2005 Subaru Forester Pt 6 - Installing water pump and timing belt 

LOL I know the feeling. Sometimes I take a break from watching youtube so I can save money.

Years nice work that job

The last idler is the key. Finding the hole is worse than first time sex 🤨. After you’ve done it a few times it’s much easier.

YT knows you went camping and now it's probably filling your feed with camping, fishing and Jeeps.

No problem. I’m glad everything worked out in the end.

The left cam gear (right side if you’re looking at it from the front of the engine) has a couple of metal teeth that are required for the camshaft position sensor. They also have a different offset so the belt alignment will be incorrect if swapped.

Yes this cam holding tool is designed for slightly different cam gear. I only use it for tightening the bolt and typically use the impact for loosening. Sometimes these bolts will get extremely tight and you can chip the plastic if using the this tool for removal.

@@ThePracticalMechanic This is 100% what I need to know. The forums and fb groups were not helpful. Thank you so so much🤘

I forget to mention the obd2 code says the cam sensor is not getting the right info. Or it’s bad.

@@jimgordon3206 there should be a mark molded into the camshaft sprockets and crankshaft sprocket. I ignore the paint marks and use the molded marks and then line them up with the marks on the new belt. If your reusing the belt or the belt doesn’t not have marks I would line the camshaft marks up to 12 o’clock position and line the mark on the crank sprocket around the 12 o’clock position as well. There is a matching mark on the oil pump that should line up with the mark on the crankshaft sprocket.

@@ThePracticalMechanic Thank you very much for replying and doing so almost right away. I had a feeling you would because your videos are so thorough. Have a great evening.

That is the weep hole. It’s designed to leak out of that hole when the seal fails on the water pump. It needs the water pump replaced.

Most of the time you end up with bent valves which is what happened to this engine. Sometimes you get lucky and it will be fine with a new belt.

Honestly the water pumps are rarely an issue but they often get changed while we are in there just to give the whole job a warranty.

Timing belt normally won’t cause an engine light to pop up. Most Subaru timing belt jobs are in and out of the shop the same day depending on other work sold at the same time.

Since the timing is computer controlled it will vary depending on current operating conditions. 10 BTDC at idle is pretty normal for most engines.

As long as they are stored in an upright position they shouldn’t need bled. I know the gates timing belt kits have a warning included now that mentions this but I don’t recall if it’s in the factory service manual. 10 cycles of fully compressed and extended only takes a few minutes now that we have an arbor press. The other press takes much longer and using a clamp and a vise is slow but doable.

I normally set them flush with head surface. That is where most are when I remove them. If I have a camshaft with a slight groove worn in from the seal I will drive it deeper to prevent leaks.

@@ThePracticalMechaniccould I ask you a question with a timing problem I’m having with my Subaru Forester 2.5x ?

As long as the crankshaft alignment marks line up you can rotate the camshaft safely. When the marks line up on the crankshaft timing gear all of the pistons are midway in the cylinder allowing you room to rotate the camshafts and the valve will have plenty of room.

@@ThePracticalMechanic I still have the engine in the car. Only thing removed was the timing belt and and pullies. I never rotated the crank while the belt was on to align the cams. I missed that step and can't put the belt and pullies back on to do that because I have already rotated the crank... Do I need to loosen then cam pully bolts now in order to rotate them?

@@whoknows1631 you can leave the cam pulleys tight. You will need to rotate the crankshaft into place but make sure you don’t feel hard resistance while rotating. You feel some resistance while compressing the air in the cylinders but if you feel a hard stop the piston is probably pressing up against a valve. There is an area where each camshaft can be place to ensure the valves are retracted. This spot on the passenger side will be with the timing mark pointing up. On the driver side if the marks line up the valves will be open so you will want to use a wrench (not a ratchet) to rotate the camshaft slowly counter clockwise will you can rotate the cam freely side to side. This small area is where the driver side valves are closed. If you feel hard resistance at any point while rotating stop because the valves may be hitting the piston. If the crankshaft sprocket mark lines up you can move the camshaft without fear of hitting the pistons.

@@ThePracticalMechanic Really appreciated 😁 How do I remove the crankshaft bolt without rotating the crank? With everything off I put it bolt back into the crank and want to remove it now...

Great video. The suspense is killing me. Did episode 7 never get made? I can't find it. Next summer I'll be attempting this on my 04FXT... maybe you can use mine to film ep7 haha.

Everything will be the same for the timing belt install but the water pump will look slightly different.

What kind of issue are you having?

@@ThePracticalMechanic any chance you could call me? I can explain it better over the phone.

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