August 16, 201213 yr 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.
August 16, 201213 yr It's the kind of thing I would do, but not what I would tell others in the same predicament. Credit for ingenuity and bravery! You uhh... "got-r-dun". :-p
August 16, 201213 yr I nominate this thread for 'Best Redneck Engineering Stunt' (B.R.E.S.) of 2012 !
August 16, 201213 yr nice hit. replace the others that way and you'll have a sweet looking swiss cheese timing belt cover. many of us run 'naked' without timing belt covers to make belt changes a snap. our belt/pulley changes probably take as long as it took you to do that. but that's only if you've done a bunch of these things, first time would certainly take longer. Edited August 16, 201213 yr by grossgary
August 16, 201213 yr Author 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.
August 16, 201213 yr nice hit. replace the others that way and you'll have a sweet looking swiss cheese timing belt cover. many of us run 'naked' without timing belt covers to make belt changes a snap. our belt/pulley changes probably take as long as it took you to do that. but that's only if you've done a bunch of these things, first time would certainly take longer. Leave the hood off the car and make the tb changes even faster.
August 16, 201213 yr That's just silly. I can understand replacing the idler if you are economically challenged but there's no reason to keep any of the belt covers. Non-interferance engine - run it naked. GD
August 16, 201213 yr Ya, but to run coverless you have to take the belts and crank pulley off. It's easier just to cut the hole... I guess you could try to break the cover away from the pulley, but that would probably be a pain.
August 16, 201213 yr Economically challenged would mean running the covers to me. Risk all the grit, grime and crap getting in the belt, idlers, seals because of a few little 10MM bolts? I think that is the silly part.
August 17, 201213 yr Author 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).
August 17, 201213 yr I have done similar in the past, but I busted the cover off, and used a pair of diagonal cutters to sever around the crank pulley to get it off.
August 17, 201213 yr so many naked motors love it throw dem dam covers away lol well on the ea82 anway or mabee the ej 22 na all of them mind you the rocks do get in there my buggy runs a cover and still has many rocks and drit packed into belt dam those belts are strong mine had eaten lots of dirt and never jumped yet
August 17, 201213 yr I haven't seen an EJ belt failure due to cover-less belts. I feel they hold in as many demons as they keep out - easier to listen to idlers, look for wobble, and clean the whole area with the steam cleaner. I only consider this a viable option if the engine is non-interference. Just as a precaution against random foreign object damage. Though I have encountered that only once on an EA82 and the "object" was a red shop rag that accidentally got sucked into the belts. Snapped the EA belt instantly. I feel a solid EJ belt would probably eat the rag and ask for seconds. :-p GD
August 17, 201213 yr This reminds me some highway crap broke the top part of my driver's side belt cover on my EJ25D I still have the broken part here and I can see the belt clearly.. I need to get around to ordering a cover I just forget what the part number is because I did have it at once point.
August 18, 201213 yr If you have any duct tape (used, of course) you could cover the hole right back up! >
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now