Terry in Australia

Thanks guys, what I neglected to mention yesterday was that I managed to break the plastic tensioner on the aircon belt so I left it off, so I need to find another one, and I was losing the light by the time I got the timing done that I didn't replace the covers for the timing belt, is it necessary to replace them? The front of the engine looks kinda cool without them, but of course, I'll bow to the collective wisdom if you all think that's a dumb idea? Cheers, Terry.

Hey thanks Guys, I went over to the sellers place to get the Subaru going today. The crank angle sensor made no difference, so I dug deeper into the engine and saw that the "Mobile Mechanic" had set the timing around 45 degrees off. It took me awhile to get the timing spot on, but once I had the engine fired right up and I drove it the 50 miles back to my place, and it ran faultlessly. I'm a happy boy! Thanks again guys, you saved me a tow truck bill! Cheers, Terry.

Thanks guys, any advice on the C clamp needed, 6 inch or 8 inch? Cheers, Terry.

Thanks guys, I watched a Youtube clip where a guy used a long breaker bar resting on the frame, and hit the starter to crack the bolt, and that is what I'm intending to do, and I thought I'd use a strap wrench to retighten it? Do I need a 6" or an 8" C clamp? On advice from the guru's on this site I bought a 6" clamp yesterday, do I need to take it back and buy an 8" clamp? Cheers, Terry.

G'Day Guys, thanks very much for that info, and yep, I thought it was a little "coincidental" that the sensor went to God at the same time as the "mechanic" did the timing, but I'll install the new sensor anyway, as I couldn't be bothered returning it. I've watched a couple of good youtube vids on how to replace the belts and line up the timing marks etc, (were they done by members here?) so I feel pretty confident that I can get it to run, fingers crossed. Thanks again, I'll report back when I go back with some tools. Cheers, Terry.

G'Day Guys, by way of introduction, my name is Terry, and I live in Melbourne, Australia. I've always had an interest in Subaru's, but being a motorcycle enthusiast with a company supplied truck, I've never needed to own my own car. Recently though, my wife loaned her "spare" car (Hyundai) to our oldest son, so I decided that I need a car to drive to the store on a wet weekend or to visit my elderly parents in the country, and decided that a cheap Subaru would be ideal. After scouring our version of Craigslist all weekend, I came upon an ad for a 1995 Liberty (Legacy in the US, I think?) sedan in pretty clean condition with 168,000 miles and registered, for only $450.00. Bargain. I drove over and liked the car, so I bought it. The seller said that she'd had new belts fitted to the EJ22 engine on Friday (I've learned a lot here today....) and now the car won't start. The "mechanic" who did the belts at her place told her first that it was flooded, then that the crank angle sensor was shot, took his money and drove off. The engine turns over fine (well it did until she flattened the battery) but now it won't start. Coming from a motorcycle background (Interference engines) I assumed that the valve timing must be correct or else the pistons would be smacking into the valves, but having just learned (from this site) that the EJ22 in my Liberty is a "Non Interference" engine, it could well be that the "mechanic" stuffed up the valve timing when he replaced the belts, but just to cover all bases for when I drive the 50 miles back to the sellers house where the Liberty is still parked, I bought a new, genuine crank angle sensor for the princely sum of $115.00. Soooo, my intent is to ride over to her house next Saturday armed with a jump start pack, a new crank angle sensor, information on correctly setting the valve timing, and some tools. Apart from beer, what else should I take with me to get this thing to fire up? She told me (and I believe her) that the car ran really well before the belts, she only had them changed on the mechanics advice because there was an oil leak from a seal (cam seal?) behind the belts, and he suggested replacing the belts whilst he was at it. I know, it's a lengthy post and I apologise for that, I did check the FAQ's and I found some threads with similar questions, but I wasn't 100% sure that the symptoms were the same as mine. Any help from the collective genius of this forum would be appreciated, I'd really like to drive this car home, not tow it. Cheers, Terry.