The Dude

The Subaru water pump is run off the back (non-toothed side) of the timing belt. The idea is if the water pump seizes up that engine will not instantly loose time. Hopefully, the driver notices the rising temp gauge and has the engine serviced before it overheats or the seized water pump wears through the timing belt. Anyway, that's the theory. Is it all pie in the sky? Or, is running the water pump off the back of the timing belt something that has actually saved an engine? I have read plenty of posts on this board where a seized Subaru water pump has trashed the valves. So if it works, it sure doesn't work all of the time.

What makes these gasket better? Well, they seem to be the only ones that have a high rate of success . If you weren't around for it, you have no idea how bad the head gasket failure rate on the 2.5L DOHC was. There were 2.5L DOHC owners that had their head gasket replaced three times under warranty. Subaru went through head gasket revision after head gasket revision desperately looking for something to stop the carnage. After many years, and many revisions, Subaru finally hit upon a head gasket design that works. I would guess that Subaru spent thousands of engineering hours to hit upon this specific head gasket design which is a "fix" for a specific engine. That is why in the opinion of many highly experienced posters on this board, you should NEVER use an after market head gasket on a 2.5L, DOHC or SOHC. Genuine Subaru head gaskets are a specially engineered solution for a problematic engine.

You're obviously a way nicer person than me. Because if someone did that to my Sube and I caught him, he'd be carrying a pager everywhere and praying for notification that some organ donor had left him a replacement for his liver.

Consider this: Did your mechanic use GENUINE Subaru head gaskets when they were replaced? Because if he didn't, he may have really reduced the odds for a successful replacement. Do a board search, don't trust me on this. Virtually every experienced wrench on this board recommends only using genuine Subaru headgaskets and warns againt using ANY after market head gasket. It tooks years, and a number of revisions, before Subaru finally hit upon the current multi-layer steel gasket. Unlike the 2.5L DOHC, your 2.5L SOHC is not a total POS. When genuine Subaru head gaskets are properly installed in the 2.5L SOHC, most reports indicate that the repair usually last the life of the car. If your mechanic didn't us genuine Subaru head gaskets are you going to hold him responsible for their failure one year later, I might ? If so, you can use the results of a exhaust gas test to argue that he should redo the head gaskets for free or at a greatly reduced rate. So, the exhaust gas test might be money well spent. What are you going to do if the heads gaskets go into full failure mode a year from now? Two years might be too long to argue that the head gasket replacement wasn't done right. Maybe your mechanic used genuine Subaru head gaskets and he did everything right. Maybe you just had a piece of bad luck. But I'll say this in all honesty, I would absolutely insist on genuine Subaru head gaskets if I needed them replaced. In any event I'm sorry to hear of your problems. Serious car problems especially suck when funds are tight. For most Americans a working car is a necessity, and a damn expensive one at that.

I would not spray the fogging oil through the air intake without researching the subject thoroughly!!!! The Subaru MAF senor is notoriously sensitive to any contamination. Many MAF sensors have been destroyed just by an attempt to "clean" them

I am not one of the uberwrenches on this board, but I have read the posts here everyday for the past eleven years. Let me say: 2000 was still a pretty bad year for internal head gasket leaks on the 2.5L SOHC. Your engine is at an elevated risk for this problem. Subaru head gasket leaks are atypical. They are not always obvious, and are often very difficult to detect. You were willing to spend $1500 for the head gasket based on symptoms alone. But you weren't willing to spend $68 on a definitive exhaust gases test to see if the $1500 head gasket repair was really necessary. You're back at square one, possibly looking at another $1500 head gasket repair and you're still not willing pay $68 for a exhaust gases test. I'll say this, you sure stick to your decisions. Get off your wallet and pay the lousy $68 for an exhaust gases test because it very well may tell you two very important things. 1. Whether, or not, you presently have a leaky head gasket and IF you have a leaky head gasket...... 2. Whether, or not, your mechanic replaced your head gaskets SUCCESSFULLY. If the head gasket repair was not successfull, the longer you monkey around with this thing , probably the less the chance that the mechanic will redo it . My dog's sense of smell is literally 1,000 times better than mine. So, maybe I'd trust him to do a "sniff" test for exhaust gases. Unfortunately, his talking and writing skills aren't so good so I don't know how he could communicate the results to me. "Sniff" test? Maybe for a BIG HONKING head gasket leak. But maybe you have a small head gasket leak. So, spend a couple of hours under the hood with a screwdriver tightening things up. But if that doesn't fix it, get a exhaust gases test done.

Thanks Gary. This my first timing belt, so I'm at this. Do you mean rotate the cam the rest of the way clockwise into position?. Or do you mean rotate the cam counter clockwise back into postition? I think I remember reading to never rotate the cams or crank backwards.

While trying to install the new timing belt on my 06 Forester non-turbo with atomatic the driver's cam shaft moved, with a snapping motion to the five o'clock position. What should I do to get the driver's cam back in time. Thank you.

Ok, I'm changing the timing belt on my 2006 non-turbo Forester with automatic transmission. The factory timing belt on the car reads part #13028AA181. The lines on the factory timing belt NEVER line up with the timing marks when everything is in time. It looks like the belt was installed at the factory with the lines in the wrong place. Is this possible. I guess assembly workers in Japan can have off day too. One more thing, Walker Subaru sent replacement timing belt part 13028AA231. So, the part number for the original belt in the car and the replacement belt are NOT the same. Any guidance would be grealty appreciated. Everything is closed this weekend and I need to get this car back on the road. Thanks a lot.

One other thought. It looks you need to pull the radiator to change the upstream O2 sensor on the Forester. I'm at 105,000 should I change the O2 sensor while I've got the radiator out ? Thanks.

I'm replacing the timing belt on my 2006 Subaru Forester with automatic transmission. I checked in advance days ago, but when I got to Harbor Freight the manager said "gee, I'm sorry, I forgot that we stopped carrying that item". The only other chain wrench in town is $260. So, I'm down to the "jam a really big screwdriver in the flywheel inspection hole" trick. I'd rather use a chain wrench. I just want to be certain that the flywheel inspection hole trick will work on an automatic. Thanks . FWIW: The Harbor Freight Web Store no longer shows the large chain wrench. It's gone

I'll be doing my first timing belt change this coming weekend. Someone on one of the other Subaru boards suggested removing the spark plugs before changing the belt. The motor can then be rotated by hand. In theory, even the tiniest bit of valve/piston contact should be felt before any damage is done. Rotate the engine by hand a number of times without any valve/piston contact, and you should be safe to go. Hopefully, this will reduce the pucker factor the first time you crank the starter after a belt change. For my first timing belt change, time for completion is not a consideration. Since I have a Forester, I'm removing the radiator, as well.

Next weekend I'm going to do my first timing belt replacement. Hopefully, my 2006 Forester will survive the experience. Someone had an excellent post with pictures on where to put a big screwdriver through the bell housing to lock up the crankshaft. Can anyone refer me to the post? There's not a whole space in front of the engine in a Forester. Any thoughts on pulling the radiator for my first time at a timing belt? Also, if anyone knows of a video on the timing belt changw on the 2.5L SOHC I'd sure appreciate the address. Any other info or tips would be great. For the next seven days I'll be repeating to myself "dots and lines, not arrows, dot and lines, not arrows...". I sure wish I was able to have a practice run on an non-interference engine first. Thanks.

$1000 seems very high to me. Essentially all the dealer is going to do is pull the heads. What does this shop charge, $200+ per hour?

The most of the guys advocating the Ebay kits have a lot more experience with Subarus than I do, so I'm not going to debate with them. However, the Ebay kits are not an apple to apple comparision with factory parts. The Subaru pullies have two bearings. The Ebay pullies only have one bearing. Personally, I feel better having the pullies with two bearings. $123.72 is cheap if it prevents a timing belt meltdown. Are Subaru timing parts less likely to fail? Who can say, there isn't enough data. But I will say that 105,000 miles is a pretty lengthy timing belt/ timing component replacement interval. I'll be replacing all the timing components on my 2006 Forester next month. I have 105,000 miles on my Forester and I bought all genuine Subaru parts, at discount, naturally. Maybe when I have 210,000 miles on my Forester $123.72 in my pocket will look more attractive.

This subject has been debated a number of times. The consensus view: 1. There will very little, or no, gas savings 2. You may potentially damage the transmission, specifically the duty solenoid So, there is no upside to installing the fuse, and it might cause trouble for you.

I understand the crankshaft aligment thing. The Haynes manual reads "Position the engine at TDC for cyclinder 1 ". This is the first step for removing the drivebelts, cooling fans and shroud, and the crankshaht pulley. Positioning cylinder on at TDC before performing these tasks seems completely unnecessary to me.

I'm about to do my first timing belt replacement. The new timing belt is going into my non-turbo 2006 Forester. The 89101 Haynes manual says to position the engine at TDC for cyclinder 1 before attempting to remove the crankshaft pulley. Why, it doesn't make any sense to me? If I try the screwdriver through the bell housing trick to lock up the engine it might not be possible to be exactly at TCD anyway. So, is TDC necessary or just busy work? Thanks.

Well, it's my understanding that the 2.5 L is basically a bored out 2.2L block. So, there's a lot less metal in the 2.5L block. It's an open deck block so the cyclinder walls actually move back-and-forth against the head. It not easy to design a head gasket for an over bored engine that has dancing cyclinder walls, you try it sometime. Apparently, it ain't all that easy.

Well, one of four isn't all that great, in my view. Especially if the customer is on the hook for the de-installation of the bad engine and the installation of the replacement. First you pay a lot of money for a rebuilt engine, and then maybe you're out around an additional $1,000 for the warranty replacement. Plus your car is down for a second time. BTW, what happened to the other two engines?

It pays to do a websearch before ordering from a company. Type in "steeringrack. com review" and see what comes up. I sure hope that you paid by credit card. Anyway, thanks for the heads up.

"Car Tax" is probably the most hated tax in SC. You have to pay automobile property every year, or part of a year, that you own the car. The car can be unregistered, without wheels, and up on concrete blocks in the backyard. South Carolina does not care, you own it, you pay property tax on it. If you miss paying a year, taxes, penalty and interest will eat you alive. The only way to avoid paying the tax is to scrap the car (scrap yard receipt is required) or sell it.

You probably have a blown head gasket. However, you may want to have the coolant checked for exhaust gases before you undertake an extensive repair. You have a 2.5L Phase 1 DOHC engine, which is known for internally blown head gaskets. There is a huge amount of information on blown 2.5L Phase 1 head gaskets on this board. Diligent use of the "search" function will tell you everything you need to know. Although you are most welcome to post any additional questions that you may have.

Hi Gary. I'm getting ready to do my first timing belt replacement. It will be on my 2006 NA Forester. Will the Ebay kits last 105,000 miles? Because while I can do my own wrenching, I really don't enjoy it as much as I used to. I want to do the job once, and be done with it. I plan on selling this Forester at 200,000 miles. I like saving money, but can I count on the Ebay belts and bearings going the full 105,000? I'm just asking for your opinion. I realize that even genuine Subaru timing parts occasionally fail before 105,000 miles. Nothing is an absolutely sure thing. Thanks.

You MUST torque the spark plugs using a torque wrench. Too loose and the engine will "spit out" the spark plugs, ruining the spark plug hole threads in the cyclinder head. Too tight and you strip the spark plug hole threads in the head. Sure, I've done the spark plugs "by hand' myself in the past. But it's an unnecessary risk to take when a torque wrench can be had for a reasonable amount of money. They should be ok out the box. But you check the gap on the new plugs?