[Xist]

Apparently I have been saying that I was going to replace my timing belt for six months. I researched which other parts to replace at the same time, found the best places to purchase everything, quit my job and moved. I had all of the time in the world, but wasn't comfortable taking my engine apart when there are always complications.

Also, I am lazy.

Yesterday I bought the Chilton manual and then realized I had a PDF of the FSM. When I replaced the head gasket on my Forester removing the timing belt was the easy part and it is easier to work on Hondas than Subarus, so I was kind of looking forward to this.

Mostly not looking forward to it, but whatever.

I do not know if I found a Subaru FSM, but the Haynes was a ridiculous Choose Your Own Adventure of jumping from chapter to chapter. I understand, though, the book might be twice as long if they told you to write down the anti-theft code for the radio, the radio presets, and to disconnect the negative battery terminal and then the positron each and every time.

Wait. They already do.

I think there were 15 - 20 steps for the head gasket, but when I wrote down all of the steps from other sections and chapters, I believe I had eighty. I had all kinds of other complications yesterday that did not have anything to do with the FSM, but just made my day frustrating. The timing belt section is seven pages and some of them are kind of short. It only referred out for removing the alternator and alternator bracket, although the page it references for the alternator bracket does not mention the alternator bracket

So, I submit that step should be "Remove the nut and bolt from the alternator bracket and remove the alternator bracket" or simply "Remove the alternator bracket." Edit: I cannot see any reason to remove the alternator or bracket. There were a few steps like that.

I had so many other complications that it was not until I finished putting together the instructions I realized it was so simple I could have printed off the seven pages, ignored the alternator and alternator bracket references, and knocked it out.

However, after reading disassembly instructions a few times and reading the assembly instructions I happened to notice "install the cylinder head cover (see page 6-54)."

Huh.

Compare that with "Remove the cylinder head cover."

The reinstallation instructions are only a page and a half, but the removal portion is four pages, plus (see page 10-10) and (see page 11-115).

It always seems like they skip instructions.