Really need to change my belts:banghead: ....first....what are the best belts to get and where? is it okay to get them from oreillys or autozone? whats the best way to change them out? I was looking through my chiltons and says that on my carbed 87 GL wagon the timing numbers/marks should be on my flywheel? it says there is a piece that covers it...no piece there, guess the cover was gone a long time ago......dont see any sort of markings anywhere... how do I change the belts and time it if I have no marks:confused: ? Sorry for the noob crap...still in automotive classes...havn't gotten around to this stuff yet. THANKS A MILLION FOR ALL OF THE HELP!!!!!!!!!!.

if you removed the crank pulley and the belt cogs from the crank snout that will be the mark relative to the flywheel, the mark that represents ALL pistons are in the center of their bore. the cams will line up to the notch in the plastic, which will also be the seam for the valve cover gaskets

 

o deg btdc will be the passenger side cam lined up with the corner ridge of the valve cover

 

check this out:

http://www.economysuperstar.com/milesfox/subaru/service/timingbelt.htm

Miles' T-belt explanation is pretty good, so I'll leave it at that.

 

 

DO get OEM belts though. They're not that expensive, and it's worth it to know that you've got the best quality belts in there.

while your in there, cam seals, oil pump seals and a new water pump are cheap insurance.

thanks much everyone, whers the best place to get the oem belts at?

I would assume go down to your local subaru dealership and have them order them if they don't have them on the shelves collecting dust.

hmmm.....faily far from a subaru dealership...will see what I can find. heres a pic of my belts...

 

 

... they run the same path. Can I not just loosen the alternator bolt, slide it down and pul the belts off and put the new ones on and time it?

Those are your "V" belts, no timing required

Those aren't your timing belts- they're your accessory drive belts. The timing belts are located under the black plastic covers on the front of the engine.

AWESOME....see... being stupid and asking questions paid off....thanks a whole bunch for dealing with all of my stupidity everyone....I really really appreciate it.

As the others have mentioned you don't have to worry about timing with the belts in your picture. The timing belts run the cams for the engine and are inside those black plastic covers behind the belts in your picture. The timing belts are supposed to be changed out every 60k miles. I would recommend you get a service manual for your vehicle since you are going to work on it. It will be as valuable to you as your tools are. Ebay is a good source for manuals and you can even get factory ones for a good price. I would try to get the complete set of 4 books for the car. Ebay has a set right now for an '86 which would be close enough for most things on your model. Here is a link for your convenience. If you got these for around $50 dollars it would be a good price. Think how far that money will go for a service shop repair job. Some places charge more than that for just a diagnosis.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1986-SUBARU-SERVICE-MANUAL-SET-COMPLETE_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6762QQitemZ8011242359QQrdZ1