Rooster2 Posted December 16, 2016 Share Posted December 16, 2016 Posted a few weeks back about my 99 OBW developing a massive oil leak. The cause turned out to be a cam oil seal that blew out. Several posters thought that may be the problem before tear down. I had a good mechanic friend replace the oil seal, and all seems well now. However, I know the timing belt got soaked with motor oil. Should I have the belt replaced, or motor on?? Mechanic told me that the belt seems good and stout, and tight, but still I wonder if the oil will affect future belt performance. Thanx for your thoughts................Rooster2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted December 16, 2016 Share Posted December 16, 2016 I wouldn't keep that belt for any longer than absoultely necessary. I installed a new timing kit on a friends Subaru. maybe a year and not that many miles, it developed a massive crank seal leak and got plenty of oil on the belt. I resealed it and being a brand new belt that looked perfectly fine I wiped it down and didn't think much about reinstalling it. Not only did it break - but it was really shortly aferwards - like 1-3 months. It tore in half and compeltely separated. After seeing that - I'm little obsessed about the timing belt touching even a spec of fluid, eventhough I know it's not logical! I'd replace it immediately. This was a lesser quality EA82 belt in a 1993 loyale, but I still wouldn't even think about it on an interference engine. Belts are so easy to replace and cheap. Can swap a new belt only in 45 minutes on that car....it was just a part so none of the timing cover bolts should be rusty/problematic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted December 16, 2016 Author Share Posted December 16, 2016 I wouldn't keep that belt for any longer than absoultely necessary. I installed a new timing kit on a friends Subaru. maybe a year and not that many miles, it developed a massive crank seal leak and got plenty of oil on the belt. I resealed it and being a brand new belt that looked perfectly fine I wiped it down and didn't think much about reinstalling it. Not only did it break - but it was really shortly aferwards - like 1-3 months. It tore in half and compeltely separated. After seeing that - I'm little obsessed about the timing belt touching even a spec of fluid, eventhough I know it's not logical! I'd replace it immediately. This was a lesser quality EA82 belt in a 1993 loyale, but I still wouldn't even think about it on an interference engine. Belts are so easy to replace and cheap. Can swap a new belt only in 45 minutes on that car....it was just a part so none of the timing cover bolts should be rusty/problematic. Thanks for the advise grossgary. I appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted December 16, 2016 Share Posted December 16, 2016 I had an outback with a massive crank seal leak I kinda ignored for a few months, just topping up the oil every hundred miles... When I finally got around to changing the seal, the timing belt was all gummy and sticky. Probably didn't have much longer before it broke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 agree - change the belt as soon as you can. had a belt on my old GL let go because it had gotten oil soaked... on an interference motor, it is not something I would take chances with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
golucky66 Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Technically...Technically...if you get any fluid on the belt at all, even during installation, and for like...1 second. The belt is technically supposed to be replaced as the chemistry of all cars fluids will eat away at the belts and weaken them. So yeah... You should replace it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Interference engine = do not mess around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1997reduxe Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 he repaced one seal? i looked back a the maintenance records from mine and when the water pump went they replaced belt water pump thermostat and one puley. who does that? the biggest concern is whether they used modern brown seas or not. you can get even continental belts for like 25 bucks or a whole aisin kit for 220. ike in the case of mine the benefit is the new belt will go for say 75000 comfotably, but seeing as now i find i have pulleys etc on there that have 145K on them, the problem is the belt will go 75K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted December 17, 2016 Author Share Posted December 17, 2016 he repaced one seal? i looked back a the maintenance records from mine and when the water pump went they replaced belt water pump thermostat and one puley. who does that? the biggest concern is whether they used modern brown seas or not. you can get even continental belts for like 25 bucks or a whole aisin kit for 220. ike in the case of mine the benefit is the new belt will go for say 75000 comfotably, but seeing as now i find i have pulleys etc on there that have 145K on them, the problem is the belt will go 75K Mechanic said he actually replaced 2 cam seals on driver's side. I will have him replace the timing belt only, as I had a full kit of belt, water pump, pulleys, and tensioners replaced about 40K miles ago. Car now has 238K miles on the odo, and I am getting to the point of not driving the car more then 75 miles from home in case it should break down and leave me stranded. I also carry Roadside towing service on my auto insurance as a safe guard. Shopping at Advance Auto Parts on line, I can buy a Dayco timing belt for about $25-30 with a discount coupon. I have read on this forum that the Dayco belt is not particularly recommended as a quality product, but on my old car, it should be good enough for mostly local travel. I did price out a genuine Subaru belt on line. It was priced at $119.00. Seems too pricey, at least for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 It's not the distance traveled, or the age of the car, it's the destroyed engine if the belt fails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montana tom Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Do yourself a favor and do not use the dayco ! The box is made in usa the belt is from china. Same with the rollers make sure they are japan made if not... REPLACE them NOW ! Like Dave said it will bend every valve WHEN, not if they fail ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartless Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Car now has 238K miles on the odo... yeah, so? My 02 Forester has 229 plus on the clock.. i would not hesitate to drive it across the country at this point. My point is, it is all about taking care of it, keeping up with maintenance and fixing issues that need fixing. If you take care of the car, it will just keep on going. If you don't take care of it, then yeah, be concerned about it breaking down. And changing the seals should be a part of doing a timing job - skipping them is asking for exactly what happened to you - one pops and oil everywhere. I learned that lesson long ago with the old GL.. didnt change the seals, it was leaking pretty bad (didn't pop one, but might as well have) timing belt went - sheared about 2 inches of teeth off due to the oil saturation. And of course it did this on a very cold day, miles from home... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caboobaroo Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 Don't use the Dayco belt. Had an 09 Forester that had its belt done by someone else and it broke 15k miles later. After 4 new valves, head gaskets, timing components (I will never use subpar parts on customer vehicles), it cost his $3500 because someone else could do the timing belt cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted December 18, 2016 Author Share Posted December 18, 2016 Thanks guys for selling me off Dayco belts. I checked e-bay for a mizumoauto timing belt for to fit my Subie. Just need a belt, as mentioned earlier, the rest of the components have about 40K miles on them, so not quite time to replace everything. Guess I will go with a Beck/Arnley belt. I started a separate topic on their belts. So far turned up no one bad mouthing their timing belts. Thanks for all the responses. I appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1997reduxe Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 look on rockauto (i know, i know) try to get a hsn high saturated nitrile belt theyre the best contitech pro, gates or aisin ) which is original manufacturer. or the beck arnley one there are much better. by him saying he changed the two seals on one side that would mean front and back of one camshaft? that doiesnt make sense maybe he meant front. thats what worries me you have to find someone who knows i wish some of my old posts hadnt disappeared here there used to be big old discussions of best timing kit sets seals etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted December 18, 2016 Author Share Posted December 18, 2016 look on rockauto (i know, i know) try to get a hsn high saturated nitrile belt theyre the best contitech pro, gates or aisin ) which is original manufacturer. or the beck arnley one there are much better. by him saying he changed the two seals on one side that would mean front and back of one camshaft? that doiesnt make sense maybe he meant front. thats what worries me you have to find someone who knows i wish some of my old posts hadnt disappeared here there used to be big old discussions of best timing kit sets seals etc. I did not ask the mechanic for particulars, he just said 2 seals on driver's side. I just know I don't leak oil anymore. I have a call into him to ask if he would replace my T-belt, so I will quiz him more on what seals were replaced. Yea, I have been on this forum for many years now, and do remember discussion of best timing kits. With Chinese just being added to the mix, it is difficult to assess the quality of the kit components. The last kit I bought years back from either e-bay or Amazon contained all Japanese mfg products. I have always felt it is a safe bet on getting good quality if mfg in Japan. Having lived in Japan for 2 years, I learned that their society has national pride in producing quality products. Our driving Subarus is a testimony to that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forester2002s Posted December 18, 2016 Share Posted December 18, 2016 Don't buy from Mizumoauto unless they specify the manufacturer of the belt. And then only buy if it is a known good make, eg Gates. I had a faulty belt from Mizumoauto, and they just ignored all my attempts at contacting them. Be warned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted December 19, 2016 Author Share Posted December 19, 2016 I have gone ahead and ordered a Beck/Arnley belt from Advance Auto Parts. I trust it will not be a Chinese cheapie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1997reduxe Posted December 19, 2016 Share Posted December 19, 2016 yeah i remember the ebay kits the person i think it was john eggleston here told me you could specify the continental belt there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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