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Quick question on Subaru cam-belts

James

James

Lord of the Erg\o/s
I had every intention of selling my 2006 Legacy 2.5i wagon after buying my BMW, and certainly before it clocks up 200,000km. The owner's manual specifies cam-belt replacement every 100,000km and I had that done (together with water-pump, pulleys and seals etc.) five years ago. It has now done 192,000kms, and running incredibly well, but will be due for another cam-belt soon. We are inclined to keep it as the family hack and dog transporter.

Then I read on the American Subaru websites and learn that the same car in the USA specifies a 105,000 miles cam-belt change interval. That's close to 70% more than what's specified for mine. Surely the US-spec cars use exactly the same parts as mine in the engine. What gives?

Answers to this question could see me:

(a) doing nothing and enjoying the utility of my Legacy wagon for another 50,000kms worry free;

(b) selling the Legacy for whatever cash I can get for it and buying a set of shiny BBS wheels for my BMW;

(c) trading the Legacy in for a lower-mileage WRX because I think we still need a family hack and the dogs are not riding in my BMW.

James
 
(A) definitely. I just did the belt on my 2005 OB XT Ltd for the first time. More for time than miles (45k miles). Great car that still looks like new. Perfect dog transport. Surprised you had to do the water pump on the first belt replacement.
 
(a) the only major difference I can think of between US and Antipodean Subarus is that yours are made here in Japan, where servicing intervals are much shorter by law, and parts tend to be replaced more frequently, whether or not they need to be. The Subie dealer tried to get me to replace the battery at 10k, despite it working OK. I wasn't having any of that.

Still enjoying life with my 2008 2.0GT (the one with a hole in the hood/bonnet). I still regret not being able to persuade my wife to go for the wagon version at the time. It has turned out to be an incredibly comfortable, fun and safe Grand Tourer. We've driven all over the main island. Our last trip was a 1,400 km long weekend round trip to a hot spring inn on the Tango peninsular north of Kyoto via Toyama and the Fukui coast in late December.
 
5 years on a cambelt? Irrespective of mileage, I'd be thinking about it based on age.

The service interval on my Golf is 70k (miles) iirc or every four years, whichever comes first.

I had a cambelt put on it (it's 3rd) last year as it hadn't been done since 2009 and had 45k on it.

Mind you, a Subaru legacy isn't a VW golf R32 and I might be talking bollocks.

A mate did mine and it cost less than £300 including tensioners and water pump.
 
I find that cambelt changes at 60,000 miles are prudent.

I have seen 100,000 mile cambelts with teeth missing, shredding and looking like it will break anytime. I know Subaru may say 100k miles if fine but it depends on the belt, how you drive etc.

So if you want to take a risk, and don't mind if you wreck your engine keep driving. If I wanted to keep the car I would change the cambelt at 60K.
 
joel said:
(a) the only major difference I can think of between US and Antipodean Subarus is that yours are made here in Japan, where servicing intervals are much shorter by law, and parts tend to be replaced more frequently, whether or not they need to be. The Subie dealer tried to get me to replace the battery at 10k, despite it working OK. I wasn't having any of that.
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That's quite insightful. Thanks, Joel.

joel said:
Still enjoying life with my 2008 2.0GT (the one with a hole in the hood/bonnet). I still regret not being able to persuade my wife to go for the wagon version at the time. It has turned out to be an incredibly comfortable, fun and safe Grand Tourer. We've driven all over the main island. Our last trip was a 1,400 km long weekend round trip to a hot spring inn on the Tango peninsular north of Kyoto via Toyama and the Fukui coast in late December.
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It was a coin flip between the Sub and BMW when I did a 3,000km plus road trip of NZ South Island a couple of weeks ago. In the end, I figured I'll be travelling on gravel and thought I'd spare the hiding for the new car. Except for a couple of moments when I wished I had more power, I had a very enjoyable journey. A GT-wagon would be near perfect.
 
Hottuna said:
I find that cambelt changes at 60,000 miles are prudent.

I have seen 100,000 mile cambelts with teeth missing, shredding and looking like it will break anytime. I know Subaru may say 100k miles if fine but it depends on the belt, how you drive etc.

So if you want to take a risk, and don't mind if you wreck your engine keep driving. If I wanted to keep the car I would change the cambelt at 60K.
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The belt that came out at 100,000km after 5 years looked near new. The current belt with 90,000km still looks very good when I peered under the covers.

The Subaru generally sees long(er) distance trips of 30kms or more, so a gentler life than your usual city dweller.

If anyone can point to a snapped belt under 150,000km on a 2.5i Legacy, I'd be most grateful to change my mind about option A.
 
Change it, as a recent cam belt victim I would fall on the side of caution now.
 
Yeah, but how old is your last cam-belt and how far had it travelled.

Besides, I'm really asking for reasons why the US-spec replacement interval is different from Japanese/NZ spec cars. If I follow the US prescription, I should be able to go another 50,000kms without breakage.
 
4yrs old & 70,000 miles.

VW guideline for my car was 5yrs or 130,000 miles. In mainland Europe they don't have the time limit just the mileage (200,000 Km's)
 
thebiglebowski said:
4yrs old & 70,000 miles.

VW guideline for my car was 5yrs or 130,000 miles. In mainland Europe they don't have the time limit just the mileage (200,000 Km's)
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I don't get the variation with cambelt intervals, surely a braided rubber belt is a braided rubber belt and the only real difference is size?

I can imagine that the climate a vehicle lives in will have an affect on the longevity of it's cambelt, hence the difference in intervals between regions maybe.

My feeling is that, unless a cambelt change is prohibitively expensive, let's say £500 on a car worth no more than £7-800 then why risk it?

£3-400 on a car worth £6-8k to save the risk of a potentially huge engine rebuild bill plus the cost of a cambelt kit anyway, is a no-brainer, especially if you're keeping it.
 
thebiglebowski said:
4yrs old & 70,000 miles.

VW guideline for my car was 5yrs or 130,000 miles. In mainland Europe they don't have the time limit just the mileage (200,000 Km's)
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Yowza! Our two newer cars have chain-driven cams. I'll remember not to buy VW.
 
James said:
The belt that came out at 100,000km after 5 years looked near new. The current belt with 90,000km still looks very good when I peered under the covers.

The Subaru generally sees long(er) distance trips of 30kms or more, so a gentler life than your usual city dweller.

If anyone can point to a snapped belt under 150,000km on a 2.5i Legacy, I'd be most grateful to change my mind about option A.
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I have seen one dead Subaru engine with no cambelt change. The belt had done over 105,000 miles and was 12 years old. I also think it may have suffered a failed idler/tensioner/pulley as the farm owner had a fix it when it breaks attitude.

I have run a Subaru Forester 2.0 litre that was well maintained that I sold with just over 350,000 miles on it, which is around 560,000km if my maths is correct. Sold it for £500.

As you are running a Subaru 2.5 I would keep an eye on the head gasket joint, especially the rearmost cylinder head gasket joint. You may or may not be aware that 2.5 engine head gaskets fail regularly. Some symptoms you can see the start of failure through a small loss of coolant, underneath the car you may see oil staining at the head gasket joint which is less of a concern than coolant loss.
 
linnfomaniac83 said:
I don't get the variation with cambelt intervals, surely a braided rubber belt is a braided rubber belt and the only real difference is size?

I can imagine that the climate a vehicle lives in will have an affect on the longevity of it's cambelt, hence the difference in intervals between regions maybe.
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Me neither. The climate is more varied in the USA between extremes, whereas NZ is quite temperate. What surprises me is not many Subaru Legacy are (apparently) reported with broken belts under the recommended change intervals.
 
There's no right answer. If it were mine and I planned to keep it I would bin a 5yr old cambelt regardless of mileage, esp on a performance car. However you can do this and see the new one break after 10k miles. This is why dealers charge so much, they know 1 in 100 is coming back with a snapped belt, a dozen belt valves and an angry owner holding a receipt and a mobile phone with a lawyer's number in it.

That reminds me, the ratty Mondeo is on 102k and due a belt. 5yr/50k interval. A £300 bill plays a £600 dead car. Do you feel lucky, punk?
 
stevec67 said:
A £300 bill plays a £600 dead car. Do you feel lucky, punk?
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Haha. My car is worth maybe NZD5K to a keen buyer. A proper cam-belt change with all the attendant bits is not much change from NZD1K. The five years come up in December this year. I'll make a decision then.
 
James said:
Yowza! Our two newer cars have chain-driven cams. I'll remember not to buy VW.
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Chain driven camshaft come with their own set of problems. They still wear, and if oil levels are allowed to run low, and, dirty oil, chains will wear and stretch and replacement is a lot more expensive than a belt to change.

Cam chain problems are issues on Fiat 500 and Nissan Micra as two problem examples.
 
Anyone here over 40 who's into mechanicing will remember the proper Mini and its cam chain. That never rattled or clattered, did it? Oh, hang on. All advocates of chains should bear in mind that there was a belt conversion for the Mini, because the chain was such a pain to (a) listen to and (b) replace.
 
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