justflick
10-14-2012, 11:19 PM
I bought a 2002 legacy with 80k back in may and replaced the timing belt right off the bat since the car came with no service records.
Since I was buying tires, plugs, wires and a bunch of other stuff, I skimped on the tensioner since I'd never had a problem on other cars.
70 miles into a trip this weekend, I found myself trying to figure out why I could hear a motorcycle but not see it before I realized it was *my* car.
It turned out the belt was way loose and the driver side exhaust had skipped two teeth. I don't think I had over-compressed the hydraulic unit in the tensioner but clearly it was toast.
Luckily I had access to a garage and found a local store that didn't just have it, but actually recommended I place an on online order from my phone and so I snagged 20% off. I effectively got the $50 extra for pulleys free.
TL:DR; Trashed an otherwise good belt and almost busted my engine because I was cheap.
Since I was buying tires, plugs, wires and a bunch of other stuff, I skimped on the tensioner since I'd never had a problem on other cars.
70 miles into a trip this weekend, I found myself trying to figure out why I could hear a motorcycle but not see it before I realized it was *my* car.
It turned out the belt was way loose and the driver side exhaust had skipped two teeth. I don't think I had over-compressed the hydraulic unit in the tensioner but clearly it was toast.
Luckily I had access to a garage and found a local store that didn't just have it, but actually recommended I place an on online order from my phone and so I snagged 20% off. I effectively got the $50 extra for pulleys free.
TL:DR; Trashed an otherwise good belt and almost busted my engine because I was cheap.