Timing belt cover job help

I’m sure this is posted all over the place on here, but I just got under my car and saw my timing cover belt all sorts of jacked up, and valve cover gaskets leaking like a sive! I just bought a 99 w/ ej223, the car has sat for over a year, and I’ve been driving it as normal, and I went to do an oil change and saw all the chaos and damn near had a panic attack. Could I get some help please? Possibly videos/articles/tags to past posts on here on what this job all entails?

 

 

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The car is a 1999 Legacy sedan 2.2 with 192k, and auto trans. No engine codes and it runs really good. I think that maybe the passenger side cam seal might be loose, because that side has oil dripping from the cover. Also, the back of the timing cover is cracked in a few spots, and the cover was actually missing several bolts. Hopefully I’m not way over my head here

 

 

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Unfortunately they rust in place and they break off..

They can be removed, but not easily with the engine in place.

As long as you have two on the top,, two on the bottom and at least one on the sprocket side you are good.

Replace the cam seals (most likely culprit) and maybe even the VC gaskets.

Replacing the cam seals is basically doing a t belt job plus 30 minutes.

Search for T belt replacement and you'll see all this entails.

(Do you know when the t belt was last done? This would be a good time to do so if close or overdue).

On the plus side it seems the TC gasket is there.

Have fun.

Replace all the idlers when doing a t belt.

 

O.

Unfortunately they rust in place and they break off..

They can be removed, but not easily with the engine in place.

As long as you have two on the top,, two on the bottom and at least one on the sprocket side you are good.

Replace the cam seals (most likely culprit) and maybe even the VC gaskets.

Replacing the cam seals is basically doing a t belt job plus 30 minutes.

Search for T belt replacement and you'll see all this entails.

(Do you know when the t belt was last done? This would be a good time to do so if close or overdue).

On the plus side it seems the TC gasket is there.

Have fun.

Replace all the idlers when doing a t belt.

 

O.

 

 

 

Well a few were just vacant slots, I actually took some solid 12g wire and twist tied the gasket back onto the back of the cover. I’m hoping that cover comes with a front and a back, because on the back side things are cracked and stuff, like the cover itself actually broke off or something.. anyway I’m not looking forward to the stress of the unknown. Fixing my own stuff is another story, but the unknown is intimidating. I have no clue when the timing belt was last changed, I bought it from someone who bought it from a foreclosure property, the guy died who owned the vehicle. It is in almost immaculate shape though, and these are the only issues besides the struts going out. Would I also want to change the valve cover gaskets ‘while I’m in there’? They appear to be leaking oil as well. The oil almost had a red tint to it when I took it out today. I had run sea foam through the oil system for a few days for what I thought would be helpful

 

 

 

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If they are hard then they need to be replaced. Make sure the vc bolts are secure ( careful the torque spec is only about 4 ft lbs.)

Wouldn't hurt now that you are in there.

Check Rockauto. They have excellent prices and probably some closeouts for your year vehicle.

Gates T belts are now made in China, so look for Japanese mfg if you can .

How many bolts do you need? I have some in storage.

Just PM me your address

 

O.

Missing bolts for the timing cover isn't a big deal, I think I'm missing about 1/3 of mine too. As long as you can keep it secure then I wouldn't worry about it too much. The oil leak definitely needs to be addressed though.

If your oil is red, change it out before you drive it again. If the old guy put ATF in by mistake you may be missing out on a lot of lubrication protection depending on the mix. I've seen mechanics run 50% ATF and 50% motor oil for a couple minutes to try to un-sludge an abused motor, so don't have another panic attack, but you don't want to leave it that way.

 

The timing belt change is a fairly advanced topic for someone who isn't up to the car hobbyist level, but we can get you through it no problem as long as you are handy. If you are at or above hobbyist level, then it's no big deal.

 

Valve cover gaskets is dead easy with the engine out of the car, but with it still in the car it is only slightly crowded, so no big deal.

 

Looks like you have a nice car there. +1 to the missing fasteners on the timing covers being common. I've seen people daily theirs with the two end covers not installed, so a slightly poor fit, or munged gasket is fine. Mine had a fit problem at one point and the big pulley on the crank wore a big crescent hole in the center cover. If I opened that hole up a little maybe I could check cam timing without taking things apart.

Man, you guys are a blessing! Thank you very much! I’m going to start pricing/sourcing parts out tomorrow and get a game plan going. I tend to over complicate everything and I’m very picky with high attention to detail! I’m confident that by what I’ve read and seen, and having this resource, that I could accomplish the job. The garage I have to use is small with minimal heat, and limited tools. But, as always, I’ll figure it out [emoji41] thanks again dudes!

 

 

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check the crank seal and "seal"(its just gasket maker) around the oil pump, it may be leaking as well.

 

I saw this tool the other day, had a daydream of my life getting easier immediately

Lisle shaft type seal puller 58430

Holy crap! That tool is neat! Ordered one.

Holy crap! That tool is neat! Ordered one.

 

although i hope you don't have to use it soon if you can give us an update on if its as easy to use as it looks that'd be swell.

Having done a number of seals in the past, I expect this tool to be less likely to damage the shaft or bore than some methods I've used, but not quite as little force needed to extract the seal as shown. But the reduction in stress of not worrying so much about doing damage will be very worth it. Step one will be some 2000 grit on that hook to make sure it's smooth enough to not damage the shaft. Step three will be profit.