Jayp

Hey guys, as i said in a previous post i may ask daft questions! Well here goes........Started my car yesterday and noticed a bit of a metallic grinding noise from under the bonnet. I had a bit of a poke round and could not determine exactly where the noise was coming from.

This morning I took it to a couple of garages, first one said that wont touch it cause its a subaru!! (helpful and making me panic!) then secondly to a local business called Quicks Motorsport who specialise in building rally cars etc. as well as usual mechanical repairs and tuning. After one of their very helpful workshop bods lent me his ear, we determined that I need to replace the cam belt as it is very perished and that the noise is coming from one of the tensioners or worst case the water pump, but seeing as im not loosing any water (apparently anyway!) we believe it is just a tensioner.

My question is......Is this a job which i could tackle on my drive at home or will i have to bite the bullet and pay (which may have to wait till after crimbo!) to have it done. Ive found a belt kit (with tensioners etc) for £110. Just wanna know what im letting myself in for......Im fairly good at general mechanics and have rebuilt a few engines in my time, just never worked on a scooby!!!!

Thanks for your help peepz!

njberrie

iTrader: (1)

A full belt kit for £110 sounds a little to cheap buddy and if your doing it you may aswell do the water pump while your in there

its not the hardest job in the world tbh hardest bit can be if the crank pulley is nice and tight. just take your time and youl be fine bud

CREWJ

There are loads of threads about cambelt changes. Do a search and you'll find all the information you will ever need.

marcevs72

iTrader: (5)

easy job takes about 2ish hours with a cuppa break.dont be tempted by a cheap cambelt kits.check import car parts for decent prices on full kits using quality parts.

Jayp

Just shopped around a bit and found a Gates kit for £142......probaby a bit more trust worthy than the cheaper kit I found. I have heard that the crank pulley could cause problems!! Especially as mine looks as if its never been undone!

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Aye, can be tight.

But yes, do the water pump at the same time.

JdcTypeR

iTrader: (19)

Where did you see the gates kit for that price if you don't mind me asking?

stevie1982

iTrader: (16)

can be done at home if you are confident with a spanner but if it were me i would get it into someone like API for a stamp in the book to keep the history up, personally i would not touch a car that has not had this done if not by a known garage as its easy to say you have done it and i would want piece of mind,

Jayp

A place called click 4 car parts on their ebay store mate.....hope its some good!!

Jayp

Unfortunatly when i brought mine a few weeks back there was zero service history with it anyway!! This was of course reflected in the price i paid for the car

JdcTypeR

iTrader: (19)

Cheers mate I'll have a look

Jayp

Right, got the scooby stripped today and looking sorry for itself on the drive. I removed all the tensioners etc and checked them all for signs of play.

There didnt appear to be any problems or unexpected play or noise. The water pump however seemed to have a few mm play in it and made a faint grumble when span by hand. Which I imagine would be ten times worse when the timing belt is fitted and spinning uner load at god knows how fast.

So went on the remove the water pump for further inspection. Can actually see signs of wear on the impeller fins inside and now its off and can spin it up faster the noise is more obvious.....whats confusing though is that i had no signs of loosing water or overheating.....any of the usual signs that the waterpump in knackered

Anyways, i hoping its that as im currently searching the net to try and get one ordered and delivered before christmas!!!! Any thoughts welcome peepz.

Jayp

Water pump and new cam belt fitted with no probs at all.....driving sweet again!!! Well was......new post and new problem up already!!!