[Foolish way to replace Timing Idler Pulley]

Cutting a hole was just the simplest way possible for me. I didn't want to take off all the belts and pulleys just to remove the covers. If/when I get the covers off and replace the timing belt I suppose I might as well run naked. Sounds fun at least (depending on the season).

[Foolish way to replace Timing Idler Pulley]

I probably didn't put a sufficient disclaimer on this. This is not to be tried at home!Of course some people are brave/lazy/redneck enough that they still will, but those people (like me) can't be stopped no matter what you tell them.

[Foolish way to replace Timing Idler Pulley]

So, I noticed that my timing belt cover had melted partially, and I knew I should probably be checking the timing belt to see if it was worn, missing teeth, cracked, etc. But before I got around to that, my idler pulley started to wear through the timing cover in between the passenger side cover and the center cover. When I took off the cover to see what was going on, out dropped my idler pulley. Surprise! At 279,000 miles nothing is a surprise…

 

I got online and looked in my Haynes manual to see where the pulley had come from, and realized that it should have been 4 inches or so inside the middle cover. Fortunately, of all the pulleys to fail this was the right one. This particular idler pulley only slightly adjusts the angle of the belt, and even with it gone the tensioner had managed to take up all the slack. Consequently my car had been running just fine without it for who knows how long.

 

I realized that this needed to be remedied sooner rather than later, but I just wasn’t up for digging all the way through the pulleys and belts and covers to get down to the timing belt. And the timing belt was in good condition anyways. I also wasn’t up to paying somebody else to do it either, so I devised a cunning plan. I would replace the idler pulley by cutting a hole in the timing cover! I tried to find a forum where someone else had attempted or accomplished this, but to no avail. So I was on my own. I didn’t bother trying to ask anyone because I know I would be told I was stupid and that I should just do it the proper way.

 

These are more or less the steps

 

1) Look at a SOHC Subaru with the timing covers off (in propria persona, if possible…just go to the junkyard). This will let you know where and what you are dealing with. You won’t be able to see what you are doing very well.

2) Remove passenger side timing cover (try not to break it, but good luck…this can be brittle). Mine are in decent shape, but not great.

3) Insert new idler pulley (well, I got mine from a junk yard…obviously I’m cheap). You could potentially insert the pulley later, but I wanted to have it in place so while I was cutting the hole I couldn’t nick the timing belt

4) Push the pulley towards the crankshaft with a wrench or ratchet or your fingers...It was kinda hard to get it over where it belongs

5) Get a router. Make sure you can use it lying on your back with one arm confidently

6) With your router cut a hole that is slightly smaller than the pulley but as large as you can make it Don’t nick your timing belt!

7) Find the hole that you are going be attaching the idler pulley to. A small screwdriver can help.

8) After you have found the hole, put a little bit of blue lock-tite (the removable stuff) on the bolt, and then line it up with the hole. You will probably want to thread it with one hand while you align it with something (I used an old metal spatula that had broken). Caution! Do not cross thread the bolt…the engine block is soft aluminum so be careful.

9) Replace the timing belt cover (oh yeah, look at your timing belt while you’re in there…if it needs replacing then do this the right way….you’ll never be able to replace a timing belt with out removing the covers lol)

10) Cover your tracks with duct tape. Or you could epoxy a piece of plastic over the hole. Whatever floats your boat.

[1992 Subaru Legacy]

So this is my Subaru. Or as I like to call her, my urabuS!

 

 

You might be interested that she has 279,000 miles. That means she could have gone around the world 11 or 12 times

 

 

A friend of our family gave her to us, and she is allegedly on her 3rd transmission and 2nd engine (although I'm not so sure from what I've heard about the ej22)

 

Since I got her I have done the following

 

new muffler

check engine light was on (purge solenoid)

broken steering linkage fixed

new tires

tune up (filters, spark plugs, etc)

new head unit and 12" sub/amp

Black paint was peeling above doors, stripped it back to plastic looking chrome

painted windshield wipers (they were rusty)

removed some disgusting tint that was bubbly and torn

replaced a broken speaker cover and some trim pieces (lots of Subi's with 200,000+ miles @ the junkyard...easy to find what you need for cheap!)

New ground to battery - terminal (wasn't starting every time...had the starter and battery checked, took me a while to notice the simplest possible problem)

New timing idler pulley (that's a story for another day...)

Leaking O ring-rack and pinion...poured some Lucas stop leak in, mostly stopped it...

 

Probably done some other stuff too, but it's a lot prettier than it was!

 

Oh yeah, and I'm a college student...so this wagon is great for car tetris