yeah i checked them all out....the only idler that is kind of iffy is the one that is by the passangers side head at the lowest point...its a tad noisy...none of them are leaking or anything though......it kind of sounds stupid but i may just to the the junkyard and pull it (its amazing almost every suby at my local JY already have the timing blets off for some reason or another)..i will prob. give subaru a c all but I doubt that they would just sell that one idler.....

alright got to work on the cam seals again today....i got the seals in (easier than i thought with a little bit of oil) and the sprokets on and everything is torqued to spec...the tensioner is compressed and i just started putting it in when i got no threads whatsoever on one to the bolt holes.......the other one went in great (good grip)....im trying to avoid helle coiling it.....one of the master techs told me that i could just get a size or two bigger bolt and put that in there( he said i may have to drill out the one bolt hole on the tensioner a tiny bit but thats about it) he said it would work great.......so with his help im going to go down that road tomarrow........anyone ever run into this problem before? 96' legacy ej22........

anyone ever run into this problem before? 96' legacy ej22........

the life of a subaru hobbyist means dealing with stripped aluminum bolts holes!

 

the first and easiest step is to clean the threads out with a tap and install a longer bolt. don't go with a bigger bolt, start with just a longer bolt of the same thread pitch. the holes are typically drilled and tapped deeper than the original bolts in them. so a longer bolt reaches new and unused threads at the bottom of the hole. be careful, if the bolt is too long and bottoms out, just put some washers under the head to space it out.

 

i like the chase the threads in the hole and the threads on the longer bolt just to be sure it threads perfectly smooth and grabs tight. this works most of the time.

 

otherwise helicoil isn't that hard really. but you have a few options if that first one doesn't work (but i've gotten it to work quite a bit).

remember - the tensioner SLIDES on those bolts for initial location. You might need to file the groove in the tensioner a bit to clear the bolt shaft.

 

Also, (hate to say this) those probably need to be rethreaded if you are going up a size. I doubt that you can cram in a larger dia bolt without tapping it - and IF you are going that far, you might just as well heli-coil it) Check and see if you can go a bit LONGER first (looking for threads undamaged at the bottom of the hole) Usually even with blind holes, they don't bottom the fastener. If you go up a bit in length you might need to grind off a bit on the end to stop it from bottoming (or add a washer or 2)

 

sorry, Gary - thinking along the same lines

alright got to work on the cam seals again today....i got the seals in (easier than i thought with a little bit of oil) and the sprokets on and everything is torqued to spec...the tensioner is compressed and i just started putting it in when i got no threads whatsoever on one to the bolt holes.......the other one went in great (good grip)....im trying to avoid helle coiling it.....one of the master techs told me that i could just get a size or two bigger bolt and put that in there( he said i may have to drill out the one bolt hole on the tensioner a tiny bit but thats about it) he said it would work great.......so with his help im going to go down that road tomarrow........anyone ever run into this problem before? 96' legacy ej22........

 

You can replace the bracket that the tensoiner sits on. It's only held on with 2 or 3 bolts and is easy to come by. If you want I can look in my spare parts and see if I have one.

i dont understand the tensioner just screws right into the block right?.....i dont mean to sound rude but how would that bracket help me........

From what I see in the endwrench timing belt article, it's an attached piece that looks removable (Phase 1 anyway)

 

Since I haven't been into one yet, I can't say for sure

yeah your right i just took a closer look at the article...thanks aircraftengineer....the real question is than.....do the bolts that hold the tensioner screw into the block or that bracket?

yeah your right i just took a closer look at the article...thanks aircraftengineer....the real question is than.....do the bolts that hold the tensioner screw into the block or that bracket?

 

You'll see if you look at it, the whole front section of the driver side of the engine, is a cast aluminum piece, almost a spacer, what you and others are calling the bracket. Directly above the water pump. It's mounted with 3 bolts to the block.

 

The Tensioner is mounted to the bracket.

 

Get the bracket from any other Phase 1 EJ and you're set.

i dont understand the tensioner just screws right into the block right?.....i dont mean to sound rude but how would that bracket help me........

 

The tensioner bolts to an aluminum bracket that bolts to the block. I looked and the spare one I have is for the newer style tensioner, won't work for you. But you should be able to find one easily.

thats good to know i was skeptical about putting a larger bolt in because i dont really know what kind of passages are in there that i could potentially "dig" into.......do i need to drain the oil or coolant or anything to take the bracket off?...or do i need to remove anything else that i havent yet? so far i have removed the tensioner (obviously), timing belt, i put the cam sprockets back on though.......thanks for your help fellas

thats good to know i was skeptical about putting a larger bolt in because i dont really know what kind of passages are in there that i could potentially "dig" into.......do i need to drain the oil or coolant or anything to take the bracket off?...or do i need to remove anything else that i havent yet? so far i have removed the tensioner (obviously), timing belt, i put the cam sprockets back on though.......thanks for your help fellas

 

Nope you don't have to drain anything or take anything else off. Just 2 or 3 bolts hold the bracket to the block.

thanks alot subaru 360......i called up my local subaru dealer and they wanted $100 bucks for a new one......may take a little while but im gonna hit up the JY tomarrow and hopefully find a suby with all the timing componants already removed....i just cant justify $100 for that part.....though i guess it is pretty crucial.....

If Subaru 360 doesn't have one I have a junk motor here.

 

I've never had your problem but I didn't realize that it was a 'replaceable part' until this thread.

 

Dave

thanks alot subaru 360......i called up my local subaru dealer and they wanted $100 bucks for a new one......may take a little while but im gonna hit up the JY tomarrow and hopefully find a suby with all the timing componants already removed....i just cant justify $100 for that part.....though i guess it is pretty crucial.....

 

I know there are a few right not at harry's in pennsburg. I don't know far you want to drive. If not dave says he has one too.

well i vaugely remember seeing a few subys already torn down at a place called Shortys you pull it in king of prussia...thats not to far from me so tomarrow i will pull the tensioner off my motor (just to bring with me to make absoulte sure)....and head up there....if i dont end up finding anything i will def ask around the board......davebugs- thanks for the offer if i dont find anything i will hit you up......

alirighty...what i managed to do was to drill out the hole and retap it......i threw that back in, put the tensioner in, reinstalled the timing belt and started her up for a few sec.....ran like a charm.....now the eay process of reinstalling everything.....thanks for all your help guys....i would have never known that tensioner bracket even existed if i didnt run into this problem...man you always learn something new.......

alright got everything back together and it runs just fine...a little rich because the bat. was disconnected and i think the PCM lost its Keep Alive Memory so after a little bit of driving i think it should go back to normal......thanks for all your help fellas...so far the cam seals/ orings are a success....