I have an 03 Subaru Legacy wagon with very low miles (43k). My Dad bought it in 2010 with 10k miles on it. As far as I know it still has the original timing belt on it. The original owner may have changed it before he traded it in 2010 but as long as my Dad had it, it hasn’t been changed. I have taken it to a couple of very reputable Subaru shops to get an estimate for a timing belt change and both have said it doesn’t need to be changed because it’s still low miles. When I asked about the age (Now 21 years old), they both have said they’ve never seen a timing belt break based on age. They both checked the timing belt and both say it looks good. Is this valid advice or am I courting disaster and I should just get it changed?
Confused about 03 Legacy timing belt.
- Thread starter lokijoker
- Start date
If they're Subaru experts, I concur.
I've seen timing belts break or strip teeth before their mileage was up, so did they age out?
low miles could mean lots of idling or standing in traffic: belt rotates but car doesn't add miles....
low miles could mean lots of idling or standing in traffic: belt rotates but car doesn't add miles....
You can't accurately determine the condition of a timing belt just from how it looks on the outside since they wear on the inside.
Even best case it's over 14 years old at least. Why gamble? Change it so there's no question.
That said, the hard parts are most likely fine as long as the water pump isn't leaking. You can probably just change the belt.
Even best case it's over 14 years old at least. Why gamble? Change it so there's no question.
That said, the hard parts are most likely fine as long as the water pump isn't leaking. You can probably just change the belt.
So my Dad bought it in 2010 with 10k miles from a small town dealer. Original owner did all service at the dealer then traded it for a 2010 Forester. I doubt it sat in much traffic for its first 10k but being a small town, probably mostly short trips. My Dad drove it both city and highway, but not any stop and go traffic but because he had 3 cars, it didn’t get driven a lot of miles either. It’s always been garaged.
Change the belt, pulleys and tensioner. You’ll probably never have to do it again.
Agree. The tensioner has a hydraulic piston with a seal which will degrade along with the belt. The water pump is probably safe to skip, but really splitting hairs here.
