Subaru Repair: 97 legacy outback crankshaft pulley bolt, subaru legacy outback, crankshaft pulley

Question
I recently had my son's 97 Subaru legacy outback in for service and was advised that the cam or crankshaft seals were leaking. Adv to have the seals changed and the timing belt replaced. I agreed, had the service done and sent my son off on a 1200 mile trip. Half-way to his destination the car died and was subsequently towed to a subaru dealer who pronounced the engine dead. It seems that the crankshaft pulley had come off because the threads stripped in the crankshaft itself. This also allowed the timing belt to come loose which allowed the cams to rotate and bend. My problem is that the original repair/service for the seals and timing belt was done at a local Subaru dealer and they will take NO responsibility for the failure. So, I have several questions: 1. What size and grade of bolt is used in the crankshaft? 2. What are the torque specs for that application? 3. How in the world could they strip the threads from a hardened crank? 4. Why would a reputable dealer/service agent not accept responsibility for a repair failure that happens 2 days after they complete the repair? Sorry venting.

Answer
Carl,

I am sorry that you have had this happen to you.  As far as your questions I will do the best I can to answer them.

First, as to why a Dealer wont step up and take responsibility.  They don't have to! To most vehicle owners the Dealer is THE authority.  When that is just not true at all.  And I often try to explain to people that the dealer is just not a good place to have a vehicle repaired, there are so many reasons for this, but bottom line is the Dealer service department is never going to TRY and EARN your business they have it already, as they are crowned the experts and gain a new service customer with every new car sale.  There is no standard operating procedure enforced and a technician can make the repairs any way they see fit.

As to the grade and size of the bolt.  It is a metric bolt, they aren't graded they same way as an S.A.E. bolt. I have never had any reason to investigate the grade of the bolt as we just use the O.E. bolt and if there is a question with the bolt I order a new one. The torque spec is 123 to 138 ft lbs.  I think the size is 14mm.  I'm not sure how that helps at all.

How do the threads strip?  Here is what happens, at some point someone used too much loctite and from there no care was used the next time to try and clean up the excess buildup of loctite from the crank shaft bolt hole as it is a hard billable couple of hours of labor to try and sell a customer.  Instead the technician will usually add some more loctite and hope it holds,  but the problem is that the buildup of loctite makes the bolt torque untrue, also the loctite can damage the threads of the crank shaft .

We have seen this scenario time and time again.  First of all Subaru has a special tool to hold the crankshaft pulley why torquing the bolt and really no loctite is used at the factory nor is it used at our shop as we have seen the problems it creates.  The reason loctite is used by a lot of Tech's is it is a common problem for the crankshaft pulley bolt to loosen up and allow the pulley to "walk" back and forwards and this will damage the key way of the crankshaft if the bolt is not properly torqued.

Now I understand your frustration, and this is not to excuse poor work in any way but the car had to have made some noise for a bit prior to the pulley falling off.  

I hope this helps and good luck

Justin

All Wheel Drive Auto