Minimal Cam Belt Service? (EJ20 DOHC)

[Guest boostin]

DOHC and SOHC are different.

[jacsmiley]

 Old Blue said:

Thinking out loud... What is the minimal amount of work (DIY, not by a shop) that can be done to gain the peace of mind that an EJ20 cam belt is in good shape for a while? ???

The standard "100K service" seems to involve replacement of the belt, idlers, pulleys, tensioner, camshaft seals, etc... along with the water pump. Basically enough work to say that the whole front half of the engine is good for another 100K, and probably also just changing things because you have the opportunity when it is all apart. It all sounds good, but these services can cost $1000-1200 from a shop!

However, what is the story when you are doing the work yourself?

For example:

* If the water pump is not changed, is there enough clearance to change the cam belt without disconnecting the radiator or draining the coolant?

* The service manual says the tensioner can be reused, but it can take up to 1000kg of force to compress it to get the pin back in place to install it... Does everyone just toss their used but good condition tensioners and buy new ones to avoid this step?

* Can all of the rest of the parts (pulleys, idlers, and seals) just be inspected and replaced if necessary? If the belt snaps, you need a new engine... but it seems like the other parts would make some noise or produce a visible leak when they wear out, giving you at least a little bit of a warning...

Tell me if I'm missing something... I've never had one of these engines apart.

having just done my own cambelt (98 STI typeR) the trick is to get a pin to put in the old tensioner before you loosen anything. that way with the belt off you can check the bearing and re-use if nessesary, easy. my water pump was mint, the idlers were mint, so i just replaced the tensioner and belt. allthough you cant be sure that the old tensioner will last another 100k

ive budgeted to do a cambelt every 2-3years regardless of Ks (ive had the car 4months and done 12k already! but wont do that every 4months i hope) so i may just do the belt and water pump next time or the belt and idlers if the pump is still mint.

its not that hard and for the sake of un-doing two hose clamps/fan plugs/top rad supports the radiator is nothing to pull out.

if you have a good mate in the parts buisness that can help. get all the parts (idlers waterpump tensioner belt coolant oil and filter while your there) return what you dont use and pay for what you do. if not, buy the belt and prepare to have the car off the road for a few days till you get the parts you need to replace assuming that money is the issue here??

cost me under $400 for belt, tensioner, oil & filter, radiator coolant. $700 if i added waterpump, idlers, plugs & leads

if it costs me $400 every 3years thats $11 a month which i think is a small cost to keep my top end and potentially my motor

rah rah rah hope ive been of some help ;D

[jacsmiley]

 lamboiah said:

Does anyone know how many teeth the bh5/Be engine cam/timing belt has?

hey mate

my last belt had 277 teeth forester/legacy/outback/wrx/vw toureg

[DRFVDR]

 jacsmiley']

[quote name='lamboiah said:

Does anyone know how many teeth the bh5/Be engine cam/timing belt has?

/quote]

hey mate

my last belt had 277 teeth forester/legacy/outback/wrx/vw toureg

WTF

[jacsmiley]

 DRFVDR']

[quote name='lamboiah said:

Does anyone know how many teeth the bh5/Be engine cam/timing belt has?

/quote]

hey mate

my last belt had 277 teeth forester/legacy/outback/wrx/vw toureg

WTF

haha yeah was a bosch cam belt and it had models of cars it was for including a V6 3.0l toureg

[Guest]

You've probably already made your decison by now but for my two cents worth.

What you're really asking, is it worth spending a lot of money on an old car? At 215k I'd be thinking that I'm driving it into the ground.

If the water pump goes you should notice if you ever look at the dash while driving, and be able to stop before any damage.

I think a roadside insurance policy might be money better spent if your wheels and backup are critical.

My 1992 legacy has just ticked over 260k with no cambelt EVER and only home services ever done. The engine is still solid. Only problem is a little clutch slip which is purely from abuse.