I've got a 91 Loyale (5speed, ea82, non-turbo, 4wd) and it died last week, and won't start.  After some research on here and playing around under the hood and seeing that the distributor rotor didn't spin, I found that the driver's side timing belt had snapped.

 

I found milesfox's Timing belt replacement guide which is plenty thorough to get me through the process with my small amount of knowledge I think, but I've got a few questions. ( http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/48359-timing-belt-procedure-ea82/ )

 

First, the previous owner replaced the timing belts and resealed the engine right before he sold the car to me which is somewhere between 15000-20000 miles ago, so not very long for a timing belt to snap.  So, what causes a timing belt snap and are there things I should be looking at that could have caused this problem?

 

Second, is it totally necessary to remove the engine or radiator to do this job?  Is it either/or ?  If I have to remove the engine i'm not going to try this one myself, but if i can just pull the radiator out i will probably try it.

 

Thanks!

... 15000-20000 miles ago, so not very long for a timing belt to snap.  So, what causes a timing belt snap? ...

 

Either could be Cheapo, bad quality Belts and / or they did not replace the Tensioners and / or the rotors, and one or more of them stopped spinning as they should; also a belt could have short lifespan if it touches the plastic covers on a bad install, or if the belts have been in contact with chemical.

 

 

 

... are there things I should be looking at that could have caused this problem?

 

Look for those Tensioners / rotors, and Worn \ Warped plastic parts on the covers.

 

 

 

... Second, is it totally necessary to remove the engine or radiator to do this job?  Is it either/or ?  If I have to remove the engine i'm not going to try this one myself, but if i can just pull the radiator out i will probably try it.

 

No, it is Not Necessary to remove the engine, nor the Radiator; only the outside belts and fans assembly.

 

However some of us here highly recommend to remove the Plastic Covers from the Timing Belts, not only because they're old and could be warped or crack anytime causing problems, but also not having them on, makes way easier to diagnose and service the belts; my Subaru "BumbleBeast" runs with both belts completely "Naked" since many years ago, and it is used as offroader often.

 

Kind Regards.

Edited July 5, 201411 yr by Loyale 2.7 Turbo

and search in here, so many questions, threads and posts on timing belt instals, failures etc

thank you Loyale2.7Turbo, I'm definitely going to leave the covers off.  We are part way through, everything is going alright so far except we cannot get the cam sprockets to turn to line the marks up.  Is there a trick to that?

Subaru makes a wrench with two prongs that insert into holes on the sprocket.  You could take the old belt and wrap it around the sprocket in order to get a good grip on it, and turn it that way.

thank you Loyale2.7Turbo ...

 

You're Welcome!

 

And scoobiedubie already gave you a good idea.

 

Post photos of the Subaru, if you could.

 

Kind Regards.

Got the job done and the car running, thanks for the help.  I can at least drive it around now but its not running very strong, the engine struggles hard on acceleration, especially in the lower rpm range.  It sounds alright but I give it gas and it doesn't give me much power in return.  It would do this occasionally before the belt broke, but its way worse now.  If the timing was off by just one or two degrees of cam sprocket rotation, would that cause this?  Or do I need to be looking into something else?

You should check them again. Since you left your covers off it should be easy. I use a mirror on a stick to reach it down there and make sure the cam hole is faced 180 degree of each other. Use the creases in the case as reference points. It is not necessary to remove the radiator or engine, although it helps. Let us know if the marks are lined up. 

just checked them and yes they are 180 degrees of each other.  Might be off a couple degrees from exactly 180, but it looks right on to me.

just checked them and yes they are 180 degrees of each other.  Might be off a couple degrees from exactly 180, but it looks right on to me.

if its a couple degrees from 180 then you might have one that's a tooth off or something..

... you might have one that's a tooth off or something..

 

Yes!

 

Also, how is your ignition timing at the Distributor?

 

It should be around 20º

 

Kind Regards.

Ask Miles Fox

 

 

Ignition timing is fine, but the drivers side belt is off by one tooth.  I'll fix that tomorrow and see how it runs.  Thanks everyone for the help, MilesFox i don't think i could have done the job without your written/photo tutorial, thank you.  The videos are great too, just didn't see them til now.

 

hoping the one tooth solves the problem!

Ignition timing is fine, but the drivers side belt is off by one tooth ... hoping the one tooth solves the problem!

 

I Bet it will do, but please Update this thread with the Results.

 

Kind Regards.

It should. Having the belt jump 1 tooth throws it off quite a bit. Let us know if it doesnt. 

Yes, one tooth does make a big difference!  Also changed one of the tensioner pulleys that had seized up and I hadn't realized it the first time around.  Everything is running well now, I have power back underfoot!  It still acts a little sluggish occasionally but it did before the belt broke and I think that's due to a small exhaust leak.

 

Thanks all for the help, I'll add this one to the list of things I would never have been able to do without the USMB!