Can someone explain something to me please?

Recently I installed a lightweight crank pulley on my car.

The engine then failed immediately there after. (No joke as soon as I started the engine)

 

A long grinding sound occurred then it wouldnt start after that.

 

Subaru is now saying that the timing for all 4 cam shafts is destroyed due to a crankshaft pulley being installed inproperly.

 

What I want to know is that is the relationship between the crank shaft pulley on the outside of the engine and the timing parts on the inside of the engine?

 

To me it seems as though these part only share a mounting point and that's it.

Care to enlighten me?

 

----Before you comment, yes I'm aware this is my fault, and that I shouldnt mod this car and if I wanted something faster I shouldve gotten a different car. I accept this is my mistake. Let's please move forward.----

If you touched the timing belt in any way and teeth slipped then timing may have been messed up. Not sure what you did but it would take a lot to mess with the timing belt if all you were doing is changing the pulley.

Did you rotate the engine backwards while loosening the pulley? If so then thebteeth in the belt may have skipped and your timing went off.

Did you rotate the engine backwards while loosening the pulley? If so then thebteeth in the belt may have skipped and your timing went off.

 

That's the best explanation I can see. May have been easier to do this if you had a bad tining tensioner or some belt guides were missing.

 

Otherwise its a freak occurrence.

how would moving the engine backwards throw off timing?, nothing restricts the system to spinning in one direction, to my knowledge.... If you spin the crank right or left, everything moves just the same.

Did you rotate the engine backwards while loosening the pulley? If so then thebteeth in the belt may have skipped and your timing went off.

 

Yes. I ended up rotatating the engine both directions, once I heard the noise it made.

 

I was unaware the rotating an engine the wrong way would cause some kind of failure like this.

 

How does engine rotation direction effect timing?

The tensioner and pulley system for the timing belt is only designed to rotate clockwise. Research the net and YouTube and you’ll see stories of people having this issue not only on Subaru’s but different brands.

^ exactly what he said, the tensioner is not as effective when rotating the engine in he opposite direction

yeah never rotate the engine the wrong direction.... that is absolutely what caused the issue. it should only ever rotate the direction it was designed to. hope the repair doesnt hurt you too bad...

expensive 'pay to play' lesson, too bad the, "I want to tow with my legacy" crowd aren't going to pay attention...

expensive 'pay to play' lesson, too bad the, "I want to tow with my legacy" crowd aren't going to pay attention...

 

 

Lol. I was thinking of towing a small, lightweight popup camper with my Legacy and decided against it. I was going to get an '18 Outback to tow with but Subaru wouldn't give me enough on my Legacy for a trade and my kids are getting older and won't go camping anymore, so getting an Outback became moot.

this has to be one of the most costly mistakes I have ever read about! :-(

yeah never rotate the engine the wrong direction.... that is absolutely what caused the issue. it should only ever rotate the direction it was designed to. hope the repair doesnt hurt you too bad...

 

Thank you for not being rude and just being easy to talk to.

 

The repairs are most certainly going to hurt pretty bad.

 

I've been trying to raise money, unsuccessfully.

 

This is most certainly a mistake I wont make again.

this has to be one of the most costly mistakes I have ever read about! :-(

 

This is a common issue?

This is a common issue?

 

He said it’s costly:)

If you touched the timing belt in any way and teeth slipped then timing may have been messed up. Not sure what you did but it would take a lot to mess with the timing belt if all you were doing is changing the pulley.

I thought Subaru switched to timing chains in the newer legacy?

I thought Subaru switched to timing chains in the newer legacy?

 

Good point, but I think the same concept still stands.

Good point, but I think the same concept still stands.

 

It does.

 

Bad move by the OP. I feel bad for him. Always do your research, always. I think we've all made diy mistakes. I over torque an oil pan on my old benz once, I also over torque a bolt for a new starter breaking the whole connector and ruining the starter, over filled a transmission causing smoke as I drove. Never done something this expensive though I feel sick for you

I have a lot of friends who have found good engines at local pick and pull type places... car-part.com or similar can help narrow down a search. Engine swaps shouldn't be so bad if you can get some local guys who are willing to help pull your motor/install a replacement, etc.

 

Alternatively, if you don't have the means to DIY, you can look into getting a 0% credit card to help with some financing options.

 

You could try posting up your location and see if we have some knowledgeable guys who can help direct you to a good shop if you need help.

Essentially this could potentially be a problem also when you have a manual gearbox. Some people have the habit of putting the gear shifter into gear and not use the parking brake. So if the car starts to roll (or is towed) it would then crank the engine backwards causing this problem.

 

 

Not that many manual gearbox cars are around anymore though.

It might be time to start learning how to rebuild an engine.

 

Take the heads apart, put in some new valves. Pull out the pistons , put in some new ones (can be had cheap from people upgrading to forged).

 

If you do it all yourself you could maybe get it sorted with $500 of used parts, and a new timing belt. You might be able to reuse the pulleys, water pump etc.

 

A wrecker engine is still the best and easiest option.

Its actually not hard to swap them out over a weekend or 2 (with the right tools on hand). Won't hurt to have an experienced friend to help.

 

Its rough that this happened considering that the light weight pulley wouldn't have even made a noticeable difference in the driving experience.

I did look into my local scrap yards as a first line of defense.

 

I'd figure I'd rent a truck dna an engine hoist get an engine from a dmaged legacy or outback and work over the next coming weeks to rebuild it.

 

Sadly there are no 6th gen legacies and 5th gen outbacks around here in scrap yards. This seems to be a common issue for newer cars.

 

Overall I ended up haveing the car towed to Subaru where as you can guess are charging the cost of a arm, a leg, and the soul of my first born.

 

They're saying anywhere from $3000-$5500 to rebuild the engine.

After talking with them, multiple times, they said theres nothing they can do except remove the engine and rebuild it.

 

So now I'm in a situation where, I don't have money to live on as it is, and now I have to pay this increadible fine.

 

I currently have a GoFundMe campaign for this. I know it's not a situation where someone is in the hospital or that I'm doing it for some noble cause, but I'd figure I would try.

 

I didn't want to post it here right away.

I don't want you guys to get the impression of "hurr Durr give me money." Of course it isn't like that.

I don't like asking for financial help as it is.

 

If I put this on my credit card, or get a loan, I simply wouldnt have the money to pay it off period.

After all is said and done when my one time a month paycheck has been spent on bills and the like I'm left with about $45 for a month.

Hell the damn pulley took 6 months of saving to get.

This expense could cause me to lose my apartment as I wouldn't be able to make rent if I paid a loan off.

 

Sorry for the rant. As you may guess I've got a lot going on in my life right now.

I may have missed it but was it a 3.6 or 2.5?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If my memory serves me right, he does have a 2015 2.5 Premium.

 

@fastcar123 you need to fill out your profile

 

Laughing at oneself and with others is good for the Soul![emoji2]

No warranty? I woulda tossed the old pulley back on and blamed it on car

 

Why change the pulley on a na 2.5??? Power mods are pointless i thought on a na subaru... unless it's oldschool and light. If its a normal engine, you can find that shit anywhere...... they are like a dime a dozen .....