What i did was get a 1mtr long 2" wide flat bar drilled two holes in it put some bolts in the holes then slot them into 2 of the hole in the pully...job done.

Yes, the crank needs to be set at TDC. You'll see this once the alternator pulley and plastic cover is removed. The marker line on the crank position reluctor (behind the timing belt pulley) points to a line stamped on the engine block.

Have you done a cambelt change before? If this a first time I strongly advise to get someone who has done one before on a multi-cam engine to help.

Workshop manuals here: https://www.scoobynet.com/technical-...d-updated.html

This will be my second. My first was on a C20XE Vauxhall engine. Hmm, ill get the alternator pulley off, and see how i feel about it.

Cambelts are my least favourite job, no margin for error and the potential to cause £££'s worth of damage.

You should have a good idea then. Tricky part is the keeping the right hand cams in the correct place (and the likely reason why they are set wrong now).

I'm yet to come up with a sucessful way of keeping them locked in the right place.

Yeah that is the part im worried about more than anything. Think ill get the misses to give me a hand.

But aslong as my timing marks are spot on, and i dont go rotating the right hand side, cam and exhaust pulleys the wrong way i cant really go wrong? If the cam and exh pulley move when i release the tension on the belt are the valves going to be damaged?

i would wait mate and get some cam bracket thing that hold everything in place

You might be right Mark, it would be a shame for me to **** up now ive finally found the cause of my problem lol.

Yeah I mean wouldnt, damn keyboard :D

I usually go by the lines on the belt into the marks on the pulleys & tbh I've yet to see even one pulley not line up mark for mark But I suppose there is allways a first time for everything lol

As for the half tooth buisness I suppose you've not seen the yellow lines on the belt printed in the wrong places then, Because I sure have, Dont say it doesnt happen because it does.

Since I work for a Subaru dealer all I get is Genuine gear to play with:thumb: Just had a few cases where back street garages have been fitting cheapo belts then the customer complains the engine rocks about on Idle & we've found the timing out a few degress on the cams :eek::eek:

funny you should say about the timing being out due to some non standard belts being fitted. Mine runs sweet as a nut now I have a pucka subaru belt on.:thumb:

This is the tool Matt. £30 from the states, i may invest in one. And here it is in action.

Not saying that doesn't happen Rob, and in your job you certainly would know.:thumb:
Just can't get my head around 'half a tooth'. Surely it's a full tooth??

Or is the actual teeth on the belt that are incorrect by half a tooth, hence you have to go one full tooth back or forwards on the pulley???
Yeah think the penny has just dropped.:lol1:

What do you lads at Subaru use to lock the pulleys then?? As the only things i can find are all in the USA! The one i posted above and this one. :wonder:

Thanks for that, Looks impressive. I too would also be interested about what Subaru actually use to lock the pulleys...

Ooeerr, I wouldn't tighten it up as tight as he did on that video.

Might be ok on metal pulleys, but would need some care taken on the plastic/composite pulleys some EJ20s have fitted: They are very brittle. (Subaru dealer managed to take a chunk out one of mine somehow, well I assume it was the dealer, seeing the car was FSSH when I purchased it).

It should run better since I did the bugger on your drive haha:thumb:

To be honest, we've not looked in depth at the spurious belts enough to see if its a tooth alignment issue or a marking issue that causes it, More a case of take it off and fit the proper one check it over and let the customer have it back lol.

I'll take some pics of our tools tomorrow, On the inlet cam pulley you unbolt the tin plate and one end hooks in there with 3 lugs on it and then theres a larger section which locates onto the exhaust cam pulley with a piece of plate in the middle linking them together, we only lock the rh side cams as the lh can move easy enough and arnt under spring tension. sorry for the Crap description, but all will come clear with a picture:D:D

from personal experience them marks do not always line up between the pulleys its the five markings that line up with the covers that matter the most an the white line on the belt, (if its having one)
but it can be a bit tricky to judge just by taking one cover off, pull them all off an line the crank up :-)
but i didn't read all the other threads above just yours, you most properly already been told this, keep us informed

:eek: I thought exactly the same ALi when i watched it too!!

You can see in my pics there is a slither missing, where the mole grips have slipped for a guess.

Thanks for that Rob.;)

Right, Im starting to wish i had left the car well alone. I have got the crank pulley off, and the cover...

To begin with, the timing is out a lot more than i expected. If i line up the centre pulley, the left pulley is out 2 teeth, aswell as the right pulley. God knows how the car was even running...

But the worst thing i saw was the keyway, it is totally ****ed. The crank pulley (alt pulley) is knackared and the woodruff key is also knackared. I am now assuming that the actual crank itself will also be knackared...

The movement is that bad, that the alternator/crank pulley has actually started to cut away at the rear cover...

Im going to start another thread with some pictures.

are you using the right mark on the crank sprocket the dash and not the arrow?

I know Steve. Part of me wants to give up now and jump ship.

https://www.scoobynet.com/general-te...20-engine.html

That ^^ is axactly what has happened to mine, and i do happen to know a very good welder. I am a Motorcycle Engineer by trade, and have done a lot of these jobs on motorcycle crankshaft keyways (obviously off the bike).

I might give welding a go, ive got nothing to loose now anyway...

Quick question for you though, When i time the marks up, the keyway is at the bottom. I need it at the top, so how am i going to do it? Shall i just turn it untill its at the top and release the tension on the belt? Im assuming if i do this the valves will clash???

Thats bad news, it is the worst case scienario :(

Well its either repair it or a new crank.

Weld it as above or some sort of liquid metal compund (loctite 660, JB weld etc) - or maybe both. I've got some Loctite quickmetal on the shelf, but only ever used to repair worn spindle bushes on carburettors.

Im gunna get the timing pulley off, and check the damage to the actual crank. At least i now know why my car hasnt performed the way it should.

Been doing some research on the US subaru boards, and acording to them this is quite a common problem. They also mention that the key and the keyway are not under any pressure once the crank/alt pulley bolt is tightened the the required torque. Personally i cant see how that can be true, so im going to do a bit more research before i decide what i am going to do.

mate thats ****e, but good news at least but what a pi$$er, can i have ur front mount now lol, if your in tomoz i'll pop up

this it the most common tool we use, Legacy and Impreza, larger end hooks nicely on the inside groves of the pulley & the top smaller collar hooks inside the Variable inlet cam after the tin cap has been removed. Got some pics of some classic impreza tools kicking around somewhere but they are very similar:thumb:
http://i912.photobucket.com/albums/a...sticamtool.jpg

Thats anything from bugeye up to hawkeye including legacy too.

No tool for the hatch duel vvt yet which is a right PITA lol

I'll take another shot of the classic tool as these ones are just a blurry mess lol.

I'll see if Our parts guy will give me a price on the tools.

Yeah thought as much.

That's a tad slack. What is it, a tech on each pulley and one to do the belt.:lol1:

Much appreciated Rob. Thank you.:thumb: