I am thinking about purchasing an '02 WRX. Due to the amount of miles it is going to need a timing belt and waterpump replacement. Now I am a decent mechanic without a proper lift, is this something a person with a service manual can do without access to a lift? I have performed similar work on other cars, but not on boxer engines.

Also since I have never owned a boxer engine/ subaru, how does one go about getting to the spark plugs? is it easier than it looks? Becuase when I look at pictures of a wrx engine bay, I cannot even see them down there.
All information will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

 

sundaymorningbump

nobody knows?

 

your best bet is to get someone to help you who has worked on subarus before , its very easy too screw up these engines if you never worked on them before. good luck

 

You should call around different shops...if you are in the bay area, there are some shops like LIC and Gruppe-S that could give you a better answer.
~luke

 

I would highly recommend that you pay someone to do the timing belt. It is a major PITA and you need the proper press to get the pin back into the tensioner. Don't get me wrong, the home mechanic can do it, but with the tensioner and the dual overhead cams, and trying to get everything lined up correctly, it's not easy.

 

hey thanks guys for the info... subaru said about 430 for the timing belt, drive belts , and crank seal. I didn't think that was a bad price at all.

THat doesn't include the waterpump. Would you recommend having the water pump replaced too.. bumps up the price to about 640. The guy at subaru says he hardly ever replaces the water pumps. The wrx i am looking at has about 110,00 miles on it and is a 2002.

What do you guys think about the water pump being replace, is there any need?
The car doesn't have any cooling problems and is completely stock.

 

you should replace the waterpump for piece of mind , cause if it starts going bad you could easly loose your motor . coolant will start leaking all over your new timing belt causing it to snap and their goes your motor. I went threw this a couple years back on my old ford escort said to my self aaaa dont need the waterpump just the belt 6months later water pump started leaking on the new belt causing it to snap. got lucky cause that motor is non interfearence motor but are suby motors are not !! . good luck

 

are you saying that coolant dissolved timing belts?

 

causes it to stretch enough to jump out of timing or snap.

 

coolant??

propylene glycol, causing a timing belt to stretch and/or snap?

i've never heard of such a thing. i think you had other issues that caused your previous belt failure.

people spill antifreeze all over their belts (timing/accessory/etc) all the time.

 

you could be right but why take the chance since the belt is off and he is doing the front main oil seal also and the mechanic is looking right at the waterpump while he is doing the work might as well change the waterpump.. he stated the rex has over 100.000 miles. why spend money twice for labor to change out the waterpump later. remember he just got the rex and doesnt know all the history of usage.

 

At what mileage should you have the timing belt replaced anyway??

 

I beleive I read at 105,000.

 

sparkplugs are easy..pull out the washer tank to get more room on the drivers side
use a 1/4" ratchet and socket to pull the coil packs off
use a sparkplug socket and 3" extension to pull out the plugs with a 3/8 ratchet

dont bother with a swivel and long extensions