Timing Belt

This engine is a freewheeling engine, which means the pistons will not contact the valves if the timing belt breaks. Subaru recommends replacing the timing belt at the 105,000 mile service.

Your 2003 Forester is 2.5L boxer motor, ALL 2.5 Subaru motors are what we call interference motors, which means when the timing belt snaps, the pistons will contact the valves destroying the heads. It is best to replace the timing belt at the Factory recommended 105,000miles. So you have the engine that does damage to other parts.