Timing belt tensioner bolt broke while driving

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2008 Subaru Legacy 2.5 SOHC.

Bought the car with 115k. Purchased the Gates timing kit from Amazon, came with everything for a full timing service including water pump, tensioner, pulleys, etc.

I had my local trusted shop install the entire kit with no issue. 2k miles later, I'm driving and the car stalls on the road. Tried to restart and no luck. Had it towed to the shop.

Shop said timing belt tensioner bolt broke and the belt came off the cam. This is the bolt that came with the Gates kit, brand new. Shop says they installed it with the required 29 torque.

They are going to put in a new bolt, reset the timing, and cross fingers that nothing is damaged. But this is an interference engine...sad face.

Shop said that Gates is a good company and should stand behind their product and they have used gates kits exclusively for 30+ years with no major issues.

If this messed up the engine and I need a new block, I just might lose my darn mind.


Any feedback from the BITOG brain trust?
 
It wasn't too long ago, we were chatting over PM's about your Gates kit and your success with it. Dang it!!

Sorry to hear about this.

I don't mind paying a shop to change a timing belt for me, but this is why I HATE TIMING BELTS....stuff like this seems to happen. UGH!!!
 
Originally Posted By: Phishin
It wasn't too long ago, we were chatting over PM's about your Gates kit and your success with it. Dang it!!

Sorry to hear about this.

I don't mind paying a shop to change a timing belt for me, but this is why I HATE TIMING BELTS....stuff like this seems to happen. UGH!!!


Well, a google search of "Subaru timing belt tensioner bolt broke" is not very reassuring. It's not unique to the Gates kit, it has happened enough to have several discussions on the Subaru forums about it.


It's stupid things like this that sometimes make it an advantage to have the dealer do everything with dealer parts. But the dang parts cost 10x as much for the same thing!

Live and learn.
 
It sounds like a Gates problem using soft bolts. I used a Aisin kit and the bolt head was marked 10.9, that's a hardened bolt that wont break unless its really a defect.
Suspect bent valves, I expect its going to be a lot of valve damage but probably not the block or pistons.
 
First off, glad you are safe. But of course, really sorry about the issues.

I had a 2002 Forester, with similar 2.5L N/A engine. Had Gates TCK304 kit installed by shop earlier this year when head gaskets were being replaced. Had no problems with it but it wasn't on for that long -- car is gone now. The tensioner looked similar to the OEM but not sure it was of same quality. I read on the Forester forum that Gates tensioner or bolt might be of lower quality these days (vs OEM). Although there were OEM tensioner failures also. More here:

http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f66/timing-tensioner-bolt-failure-oem-gates-others-125392/
 
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Originally Posted By: coachditka
It's stupid things like this that sometimes make it an advantage to have the dealer do everything with dealer parts. But the dang parts cost 10x as much for the same thing!


If the problem doesn't appear to be unique to the Gates kit, maybe there's a geometry or alignment issue or something with that engine design that puts a lot of stress on that part. I don't recall using any new bolts when I did the timing belt on our Acura. Does Subaru recommend changing the tensioner bolt when installing a new timing belt? Or is the bolt built in to the tensioner?
 
Originally Posted By: Hokiefyd
Originally Posted By: coachditka
It's stupid things like this that sometimes make it an advantage to have the dealer do everything with dealer parts. But the dang parts cost 10x as much for the same thing!


If the problem doesn't appear to be unique to the Gates kit, maybe there's a geometry or alignment issue or something with that engine design that puts a lot of stress on that part. I don't recall using any new bolts when I did the timing belt on our Acura. Does Subaru recommend changing the tensioner bolt when installing a new timing belt? Or is the bolt built in to the tensioner?



The tensioner comes with a new bolt and sleeve installed

sub_13033aa042_1.jpg
 
Originally Posted By: coachditka


It's stupid things like this that sometimes make it an advantage to have the dealer do everything with dealer parts. But the dang parts cost 10x as much for the same thing!

Live and learn.


Thee dealer advantage here would have been they have a 1yr/12,000 warranty on parts and labor related to a repair at any Subaru dealer. Many decent independent shops have such things but when you show up with your own parts from Amazon you take on risks since you supplied parts. The parts markup exists partially to cover shop overhead but also returns and errors etc.

Not sure if (self) supplying dealer parts would have made situation any better if tensioner snapped either.

Sorry it went this way. Good luck on no busted valves....
 
The last case of this I know of was a friend with a MK4 GTi 1.8t. The bottom end of the motor was ok (just a couple of light valve marks in the pistons), but the head needed some serious work (it bent most of the valves).
 
I replaced my 2001 2.5 RS timing belt and all related parts with a Gates 304 kit a few years ago. I put almost 20k on it without issue before it spun a bearing and broke my heart.
frown.gif


The only thing a little worrisome about the Gates kit was their no-name Chinese-made water pump. The replacement tensioner with its captured mounting bolt was an NTN unit identical to the OEM unit that came off. So it may not necessarily be a Gates issue but a supplier issue. You could have had the same issue getting an NTN tensioner from the dealer, theoretically.
 
We had a new tensioner go bad very quickly on a '99 Passat after a timing belt change. Had to do everything all over again and had to pay twice. It was supposedly a quality kit, too.
 
Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder

The only thing a little worrisome about the Gates kit was their no-name Chinese-made water pump.


+1
 
I had a 2009 Forester that did the same thing about 5,000 miles after the replacement. The engine did not fair well. I dumped it.
 
I still don't quite understand how that bolt is under any undue stress? It really does not have to support much of a force. That is an hefty bolt. Shear forces on that bolt would be on the order of few tens of pounds at most. It should easily withstand hundreds of pounds of lateral shear force.
 
Interference engine is one reason I keep telling people not to buy a Subaru. If this happened to my Ford I could just replace the tensioner and belt and be on my way.
 
Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
I would bet there are more belt-driven interference engines out there than not. No reason to single out Subaru for it.


Yeah, because a lot of really short sighted people out there don't look into these things ahead of time. It's mostly Japanese branded cars that have the interference engine with timing belt combo too. In so far as Ford Escorts go, the last one with an interference engine was made in 1984. I think Toyota went to all chains at least a decade ago.
 
Well, I got in touch with Gates and they are pretty responsive to the concern. They sent me a warranty claim for the shop to complete. They want the failed part sent to them.

So just send happy thoughts this way and hope it's just a few valves and not a whole block. I don't want to pay out of pocket for that and wait for a claim....
 
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