gohawks Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 I have a recently aquired 1995 Legacy wagon. Poking around under the hood I noticed that there are several dabs of white paint on various components. Specifically the timing belt cover. Also there is one on some smallish square box coming off of the air filter box (sorry for the technical terms there), Mass air flow sensor of some type perhaps? Also a third one near the driver's side shock mount under the hood. Does this indicate servicing? I was told by the previous owner that the vehicle had its 60000 mile service (no paper trail however). Any guess on what these dabs of white paint are? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virrdog Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 Typically those are from the factory saying this has been set to spec, don't touch it. If you do, bye bye warranty (if it still matters). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 The marks also provide a quick visual check at the factory that a certain procedure or calibration or whatever was done on the vehicle. Do the inspector can verify someone at least put the mark on saying something was done and it didn't get missed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gohawks Posted June 17, 2007 Author Share Posted June 17, 2007 well safe to say I think i'm out of warranty Thanks for the help. Would it be strange for the dealer to not put a T-belt mileage sticker somewhere after the change? I'm just trying to cover my bases here and make sure that it has been done. Perhaps SOA keeps records of service done? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 You would be able to find out at my.subaru.com but last I was on I think you can only register '96+ vehicles. But it shows all dealer service history and other stuff. I don't think dealers put any stickers under the hood showing any kind of service that was done. The other option is if you know what dealer this service was supposed to have been done at call them and ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gohawks Posted June 17, 2007 Author Share Posted June 17, 2007 You would be able to find out at my.subaru.com but last I was on I think you can only register '96+ vehicles. But it shows all dealer service history and other stuff. I don't think dealers put any stickers under the hood showing any kind of service that was done. The other option is if you know what dealer this service was supposed to have been done at call them and ask. I registered my vehicle yesterday, it goes back to 1995. No service history has shown up yet as the site indicates that they are verifying that the vehicle belongs to me. In the toyota world the dealer always places a sticker on the timing belt cover that indicates the date and mileage of the last timing belt change. Thanks for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 Cool. Yes they verify your ownership of the vehicle with the DMV I think. I faxed them my title and registration on one of mine to speed up the process. If you just bought the car, they will probably tell you they couldn't verify that you are the current owner and ask for some kind of proof. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 since your vehicle is 10 years old and has 60,000 miles i would look at the belt. if you can't find proof anywhere, then that's your next best step. it only takes three 10mm bolts to look at the timing belt, it's very easy to do. the right and left timing covers come right off very easy without removing anything else. most likely the belt was recently replaced...if it all....so it should obvious if it's only a year or two old or if it's 13 years old. also...if it doesn't show up in Subaru records, maybe it wasn't done by Subaru. if that's the case you'll see the writing on the belt will indicate an aftermarket belt, which obviously means it was replaced. if you can do it yourself your best bet really is to remove the belt anyway. check for play in the water pump, oil pump backing screws, and replace any pulleys, or the bearings, that are bad. by this age there is normally at least one, usually the sprocketed pulley at the bottom, that needs replaced. i replaced the one on my wifes 97 OBS with only 68,000 miles and a friends 97 Impreza with only 80,000 miles. they were both noisey and spun freely. most shops and dealers aren't that cautious about those items. age is against you here, not mileage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gohawks Posted June 18, 2007 Author Share Posted June 18, 2007 Okay I was able to pry back the cover a bit and noticed that it was a Goodyear timing belt. So it has been changed. Now, somehow when I attemted to back out one of the bolts holding the cover on I managed to every so slightly crack the bolt housing on the timing belt cover. Is this a big deal? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted June 18, 2007 Share Posted June 18, 2007 Not a huge deal. I would just thinly paste some jbweld or black rtv over it just to be sure water doesn't get in. The bolts often snap off and/or the covers crack at the bolt holes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virrdog Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 Now, somehow when I attemted to back out one of the bolts holding the cover on I managed to every so slightly crack the bolt housing on the timing belt cover. Is this a big deal? Thanks. You'll be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 you might check with goodyear and see how long the belt is supposed to last, 60k or 100k? but regardless, if it fails all it will hurt is your arrival time at your destination. 95 is non interferrence engine and t-belt failure does no harm to the engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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