Jaderider

He said new engine and new cylinder--specifically the left cylinder. He said the other one was fine. As for the old engine, I did figure there would be a core charge if I asked for it back...however, doesn't hurt to see what they say. When I talk to them next, probably when the engine arrives later this week, I'll ask him if I can have the motor back and see what he says. My personal vehicle is a Chevy Silverado, so I can haul it away without issue. Wackerli might sell it to that local Subaru specialist shop--Hall's. Don't know. When I talked to the mechanic yesterday, he said the warranty people had already okay'd it. That $750 does cover a new timing belt and other consumables. I asked if he was going to replace the water pump (based on what I had read about timing belts affecting those if the belt broke) and he said no, it was fine. I was thinking of calling Larry Miller Subaru in Boise about their service to the vehicle when we bought it. Maybe they would pony up the $750 since it could have been caused by them messing with the timing belt a year and a half ago. When I tried to ask the local mechanic here if he thought the bolt could have been over/under torqued at that point, he refused to speculate on what might have caused the bolt to break. Just claimed he had seen it happen one other time.

I asked the mechanic whether it was a new or used engine and he said it would be a new Subaru engine. The total estimate to the service contract people is around $6000 and my daughter's portion (with $100 deductible) is around $750. The contract doesn't cover any belts, hoses, fluids, shop supplies. I'm hoping they do a good job--small town and word gets around quick if you're always screwing people. Doesn't take much to get on the news around here. :-)

Bulwinkl--there's a dark blue one that's at University Place very often too. I've seen a silver one running around also. Yep, in a small town we can get to know all the Bajas. lol The service contract came through the Boise dealership with the sale of the car--it's a third party, but sold by the dealership. Just spoke to the mechanic--he says it needs a new engine and new cylinder? He's working up a bid for the service contract people. I asked about how long on the downtime and he said it would take a week to get the parts as the engine has to come in on a truck. She's going to borrow my dad's Grand Am to get down to her reserves duty in SLC this weekend, but looks like no Baja for at least a couple of weeks.

What a great group! Bulwnkl, you'll have to tell me what color your Baja is as we watch for them and have been noting who the drivers are. :-) My daughter is a bit of a Baja fanatic. Her's is a white/silver one. I was going through her original purchase paperwork last night and, 'lo and behold, she has an extended service contract. Looks like a decent one too. I've heard about Wackerli and I felt like the mechanic was trying to blow me off on the phone, but it was Hall's (independent Subaru specialist) that said right off the bat it needed a new engine. I know we women folk don't tend to know much about cars/trucks, but I came on this site to arm myself with knowledge in talking with the mechanic. I kept bringing up some of the points you made in your posts and he had no interest in discussing it. I used to sell trucks and ag trucks (but don't ask me about fixing engines) so I'm not a complete moron, but damn if it doesn't still bother me to be treated like "just a woman" at times. I want to thank all of you for NOT treating me that way. I have truly appreciated your help. Now that I am armed with an extended warranty that covers just about everything except changing the oil, I'm feeling much better about my daughter's bank account. All she has is her GI Bill to live on, so all has worked out well. As a side, I was looking at the inspection done by the Boise dealer (that she bought the Baja from) that's required for the service contract. Here's what they did: -Evac/recharge A/C system -replace dome light -replace front brake pads/remachine rotors -replace rear brakes and reface drums/rotors -found oil pump leak: removed timing belt cover and belts, removed oil pump and leaking o-ring, replaced front seal, reassembled engine and tested for leaks. So I'm thinking this dealership is the one who over-torqued the bolt that broke?

Thanks, folks--I'm already looking up the regional office's number. This is a small town, so I'm hoping they want to play the goodwill game. I reread some posts about bolts breaking if they are over-torqued. Hoping this is the case.

Dealer's mechanic called--said it was the bolt on the tensioner bracket that broke. He says he's not going to know how much damage was done until they "tear into it". He's quoting $800 just to "tear into it" and that labor will be applied to the total estimate of the fix. He has no idea why that bolt broke. I asked about the car being just barely over the 60,000 mile warranty and he didn't even want to discuss that it could be a warranty repair. Just kept saying he wouldn't know anything until they look to see how much damage has been done.

Understand on the keeping it started. When she was in San Diego, a friend was supposed to start it once a week and this person failed at it. If she is deployed again, she'll leave it with me and I will drive it to work at least once a week. I truly appreciate the comments and suggestions.

Thanks, all. Crossing my fingers about the low rpms also when it broke. I've read every timing belt post on this forum! Now just waiting for the dealership to get to looking at it. This is a small town, so my choices are limited on who can do the work. This dealership sells Audis, VW and Subarus--I may be screwed on the cost no matter what.

This is a huge help--thanks so much. At least I will understand the dealer's service shop when they start throwing terms and "what needs to be done" at me. I might be a slightly clueless woman, but I try to educate myself before stepping into a mostly man's world. :-) I completely trust my regular mechanic, but dealerships are another story. This is a great site. I've been reading other posts and threads--you have a good support system here. Thanks!

Would like to find out if anyone has experience with this issue. At less than 61,000 miles, the timing belt broke on my daughter's 2005 Baja turbo. I don't understand it breaking with so few miles on it. An independent mechanic who specializes in Subaru says it would be best to replace the engine at a cost of $3500-$4000 for a used engine. He hadn't even looked at it yet. I talked to the local dealership and they said a lot of times it just has bent valves, but he'll know more when he looks at it. I'm waiting on him to look at it now. She bought the car used about 1.5 years ago from a Subaru dealer with about 56,000 miles on it. She drove it to San Diego, it sat for seven months while she was deployed, and she has driven it back to Idaho. When it broke, she had recently exited off the interstate. She was pulling into someone's driveway when she heard the clanging noise. My regular mechanic stopped by to check it later and start it up and he said it sounded like a timing belt issue. When he came back to load the car up to take to his shop, the car wouldn't start at all. He got it to the shop and pulled it apart--he called the Subaru specialist because he wasn't feeling comfortable with the possible damage and that's when they told him it would probably need a new engine. I guess I'm trying to find out what would cause a timing belt to break so early and would this have been covered under the 60,000 mile warranty? I'm hoping I can find some fault with Subaru so I can push them to fix this on their own or to give her a deep discount on the repair. If this is a pipe dream, feel free to let me know. PS--I'm not a mechanic at all, just her mom. :-)