Is there any way of eye balling BH5 EJ20 cambelt condition w minor disassembly?

[ETF]

G'day all first post here (I did a search and couldn't find what I was after unfortunately).

Currently looking at a 99 BH5 Legacy GT wagon to purchase. The trademe auction states the cambelt has been changed however upon contacting the owner there is no proof of the cambelt change in the form of invoices/receipts other then a sticker on the engine (surprise surprise!).

Now by the looks of it according to this thread (http://www.clubsub.org.nz/forum/index.php/topic,17323.0.html) you cant get the cambelt cover off without removing the fans for space as well as the crank pulley, can anybody confirm this? Haven't gone to view the car in person yet so can't check out whether it is do-able.

The reason why I ask is for piece of mind I wouldn't mind doing a visual inspection of the belt in the car for current condition if at all possible, the car's current km's are 137,000 so if the belt hasn't gone yet its not likely to be an original yes? Or am I sh*t out of luck in regards to being to able to inspect the belt without major disassembly of attaching components?

A quick confirmation would be much appreciated. Alternatively have any of you bought an EJ powered anything in the past without concrete evidence of the cambelt being done when the seller says it has? The current owner has no service history nor evidence of belt change so my engineer train of thought is telling me to run a mile, but the price is right and I would get Winger to do a thorough pre-purchase inspection on it and as soon as I got it I'd change all fluids/plugs/filters etc.

Have had family members own Legacy's in the past and the old lady's one has currently done 330,000KM's so know how reliable they can be if maintained correctly (these were both NA EJ20's however...).

Cheer's ;D

[mac]

you can take cam cover segment of passenger side without removing anything else an rotate engine by hand to check condition of belt.

[ETF]

Legend cheers Mac exactly what I was after!

[DRFVDR]

Why is a sticker on the engine not enough?

Seems like a lot of work to clarify, and I doubt that u will be able to tell how many k's a Cam belt has done by looking at it, as I have a Cam belt at work at the moment that has done 5000 k and looks no different than the ones that have done in excess of 100,000 km

If you have doubts go else where

[neodowd]

I agree you wont be able to tell unless its in really bad condition. The cambelt would be the least of my worries If I was buying a twin turbo

[ETF]

Thats basically it neodowd just wanted to check if it looked as though it was on the brink of failure or not, I understand you cant tell the condition based on how many k's it has done. Viewed the car today in person and the engine was in a sorry state (sticker he was referring to was also a gearbox related sticker on the strut tower not a cambelt changed @ sticker or similar) so have gone elsewhere.

Care to elaborate on the twin turbo issues neodowd haha? I remember reading about the issues with the twins but I thought it was the BG5's that had the issues? Anything notable to look for when checking a car out then in regards to the turbo's or just wait and see if they fail come ownership time?

[neodowd]

Well when I bought my BH I didnt check it that extensively. But the first thing you could do was check if It had and codes stored, as you have probably read there can be many problems with the twin turbo system. good luck!!

[ETF]

Cheers man fingers crossed!

[kiwisurf]

Just undo a couple of the 10mm bolts on the cover and hold it to the side. Get an assistant to 'flick" the key so the motor turns a bit but does not start and watch with a torch. It is pretty hard to tell but just look for signs of cracking and when the writing comes round look for how new it is.

[mac]

etf just check for cracks & missin teeth it is no big job. some people make mountins outa mole hills it seems.Ya dont even have to remove the radiator to replace the belt, idlers, tensioner & water pump.

[ADIKT]

If your going to take it to winger for a check then get them to scope the belt out...

[ETF]

Again cheers for the wise words fella's, mac thats bang on and all I was going to check for. I called Winger this morning (North Shore branch due to car being located on the shore) but they said they don't do pre-purchase inspections. So getting the guys at Northern Car Services in Glenfield (anybody had dealings with them? claim to be Subaru Specialist's) to do one tomorrow and a compression test while their at it, will do the belt check myself.

[ETF]

One last thing and it's a bit of noob question sorry (figured better to post here then start a new thread), should a 98 GT Wagon have 4 pots on the front? I thought these didn't get 4 pots? And strangely enough one caliper is red and one is black.

[neodowd]

From the sounds of it the previous owner put them on, kind of strange he didnt colour match them lol. My BH has 4 pots been put on them there good! There are special models like s edition for Bh legacy that come out factory with 4 pots

[mr.fix.it]

Ive had a couple of mates run their cars thru northern car services

And they seem satisfied . I myself prefer petermark automotive on ashfield st