7 years.

Your WRX should be due for its second timing belt.

 

The owners manual expresses time limits in months. Yes you’re overdue. I’d change the timing belt immediately.

I should note I've moved away from Gates kits to Aisin stuff for my last timing belt change.

 

Wow, I must of missed the time limits some how. Back when I bought the car and going through the manual I remembered 105K. The car is mint. Heck has probably only been rained on 8 or 10 times. So, I know what my next project will be! Watched a few video's and looks to be a fun job. I actually like doing things like this. So I am looking forward to it.

I am just going to buy OEM Subaru parts unless I should upgrade. Cobb Tuning has a Gates "Racing" timing belt. Ya / Na?

Saw a video where a guy ordered the Gates kit. It should of had all OEM. But most of the stuff ended up stamped made in China. So just going to buy each part separate off E-Bay and make sure its OEM, or order through Subaru parts.com. I don't drive the car in the winter so I am in no hurry. May even tear it down this weekend.

I think I am going to skip the water pump though. No body seems to ever had one go bad. If it feels O.K. I think I will just keep it in. If it ends up going bad chances are it will start to leak/sqweel before going bad enough to loose tension on belt. And easy enough to replace if when it dose.

It is also do for another brake fluid flush/change. Plan to do that in the spring.

Thanks for the info guys!!!

Brian

 

I am just going to buy OEM Subaru parts unless I should upgrade. Cobb Tuning has a Gates "Racing" timing belt. Ya / Na?

The correct part has a 105k mile service life. The "racing" part has a 60k mile service life. Discussed here with link to response from Gates:

Gates "racing" belts

So I was looking online and saw normal gates serpentine and timing belts then after I saw gates "racing" belts. I was wondering if anyone has any experience with them and if they're better than the normal ones? Any information on them appreciated.

www.clubwrx.net

I think I am going to skip the water pump though. No body seems to ever had one go bad.

Consider this thread, written by nobody, in its entirety.

Gates Timing Belt Kit - My Impressions

Several people have asked about the quality of the Gates timing belt kit. I've just installed this kit, and would like to offer my impressions. First, thank you to: EJ257, azWRX06 and TOrque for helping me when I was trying to source parts. Trainrex and Donkey for their advice and help with...

www.clubwrx.net

In it, nobody describes the initial impressions from a Gates kit and pump and then follows up 56,000 miles later with the ultimate fate and untimely demise of that same water pump. Given that at the time Gates supplied the OEM water pump, nobody's car has gone through two Gates water pumps - the one that came on the car failed at 30k miles and was replaced by another until 110 k miles when nobody did the timing belt and water pump using a Gates kit. Then that pump failed at +56k miles later.

If it ends up going bad chances are it will start to leak/sqweel before going bad enough to loose tension on belt. And easy enough to replace if when it dose.

If it goes bad it makes sense to change the timing belt that you'll be removing anyway though. Your call.

 

Ya, I think even if the belt had 10K on it I would still change it. From what I have read the tensioner replacement is almost just as important. Seems people will "feel" the bearings in the pullies, then decide. But I would replace that small one no mater what. That thing has to spin crazy rpm. I am surprised that is not the weak link in the system.

 

Been shopping for parts but have not pulled the trigger on anything yet.

Bearing question, in one video I watched, that person said don’t use a bearing unless it was a NSK Made in Japan. On E-bay I see a lot of bearings with the Subaru Box “Fuji Heavy Industries LTD”. So it looks genuine. The bearing is labeled Made in Japan but is a KOYO. KOYO O.K. ??

Also blows my mind that people are trying to sell their old tensioners and bearings on e-bay. What the heck!

 

Bearing question, in one video I watched, that person said don’t use a bearing unless it was a NSK Made in Japan. On E-bay I see a lot of bearings with the Subaru Box “Fuji Heavy Industries LTD”. So it looks genuine. The bearing is labeled Made in Japan but is a KOYO. KOYO O.K. ??

Gates Timing Belt Kit - My Impressions

Several people have asked about the quality of the Gates timing belt kit. I've just installed this kit, and would like to offer my impressions. First, thank you to: EJ257, azWRX06 and TOrque for helping me when I was trying to source parts. Trainrex and Donkey for their advice and help with...

www.clubwrx.net

I do not know whether the Koyo bearing and Koyo radiators are made by the same firm. I also do not know which part was marked Koyo in my kit.

However, the only issue I've had so far (130k miles on the rollers and tensioner and bearings) has to do with the pump. I would not use a Gates water pump or Gates gaskets at this point. I'd use OEM gaskets from a dealer and an Aisin pump.

 

Yes, there is a "shelf life" for rubber components.

Rubber parts begin degrading the day they are manufactured. Tires, for example, have a six-year expiration date stamped on the sidewall. Rubber axle boots stiff and crack. Same thing, of course, with timing and serpentine belts.

Think of the belt lifespan as 105K miles or six years, whichever comes first.

http://www.scoobyenthusiast.com/sub...h-subaru-engines-are-interference-what-subaru-engines-are-non-interference.html says ALL 2005 engines are "interference" engines, meaning that if your timing belt breaks your engine can suffer major internal damage.

Replace that belt ASAP!

 

Is there a manufacture date on the timing belt? Would like to make sure I am not installing a 4-year-old belt. I will 100% go past the age limit before I hit the mileage limit.

Also, are there counterfeit timing belts? Just saw a YouTube video of a guy finding out he bought counterfeit NGK spark plugs. They looked the same. But he called NGK and read them the stamped number on the base of the plug. Or, the lot number. They told him they were not NGK spark plugs. I would never have guessed there was such a thing. Even the box looked the same. Same bar code, everything. So, a store would not even know. I just did my plugs last spring. Little worried about it… I bought them from Auto Zone. Same NGK part number plugs that came out. I think he bought them through Amazon though.

I have not got to far. I did pull the covers off and aligned the timing marks. They all lined up perfectly. And the belt looked great. Again, will not be pulling the car out until spring. So, I have time.

 

Google "manufacture date on timing belt?"; there will be many responses. It looks like most if not all timing belts are stamped with a date code.

I've been burned by counterfeit parts on eBay. One of the ways to tell a fake part is by the price; if it is 50% or so of the price of a part from a reputable dealer, chances are it is a fake.

If you buy parts over the counter at a local national-brand auto parts store you're probably getting a good part. There is no recourse if you get a fake on Amazon or eBay; usually the cost of shipping the part back is more than the part itself. Plus, if you complain to eBay, the counterfeit seller simply closes the eBay account and opens up again under a new ID.

Also, if you buy from a genuine Subaru dealership, they are probably changing enough timing belts that the stock on their shelf is of fairly recent production.

 

I just recently had a fully built engine done on my STi. Built to hold pretty high horsepower. But when it came time for the shop to button everything up and to the timing belt I asked if they were using a gates kit.

Their answer was a hard NO. They said that gates kits aren't built like that used to be and they have been having a lot of problems with them. So I paid a little extra and went with a Subaru OEM timing belt kit per the advice from the engine builder.

Just food for thought.

 

I just recently had a fully built engine done on my STi. Built to hold pretty high horsepower. But when it came time for the shop to button everything up and to the timing belt I asked if they were using a gates kit.

Their answer was a hard NO. They said that gates kits aren't built like that used to be and they have been having a lot of problems with them. So I paid a little extra and went with a Subaru OEM timing belt kit per the advice from the engine builder.

Just food for thought.

There is a wonderful sentence in the Introduction to Jeffrey Zurschmeide's classic book High-Performance Subaru Builder's Guide: “There’s an old saying in racing: ‘Speed, low cost, and longevity — pick any two.’” As true today as when the book was published in 2007!

 

Who makes the OEM belt now? Is it still Gates?

 

I am not sure. The gates kit in question was the racing belt kit. Like mentioned, went with oem.

 

This is from What is the Best Subaru Timing Belt Kit. Flatirons Tuning is the performance division of Flatirons Subaru in Boulder, Colorado.


What is the Best Subaru Timing Belt kit?

Posted: February 14, 2019

Categories: Performance , Modifications , Tuning , FAQ

Author: Jon Cooley

If you have a WRX or STI, about every 100,000 miles you are due to go in and replace your timing belt. Typically, when you do this service, you want to replace most of the parts associated with the timing belt so that you will have another 100,000 miles or so of trouble free operation.
For a long time, the Gates Timing Belt Kits were what we recommend as a great option for OEM quality parts, but at about half the price.
But now all that has changed.
Around the beginning of 2018, we noticed that the tensioners that came in the various Gates kit were starting to fluctuate, and then we noticed that the idler pulleys started to do the same. At this point, none of the components that come in a Gates kit are of OE equivalent quality, and pretty much everything except the belt itself is coming from China.

This left us to look for another good option for Subaru quality parts, but fortunately we were able to find a couple good ones.
First, we found the Aisin Timing Belt kit. This kit is pretty much what the Gates kits used to be. All OEM equivalent parts, including an Aisin water pump. For a stock or daily driven car, this is a great option.

We also now stock the complete line of Roger Clark Motorsport timing kits. They have an OEM timing kit that comes with a Subaru timing belt, and OEM equivalent tensioner and pulleys. Their kits just require you to add a water pump separately.
The really nice thing is that Roger Clark has a timing belt kit that comes with an HKS timing belt (which is actually made by Gates, and is equivalent to their racing belt), and their top of the link kit comes with the STI Kevlar-reinforced timing belt.
All of the Roger Clark kits are great options, and for a modified, or high power car, their HKS and STI-Kevlar belt kits are definitely the way to go.



Hopefully this helps to clarify the differences between these kits, and if you have any questions at all, please drop us [Flatirons Tuning] a line!

 

Hello Guys,

Update: Job complete! The belt looked practically new. You could still see the original timing alignment marks on the belt still. What I did find bad was the tensioner. It was a little wet on the top. So, I just ordered everything and called it done. Car was apart for about a week. Waiting for parts. But all in all, about an hour and a half job. That is after draining the coolant. Did not want it to get on garage floor so just let it trickle out the drain with a tube attached to it. Think that took longer than the work!! Everything went very smooth and easy!!!!