My 17 y/o bought his first car

[eljefino]

Actually not that proud a moment, he already has access to a car but didn't like being "car grounded." So he parked it a block away and didn't tell us. Well, karma got to him and two weeks and 100 miles after purchase the timing belt idlers went out!

Definitely have mixed feelings, part of me is impressed he pulled it off without his parents catching on. But he overpaid, LOL. The car also has a terrible clutch and the shifter is nearly disconnected from reality. At least it isn't rusty.

He was actually going to "rescue" it with my tow dolly but gave up when he couldn't pull the rear driveshaft, after setting it up on jackstands in the parking lot where he broke down. Jeez, kid, if you have that kind of energy... clean your room!

97 Impreza 2.2. Despite the internet saying its an interference motor, there are also rumblings of "maybe." (Build date 3/97.) And the belt didn't completely jump time (maybe), just lost enough compression the car conked out. So we'll slap a complete timing kit on and see!

 

[RhondaHonda]

Driving uninsured? I respect the hustle.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

How much did he pay, dare I ask?

 

[eljefino]

Parts of this story are, by necessity, unshared.

Three of the timing idlers/ tensioners are loose and visibly losing ball bearings. Is this a normal failure mode? Seems pretty weird for them to all go out at once.

 

[Chris142]

He can drive a stick!

 

[ripcord]

He can drive a stick!

This kid's going places!

 

[bullwinkle]

Parts of this story are, by necessity, unshared.

Three of the timing idlers/ tensioners are loose and visibly losing ball bearings. Is this a normal failure mode? Seems pretty weird for them to all go out at once.

That’ll be fun… Looks like some pretty major oil leaking on the timing belt, too. Boy’s going to learn about Subaru on this one! Like “don’t buy an old high mileage one”!

 

[eljefino]

He can drive a stick!

If he can drive this tree branch in a puddle of mud, he can drive anything.

I jumpered the clutch switch so I could pull it up on the tow dolly with the starter motor. Clutch didn't have the oomph so the responding posse just gave it a solid push.

Regarding the oil on the timing belt, the cover seems to have an oil gasket but only on the bottom edge. Is there a point to this? Seems like it would just use the cover as a "diaper" to catch crank seal leaks.

 

[nickaluch]

Junior has big nuts I give him that

 

[97prizm]

Parts of this story are, by necessity, unshared.

Three of the timing idlers/ tensioners are loose and visibly losing ball bearings. Is this a normal failure mode? Seems pretty weird for them to all go out at once.

Whats an engine and transmission swap cost.

 

[97prizm]

I'd give the engine a thorough degreasing.

 

[doitmyself]

Parts of this story are, by necessity, unshared.

Oh man! Any real parent will know not to pass judgement. Child rearing comes with no play book and what sometimes happens is astounding. Been there - done that, and with 3 successful adult children in their 40's, sometimes they can still be a pain in the rear.

Sincere Kudos to you for seeming to possess that "unconditional love" parenting skill. I learned it by NOT doing what my parents did, and they were very good parents relatively speaking.

 

[ripcord]

Oh man! Any real parent will know not to pass judgement. Child rearing comes with no play book and what sometimes happens is astounding. Been there - done that, and with 3 successful adult children in their 40's, sometimes they can still be a pain in the rear.

Sincere Kudos to you for seeming to possess that "unconditional love" parenting skill. I learned it by NOT doing what my parents did, and they were very good parents relatively speaking.

I always told my kids when they were younger and more impressionable that being a teenager causes temporary insanity but not to worry because Dad would watch out for them and it only lasts a few years.

 

[AutoMechanic]

I like those older Subarus. Impressed a 17 year old saved up and got it on his own. But without his parents knowing that is pretty impressive. If I did that I’d probably be dead lol. Hope you have good luck with getting it back on the road. He definitely got himself a project haha.

 

[Kira]

Dad's an established car guy....smart and involved.
Then we're told Son makes a 28-year-old, 300,000-mile clacker Subaru appear....a Subaru!, no less.
No car lives on both sides of the "love 'm to hate 'm" spectrum like a Subaru.
There's got to be more to the buildup.
I bet he paid nothing for it...which is good.

Would it make a good parts car? There's a Subaru only junkyard in New Haven Junction, VT which might be of help to you.

 

[CKN]

This kid's going places!

He isn't going too many places with almost 300,000 on the car. And it doesn't look well maintained That's borrowed time....

 

[eljefino]

So here's the post-mortem:

Idler pulleys lost most of their ball bearings, and mis-aligned themselves. Car still ran for a while. Ate some semi-circles in the plastic timing cover.

The water pump seized up. Belt backside kept rubbing on it, heating the belt up to an ungodly temperature. Eventually the extra drag and misalignment tore up the teeth on the crank pulley, and it stopped running. When it cooled back down, the belt welded itself to the idlers. Some ball bearings got loose, and, being hot, stuck themselves in random spots in the timing cover.

With the belt on, I could turn the crank over and hear "tick tick tick" from somewhere. Removed the belt and the valve springs naturally swung the cams to a neutral position. Turning the crank over got rid of the ticking noise, so I was tickling valves.

The radiator is a couple quarts low, and the overflow is dry. Came with "free" antifreeze and oil. Not the benefit my kid thought it was.

It's done!

 

[cptbarkey]

That is an excellent engine to start learning with. The timing cover is optional too at that age. If a new belt works, I would plan to pull the engine, reseal everything, fix the clutch.

 

[ripcord]

"She's dead, Jim!" Probably.

 

[JimPghPA]

That's up there in miles. Maybe do a compression check after getting the belt and tensioner and idlers working. Then depending on compression results, put new plugs in it, or swap in something with more life left in it. You might even get it back in proper time with old parts for the compression checks before buying parts to fix the belt, tension, and idlers.

A good approach, if you have the time, is to say, I will not do it for you so you learn how to do it, but I will be there to tell you how to do anything you can't figure out. And if something requires two people to do it, I'll help you for that part of it.

If you do an engine swap, have him take a ton of pictures. It's a real downer when an engine is in place and you can't figure out how to connect things back up. Wiring, and wiring harness, vacuum lines, hoses, and anything else, take a lot of pictures as it's going to be taken apart.

Eddit: I wrote the above before I read the post - mortem.

So, now the question is, fix it or scrap it and move on.

Maybe mention to the son that Toyota and Honda are the vehicles to put at the top of the list for something with over a hundred thousand miles on it and likely to still have a few years of use still left in it. Still, a proper pre-buy inspection is a good idea, and maybe the young man needs to be taught how to do that. Start with never open a Radiator cap when hot.