TCK304 PowerGrip Premium Timing Belt Component Kit

I had meant to take pictures of the old vs. new bearings, but I was in the middle of it and completely immersed in the maintenance at hand. First impressions: it came in a box with a tray holding the bearings (two were individually wrapped), very secure considering shipping companies toss your stuff all over. Everything matched, EXACTLY DOWN TO THE TINY WRITING, for all the bearings. The belt, obviously was not a match, but it is a Made In USA part and I can attest to its quality. I did countless hours of research trying to decide what kit to buy, there is eBay, SubaruGenuineParts, vendors on the forums, etc. etc. No one came close to this price, it almost seemed like a scam. How could they possible contain the same parts for literally more than 1/2 the price less. The lowest genuine Subaru part kit cost about $250 of all the places I found, and I found A LOT. I figured since I have prime I'll ship it out fast, if it's crap I'll send it back. The bearings, idler, tensioner were all OEM exact parts from NTN, NSK, and KOYO. Individually these parts cost well over $120. It is a steal of a deal, the belt is quality, and the markings line up exactly to the teeth. The instructions that came in the box were even nearly identical copies from the subaru master tech manuals (which if you need better details, here you go: http://ken-gilbert.com/impreza-manuals). Best piece of advice, take the radiator out, it gives you tons of room, way easier to work on. Getting the pulley off I used the bump start method, generally it is recommended to be very careful using this. It worked for me, but use with extreme caution. I also removed the camshaft pulleys while the old belt was still tensioned on, and finger tightened them back, installed and tensioned the new belt, and then torqued them down by putting it in 5th gear and ebrake on (not sure about autos, and used the same technique to torque the crank pulley). Overall, very smooth, easy instructions. Fantastic product, will buy again when/if needed. GOOD LUCK.

Looks to be high quality materials and construction. Everything fit and worked right. Decent price, good deal.

My 2004 Forester XS hit the 125,000 mile mark, and I began on the quest of doing my 2 year maintenance. Did my oil and oil filter, cabin and air filters, front and rear differential fluids, transmission and power steering fluids, the fuel filter, and finally the spark plugs and spark plug cables. After going through there recommended guide to see if I missed anything important, I found I indeed had - the timing belt! Subaru recommends replacing at 105,000 miles, and reading up online I heard horrific tales of the belts failing at 125-140k miles, leaving the poor driver stranded and at the mercy of the nearest mechanic. Determined not to let this happen to me, I started looking in to timing belt replacement and found it would run $1,000+ easily. Holy cow! Shaking my head in disbelief and refusing to spend that much a car that's only worth about $7,500 on a good day, I began to look in to doing the job myself. Countless hours on youtube and reading subaruforester.org led me to conclude the Gates TCK304 kit was my best bet, and at well under $200 it seemed like a bargain. Getting access to the timing belt on a Subaru is no easy task - it requires removing the accessory belts, radiator, crank bolt and pulley, and finally the cover. However, when I finally reached the belt and its pulleys, I was happy to see I had made the right choice. The pulleys in the Gates kit were ABSOLUTELY IDENTICAL to the factory-installed ones on my Forester. The belt, while a different brand, was of high quality and included easy to see markings so I could line it up to the spots the old one came off. If you're working on a Subaru with 100,000+ miles I'd recommend replacing or at least inspecting the following since you'll have easy access to do so: - Thermostat, thermostat gasket, and heater hose - Water pump and water pump gasket - Radiator hoses, especially the lower one - Crank and cam seals - Outer Accessory belts And note that since changing the timing belt requires removing the radiator, you'll need new coolant of course. Subaru recommends their "green" coolant mixed 50/50 with diluted water, along with a 4 oz bottle of their coolant conditioner. Tip for SOHC 2.5L engines - wait before putting the lower two pulleys on. Put the belt on the crank, then passenger's cam, making sure the marks on the belt line up. Then do the driver's cam, and use a clip to make it stay there while you install the bottom pulleys. Great video on it - [...]

Kit installed just fine and all materials appear to be of original quality or better. However, the plastic spacer for the timing belt guard over the crank sprocket seemed to be too thick. Factory spacing is 0.020-0.060", but the spacer would lock in tight when the guard bolts were tightened. Either this spacer is too thick or the belt itself is thicker than the factory belt. The new timing belt is also humming a bit louder than the old belt, even after 2000 miles. I hope the belt tensioner is not stronger than spec.

Quality idlers,same as original.Quality belt with timing marks for easy initial setup.Good price (in 2015)

Buen producto, buen material, embonaron a la perfección. Ahora a esperar a ver si duran mínimo los 100 mil kilómetros

Best priced timing belt kit I could find for my Impreza, still holding up well ~30,000KM later, have had no issues with it yet. I've been told to watch for imitation Gates products online, but when I opened the kit, it appeared to be a genuine Gates product.

Es justo lo que necesitaba y el ajuste es perfecto

Exactly as ordered no installation problems