April 30, 201411 yr neighbor offered me a 55k mile--2004 legacy, said it was driven to work, started-it-up to return home, it idled a moment, started making 'never before heard' engine noises, then stopped altogether. would not re-fire, a friend checked, it turned-over freely, had spark, fuel, all cylinders had no compression, [said the timing belt moved when the motor was turned to get compression]----when i looked the car over, very clean, appeared well-kept. the timing belt looks like new! they asked me if it was worth $2000, i'd take a chance on repairing it to drive---however my limited internet search has not rewarded me with any clues as to what might have failed! seems extremely early for a timing belt failure. any suggestions? thanx red
April 30, 201411 yr more than likely a timing component failure. one of the 3 pulleys can seize, the tensioner can fail, or the bolt holding the tensioner broke - commonly happens after a timing belt installation - probably improperly disassembled/assembled/over torqued. they usually sustain valve damage, so there's probably 8 - 12 bent valves, that's about the norm. of course check to make sure you didn't get lucky - hang the belt properly and make sure they're bent first. best course of action if they have bent valves. 1. get a set of used heads *** 2. resurface the heads (no point to test or check them for pressure/crack/warp- they NEVER do) just an inexpensive resurface is all they need 3. install new Six Star, Cometic, or MLS Subaru headgaskets 4. adjust the valves 5. install a Gates timing belt kit - 3 pulleys and new tensioner. they're only $120 on rockauto or amazon. 6. reseal the oil pump and replace the cam seals while the timing belt is off. only takes a couple minutes. use Subaru or high quality seals at least. 7. add Subaru's coolant conditioner, it's $2.50 a bottle and required for that engine. *** alternately for #1 you can replace all the bent valves. but it's time consuming and the valves are expensive. it's cheaper to get a used set of heads and saves gobs of time. i've also had the problem where the valves are "bent" but it's nearly impossible to discern which are bent and which are not, even with straight edges, pulling them out of the head comparing side to side. sometimes they're completely whacked but some just get "touched" and barely tweaked. Done and reliable for 105,000 miles.
April 30, 201411 yr For a 2004 not a bad price even if you had to spend sat another 2000 to 2500 if the rest of the car is good look at the prices for one that is running. Find someone that really knows something about Subaru's to do the work. I paid 2400 for mine and had to put about 2000 in body work, and bakes little things. Now the trans if acting funny but I still like the car. No car payment ( smile ) Good luck. Gunner
May 1, 201411 yr Author gunner and grossgary, thanx for your comments, repairing a subaru would be a new experience for me, the challenge and potential of low-cost transportation is appealing. i'm patiently awaiting the owners decision as to which direction he should/will go. will keep you posted. thanx red
May 1, 201411 yr This is a too typical problem on low mileage cars. People do not know that one month is equal to 1000 miles of wear. In addition to what Grossgary said, change all the fluids too.
May 1, 201411 yr more than likely a timing component failure. one of the 3 pulleys can seize, the tensioner can fail, or the bolt holding the tensioner broke - commonly happens after a timing belt installation - probably improperly disassembled/assembled/over torqued. they usually sustain valve damage, so there's probably 8 - 12 bent valves, that's about the norm. of course check to make sure you didn't get lucky - hang the belt properly and make sure they're bent first. best course of action if they have bent valves. 1. get a set of used heads *** 2. resurface the heads (no point to test or check them for pressure/crack/warp- they NEVER do) just an inexpensive resurface is all they need 3. install new Six Star, Cometic, or MLS Subaru headgaskets 4. adjust the valves 5. install a Gates timing belt kit - 3 pulleys and new tensioner. they're only $120 on rockauto or amazon. 6. reseal the oil pump and replace the cam seals while the timing belt is off. only takes a couple minutes. use Subaru or high quality seals at least. 7. add Subaru's coolant conditioner, it's $2.50 a bottle and required for that engine. *** alternately for #1 you can replace all the bent valves. but it's time consuming and the valves are expensive. it's cheaper to get a used set of heads and saves gobs of time. i've also had the problem where the valves are "bent" but it's nearly impossible to discern which are bent and which are not, even with straight edges, pulling them out of the head comparing side to side. sometimes they're completely whacked but some just get "touched" and barely tweaked. Done and reliable for 105,000 miles. 5 1/2: Water pump as well? It's one of the timing components and, although 55k is low miles, it's 10 years old. As nipper says, the age also counts.
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