Looking for Professional Subaru Mechanic, and Other Owner Input

[2011 Legacy MT]

Hello All,

 

I am new to the forum, I have owned my 2011 Legacy 2.5 Premium 6sp since new, and am now close to crossing the 100K mark and due for the first Timing Belt replacement. I have spoken to two different Subaru dealers and they both said that they do not automatically replace the water pump or tensioners when replacing the Timing Belt. I have a few older BMW's that I maintain myself, and the idea of replacing a timing belt without replacing everything behind it is alien to me. I wanted to get other opinions on this. Am I being overcautious, or is this the norm with Subaru. My Legacy has been perfect to date, with only Fluid changes and normal maintenance to this point. Additionally, when changing the gear oil in the manual 6sp I have used the Subaru Certified High Performance Gear Oil 75-90 in the past, but would love to switch to RedLine Synthetic product going forward, does anyone know of any adverse effects of using that in these gearboxes? Any input would be appreciated.

 

Thank you,

[A_A_ron]

It's worth it from a labor savings risk. Even if your water pump makes it to 180k you still have to pay full labor to have a new one put in. Might as well since a water pump is like 1/6th the cost of what you're already spending for timing belts.

[DrD123]

I'll echo the above - if you do it now, you pretty much just pay the part cost - but if it fails later, then all of the labor associated with the timing belt has to be spent again to get to the water pump.

 

 

For gear oil, with Redline some folks (over on NASIOC, anyway) have had issues with the Redline 75W90 being too slippery for the synchronizers, and have better luck with Redline 75W90NS. There are other synthetics out there as well - I have always been partial to Motul Gear 300, and had that in there until Subaru replaced my short block, and now it has the Subaru gear oil in there. Since you see cold temperatures, a synthetic is definitely the way to go!

[AWDFTW]

Any shop that does not automatically replace tensioners on an interference engine would make me not want to give them money.

[Scubaboo]

Wepcome!

 

It goes for pretty much any engine. While you are in there, it just makes sense to get all of that done.

 

A lot of enthusiast owners put in uprated fluids and shorter intervals. I personally have put in Redline 75w90 in my front and rear diffs with no problems. I have a 5EAT so it's still on regular old Subaru HP ATF, but looking to put in Amsoil on my next ATF oil change.

 

A lot of users have uprated gearbox fluid and hopefully some will chime in on what they use and their experiences.

[stewdogg]

I think most of this stuff comes down to your peace of mind. What ever makes you feel comfortable is the right way to go. People ask me mechanical advise every day and some are more into safety and some into saving money.

 

That being said, I don't see many water pumps fail anymore. I didn't replace the pumps on my 2002 WRX or 2005 Forester XT and they were fine... I still have the Forester. I run a fleet that does around 800,000 miles a year and I only see a failed water pump every 5 years or so. I personally wouldn't replace the waterpump if only doing the timing belt, but I do the work myself and don't have to pay for labor. On the other hand, I did just rebuild my entire engine and replaced the waterpump because everything was new at that point and I think it would be silly to spend that money and not have a new waterpump.

 

Again, I think you should do what makes you comfortable and by your post I believe replacing the waterpump makes the most sense.

 

The tensioner is a no brainer and a proven part to fail, so I would replace that for sure.

 

Good luck! If you wanna take a stab at it yourself there is a bunch of info and tons of knowledge here for you to use. Plus, sounds like you have a BMW or two to drive while the Legacy is under repair.

[YeuEmMaiMai]

i would do the water pump with the belt

 

 

other items i would replace

tensioner

 

idler pullies

[Val Demar]

My dealer basically told me the same. I decided to change all pulleys/tensioner and the pump anyway. It was expensive, but I'm hopefully in the long haul with the car, so all in all after you amortize over a 5-6 year ownership it is not that big of a deal. On the other hand if the pump fails and you overheat the engine, you may be in for much more $$$. Surely the lack of a proper temperature gauge on my 2010 doesn't make me feel very comfortable. If you have a reliable independent shop that can do it for you, you can source the parts with a discount online and save some money. If you plan to get rid of the car in the next couple of years, it may make sense to not do the extras.

[08SpecB_DE]

Bait and switch tactic.

 

They quote $300 for a t-belt job then call and say "This pulley is bad or wp has a small leak, etc" now the total is going to be $800 and the car is already apart so hurry and give us an answer. The lower base price lures the customers in because over 80% have no idea what's going on. You agree before you even realize what just happened.

 

If you can maintain a BMW on your own, I suggest you do the work and replace everything while you're in there. The t-belt on a Subaru is easier than say a starter on an 07 5 series.

[dgoodhue]

What he said. The tensioner is usually failing or about to fail after 105k miles. It will never come close to lasting another timing belt interval. My friend bought a 2011 2.5i 6MT with 139k miles, someone did timing belt with out water pump and his water pump is leaking.