Hey Scotty,
Long time viewer of the channel! I have a 2012 Subaru Outback 3.6r Premium that currently has 130k miles on it. At about 94k miles, I was driving down a backcountry road and the timing belt snapped at about 60mph. I pulled over when I could and had the car towed to a dealership. They replaced the timing belt and tensioner and they did not mention any other problems with the car. I have taken the car to 3 different dealerships and 1 independent Subaru mechanic since that day. No one has ever mentioned any potential issues with the valvetrain of the car. I know its an interference engine so there likely is some level of damage, but their are no discernable symptoms of a damaged valvetrain when driving the car. There have never been any abnormal sounds coming from the engine, it does not idle rough, there aren't any misfires, and when I had the sparkplugs done at an independent shop they didn't mention anything. The only possible thing that I can think of that was a little odd was that the engine took a little longer than normal to turnover after I got a battery replaced. I currently live in Colorado and have yet to fail an emissions test. I have not gotten a check engine light that pulls a code relating to the valvetrain or engine. I was wondering if I have a ticking time bomb on my hands? Should I get rid of the car ASAP or should I drive it as long as I can? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
If you broke a timing belt on an interference engine while driving and the engine still runs OK after replacing the belt you should be buying lottery tickets with that kind of luck.
A compression or leakdown test would reveal if there is any valve or piston damage. However there may be latent damage that can take a while to surface.
I don’t think I’d be too concerned. Just drive it and maintain it as normal.
If it will help you sleep better, do a compression test. That would be pretty tedious on a Subaru 3.6, but you’ll know if there was significant valve damage.
their are no discernable symptoms of a damaged valvetrain
was an endoscopic inspection done?
don’t think I’d be too concerned. Just drive it and maintain it as normal.
This was the affirmative answer I was looking for. Thanks!
Real investigation would include taking the heads off and inspecting pistons and valves/valvegear 'hands on'.
(or TS has 3 layers of headgaskets and had no real interference engine any more 😀 ).
was an endoscopic inspection done?
No diagnostic tests have been done on the valvetrain. There are no audible symptoms, so no mechanics that have seen the car have wanted to run a test. My question was, is this problem worth fixing, should I sell the car before major problems show up, or keep driving it and hope and pray no other problems arise?
If it works, it works , I guess.