In this video, I do a walk-though of timing belt replacement on a 1995 Subaru Legacy. This procedure should apply to early-to-mid 1990s Subaru Legacy and Imp…
1995 Subaru Legacy – Full DIY: timing belt replacement
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You’re more than welcome. Thanks for the kudos, and thanks for subscribing. I had a similar thing happen to my old ’94 Legacy. When I put it back together with new pulleys, all was well.
Thank You Thank You Thank You for these videos on the subaru legacy!!! One of my timing belt pulleys locked up on my ’95 and because of your your videos I was able to put on all new pulleys, new timing belt, and new water pump. Now my car is running better and for some reason has a lot more power than when i got it!!! Anyway thanks so much there is no way I could have done it without your videos!!!
Unable to confirm. If you’re in doubt, I’d contact the belt manufacturer before installing it.
@MercedesDieselGuy I have a 2nd Gen 1994 (October) Liberty 2.2 EJ22 SOHC…. I see in your video you have the T172 belt, and I have just bought a T254 belt…. it says it fits my model and make of subaru but i was just wondering if you could confirm this….. thanks for the vid by the way, kudos
Best of luck. It’s not that bad a job.
Thanks, now I feel confident enough to do it myself.
@MercedesDieselGuy I have a maroon 96 legacy 2.2 5MT and these videos are so great for me. Whenever you’re filming yourself inside that engine bay it’s just like seeing mine. Repair manuals serve their purpose but these videos are so much more assuring and comprehensive. Huge Thanks, Man! I hated to hear that you sold yours but I understand. Hopefully I’ll upgrade subies one of these days.
You’re welcome. Thanks for watching!
Just want to say Thank You for these videos…They have helped me fix my car wland I wouldn’t know where to start…Keep up the good work
I THINK I heard the same thing – 105K for the California-spec timing belt. That sounds familiar, but I don’t know for sure.
I THINK I heard the same thing about the California-spec timing belts. That sounds familiar. How much do you drive? The timing belt may be just fine in the short term. But, in terms of resale, your car will be worth more with a new timing belt.
Someone on one of these chat boards said that California’s timing belts are different and can last for 105,000. Is that not so? I don’t want to be ridiculous about this, b/c as someone pointed out, it is good insurance just to get it done. On the other hand, I’ll likely be getting a new used car within the next couple of months, so I have to weigh where / when I’m going to spend my money.
All the literature I’ve seen points to 60,000 miles. It isn’t likely to break at 60,001, but every extra mile decreases reliability. I lost a timing belt on my 1994 Subaru at 30,000 miles into the interval because a timing idler (which had NOT been replaced with the belt) seized up on me.
Does anyone here know how often the timing belt needs to be replaced in a 1993 Subaru Legacy (4-door station wagon)? I had it replaced at 170,000 and my mechanic alluded that it doesn’t need to be replaced at 60,000 miles later which was what I thought! Any illumination for me about this?
Glad you figured it out. Alternately, there’s a little access port on the passenger side of the top side of the engine where it meets up with the transmission bell housing. You can pull off the cover there and brace the flywheel or flexplate.
MercedesDieselGuy,
I was replacing a water pump on a 1995 Impreza 2.2L and I had just finished taking off all of the accessory belts when I realized I had to take off the pulley that was connected to the crank shaft. I took one look at the nut holding it on and I knew it was going to be very difficult to take off. I figured out the same solution, securing the nut and turning on the starter, but I went hunting on YouTube first to see what other people were doing.
Thanks for making this video.
Best of luck. Hope the repair works out OK for you.
Did the tensioner install today.
There was some old gasket material that pressed itself into the right sprocket splines. I thought I had cleaned it all out.
So it’s possible my old tensioner was good but not taking chances and having tbe new part I replaced it anyway.
Sorry to hear it. I haven’t yet had to replace one, but I’ll take your comment as a cautionary tale for the future.
Yikes. It slipped.
Looks like I’ll be replacing the only part I didn’t..the hydraulic tensioner.
Mine was a 90 and Id say replace it if you can if it is over a decade old.
Apparently 23 years was a bridge too far.
Who knew (I sorta did but I’m broke).
Good news is that I could do this again much faster than I did the first time.
Cool. Glad it worked out for you.
Those nuts embedded in the plastic surround often break. I hadn’t considered epoxy as a repair. Not a bad idea.
Cont. The old balancer had an expanded key slot of about double the width and was sloppy but the crank looked ok although my new pulley does seem to be slightly off round it is a big improvement. My old belt retained tension and did not break but was missing teeth in patches and one day the patches got bigger than the sprockets. Great vid tks for the assist.
If I do the tranny pulldown on mine I may document the process as well.
Databyter
Cont. The center cover bolts into metal and I had no problem.
I used the starter to break the pulley bolt and not having a strap wrench I simulated an impact tightening of said bolt by striking the end of the breaker bar rapidly about a dozen times with a normal sized hammer. Normal turning moved the motor but the quick concusions seemed to tighten the bolt well and I’ll have it checked asap when I have the right tool and some help. I did this job myself with limited resources to say the least.
Well I got the timing and pump job with new crank pulley.
Of note was that the outer timing belt cover bolts screw into round knurled nuts that are made into a rear plastic cover and the top and bottom nuts on both sides just spun free if their molding and made it impossible to remove the nut.
Using a wood chisel I made a small gap on the outer edge to allow me to pull these rount nuts out with the front cover while not damaging the ability to replace it again with a drop of epoxy.
Well, my videos DO cover front and rear differential fluid changes. No rebuilds, though.
But first things first. I feel confident to do the timing and pump job now.
I owe you a lunch 🙂
Thanks.. Now if only you had posted differential or vicious coupling vids I’d have a leg up on that as well.
My car doesn’t like to turn under power (really bad) and was towed incorrectly once I believe.
Just be careful and exercise common sense. You don’t want to drop anything into the transmission bell housing.
Well, provided you brace the breaker bar properly, the starter bump usually works pretty well to loosen the bolt. I can’t 100% remember and visualise working with that access port on the automatic – it was a year ago – but you should be able to brace something in there.
Yea, actually it’s an auto.
I was thinking about using the starter to break it and the access port hole to torque it.
I’m looking at the side of a metal shroud sort of cone shaped (torque converter?)
At any rate there is a 3/8″ hole in that metal donut and it must be there for a reason. Kinda sloppy tho.
A round wrench is probably the way to go but the only ones Ive seen locally are metal chain and I dont want to damage the pulley grooves.
My next chore is my shot front differential.
Assuming you have a manual transmission, you should be able to see the flywheel ring gear. It must be the angle at which you’re approaching it. Glad the videos are helping. Thanks for watching.
Subscribed.
First harmonic balancer (about to do it), now timing belt
When using the flywheel access port to lock engine do I try to find some actual teeth?
All I see is a metalic shroud with a hole in it.
I could use the hole provided it is strong enough not to bend anything and is the right way
I don’t see any teeth in mine but it could be the angle Im looking.
Im doing water pump, timing belt and balancer. Nice vid for radiator as well removing fan/radiator together Grin.
Unfortunately, that’s beyond my experience. That’s not something I’ve personally encountered. I’d highly recommend checking some Subaru message boards and see if someone else has had to deal with a broken woodruff key. Best of luck. My gut instinct is that you will be able to fix it without a rebuild. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
i have the identical car. thanks for the videos, enabled me to change my water pump and timing belt, but as I was re-installing the crankshaft pulley i noticed i broke the woodruff key and gouged the pulley until now, I didn’t realize the key was independent part I have a photo and looks half moon about a 1/2 inch in length. Any chance some of the key is stuck in the sprocket? Can I use a larger key to make up for the notch in the pulley? don’t want to tear the whole thing down.ty matt
There are multiple ways to do it. There is a little access cover where the engine meets the transmission bellhousing. You can pull this cover off and jam something in there to stop the flywheel or flex plate from moving. Once you’ve done that, you can torque up the bolt. Don’t forget to remove the object from the bellhousing before trying to start the car.
Very helpful video. One question – how do you torque up the crankshaft pully bolt after reinstalling?
I think most of them have the timing marks. But, I’ve seen aftermarket belts where the markings were just off enough to be confusing.