April 2, 200422 yr My motor has been all over my work bench for the last two or three weeks....... putting it back together now........ just noticed that the tensioner springs... the two of them.... they are not identical... one has less coils and is a little thicker.... same overall length........ anyway, does it matter where they are placed... facing front of motor....... left ,,,,, right....... thick spring for the longer belt????????? Any one know??????
April 2, 200422 yr Just did them myself recently... lets call the inner belt, closest to the block, the LEFT belt. The outer belt is the RIGHT belt. The spring with the thicker coil, and maybe 1 or 2 ~less~ turns is on the tensioner for the inner/left belt. The longer spring, which is thinner and therefore easier to pull, is on the outer/right belt tensioner. Just in case it has slipped your mind... are you using a new idler and tensioners? do you know how to tension the belts?
April 2, 200422 yr Author SO that is good I think I put them on correctly..springs..... Initially, I had that thinner one on the left.... Didn't feel right... SO I switched them........ I have put belts on before but,,,,,,, I don't think I really had a method to tightening them so I would like to hear how you do it.......... And no, I didn't replace the tensioners...or idler....... I checked them for side play... They seemed ok......... How often would you change those pups???? It is hard when it comes to replacing stuff....... I like having the philosophy of "well I am here"""" don't want a have to come back in here an change this out later""""""" but, the old wallet is getting thin..... Hey, hopefully this machine will be a story with a happy ending..... Micky
April 2, 200422 yr when i did my engine i bought new springs.. only like $1.87 each.. figured i might as well.. i went by the fsm, but when i got to the tensioning part i didn't do that cause with the new springs the belts were so tight they didn't need tentioned.. been 3k on this motor, no problems..
April 3, 200422 yr My philosophy for maintenance is similar... while you're in here, replace it. Also, if you don't know when it was replaced, definately replace it while you'are in there. I had already read that it was suggested you replace the idler/tensioners when you replace the timing belts. Given the service interval is something like 100,000kms then I think that's a pretty good lifespan. When I spun each pulley they were very noisy so I figured they had never been replaced in the life of this engine (160,000kms). Not only will a new idler/tensioners make your engine run more quietly, there was a user on here who told how his idler pulley siezed up and ripped the timing belt to shreds! To tension the belts you will need a special adapter tool so you can use a torque wrench to turn each camshaft sprocket. If you do a search on "timing belt" you will be able to read what other people use. To make my adapter I took an old camshaft sprocket and cut off the teeth leaving the round plate with 4 holes around the outside, and a big hole in the center. Using high tension hardare I put the biggest bolt that would fit in the center hole, installed a lock nut and cut off the excess threads. I then put 4 longish bolts in each of the outside holes with lock nuts as well. I had to bend the 4 bolts a little but this 4-pronged adapter should now fit onto the front of each camshaft sprocket. You can then use a socket drive to turn the camshaft. You will need a torque wrench that works in the anti-clockwise direction. My deflecting bar wrench doesn't so I had to use a 'cheapo' wrench that has the visible needle pointer and scale.
April 3, 200422 yr Author That is a nice innovation.. That tool you had made............ Thanks for the tip.. it is much appreciated........Just got up from a "power nap"...... off to do those belts as soon as I get some tea......... Who would you say... has the best prices for oem subaru parts........ or if you can give me several who are competitive...... been using 1st subaruparts . com they are ok.... anyone out there better than them?
April 4, 200422 yr I had a shop install EA82 in my Loyale (I removed it myself, but got scared with the install) They installed the engine and the new timing belts. 3 weeks later, the timing belts break, and their version was that the tensioner was bad.
April 5, 200421 yr Sounds like you make a good shadetree mechanic mickytrus... I just shopped for my soob bits locally actually, I didn't really have the time to shop around online and then wait for things to arrive via the sea. I remember someone else on this forum say they had someone else install their timing belts and later break (twice). Apparently some mechanics like to wrench the timing belts as tight as the v-belts.
April 5, 200421 yr An oil filter wrench makes a good belt tensioner if you have a beam style torque wrench handy. Not the prettiest way, but it works. Jay
April 5, 200421 yr Mmmmmm, genuine belts... That's a funky filter wrench, never seen that sort of design before. Maybe the USRM needs a section about extra special home-made service tools.
April 20, 200421 yr Author Hey Hilux......... What is a shade tree mechanic???????? I sure could have used a few tree's this weekend.. got near 90 degrees here....... I got a farmers tan leaning over the wife's subie... doing a water pump and such......... DOn't even have the project car done yet and I got to rip another one apart................ "piles of tools and piles of parts.... oh! here is a good radiator I'll use that one....... Yeah, the cars were swapping parts like mad." Well, all in all the project car wins......... It won the raffle of the new radiator......" Hope, this car will be kind to me.... Micky
May 3, 200421 yr ...a mechanic who works under the shade of a tree or, in other words, a home mechanic who likes to tinker with their own cars, often at their own pace and using much igenuity to get the job done.
May 3, 200421 yr I had a shop install EA82 in my Loyale (I removed it myself, but got scared with the install) They installed the engine and the new timing belts. 3 weeks later, the timing belts break, and their version was that the tensioner was bad. classic example of improper installation, shizz, i use used belts and tensioners all day, used mixand match belts cross-country and back. but i have seen new installations go within a month. make sure you take all the slack out of the DRIVE side of the belt BEFORE you take the slack out with the tensioner side. as long as the tensioner spins freely, its good. the spring wont matter once its all tightened down. just 2 cents from proven experience..........
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