Timing Belt & misc repair Questions

I recently dropped my 05 2.5i off to my mechanic to have some work done, I had noticed the car has been leaking coolant as a substantial rate and seeing the coolant gauge go all over the place when driving, fortunately the cold temps outside have kept the engine from overheating, either way my mechanic told me he believes it's the water pump that is leaking. He told me it's not as bad as i may think it is so I can hold off another month or so to do the repairs and he knows the budget i'm working with on the car. The car is due for a timing belt soon anyways (it has 210k miles on the clock) and I do intend on replacing the water pump with the belt. I'm likely going to do this repair soon on my own and ordering the parts from Rock Auto.

 

I bought this 2.5i in April for $1300 on craigslist as a beater car, so I'm not looking to spend loads of money on repairs for it, mostly just do what I need to do to keep it going, I also have a 2015 WRX and a 2001 GMC Sierra Duramax that I can drive in the meantime. I commute 80 miles round trip a day for work so I prefer to not put the mileage on my WRX if I don't have to.

 

What parts should I buy from Rock Auto?

-Gates Timing Belt Kit with pulleys (maybe the Continental elite kit instead)

-Water pump

-Cam seals (the car also has an oil leak, which my mechanic thinks is where the oil is leaking from)

 

anything else you recommend?

 

TL;DR 2005 2.5i beater with 210k miles is in need of timing belt & water pump to remedy a slight coolant leak & oil leak.

Don't buy a super cheap timing belt kit. Get the Aisin one. OEM tensioner and belt along with water pump:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Aisin-TKF-007-Engine-Timing-Water/dp/B00HFKEL2Q/ref=sr_1_11?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1513053575&vehicle=2005-13-64-1034-----167------8-0&sr=1-11&ymm=2005%3Asubaru%3Alegacy

 

the Gates sucks now as it is made in China.

 

I just did it on my 2.5 Impreza at 170K miles. Works like a charm and my mechanic said they were OEM parts.

 

Not sure what brand you need for the ca seals.

Cam seals are just rubber gaskets, I can probably get them from any auto parts store

I used the contitech kit. The pulleys, gears and tensioner were all quality Japanese parts. The water pump was as well, but it unfortunately didn't fit my 5th Legacy gt. We have a unique pump.

Subaru cam seals are pretty cheap from the dealer. Iirc I picked up all 4 for under $20 with tax. Think it came out to around $4 a seal.

you also have a DOHC engine, the NA is a SOHC and should require less. not a bad deal. Thanks I'll probably go with the contitech kit. Like I said, I paid $1300 for this car, not looking to spend almost as much in parts and labor for a mechanic to do it for me. I value their time and skill, but for a beater car I'll nickel and dime to keep it running until something major happens and then donate it for a tax write off.

I've never used one, but I've heard nothing but bad things about gates water pumps, so I'd avoid them.

I paid $500 for the timing belt change including t-stat, the kit referenced above and labor.

 

Don’t go cheap on the parts. If so might as well not do it.

maybe the NJ labor rates are higher. On my old 1998 Legacy, I paid $900 for the Timing Belt, Water Pump and idler pulleys, on my 2009 2.5i I paid about the same. The shop I use to maintain the legacy for me is a friends shop and they do give me as much love in pricing as they can and he told me it would be about the same, $850.

Yeah. My mechanic down here is great. He gives me great rates and I have always used him for all the work on the car. So yeah ~$500 our the door. I brought him all the parts except for oil.