DailyLeggy

OK. So, after a few more attempts at getting the timing belt, cover and accessory belt back on due to me being super paranoid and taking everything off two or three times to double and triple check the timing marks, I have finally got the front of the engine reassembled. Now, today I begin to tackle the removal of the intake manifold so I can get the coolant bypass pipe off and replaced. Only 1 Subaru dealer within 100 miles of me had the part and, as luck would have it, one of my oldest friends is driving through there today and offered to pick it up on his way to see his mom, so I will get free delivery of said pipe later this morning. Now the new fun begins as I have to find a parts store that will have the intake manifold gaskets in stock. Wonder how lucky I will get then...

Quick update. Had everything back together after a couple of days minor issues. Did the two rotations and timing marks line back up just as they should. Start filling the radiator with coolant to get ready to start up to ensure everything is working properly and my son spots a big puddle of coolant on the floor. Look underneath the car and see a drip coming from the back of the driver side head where it bolts to the block. Great! Now a possible leaking head gasket. As I'm trying to look from the top down, i see coolant pooled up just below where the throttle body coolant hose meets up a metal line. Push some paper towels down there to soak up so I can try to determine where its coming from. Have the boy add some more coolant and when he pulls the radiator cap off, I see it spurt out from the metal pipe. So, now I need to replace the engine coolant bypass pipe, which looks like it will involve taking the intake manifold off. Here's a link to the part I have to replace. Part 14065. https://www.subarupartsandaccessories.com/a/Subaru_2012_Legacy/49226687__6030753/WATER-PUMP-10MY-12MY/B14-035-01.html I love this car but lemme tell you, it is hard not putting a .45 ACP round through it. LOL Looks like I'll be spending a bit more time getting intimate with an EJ25.

Well...the fun continues... Had 3 bolts that were giving me hell this morning on the lower portion of the cover. The first three lower right bolts on the big cover were terribly corroded. Could not get a 10MM on there. Had to get bolt extractor sockets to remove them. Best $30 I (read: my father) ever spent. However, the far right one was so bad it was frozen in the plastic of the timing cover and it actually broke the bottom tab. Took me a while to get that one out as the rubber seal was actually wrapped around that broken piece. Those three bolt heads are shot so it looks like I'll be making a run to home depot to see if I can find some shoulder bolts to replace them all with. And yes, I know some of them are not shoulder bolts. After getting the cover off and looking at the piston seal around the tensioner there is some significant oil visible around the piston as well as possibly the tensioner itself. There is also some visible debris on the left upper idler pulley. Another thing I noted that I don't know if it's common or not is there seems to be a bit of a gap between the belt and the pulley end on the cam gears. Pic attached below. Any thoughts? The water pump looks to be in pretty good shape, however, I may as well replace it as I am already in there and really do not want to have to tear this all apart again just to replace a water pump. Will need to get a drain pan and will probably put in some new coolant. I can the blue extended life coolant at my nearby auto parts store but not sure about the conditioner. Do most places carry that or is it even absolutely necessary? I'm already a slight bit north of $300 with the timing kit (shipping included), new serpentine belt and idler pulley, so whats another hundo??? Piece of mind for not having to replace an entire engine. Who knows, though. Maybe the head gaskets are next with my luck... Anywho, I've attached some more images. Will have additional ones later when I get the tensioner and idlers off. Was time to crack a beer and eat some lunch. Glad today is my last day of vacation...

So, about a week and a half ago, I started hearing a "chirping" sound coming from my 2012 2.5I Leggy. It was concerning as I've had the car a little over a year and it has been a champ. Starts every time, gets great gas mileage and the AWD in the Midwest winters is a dream. Doing some investigating on line and watching countless videos on Youtube, I am speculating that one or more of the timing components is on the way out. I've been following SubOperater's post on the timing kit he purchased and am anxiously awaiting my kit to arrive tomorrow. However, upon disassembling the front portion of the engine in preparation of my kit arriving, I have found a few things... 1. Two of the screws that secure the fans to the radiator (one on each fan) were so corroded that the mounting tabs broke, even after letting them soak for over an hour with a few coats of WD-40. I should still be able to secure them back in place with a bit of creativity. 2. Getting the fans out without removing the upper radiator hose is a bit of a challenge however, I did get them out. 3. The 10mm screws that secure the timing belt cover have quite a bit of surface rust on them. Couldn't use my 3/8 drive socket on them as it's a pretty hefty socket. Will have to use a 1/4 drive socket to get them out but I don't have any extensions on that size and my 3/8 to 1/4 reducer bit the dust a few months ago. Waiting on my dad to get here to get his ratchet and extension. 4. Looks like I have a "U" shaped crack in my timing cover however with as straight as those lines are, it almost looks like it's supposed to be there. My gut tells me it's not so that makes me wonder if the tensioner bolt has worked loose and that is one of the noises I am hearing. Will find out later today. Will most likely have everything ready to go by end of day today, but am going to need to look into getting coolant. Read somewhere (cannot remember where) that only the blue Subaru coolant should be used. The current coolant looks good, but we all know looks can be deceiving. Also need to look into getting the conditioner. May have to jump across the river into Illinois and hit up the only Subaru dealer in 60 miles from here for coolant and conditioner. Can any of you guys thing of anything else I might need? Thanks in advance, all!

I had been looking at various kits on RockAuto and the two I kept going back two were the Aisin and Continental pro kits. After reading through this thread and multiple other reviews regarding them, I figured the Aisin was the best way to go for the money.

I know this thread is a couple of years old, however, I do want to say thank you for the excellent write up. Bought my 2012 Leggy last year and have been extremely pleased with it thus far. Use it as my daily and for some road trips. After reading through your review of the Aisin kit, as well as researching the other kits available, I have decided to go with this same kit for my car. I should have it in my posession on Wed the 27th and will double check to ensure all the parts are made where they say they are made before it will ever go into my car. Glad I did my research on this as a timing failure is never what you want to happen. Thank you to SubOperator for this great write up!!!