Need opinions on harmonic balancer and timing belt

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Wingzero_ac19x
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Need opinions on harmonic balancer and timing belt

Post by Wingzero_ac19x »

I have two things I am concerned about on my 05 turbo Baja. I just want other opinions before I decide whether to go forward with repairs or not.
The first thing I have noticed is I have some wobble on the harmonic balancer while running. I changed the belts today and everything feels good on the balancer but here is the deal: In my mind a harmonic balancer should not wobble. I know it is meant to absorb imbalance/vibration in the motor and all that but I just worry that it is starting to fail which would not be good for obvious reasons. However, the Subaru dealer has told me "All Subarus do it and its normal". Not sure I buy that especially since my brother in law has an 07 wrx and his does not wobble. So what does everyone think? Should I go ahead and replace it or not? If anyone can look at theirs while their Baja is running and report the findings it would be awesome.
The second issue I have may be sort of subjective but here goes: The truck has 122,000 miles on it and when I bought it there was not much service history on it but I have done a lot of maintenance and repairs on it since getting it. The timing belt is my concern at this point since I dont know when/if it was done. A couple of things lead me to believe it has been changed though: First, I removed the passenger side timing cover and the belt looks really good, doesn't look worn and the components I can see behind the cover look new, not ten years old. The other thing is there is paint pen writing on the intake saying "2.5" which is common for shops to mark there when a timing belt has been done. I know looks can be deceiving on this sort of thing and I guess I should air on the side of caution and just get the belt, tensioners, water pump, cam seals etc. and just go ahead and change it. I just dont want to waste money if it's good to go.

Look forward to hearing everyone's opinions.
I take life like a duck; calm and collective on the surface, paddling like heck underneath
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mikenmel08
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Re: Need opinions on harmonic balancer and timing belt

Post by mikenmel08 »

I will try and remember to look at my balancer tomorrow.....There is no reason for anyone to write the engine size on the intake when doing a timing belt.....This is however common practice for salvage yards to keep track of parts after they are removed ......I personally would just change it and then you know for sure with no doubts you are in fact good to go.....
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