Another Timing Belt Post: Notes on a 99 Forester 2.5 SOHC

[hohieu]

Just finished with timing belt replacement and all the other little bits on my forester:

 

1)Timing Belt (NAPA)

2)Toothed Idler Pulley (OEM-NSK)

3)Cam Seals and Front Crank Seal (OEM-Nippon Reinz)

4)Oil Pump o-ring (and reseal w/ Permatex Ultra-Gray RTV)

5)Alternator Belt (OEM – Mitsuboshi)

6)A/C Belt (OEM _ Gates)

7)Water pump (Aftermarket-GMB), Thermostat (OEM), + coolant conditioner

 

 

 

Everything I replaced was working just fine – the only items that showed real wear were the accessory belts (items 5 & 6).

 

1) The marks on the NAPA Belt lined up just right on the crankshaft and the right (passenger’s) cam sprocket and a hair outside of the notch on the left cam sprocket. Contrary to what my manual states (40.5 and 44), the tooth count was 43.5 and 47 – thanks to Jam11 for clearing this up for me in a previous post. I am accustomed to changing t-belts on Toyota and Honda inline fours, and it was very nice to have all that extra room to work and to not have to jack the engine up to remove and replace the belt. To break the crank bolt, I used a 16” , ½ “ drive breaker bar and a pipe extension. To keep the crankshaft still, I wedged a factory jack and a 2x4 between the brake pedal and the steering wheel and put the car into 5th gear. Crank Bolt is 22 mm; cam bolts are 17mm. I didn't have too much of a problem but watching the breaker bar bend as I cranked the bolt off was a little scary. I taped a piece of cardboard to the back of the condenser to avoid potential damage.

 

2) Toothed idler was fine at 105K, no noise or leaking grease, but I replaced it anyway for peace of mind. All the others were fine as well.

 

3) The old seals hadn’t started leaking – they were black in color. Replacements were brown, and I’ve read that these will last for the life of the car. I used a screwdriver to gently pry out the old seals. Thanks to bearbalu for the tip on using plumbing couplings as drivers for the cam and crank seals, 1” and 1 1/4”, respectively.

 

4) Oil pump was leaking just a little bit. The screws on the backplate were firmly in there so I left them alone. One little snag – I installed the crank seal while I had the oil pump out and had a heck of time working it back over the snout of crankshaft during oil pump installation. The lip of the seal would get turned inside out, even with some moly paste on the inside lip. I finally got it to go in by using a 1” pvc coupling to guide the seal square over snout. My suggestion would be to either install the seal after the oil pump has been assembled or if you decide like me that it’s easier to drive in the seal while you have the oil pump out, practice the reinstall a few times before you apply the ultra-grey rtv -- this stuff sets very fast. Also, there are a couple of rubber strips that fit into two grooves of the oil pump and seal up the gaps between it and the engine block -- be careful not to lose them. You can push them into place after you've installed the the oil pump.

 

Items 5 &6 were straight forward.

 

7) The old water pump was in good shape – no play at all in the bearings – clearance between the cast impeller and the housing were within spec. The new GMB pump has a stamped impeller. I'll let you know if I encounter any problems with the aftermarket pump.

 

Thanks to everyone for all the invaluable advice and information. This board rocks!

 

 

It was a hot and humid day on the old east coast, but now I can rest easier with my interference engine!

[nipper]

On a subaru, dont beleive anything that "will last the life of the car". These claims are made as a generic statement, for all cars, not subaru specific. We all know subarus will go well into the 200,000 mile range where othe cars go 120-160,000 miles.

Also lifetime warrenties on parts. The marketing models for that is almost 80% of people who buy these parts either sell the car, junk it, or loose the receipt when the part fails. Most times there is no differnce between the std part and the "lifetime" part. Also any part that is deisgned to wear (brakepads) are never lifetime parts. If they didnt wear they wouldnt work.

 

nipper

[hohieu]

Right, Subaru makes no such claims for the oem seals in question, and I agree that you should never buy lifetime brake pads. I was referring to someone on this forum who reiterated what their mechanic told them about the seals when they went in for the timing belt service.

 

In any case, does anyone know why they switched from a black rubber compound to brown? My new oil filler cap seal is also brown.

[avk]

In any case, does anyone know why switched from a black rubber compound to brown? My new oil filler cap seal is also brown.

The brown-colored material is Viton (a DuPont trademark). They made it brown to look diferent from the old type (either nitrile or neoprene rubber).

[hohieu]

Is this Viton better than the other two elastomers?

[avk]

It is a better material: [/url]http://www.iisrp.com/WebPolymers/06ModFluoroelastomersv1-4.pdf