October 12, 200718 yr Mechanic says that It needs a new water pump and a timing belt. He said it would cost around 400-600 to fix. A water pump would be a bout 175 and a timing belt would be 80. Is that right? I'm sure I can get parts cheaper than that , but is it even worth it? Should I just start reading more about EJs?
October 12, 200718 yr Miles on your car? Rust? General shape? Youll meet a lot of people on here that will tell you the ea82 engines are not worth fixing (I can hear them coming now) ....but if you dont romp on 'em too much, Ive found them to be pretty reliable, and worth putting a few new parts into. 600 isnt a bad rate for a "shop" timing belt and water pump change. If you did it yourself, youd save TONS. Also you have to decide how much longer youre going to keep the car (and if its worth it) I just sunk 700 into my Legacy for the same job, and last week the tranny died Pics?
October 12, 200718 yr Should I just start reading more about EJs? What about EJ's? Putting one in or buying an EJ powered car? Timing belt is a relatively easy job that can be done with simple hand tools, some sand paper and possibly an angle grinder & zipties (for the belt cover bolts). You could buy the full timing belt kit and water pump on e-bay for a fraction of that total cost and install everything in a weekend. It doesn't sound like the shop is going to replace the tensioners. What exactly did he tell you that indicated the belts and water pump needed changed? Mileage?
October 12, 200718 yr Author The car has 160,000 on it. It has pretty little rust, just over one fender. Over all it's in good shape and I would like to keep it for a while. I do have little knowledge on working on cars myself but I should probably get around to trying things on my own. When I said ej I meant putting one in mine. I'm on my phone right now so I can't post pictures. I just took it in saying that I was leaking coolant and he said it was because I need a new water pump and timing belt.
October 12, 200718 yr Yeah, its usually a good idea to change the belts when you are in there. Its really easy to do and a LOT easier than trying to stuff an EJ in there. Just take your time and take out the radiator and clean everything as you go. Its the first thing I did on my current wagon and was quite fun... once I got the timing belt covers off.
October 13, 200718 yr This: I do have little knowledge on working on cars myself but I should probably get around to trying things on my own. + When I said ej I meant putting one in mine. = Failure. I'm sorry but if you aren't well versed in turning wrenches and cutting wiring and knowing what belongs where in a car, you shouldn't even be thinkin about an EJ swap. It's not like a honda civic where you can pull up to a performance shop with some money and leave with a B16 under the hood. Timing belts are easy. It was the first real automotive job I ever did. I was 12 mabe 13 at the time I think. Up till then my only experience had been on small power equipment and tractors. It was my dad's old car, had 9x,000 miles on it and the T-belt snapped. He couldn't figure out why it wouldn't run. I figured it out and swapped in a new belt using a Haynes manual and some of his tools on my own. Beat that 3-door for years.
October 13, 200718 yr Author Well, sounds like a project. And if I mess it up I can just buy another one . Thanks for the input.
October 13, 200718 yr You can't really mess up the timing belts and ruin the engine as they are non-interference. First time I did the belts I had one of the cam pulleys 180* out and it just didn't start. Redid them and it started right up. Water pump was the first thing I ever did on my first EA82. That was an experience as I was stuck near the top of Spooner Summit on the side of the road trying to do it without a clue as to what I was doing. Pretty straight forward. Remove the hoses, belts, and bolts. Clean the mating surfaces and put in a new gasket and bolt it all back up. Others can give more detail if you need it. Good luck with whatever you do.
October 13, 200718 yr belts and water pumps can usually be had for chump change, i'd get a kit on ebay that includes the entire timing belt set - belts and all new pulleys/tensioners. if you do that, keep the engine from overheating and running out of oil i can nearly gaurantee this motor will make 200,000 miles with ease...probably far more. those entire kits can be had for $80 or something. i've gotten water pumps under $10 on places like rockauto.com. thing is, even if you get a new used car, you'll still need to attend to maintenance items...like timing belts. if everything is in good condition on your loyale it is certainly worth it. hopefully he'll let you find the parts and hopefully save a hundred bucks. if you were close to me i'd freaking do it for you for less, it's a very easy job. while yo'ure in there it's a good idea to replace the 2 cam seals, crank seal and reseal the oil pump. sounds like alot but it's all sitting right behind the belt, so it's very easy once the belt is off. if you do this job then your $3 cam seal starts to leak you've got to pay those hundreds of dollars again in labor to remove the timing belts and get to that $3 seal.
October 13, 200718 yr yea totally do it yourself. you dont have a turbo do you. i havnt had to tackle anything like that yet thank goodness but i will be doing it myself. if you look up on here it will show you how to do many things people have tackled here before. Just make to let people know what exactly you drive that will help them out more. Ben
October 13, 200718 yr http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=50768 Read that before you change your belts. Its an easy job, and that tells you all you need to know.
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