It's cambelt time!!

[Hailz]

Ok so the Leggy's coming up time for its 1st cambelt change (oh they grow up so fast lol)

Anyway I've got a couple options from Armstrong's in Chch, opt 1: "Basic cambelt change" which is cambelt, tensioner and labour for $465. or opt 2: "Full cambelt change" which includes thermostat/gasket, waterpump/gasket, toothed idler bearing, 2x smooth idler bearings, 1 piece tensioner, cambelt, oil pump O ring, crank seal, 4x cam seals, 5L engine coolant all for $1350 inc labour and gst and all genuine parts.

What I dont know is if I need to go all out and get everything replaced eg opt 2 or just do bare minimum eg opt 1, who thinks I'm wasting my money getting everything done?

[BC5RA]

That depends on the cars condition.

[Guest boostin]

Put it this way. If you go basic and spend $500 it cheap. Say in 20,000kms your oil pump starts leaking (very common), there's another $300ish to go in and fix it. Waterpumps rarely last more than 150,000kms, so when that leaks there's another $400 - $500 to go in again and replace that (if it didn't cook your engine). Then another 15,000kms later the idler bearings are noisy, if they don't collapse and damage the belt that is. Another $500 to replace those.

Long story short - do it all once, do it right. It will save your wallet in the long run.

[DRFVDR]

Yup what boostijn says

Do the option 2 I have never just changed the belts in any subie it alwasy gets at least the waterpump and main seal as well

[Hailz]

 boostin said:

Put it this way. If you go basic and spend $500 it cheap. Say in 20,000kms your oil pump starts leaking (very common), there's another $300ish to go in and fix it. Waterpumps rarely last more than 150,000kms, so when that leaks there's another $400 - $500 to go in again and replace that (if it didn't cook your engine). Then another 15,000kms later the idler bearings are noisy, if they don't collapse and damage the belt that is. Another $500 to replace those.

Long story short - do it all once, do it right. It will save your wallet in the long run.

Yeah you've got some very good points there, I kind of knew I should go all out with it so you have reassured me I'm not wasting any money, I think $1350 for all that work inc gst and labour isn't really all that bad aye?

[Koom]

You'll possibly get the same work done, with OE parts, for cheaper at a number of Subaru specialist workshops around town. Have you asked anywhere else?

[pl0x]

i dont think that price is to bad?

Nt_a_foz quoted EVERYTHING needed not inculding labour for a legacy b4 at CS prices for $990 or something

[Koom]

$990 sounds like the retail price that you'd pay for all the stuff if you just walked in off the street to buy the parts straight from the dealer.

[Hailz]

 Koom said:

You'll possibly get the same work done, with OE parts, for cheaper at a number of Subaru specialist workshops around town. Have you asked anywhere else?

Nah I haven't bothered really, I've always dealt with Armstrong's since I brought the Subby, other than a local mechanic just round the road for little things, I find Armstrong's are ultra thorough and brilliant to deal with, a little pricey perhaps but hey I always say you pay for what you get really.

[driftrex]

 Koom said:

$990 sounds like the retail price that you'd pay for all the stuff if you just walked in off the street to buy the parts straight from the dealer.

yea that would have to be full retail not discounted at all, i know what i paid for all the parts from wingers to do mine through work and it was ALOT less than that, and would of thought the club discount would be similar to my work discount at wingers.

[driftrex]

 Hailz']

[quote name='Koom said:

You'll possibly get the same work done, with OE parts, for cheaper at a number of Subaru specialist workshops around town. Have you asked anywhere else?

/quote]

Nah I haven't bothered really, I've always dealt with Armstrong's since I brought the Subby, other than a local mechanic just round the road for little things, I find Armstrong's are ultra thorough and brilliant to deal with, a little pricey perhaps but hey I always say you pay for what you get really.

in my experience the dealers arent always the best choice, there a plenty of subaru specialists around, i would shop around but only places that know subarus.

[QRAF]

yeah shop around i was quoted 2g from wingers here in the tron.

It cost about $400 for all my parts to get my cambelt replaced, i think this was at cost price as i swapped some adjustable to get it done.

[G-unit]

my cambelt is getting done 2day/2moro said cambelt was $80-90 and 3-4hours labour, thats just the cambel tho, not anything else

[QRAF]

yeah i can tensioner water pumper and thermostat done is there anything else i forgot all genuine subaru parts

[driftrex]

 G-unit said:

my cambelt is getting done 2day/2moro said cambelt was $80-90 and 3-4hours labour, thats just the cambel tho, not anything else

always makes me laugh the amount of time mechanics charge, from personal experience i know a qualified mechanic should be able to get a cambelt off and on again within an hour easily.

[Guest boostin]

I think you mean an experienced mechanic. I know qualified mechanics who wouldn't know where the cambelt even is!!

[driftrex]

 boostin said:

I think you mean an experienced mechanic. I know qualified mechanics who wouldn't know where the cambelt even is!!

haha yea thats what i meant, you would know what im talking bout, been one yourself.

[pl0x]

 driftrex']

[quote name='Koom said:

$990 sounds like the retail price that you'd pay for all the stuff if you just walked in off the street to buy the parts straight from the dealer.

/quote]

yea that would have to be full retail not discounted at all, i know what i paid for all the parts from wingers to do mine through work and it was ALOT less than that, and would of thought the club discount would be similar to my work discount at wingers.

Na pretty sure he told me it was CS prices. He also said it had gone up in price alot.

[driftrex]

 pl0x']

[quote name='Koom said:

$990 sounds like the retail price that you'd pay for all the stuff if you just walked in off the street to buy the parts straight from the dealer.

/quote]

yea that would have to be full retail not discounted at all, i know what i paid for all the parts from wingers to do mine through work and it was ALOT less than that, and would of thought the club discount would be similar to my work discount at wingers.

Na pretty sure he told me it was CS prices. He also said it had gone up in price alot.

mine was done not long ago,i have a list of parts needed and individual prices that wingers gave me, but yea might of been cs prices but thats not really much of a discount if any to be honest.

[Koom]

 driftrex']

[quote name='G-unit said:

my cambelt is getting done 2day/2moro said cambelt was $80-90 and 3-4hours labour, thats just the cambel tho, not anything else

/quote]

always makes me laugh the amount of time mechanics charge, from personal experience i know a qualified mechanic should be able to get a cambelt off and on again within an hour easily.

Depends how much your engine has been pulled apart in the past though. The crank pulley can be a right pain in the aRSe at times! Mine broke a harmonic balancer puller-offer once, damn thing was rusted on and had become a structural part of the crank.

[Guest]

Yeah I find its not the getting the belt on and off but all the other crap that takes time. Good idea to replace everthing while doing it, pity you cant do it your self and save $$$ ...

[QRAF]

yeah i was told "the customer normally isn't around when we do this" comment when he was undoing my crank. :