Did my 96 Subaru Legacy timing belt break?

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: Thermo1223
Originally Posted By: Miller88
I don't like having to pay a shop to disassemble the front of the engine to change a glorified rubber band ... and if I don't spend $1000 to do that, I have to buy a $3000 engine.

Instead, because I have a timing chain, I don't have to worry about it.

Yes, there are timing chains with problems .. but EVERY timing belt will fail.


You are so FULL of wrong where do we start?

Is your serpentine belt a "glorified rubber band" as well?

Since you've never owned one how would you know what it cost?

Every timing chain will fail as well, some much sooner than you would ever believe. Nylon gears, but chain guides, bad tensioners, chains are not immune to anything.

Having to completely redesign the engine to get oil to the chain as well.

There is no agree to disagree....you are just plain wrong.


If my serp. belt snaps, nothing is going to break. I won't be replacing valves, pistons, etc.

It seems like VW and other manufacturers have you trained to believe it's acceptable to have to spend money to maintain something that should be lifetime.

Many high mileage OHC engines with chains ... not a problem.

YOU are in the wrong.

But that's okay. I'll spend my money on fun ... where you can spend it on changing a timing belt haha.

Every timing chain will fail ... But the Ford modular v8s with 500K miles ... are still waiting for it to fail.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: MarkM66
Originally Posted By: another Todd
Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
miller =I don't agree to disagree

but buy what you want.
IN my considerable experience almost every chain timing SYSTEM failed BEFORE 70K miles on all cars i've owned with chains. ZERO problems with belts. Cost? I've never seen a belt job on a 4 banger go over 300 if you are smart. What do you have to do it once in the vehicle life?

Lexus LS 4L V8 that another animal.

Chains throw junk in the oil and foam the lubricant and can pump oil out of the pan on transverse engines during hard cornering and ... BOOM! Dead motor.



I have to agree with Miller88 on these points. I have never had a timing chain problem on any of my vehicles, and all except one have well over 100K miles. Back when I turned wrenches for a living 30+ years ago, timing chain problems were exceedingly rare, unless you overheated your Ford and the nylon gear melted.


Back then you were probably dealing with under head cammed engine where the timing chain was about 2' long. Now with OHC engines, they're about 3-4 times that long, with several wearable guides, and with V6's you have two.

They're not as reliable as they use to be. Just search GM 3.6 V6. They're not lasting as long as a belt,

I can think of TWO engines with timing chain issues. There are MILLIONS of vhicles out there with timing chains that don't have issues.

EVERY belt needs replacement.

I don't understand your logic of how something that requires replacement or you risk destruction of the engine is superior to something that would last the life of the engine?

It seems to me like you realize that it's a waste of money - where the manufacturer saves $20 to cost you a lot more money - and you're trying to justify it by pointing one ONE specific problematic timing chain.

I'll counter your "Inferior GM 3.6 V6" with a "superior" chevy aveo with a timing belt.

 

[another Todd]

[/quote]

Back then you were probably dealing with under head cammed engine where the timing chain was about 2' long. [/quote]

True enough for American vehicles, but IIRC most imports (Datsun/Nissan, Toyota, Honda) were OH Cams with chains and very few problems/maintenance compared to more modern timing belt engines. I'll take a chain any day, they might stretch and get noisy very late in their life, but they won't snap and leave you stranded with a bunch of bent valves.

 

[asand1]

Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
miller =I don't agree to disagree

but buy what you want.
IN my considerable experience almost every chain timing SYSTEM failed BEFORE 70K miles on all cars i've owned with chains. ZERO problems with belts. Cost? I've never seen a belt job on a 4 banger go over 300 if you are smart. What do you have to do it once in the vehicle life?


Lexus LS 4L V8 that another animal.

Chains throw junk in the oil and foam the lubricant and can pump oil out of the pan on transverse engines during hard cornering and ... BOOM! Dead motor.


At 307,000 miles, all three chains in my VQ30 are still quietly doing their job.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Lucky dog

 

[zzyzzx]

Originally Posted By: callbay
I believe it is a non-interference engine.


Nope! Next time get a Ford.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

BUMP!


OP,

callbay:

What did you find out about your sick Subie? And ... will you make the girl pay?

best of luck, guy.

 

[callbay]

Thanks for asking, Arko! The little girl is apart and she has a belt that is really messed up and broken in two along with one of the lower pulleys. Don't know which caused the other to break.

I ordered this timing belt component kit from Rock Auto.

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=2153778&cc=1269873

It was just under $200 including shipping and I had an $11 discount.

The kit has the water pump included. I found out after I got the belt covers off that the water pump was almost new. Looks like the repair shop the old owner used changed out the pump in 2011 and not the belt. So I will keep the pump for a spare.

Seems like putting on the new belt will not be hard at all. I took out the radiator and fans as one piece so I have lots of room. Good instructions came with the kit and I have watched several U-Tubes about it.

 

[artificialist]

When a timing chain is failing, you can hear it make terrible noises, whereas when a belt fails, it happens almost instantaneously.

Sometimes a timing belt does not go the distance set by the car manufacturer. My mom had a friend that got cheated this way. Her friend had a Mazda 626, and the manual said to change the belt at 90,000 miles. It snapped at 87,000 miles, but because the engine warranty was shorter than that, Mazda didn't do a thing to help her.

Recently I have read of GDI engines having timing chain problems. In this case, a timing belt may be a better option than a chain. DOHC timing chains are usually not made for easy replacement, so a chain replacement ends up costing twice what a belt replacement would cost. I let my father know this because he was thinking about a VW with the 1.8 TSI or the 2.0L TDI.

We both hate timing belts, and it seems that right now a timing belt is a lesser of 2 evils.