Was taking apart my timing belt and got the cover off. While in compressing the piston to make sure no air is in it, my friend is taking off the pulleys. I didn't know he hadn't lined up the timing marks. Is the drivers side pulley supposed to be harder to spin than the passenger side? Also how do I know where to line the cams up. Thanks. 

one cam is always harder to turn than another due to the cam lobes being oriented differently.

what year and engine?

cam sprockets have notches/markings on their outer circumference.  line that up with the 12 noon notch in the rear timing covers.

 

Rear timing covers = the black covers behind the cam wheels  

Cheers 

Bennie

make sure you use the simple, straight hash mark on the face of the pulley - NOT the arrow.

 

Again, what year, and model????

There are excellent youtube videos on how to completely tear down and reassemble SOHC and DOHC Subaru engines.

Click on either SOHC or DOHC links above and have at it.

Here's another LINK to a great one for SOHC

Edited February 20, 20206 yr by brus brother

Year and model doesn’t really matter. A timing belt is either SOHC or DOHC on a subaru. 

The process is the same for any SOHC. 

The arrow on the LHS bank indicates which cylinder is at TDC. When lining up the cam shaft it should be at about the 1:30 mark from memory. 

Cheers 

Bennie

Thanks everyone. I was worried the timing was wrong but I got it figured out and put back together. My next problem was it was overheating, but I just kept driving around and coming it up with coolant. I would let it cool down before starting it up again once it got hot and it seemed to fix it, as I drive around once fully filled with coolant for 20 minutes and no warning light came on. Thanks for all the help!

On 2/21/2020 at 12:38 AM, el_freddo said:

Year and model doesn’t really matter. A timing belt is either SOHC or DOHC on a subaru.

It does matter if it’s interference and the cams/crank are clocked in a position to damage valves.

 

1 hour ago, cspurli2 said:

Thanks everyone. I was worried the timing was wrong but I got it figured out and put back together. My next problem was it was overheating, but I just kept driving around and coming it up with coolant. I would let it cool down before starting it up again once it got hot and it seemed to fix it, as I drive around once fully filled with coolant for 20 minutes and no warning light came on. Thanks for all the help!

They can be notoriously difficult to bleed. Search for “burping” if you have more issues.  
 

Generally refilling nose up and topping off after a drive or two is good to go. 

On 2/24/2020 at 2:19 PM, idosubaru said:

It does matter if it’s interference and the cams/crank are clocked in a position to damage valves.

 

Yes that is true. But you’ve taken what my message way out of context. Year and model doesn’t matter in terms of kit specifics or how to set up the timing. It’s either SOHC or DOHC. 

Procedure to correctly the fit timing gear is specific to DOHC and SOHC, but it is the same across all models with the specific cam setup it has. 

Probably clear as mud now, but anyway... 

Cheers 

Bennie

Edited February 25, 20206 yr by el_freddo

On 2/24/2020 at 12:09 AM, el_freddo said:

It’s either SOHC or DOHC. 

Good way to put it.  engine was apart, unknown cam history/orientation and engine, and he isn’t familiar with these engines, so the risk of valve issues exists and worth being clear about.