Irish Luck punched me in the nads again. Timing belt blew and potentially bent some valves or worse. So, until I pull the heads for a deeper investigation, I figured I'd see if anyone could recommend a junk yard or parts savage place that might have an engine for a 03 Subaru Forester. Great little car and considering I was just about to pull the engine to replace the clutch and do the timing belt, water pump and block seals, I am open to putting all these new parts on a used engine.

 

Thanks in advance. (there goes my M1A fund)

If you can't find a junk yard gem, I have had good luck with these people:

 

http://www.jdmenginezone.com/

www.car-part.com This is the "outsider''s link to the Hollander parts interchange system the junkyards use. I used to have one or two I could recommend, but they eventually ended up screwing me over like most of the rest. The auto salvage industry is rife with unsavory, "gruff", and/or just plain douchebag type people.

 

The only one that I would still endorse would be Newton Auto Salvage, in Newton, NJ The owner seems like a decent guy. However, its a very small yard, so whatever they sell you will likely come from somewhere else.

 

Try craigslist. I've seen a bunch of Subaru parts/parts cars lately.

I'll second Newton, but they are small. Roxbury is decent, and Valley are scumbags

You should install the new belt and check compression or do a leak down test, alot of engines today clear the valves if the belt breaks, kind of a built in protection..

UPDATE HERE IS THE LIST..

Interference engine, will bend valves if timing belt breaks 
NON-interference engine, will not do any damage to the engine. 

Here is a list of Subaru engines: 


EJ18 4cyl 1.8L SOHC - non interference 

EJ22 4cyl 2.2L SOHC up to and including MY'96 (model year '96) - non interference 

EJ22 4cyl 2.2L SOHC MY'97 and up (model year '97 and up) - interference 

EJ25 4cyl 2.5L DOHC (phase I) MY'96 only (model year '96) - interference valve to valve, non-interference piston to valve * (believed to be non-interference piston to valve based on information in a Subaru EndWrench article and engine manual) 

EJ25 4cyl 2.5L DOHC (phase I revised) MY'97 and up (model year '97 and up) - interference - both piston to valve and valve to valve 

EJ25 4cyl 2.5L SOHC (phase II) MY'99 and up (model year '99 and up [this engine started in MY'99 in Forester, and MY'00 in other models - though there may be some mid-production year differences) - interference - both piston to valve and valve to valve 

EZ30 6cyl 3.0L MY'01 and up interference *NOTE: Uses timing chain with no specified replacement interval.

We use:

 

http://www.allamuchyautorecyclingnj.com/

before you assume you've trashed the engine, slam a timing belt in there. if it's a single cammer, you more than likely will be good. i'm not sure with a dual cammer....but i'll look it up tomorrow at the shop if you pm me.

These engines are a double whammy they have an intake and exhaust cam so the valves can hit each other when out of time not just piston to valve..

you can try to post a wtb ad in the tri-state subie impreza forum: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=16

I'll second Newton, but they are small. Roxbury is decent, and Valley are scumbags

I'm no fan of Valley either, plus they are basically no bigger then a really long driveway....

As for Roxbury, I've known them nearly 20 years, and I got tired of their attitude. They act like they are doing customers a favor by doing business with them. Even employees who start out nice guys end up being "infected" with the Roxbury attitude. On top of that, their prices are usually way too high.

 

I did just remember another good place though... C&H Salvage, in Campbell Hall, NY. They are expensive, but they have a good reputation for selling quality used motors.

I purchased a 305 chevy from lacey auto, put z28 springs on it and a 480 480 lift cam to run in race boat for one weekend and they gave me a 3 month warranty.. I was laughing when the guy handed me the reciept.. 90,000 on the engine won two races with it.. LOl.. then i lent it to two other racers and i still have it in the sea container for back up..

Thanks guys. But I think I dodged a bullet here. (pun intended)

 

I belong to a Subie forum and lucky for me a guy has a set of heads only about 20 miles from me for $200. I have a bore scope light that I was able to get right into the spark plug opening and could see a slight removal of carbon on the top of one piston. So you know a valve kissed it. According to a couple pro's on the site, one guy never saw a timing belt break and not bend a valve and the other guy who works for a Subie dealer only saw no damage once in his time there. They still pulled the heads to inspect.

 

On the positive side, once I throw on some new head gaskets, water pump, pulleys, belts and the clutch, I should get another 100k out of the little beast. I'm hoping to keep it decent for another 3 years so it could be my son's first car. Let him learn on a stick...like real men used to.

 

Hiker88...he actually had these heads for sale on there. I found him / them on Subaruforester.com

Fortuitous wojo tHo changing the belt before it broke woulda been better

I'm glad it worked out good for you. I have an 07 Impreza Wagon 2.5. When I pass it on to my kid, I'm looking at the Crosstrek for my next ride

I'm glad it worked out good for you. I have an 07 Impreza Wagon 2.5. When I pass it on to my kid, I'm looking at the Crosstrek for my next ride

Sister sure loves her Crosstrek, and I'm quite a fan of my Legacy GT. Her old '98 Legacy is still running (I think, somewhere, someone has it) with something over 200,000 miles (not too sure how much over, since the odometer kinda crapped out).

 

Hopefully, after you patch her up, it'll give you plenty of service. I only wish I had a stick to learn on when I started out.

AZP Installs in Kenilworth. Been going to them since my first Subie in 2003. They might have one lying around.