Replace timing belt before taking long road trip
Q&A
Question: I own a 2009 Subaru Forester with about 150,000 kilometres on it.
I change the oil every 8,000 km using a synthetic, and I have also changed the transmission fluid.
I have not had any problems since I bought it new in 2008, but I am soon taking a road trip to Florida and want your opinion on changing the timing belt and pump.
Subaru says to change it at the 168,000-km mark. Should I change it before my Florida trip, or wait until I get back? By that time, the vehicle should have close to 168,000 km on it.
A.M. Answer: If it were my car and I’d be spending about 80 hours behind the wheel, far from home, I’d do the timing belt now, along with a thorough inspection of the car, top to bottom.
The more I learn about cars and what can break, the more apprehensive I become when out on the road.
Because your Forester has an interference engine, a timing belt failure would likely result in a messy and expensive collision of valves and pistons. Such an outcome would be particularly unpleasant were it to happen while, say, passing through Louisiana’s Maurepas swamp wildlife area on Interstate 10.
When renewing a Subaru timing belt, it is customary and prudent to install a timing belt kit, which includes the belt, an automatic tensioner, water pump and three idler pulleys. These parts are all necessary for proper belt function, and replacement involves only a bit of additional labour.
You didn’t mention performing other services in addition to the oil changes. Have you renewed the spark plugs, fuel filter, brake fluid or cabin air filter? How about belts, hoses, coolant, brakes, struts? For guidance, check Subaru’s recommendations for what inspections to perform at 100,000 km and 150,000 km.
Q: The instrument cluster on our 2004 Buick LeSabre has been acting strange lately. The tachometer always reads zero, and the speedometer acts erroneous at times. The gauge indicated speeds as high as 200 kilometres per hour when driving very slowly. Is there an easy fix for this problem? D.C. A: Instrument panel clusters are self-contained units. The entire cluster must be replaced. There are numerous companies repairing and rebuilding clusters. You can search for them on the Internet.
More on checking your fluids: In response to a recent column, I received some helpful follow-up information on fluid analysis from Ed Gellner, a longtime fuel- and lubrication-product specialist at Chevron. His comments, edited for length and clarity, focused on my recommendation of comparing drops of new and used transmission fluid on a paper towel. Here’s what he said: The formal name for the analytical technique you describe is “paper chromatography,” but it is usually simply called “the blotter spot test.” It’s often used in the lab to get a quick and dirty reading of a fluid’s condition.
The wicking action of the paper fibres separates materials in the fluid based on their specific gravity. The resulting separation should look like a target with concentric rings.
Metals and other heavy materials will be at the bull’s-eye. Soot and other lighter materials will separate out in concentric circles. At the outside of the circles, you will find the lightest components such as base oil or fuel dilution in engine oil.
The lab uses Whatman filter paper, but a white coffee filter also works well. A white paper towel works in a pinch.
If you do a blotter test and your used oil doesn’t look much different than fresh oil, don’t take a mechanic’s recommendation to have your transmission fluids flushed. He’s probably just looking for his commission.