I recently did the timing belt, water pump, tensioner etc. on a 2007 Honda Odyssey and a 2016 Acura MDX. It's pretty much the same job, but I can tell you that the MDX was a lot easier.
I completed the timing belt this weekend. It took me about 6 hours, with a total cost of about $300 in parts. The original timing belt on my 4 year old van still looked new
For context i bought a 2008 passat estate with 149,000 miles on it for a 27 miles each way commute 3 years ago.
I got it and did a timing belt change straight away which was preventative and for peace of mind.
I can honesty just say I’ve had an Aisin, Mitsuboshi, and a Gates, plus original OEM by this point in the cars life. They’ve all lasted the 9yr or 90k mark without fault.
That ring of belt material on the idler *implies* an anti-skip plate was installed too tight and rubbing on the belt, but I don't see one over the crank. The DOHC engines have them in the corners of the timing guide. SOHC manual trans engines had one over the crank but auto trans had none. Never reuse an unknown mileage/history belt... And even then, if you've already got in apart, just replace it. (For what it's worth Subarus service interval is 105k miles or 105 months.)
Did you use a high quality timing belt? We had a 98 impreza 2.2 and put an aftermarket timing belt kit on it and the belt broke in 30k miles for no reason. Tensioner and pulleys were all fine.
Shop I work for is a Honda/Acura specialty shop. We charge about $1250.
Gates lasted 50k miles …. Aisin or OEM seem to go longer
One this I did notice. Your belt is a gates t240, when I bought my truck the previous owner had that belt, and I found issues with it. The proper belt for mine is a gates T154. 154 being for 92 and earlier and 240 for 93 and up.
We put a fresh Gates one in the daughters 1.4MA and it whined like crazy despite the tension being spot on.
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