well sounds like something confusing is going on.

 

no...no...no....no, Subaru never had a timing chain on older motors. EA stuff definitely does not have a chain. please post pictures!!!!

Ditto what everyone has said about re-tensioning. During the first 100K or so I had my '87 the driver side belt only lasted 40-50K but never 60. Then I heard about re-tensioning them at 30K and haven't had a belt break since (I know I just jinxed myself!!!). That was about 1991.

 

I actually re-tension them every 20K on 3 SPFI EA82s in the family and change them at 60K. Total miles on the 3 cars: '87 313K, '89-1 240K, '89-2 (the baby) only 200K.

 

For what it's worth, I've NEVER changed idler pulleys or tensioners, but I do change cam seals every belt change - oil is not your timing belts friend.

 

If you cannot do it yourself, you can probably stretch it to 30K before re-tensioning. A knowledgable mechanic should be able to do it in an hour or less.

 

A final word of caution for you low-time do it yourselfers: Be careful tightening the tensioner bolts - use a torque wrench. It's very easy to over torque them and strip out the threads (steel bolts in an alloy block!). Actually this is true for just about everything on a Subaru engine - steel bolts into alloy should always be torqued or if it is just a bolt holding a small bracket or such, tighten them less than you're tempted to.

 

Sorry, I just couldn't resist beating this subject to death just a little more.