changing timing belt on 1988 gl

D

doug

Hello Subaru friends just the other day a person who was putting tires on my new
addition to my family a 1988 Subaru Gl with a 135k informed me that putting a
timing belt on my car is very labor intensive and expensive. I have no idea of
the history of this car so I dont know if the belt or belts have been replace. I
was planning on haveing it done but from hearing this info I am thinking about
putting those plans on the backburner since I am a poor man. Was this guy
shooting straight with me or is he full of it.
 
Hello Subaru friends just the other day a person who was putting tires on my new
addition to my family a 1988 Subaru Gl with a 135k informed me that putting a
timing belt on my car is very labor intensive and expensive. I have no idea of
the history of this car so I dont know if the belt or belts have been replace. I
was planning on haveing it done but from hearing this info I am thinking about
putting those plans on the backburner since I am a poor man. Was this guy
shooting straight with me or is he full of it.

I you have a 2.2 litre with one cam on each side, it is a "non interference"
engine. (if a belt breaks, the valves and pistons won't collide and break)

If 2 cams on each side, replace belts like gospel at required mileage.

Yes, replacement is a pain. Mainly getting other stuff out of the way so
you can get at the belt covers, then the belts.

(if your '88 isn't the same as my '90, then nevermind)

zero

ps, thank you a.a.s.
deja/google searching this group has helped me immensely.
 
doug said:
Hello Subaru friends just the other day a person who was putting tires on my new
addition to my family a 1988 Subaru Gl with a 135k informed me that putting a
timing belt on my car is very labor intensive and expensive.


Last ones I had done was about 200 bucks, 50 for belts and 150 labor. Not
too bad, and yes change them every 60k. Had one break on me last winter
so no doing it myself, and even had it been summer, for the amount of work
required, it was 200 bucks well spent.

Mark
 
Indeed, I would treat timing belt replacement with deadly seriousness.
You need to have the timing belt inspected. If you're at 135,000
miles, the car is 15 years old, and the timing belt has never been
replaced, you need to have it replaced immediately. I don't know
whether you have a 60,000 or 105,000 mile belt replacement interval on
your engine, but either way, you're way past due. The cost is not
that bad -- $319 at my dealer. That's nothin' compared to the repair
costs of a broken timing belt on an interference engine (not to
mention the towing, rental car and other costs when it breaks and
leaves you stranded on the side of the road).
 
doug said:
timing belt on my car is very labor intensive and expensive. I have no idea of
the history of this car so I dont know if the belt or belts have been replace. I

Hi,

If you're a bit of a wrench, and have the time, it's extensive, but not
too expensive! Allow yourself a full weekend the first time, and you'll
be down to just a few hours after you learn the drill. And since the
history of your car is unknown, you need to establish a "baseline" for
future maintenance. At 135k, you're at the end of the second scheduled
maintenance period, generally 60k miles for your year.

Regardless of who does the work, insist on Subaru OEM belts, since some
aftermarket belts are of questionable quality. The extra bucks are worth
the peace of mind. I had a MAJOR name brand belt let go at about 50k,
stranding me beside the road for a couple of hours at 108 deg F one
summer, and the $30 or so I'd saved by not going OEM was starting to
look pretty silly by the time the tow truck got there! Others report
similar stories...

While you're in there, you might plan on redoing all the seals, and
maybe doing the waterpump, too. Mainly cuz the labor's about the same
regardless of which parts you replace or leave. If you're "poor" (are
any of us "rich?") you will save money in the long run doing these as
one job.

You can do a google on the NG for suggestions of what seals, etc.

Best of luck!

Rick
 
It does take some time but is very simple and straightforward so you can
save a lot of money by shopping around for the parts and doing the labor
yourself. TG
 
L. Kreh said:
Indeed, I would treat timing belt replacement with deadly seriousness.
You need to have the timing belt inspected. If you're at 135,000
miles, the car is 15 years old, and the timing belt has never been
replaced, you need to have it replaced immediately. I don't know
whether you have a 60,000 or 105,000 mile belt replacement interval on
your engine, but either way, you're way past due. The cost is not
that bad -- $319 at my dealer. That's nothin' compared to the repair
costs of a broken timing belt on an interference engine (not to
mention the towing, rental car and other costs when it breaks and
leaves you stranded on the side of the road).

The EA82 is *not* an interference engine, so no panic over that. But -
yes - they do tend to break at the worst possible moment - like when
you're on the way to an interview for a once-in-a-lifetime job and it's
pouring down rain. 8^)

No belts would have made it to 135k miles, but you are right, they are
probably overdue even if replaced once.

Replacement interval for the EA82 t-belts is 60k miles - earlier if
unkown brand of belts were used last time.

Bill Putney
(to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with "x")
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
13,889
Messages
67,365
Members
7,365
Latest member
BespokePowerhouse

Latest Threads

Back
Top