front and rear oil seal estimate?

[djay]

Okay, I googled about the oil seal replacement and the advice is to have
the front and rear replaced when the timing belt is done. Now for the rest
of the story...
98 sub legacy AT with 82K miles is leaking oil. Goofy part is that I had
the timing belt and water pump replaced 2 years ago at 60K miles and didn't
get the seals done then (at that time I didn't know this group existed) so
shame on me. Is the labor to replace the seals going to kill me? Is it
going to be comperable to the labor charge for the timing belt or is the
work less time consuming?

Thanks,

DJay

 

[johninKY]

Rear crank seals last forever and rarely require replacement. But if you
are determined to also replace it, expect to pay big bucks because either
the engine or transmission will have to be pulled to change it. For the
front seal, expect to pay whatever the timing belt job cost minus the cost
of the belt.

 

[djay]

Rear crank seals last forever and rarely require replacement. But if you
are determined to also replace it, expect to pay big bucks because either
the engine or transmission will have to be pulled to change it. For the
front seal, expect to pay whatever the timing belt job cost minus the cost
of the belt.

So just the front seal? Man i wish I'd seen this NG sooner. So I'm
figuring about $350 ~ $400 in labor charges? Dang. I was hoping to get out
of the replacement for much less. Any suggestions?

 

[Rick Courtright]

figuring about $350 ~ $400 in labor charges? Dang. I was hoping to get out
of the replacement for much less. Any suggestions?

How good are you with a wrench? Replacing the seals isn't hard once you
get in there. Haynes and Chiltons books will talk you thru pretty well.

Once you're in there, you want to replace the front crank seal, both cam
seals, the o-rings on the back of the oil pump and the front seal on the
oil pump. My dealer parts guy says they used to "readjust" tension on
timing belts until they found the belts would break sooner when
"readjusted" than when left alone. Translated into English: spring for
new belts even though yours are only 20k or so miles old. Parts total
(using Subie OEM parts all the way) will probably tear up $200 or
thereabouts. Time total will be a good weekend first time you do it,
then it gets lots faster the next time around.

If you're not good with a wrench, or don't want to try your hand, at
least shop around from dealer to dealer before deciding if you need to
take a second job to pay for the work!

Good luck!

Rick

 

[Rat]

djay wrote:




How good are you with a wrench? Replacing the seals isn't hard once you
get in there. Haynes and Chiltons books will talk you thru pretty well.

Once you're in there, you want to replace the front crank seal, both cam
seals, the o-rings on the back of the oil pump and the front seal on the
oil pump. My dealer parts guy says they used to "readjust" tension on
timing belts until they found the belts would break sooner when
"readjusted" than when left alone. Translated into English: spring for
new belts even though yours are only 20k or so miles old. Parts total
(using Subie OEM parts all the way) will probably tear up $200 or
thereabouts. Time total will be a good weekend first time you do it,
then it gets lots faster the next time around.

If you're not good with a wrench, or don't want to try your hand, at
least shop around from dealer to dealer before deciding if you need to
take a second job to pay for the work!

Good luck!

Rick

Check out http://www.ryanmacdonald.com/car/howto/belt/belt.html for a
great how-to with pictures on replacing the timing belts. It will get
you 90% of the way through a seal change. It is written for the svx 3.3L
- the front end of that engine is just about identical to a 2.2L

 

[djay]

Thank you all. I am pretty handy with a wrench and just need to find the
time to do the deed. I appreciate all the help!

Djay