derp Posted April 15, 2016 Share Posted April 15, 2016 I buy OEM only. I could suck start a snow blower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceWilly Posted April 17, 2016 Share Posted April 17, 2016 FYI (posted this on Nasioc, but since I found this thread during my searching i figured I would clue you guys in) So I emailed Gates about this... Here is what I wrote and what they wrote back My Email. Wanted to let your team know that I had been planning to use a Gates timing belt/water pump kit for my 2005 Subaru Impreza WRX STI, due to its reputation of high quality. I have a good opportunity to perform the service (as I have to replace my radiator) and checked the current status of your offering. After reading recent comments regarding the swapping of parts away from OEM and towards alternate manufacturers (possibly for cost reduction reasons) I have decided not to use the Gates product for this application. Unfortunately this means I will also not be performing the timing belt service at this time. I believe many others feel as I do, and will act accordingly. I continue to use Gates for many of my other automotive needs, but for something so critical, I no longer have faith in the product being offered. If you decide to revert the kit back to the previous components and quality, I will gladly purchase. I may not need to perform this timing belt change for another year or two, so I will revisit the state of the kits when the time comes. I hope that when I do I will find a more reliable product available. All companies are forced to compromise for the sake of competition and profits, I hope Gates does not succumb to the pitfalls that come along with this inevitability. Reply from Gates: It’s already in the works We'll see what happens, luckily I can afford to wait a bit and see. But this at least sounds like they realize the pitfalls of their actions and hopefully will change things back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
08SpecB_DE Posted April 17, 2016 Share Posted April 17, 2016 I think Gates has cut corners all across the board. I put a Gates water pump on a 2011 Rav4 v6 on Friday and the sob was leaking at the gasket. Mind you, this was a 5 hour job. I had to take everything back off and put a different pump on at 3:30 on a Friday afternoon. Luckily it only took me 2 hours to get the Gates one off and a new oem style pump and gasket back on. Everything looked exactly the same but it was either casted wrong or the funky 3 piece gasket it used was defective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apexi Posted April 24, 2016 Share Posted April 24, 2016 An amazon review for the tck307 on April 19th: "Defective tensioner--The pin on the tensioner did not extend when the "grenade pin" was removed which was not discovered until the engine was reassembled. The result was an engine knock as the loose belt caused the tensioner to pivot back and forth, striking the pin's contact point on the engine block. Had to spend 3.5 hours to remove the timing belt again and reuse the old tensioner. All other components seemed to be of good quality." I also noticed some bad reviews from ealy april for the tck328 kit that i don't remember seeing, just saying that the tensioner knocks and stuff. I wish gates would let me send them my new, never installed gates tensioner for an ntn or something.. I don't think the problem is as small as they led me to believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freaksavior Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 So what belt kit should we go with at this point? Stay with the gates kit or buy the belt and the tensioner from someone else? I need to get a new tensioner at minimum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derp Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 So what belt kit should we go with at this point? Stay with the gates kit or buy the belt and the tensioner from someone else? I need to get a new tensioner at minimum. I buy OEM only. I could suck start a snow blower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flinkly Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 So what belt kit should we go with at this point? Stay with the gates kit or buy the belt and the tensioner from someone else? I need to get a new tensioner at minimum. Subaru? (or Partsouq...) * Build Thread * 26.53 MPG - 12 month Average * Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freaksavior Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 Thanks guys, just wanted to double check if there was something else people recommended. I ended up ordering oe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just_phil Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 I bought the Gates kit, and a Subaru tensioner, still cheaper than buying all rollers from Subaru. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derp Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 There are certain things I'm willing to cheap out on, and certain things that I am not. Critical engine components on an interference engine are not one of those things. I could suck start a snow blower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apexi Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 I bought the Gates kit, and a Subaru tensioner, still cheaper than buying all rollers from Subaru. Where did you buy the kit from? Was this recently? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just_phil Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 Amazon, about a month ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 There are certain things I'm willing to cheap out on, and certain things that I am not. Critical engine components on an interference engine are not one of those things. FWIW, I had a Dayco kit that I got from the auto parts store back in 2008 that worked fine for many years. Put that in my 2005 GT wagon at 96,000 miles. When it comes time again I'll go back to that kit. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
covertrussian Posted May 6, 2016 Author Share Posted May 6, 2016 Max, do you remember what brand idlers they used? 05 LGT 16G 14psi 290whp/30mpg (SOLD) 12 OBP Stock 130whp/27mpg@87 Oct 00 G20t GT28r 10psi 250whp/36mpg 22 Ascent STOCK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dk1604 Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Back in February I installed the Gates kit with the "Made in Canada" tensioner and "Made in China" idler sprocket. I got paranoid so decided to swap the tensioner out for OEM (purchased from the dealership.) The tensioner looked alright but I found that grease had leaked from the idler sprocket bearing. Fortunately no grease got onto the timing belt. The bearing still spun alright but didn't feel buttery smooth like I remembered it being back in February. (The other idlers from the kit, which were the same as OEM, looked fine.) Unfortunately it was Sunday so I couldn't go buy a replacement from the dealership and ended up reinstalling the original part that was removed back in February. Needless to say, I wasn't very impressed. http://i64.tinypic.com/2w4iout.jpg David 2008 Legacy 2.5i Sedan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 Max, do you remember what brand idlers they used? Sorry I don't, I do remember I had to add a washer under the bolt head of one of the idlers but that's not a big thing. The idlers all spun freely and smoothly. Also realize Dayco must sell a lot of these kits to local repair shops around the country. Not every local repair shop is going to use OEM unless they know there is an issue. I do know my trusted mechanic has advised me when its necessary to go with OEM. I'll have me call because my local dealership parts guy's give me a great discount. I have had them deliver parts to him. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derp Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 FWIW, I had a Dayco kit that I got from the auto parts store back in 2008 that worked fine for many years. Put that in my 2005 GT wagon at 96,000 miles. When it comes time again I'll go back to that kit. As always, YMMV. Glad it worked out for you. I could suck start a snow blower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldrego Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 Jesus! Didn't know this was going on. I'm glad I was browsing the threads today. Saved me a headache. Thanks for starting this thread! Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kawasakikl Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 Going through this myself now. Always thought of Gates as higher quality. I used the timing kit without the water pump. I am pulling everything off this afternoon to see if it's the tensioner. Still have my old one, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RustyRuu Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 + 1 for dayco have it on a 09 forester, and have had no issues, even after being rear ended then rear ending two more cars, in gear, it didnt jump. Its been 20k+ thousand miles. thats the womans car, i was not driving and not there, she was ok and only needed some new fasteners and zip ties for the bumper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzignig Posted May 14, 2016 Share Posted May 14, 2016 Hey guys just an update to this. I purchased a tck328 from rockauto a few days ago. Received it yesterday. Tensioner is NTN bearings and NOK pin seal. Good Japan stuff. I want to say there is a possibility they already realized their fault. The large idler pulleys are still China made with gates labels. However TAIDE is an oem supplier from what I can find and they are all double bearing pulleys. I'm going to run them. They seem very nice and tight with no slop. The smallest roller (I have an 05 obxt) is a good Ole GMB. So no worries there. My only complaint with the kit is the timing belt itself. They no longer put marks on them. Now I have to count teeth again... demnit! So in the end- I would still buy gates, it's just an assortment of brands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RumbleRumble Posted May 15, 2016 Share Posted May 15, 2016 I bought a tckwp307 kit back in 2014 I wonder if i got a defective tensioner too. worldpac sells NTN(OEM) tensioners through Advance Auto Parts for a couple bucks less than the dealer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apexi Posted May 15, 2016 Share Posted May 15, 2016 I think you should be fine if you got your kit in 2014. From the little research I did on this, I think Gates made the switch sometime in late 2015, but I could be wrong on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadowsports Posted May 15, 2016 Share Posted May 15, 2016 I purchased a TCKWP328RB. Everything was OEM, except the belt and WP. NTN bearings and Japanese pulleys. Metal WP gasket. Granted this was 2014. Guess I was lucky. Hope this has indeed been changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldrego Posted June 9, 2016 Share Posted June 9, 2016 Any updates? I was interested in the Kevlar belt at the very least Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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