fix my wheel bearings > it will feel all new again

for your own sake, just replace the poor thing according to what the factory recommended!!!

 

you don't want that thing to snap when the engine is running