Subaru 2011 Outback

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Al

Al

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I have a very good friend who owns a 2011 4 th Gen. Outback with the EJ NA.

She has 105K miles on it and its coming time to do the TB. My advice to her will be to replace everything if she plans on keeping the vehicle say another 50K miles. If she plans on maybe another year (25K miles for her) max. I will tell her to replace the TB and possibly the tensioner. As such I will get a price on (1). TB only (2) TB + idler and (3) Idlers, WP, Tensioner, etc. I realize that there is some risk in going 25K miles with TB + Idler.

Also I have pulled an oil sample and sent it in.

Also my understanding is that the 2011 HG's are unlikely to fail unless you allow them to run out of coolant. So it would be worthwhile checking them and if they are leaking coolant then its trade-in time. She has the bucks..and she wants a Prius .

I have posted the question on subaruoutback.org. Any better information out there? I trust the knowledge on this forum a lot.

Any thoughts on these issues?

Thanks,
Al
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From what I have gathered over at the SubaruOutback discussion board, she should replace the water pump while she is at it. I gather it's a little hard to get to, but convenient when replacing the timing belt.
 
For the timing belt on our 9-2x (rebadged WRX), I opted for the Gates TCK328 kit which included the belt, all of the necessary pulleys, and the tensioner. It had excellent instructions and also included Loctite as well as a spacer to ensure correct clearance of the timing belt guide. I did not replace the water pump, as many sources indicate it's good well past the 105k miles mark. If/when we're at the second timing belt change interval somewhere around 200k miles, I'll replace it then.

With regard to the head gaskets, my suggestion would be to simply drain the cooling system and refill using genuine Subaru coolant along with the Subaru cooling system conditioner.
 
Someone else might comment on this, but I seem to remember cam seals are also something to look @. My friends WRX needed them @ 100K and probably should be reviewed.

Once again, I'm not sure if it is relevant to this engine
 
You almost hate to disturb components that look/feel good with the T-belt off, but I would probably want to do the tensioner and idler along with the belt at a minimum. Head gaskets aside, Subarus aren't known to be rough on timing belts or anything the T-belt touches.
 
Originally Posted By: JTK
You almost hate to disturb components that look/feel good with the T-belt off, but I would probably want to do the tensioner and idler along with the belt at a minimum. Head gaskets aside, Subarus aren't known to be rough on timing belts or anything the T-belt touches.

There are actually 3 idlers, the tensioner and the WP. If you replace the tensioner, 3 idlers, you might just as well do the pump also
 
You are not supposed to use those cooling system tabs anymore just Subaru Blue Longlife coolant. There is little to no chance of have any issue with a 2011's HG. Do the water pump as well since it is all apart.
 
Originally Posted By: Shrubitup
Wow, a five year old car still using a timing belt?


Yeah, so what's your point? Subies have used them forever and they are reliable when maintained.
 
OP: what is your added cost to do it right instead of half-arsed? Even if she isn't going to keep it beyond 25k there is still a chance a component could fail. Regardless I would nock $1k off the used car value before I would touch it if you didn't do the full TB job. Of course there are many who wouldn't care or know better but IMO better to do it right.
 
Originally Posted By: Nate1979
OP: what is your added cost to do it right instead of half-arsed? Even if she isn't going to keep it beyond 25k there is still a chance a component could fail. Regardless I would nock $1k off the used car value before I would touch it if you didn't do the full TB job. Of course there are many who wouldn't care or know better but IMO better to do it right.

I tend to agree with you.
 
Originally Posted By: Nate1979
Originally Posted By: Shrubitup
Wow, a five year old car still using a timing belt?


Yeah, so what's your point? Subies have used them forever and they are reliable when maintained.


Suggest they consider using something more durable that needs less maintenance e.g., a chain.
 
Originally Posted By: Shrubitup
Wow, a five year old car still using a timing belt?


Originally Posted By: Shrubitup

Suggest they consider using something more durable that needs less maintenance e.g., a chain.

Not a fan of Subaru are you?
 
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Originally Posted By: Al
Originally Posted By: Shrubitup
Wow, a five year old car still using a timing belt?


Originally Posted By: Shrubitup

Suggest they consider using something more durable that needs less maintenance e.g., a chain.

Not a fan of Subaru are you?


I have no problem with the brand but fail to understand why they would choose an inferior belt over a chain.
 
Originally Posted By: Shrubitup
Originally Posted By: Al
Originally Posted By: Shrubitup
Wow, a five year old car still using a timing belt?


Originally Posted By: Shrubitup

Suggest they consider using something more durable that needs less maintenance e.g., a chain.

Not a fan of Subaru are you?


I have no problem with the brand but fail to understand why they would choose an inferior belt over a chain.


They are not inferior, they are just different. Each has their positives and negatives and they are not always easily substituted. But Subaru did switch to chain driven on the new generation FB series of engines.
 
Originally Posted By: Thermo1223
You are not supposed to use those cooling system tabs anymore just Subaru Blue Longlife coolant. There is little to no chance of have any issue with a 2011's HG. Do the water pump as well since it is all apart.


The 2011 Legacy/Outback manual states:

"Always add genuine SUBARU cooling system conditioner whenever the coolant is replaced."

The conditioner is a ~4 oz bottle of liquid (rebadged Holts Radweld) and runs about $5 from the dealer or Amazon.
 
Absolutely replace the water pump, you will kick yourself when it fails in another 50k.

Gates timing belt kit, and Aisin water pump and forget about it until 200k.

Do not buy knockoff timing belt kits, likely the roller's wont fit correctly and the dunce installer wont be paying attention and nukes the engine.
 
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Originally Posted By: Padawan
Originally Posted By: Thermo1223
You are not supposed to use those cooling system tabs anymore just Subaru Blue Longlife coolant. There is little to no chance of have any issue with a 2011's HG. Do the water pump as well since it is all apart.


The 2011 Legacy/Outback manual states:

"Always add genuine SUBARU cooling system conditioner whenever the coolant is replaced."

The conditioner is a ~4 oz bottle of liquid (rebadged Holts Radweld) and runs about $5 from the dealer or Amazon.



I wouldn't because you don't need it. It was a stop gap measure for older cars and why ANY engine would need a leak stop when freshly built I can't fathom. IMO
 
Originally Posted By: Thermo1223

I wouldn't because you don't need it. It was a stop gap measure for older cars and why ANY engine would need a leak stop when freshly built I can't fathom. IMO

I jhave used it inmy 2008 for 155K miles. When the HG was removed for the typical leak the system was spotless. It causes zero problems.

BTW I am not planning on doing it. We have a Subaru specialist 25 miles away who has worked on Subarus for 35 years.

Price for the TB, and all genuine Subaru parts is $1000
 
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