lenny said:
I just bought a 00 Outback Ltd and love it. wondering if I should get
timing belt done now or wait till closer 105,000. Thanks richard
frazier park,ca
Unfortunately, your 00 is subject to the HG going out. This can typ
happen at about 125k miles. I think I would wait and get an
assessment at 105k and make a decision at that time about the
likelihood on the HG. A good portion of the labor to change the belt
would have to be repeated if/when HG has to be replaced.
On my 00 obw I replaced the belt when I purchased with 111k miles on
it, by 120k miles I started noticing a small amount of coolant loss
and by 124k I could see the leak. I did have a shop make this repair.
One can expect to pay between $1500 and $2000 for a HG replacement
with much of that being for labor. It's your $ so you'll have to
decide at what point you want to spend the money with the possibility
of having to repeat much of the work some months later.
Mickey
