cap86 Posted September 11, 2005 Share Posted September 11, 2005 I've had timing belts go but this is a new one for me, the Idler Bearing on the driver side timing belt disintegrated. The car kept going, (Wife drove it home - "the car is making a funny sound Dear") but sounded like it had thrown a rod and was chugging along on 2 cylinders. Engine only has 190K/mi +/- on it. (The surprising thing is that the belt looks fine.) I got a kit that includes tensioners and the idler on eBay for $65 - made by "PCI - Preferred Components Inc." anbody know if they are any good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthWet Posted September 11, 2005 Share Posted September 11, 2005 ... I got a kit that includes tensioners and the idler on eBay for $65 - made by "PCI - Preferred Components Inc." anbody know if they are any good? Unknown to me, but... ... they have to be better than the one you have!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buru Posted September 12, 2005 Share Posted September 12, 2005 Absolutely REPLACE the timing belts! If your idler disinegrated, no telling what damage you could have done to the belt(s). Not worth the chance for $30 extra. I just picked up a 92 loyale with 104,000 k original, for $250 last weekend , young girl was sick of it, and timing belt broke in walmart lot. Price she got quoted from subaru dealer was too high, so she dumped it! Anyways, replaced all the seals, tensioners, pumps and stuff while doing the belts. I also replaced the idler b/c it had significant side-to-side play in it compared to the new one, and that's with only 100,000. So I can definitely see it falling apart at 190,000. Don't know PCI, but I haven't been buying a lot of replacement parts. I'm sure it will last you awhile however, at least as long as the new timing belts. They recommend you change those every 60,000 or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cap86 Posted September 23, 2005 Author Share Posted September 23, 2005 I'm soooo Screwed... The PCI belts LOOK OK but theyre made in China so they'll probably snap in about a week. (The Idler and Tensioners look good.) Anyway, I get them on and then I found it... one of the drivers side tensioner pulley bolts has been stripped by some dolt (It wasn't me... honest! I was even using a torque wrench) what are the chances that the other bolt will hold it? The one in the slot is the one that's stripped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buru Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 Best option would be to helicoil it or tap out for next biggest size....you could see if one bolt will hold it.....but it just depends on how ballsy you are and whether you want to have to tear into it again if it comes loose. I replaced my tensioners @ 100,000 miles cause they were pretty worn out, check yours good. Wouldn't worry about the belt brand since you already have them, they'll last awhile (although not as long as OEM). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephenw22 Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 It would be worth your while to pick up helicoil kits for your car. Most bolts are either M6x1.0, M8X1.25, or M10X1.25. Three kits will cover just about everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 would you like to hear a much easier solution? get a bolt of the same thread but longer. the threads are deeper than the stock bolts that are used. so if you get a longer bolt you can reach the good threads at the bottom of the hole. it's best to at least run a tap, or if you don't have one, run a longer bolt all the way down and back out a few times to clean the holes out. a tap is nice just in case there is any length of the hole at the bottom that is drilled out but not tapped. but i've never really needed a tap, it will work just fine without one, it's one more level that's all. if you find a bolt that is too long...in other words it reaches the bottom of the hole before actually tightening the tensioner then use any number of lock washers (good idea anyway) to space the bolt out. install pulley, then lock washers on top of it to take up some of the length of the bolt. this will work work almost every time and you'll get it to torque to spec's .... i can almost garuantee it. i helicoil any that are stripped if i pull the motor, but doing it in the car with a right angle drill sucks and takes time. finding a longer bolt takes all of 52 seconds and requires no expensive parts (heli-coil kits). good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cap86 Posted September 23, 2005 Author Share Posted September 23, 2005 Thanks for the responses guys. grossgary - Great Idea! you made my day. I've never done a heli-coil and the thought of doing it first time in cramped quarters like that is not a happy prospect. (the tensioners and idler are new, came with that PCI kit.) I have a bucket full of sooby bolts shouldn't be too hard to find something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 yeah those timing tensioner bolts are a dime a dozen in terms of matching threads. i'd even look around the rest of the car looking for something close if you don't have one. it's even worth it to go to Lowes or Home Depot or any hardware store to get the exact length/size/thread you need. stick something down the hole to "measure" the depth, don't forget to include the depth of the tensioner and maybe one lock washer. take this length (a straw perhaps would work, cut to length) to the store and get the exact size bolt you need. if you have a long bolt you can cut it to length as well with a hacksaw, electric saw, whatever. but you'll likely need a die to cut the end back in shape. you shouldn't have a problem, like i said i bet i've done this 10 times on soobs and it's almost always worked. i think the only time i didn't get it to work was when a chunk of the block (a very large chunk) came out with the pulley bolt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoostedBalls Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 I would take a flashlight and look into the hole to see how many threads you have past the stripped out area. If you have 5 or 6 good threads, I would clean it out with some carb cleaner and screw in a stud of the right length after coating the threads with JB weld. Not too tight! Then you just need to use a nut to hold the pully on. The stud will work better than a bolt with the limited threads because the twisting force is almost elliminated with the stud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cap86 Posted September 24, 2005 Author Share Posted September 24, 2005 Also a good idea, thanks... I'll see how many threads are in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shadow Posted September 24, 2005 Share Posted September 24, 2005 I recently had the same experience as I just did my timing belts last tueday for the first time on this car. Someone had stripped the lower drivers side tensioner hole. It seemed to be holding ok before I removed it, but I went ahead and helicoiled it. The prospect required the removal of the radiator, which was done anyway, the a/c condenser, and the front bumper because of the length of my drill+bit. If you have a/c and want to do it properly you will need to have the system evacuated first. I already had mine done a few weeks prior and was running with just a vacuum to test the system for leakdown. The actual helicoil process is simple and only takes about 5 minutes + dry time for the lock-tite red I use to ensure they dont move after installation. All that said, if you have a short drill bit (21/64") + a right angle drill/adapter, you may be able to do it easily without so much equipment removal. The threads are M8x1.25 for future searches. Do a search for time-sert here and on google for a better helicoil alternative, if you're not in a hurry. Expensive up front tool cost for these thread inserts, but well worth it if you have to do one every once in awhile. CCR uses them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cap86 Posted September 24, 2005 Author Share Posted September 24, 2005 More bad news... there already was a longer bolt in there. I pulled one off a parts engine and it was about 5 threads shorter. I'm really bummed out... I didn't notice any difference in the two idler bolts on that side when I took em out to replace the idler, so I'm guessing that the other one is longer too and probably hanging on by a thread. There's no way that the pivot bolt alone is going to hold it. If it were the other way around and the pivot bolt was the bad one, I might take a chance on the adjustable one holding. The car has (non-working) air conditioning so it'd be a big headache to get at it with a straight drill. Also I don't have a right angle drill and I've never done a helicoil to begin with so I don't have a lot of confidence trying it. I recently picked up a low miles running motor and since this motor has 201k miles on it and has had that intermittent ticking for the past hundred thousand miles maybe it would be a better idea to just replace the motor. Is it possible to yank out the A/C system while (If) I'm doing it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted September 25, 2005 Share Posted September 25, 2005 I recently picked up a low miles running motor and since this motor has 201k miles on it and has had that intermittent ticking for the past hundred thousand miles maybe it would be a better idea to just replace the motor. Is it possible to yank out the A/C system while (If) I'm doing it? Not sure if you want to save the AC or remove it, but: I have swapped engines without discharging the AC system. Just un mount the compressor and bend / flip up and back, maybe tie in place with a wire. If you want to remove it permanently, you might need an idler for the belt. Years ago I turned spacers to allow me to use standard bearings with the idlers, so I only replace 3 +-$5.00 bearings to get new idlers. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cap86 Posted September 25, 2005 Author Share Posted September 25, 2005 I was thinking of eliminating the A/C it hasn't worked in years. I don't know what it needs I just assumed that it would be expensive to fix and probably wouldn't last long. Am I right in thinking this - or are these A/C systems worth trying to fix and how much does that usually cost? Replacing the bearings sounds like a good way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 I was thinking of eliminating the A/C it hasn't worked in years. I don't know what it needs I just assumed that it would be expensive to fix and probably wouldn't last long. Am I right in thinking this - or are these A/C systems worth trying to fix and how much does that usually cost? The AC in my 88, 90 and 92 all still work. When the 90 system started to loose cooling a bunch of years ago, I got the test dye from NAPA and put it into the system with a little added freon A longwave UV light lights up the dye so you can find the leak. It turned out that the seat for the o-ring on the sight glass on the acumulator / filter rusted and leaked. I put in a new accumulator/filter. I use a rotary compressor from an old window AC as a vacuume pump. You have to suck all of the air out of the system after repairing it. Also good to know if you got the leak sealed. More details on this if you want. Then take it somewhere and just have it charged. Replacing the bearings sounds like a good way to go. I buy a few sets at a time from a local bearing supply house. I get the ones rated for higher temperatures. BTW, I saw some kind of service update on the timing belts a long time ago - They changed the replace interval to 40,000 miles. It was 60,000 in the manual and I always wondered why they rarely made it! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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