Timing belt change advice

[jamesryan]

Hello, I have a 2009 Impreza GT it is a fresh import from Japan and only done 25,000 km. Its in awesome condition and been regularly serviced.

Taking into account the low kms, but it is 4 years old , should I be looking at replacing the timing belt ? or leave it for a while?

Cheers

[Roo]

Safest to do it mate. In japan cars can spend long times in lines of traffic. Things get quite hot under the bonnet, it\'s the heat that gets to them.

Sitting idling doesn\'t add km\'s so it may have been subject to long engine hours.

At the very least check the condition of it

[kamineko]

 Roo said:

Safest to do it mate. In japan cars can spend long times in lines of traffic. Things get quite hot under the bonnet, it\'s the heat that gets to them.

Sitting idling doesn\'t add km\'s so it may have been subject to long engine hours.

At the very least check the condition of it

where? i thought traffic flow was generally pretty good in the main centres and more or less dead out in the country

[Rosssub]

Definitely worth having a look as Roo said.

The left side (passenger) timing cover comes off pretty easy for a look at the Belt. Make sure it\'s not perished, cracked or split at all.

Never know, the original 25,000km engine could still be in Japan... ;D

[Roo]

 kamineko']

[quote name='Roo said:

Safest to do it mate. In japan cars can spend long times in lines of traffic. Things get quite hot under the bonnet, it\'s the heat that gets to them.

Sitting idling doesn\'t add km\'s so it may have been subject to long engine hours.

At the very least check the condition of it

/quote]

where? i thought traffic flow was generally pretty good in the main centres and more or less dead out in the country

I stand corrected then.

I was under the impression there was congested areas

[kamineko]

like auckland? i dunno it just seemed like an unsubstantiated statement

at 25k the belt should be fine. but since you\'re concerned its easy to remove the plastic cam covers and inspect for tension / oil / degradation and put your mind at ease

[Roo]

I think you\'d be silly not to check the belt on a new import

[kamineko]

what sort of warranty do you have on the car? the dealer would have checked the condition eh? (maybe i\'m naive to think this)

or was it a private import

[jamesryan]

Thanks for the replies, according to factory the cam belt should be changed every 5 years or 90 - 100,000 kms , so time wise its due this year. I pulled the cover off as suggested and everything looks clean , belt looks fine, tension ok. Just working my way through all the general service items, replacing all fluids, filters and plugs all genuine parts of course. The belt will be next on the list hopefully within the next couple of weeks, belt, tensioners, idlers , water pump and thermostat etc.