keish Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 (edited) It's cold here, really cold. Since it's been so cold lately my 94 Loyale has been starting up with quite the squeal. I know I should change the drive belt, but it's cold, really cold, and the squeal goes away. Today the car starts but is making a real nasty squealing noise, worse than ever before, and than it dies when I take my foot off the clutch....Bummer because it is cold out, really cold. I take the belt off, it's pretty glazed, go get a new belt thinking this will be quick and easy but of course it's not and it's cold here, really cold. Being in a rush and also fairly dumb I didn't take notice of what pulleys the belt went over. I can't seem to find this info via the search function so I'm here for some Subbie 101, how to attach a drive belt. I'm confused because there are six pulleys but it seems like the belt only fits over four of them and this is the same exact sized belt that was on there. Further more the only way it seems to fit is by squeezing it between compression pulley and onto the fan. For clarification the way the belt seems to fit right now is around the Alternator, AC, Power Steering, and Fan. Not on the Idler or compression pulleys at all. This doesn't seem to be correct and if it is how do I sqeeze that belt between the compression and fan. I know I'm a moron for not taking a closer look at this when I took the belt off but feel free to tell me that again. Also it really cold here. Thanks Edited January 25, 2011 by keish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keish Posted January 24, 2011 Author Share Posted January 24, 2011 In looking at the Chilton Guide it shows a few different set-ups for the pulleys/belts. I only took one belt off but from the looks of the manual I need two belts to cover all the pulleys. That would make sense as than I wouldn't have this problem of squeezing that belt into place where it doesn't feel right. But I'm still not sure of what's right..... I know this is totally ridiculous but I do need help........I'm no mechanic (obviously) but I've been doing maintenance and minor repairs on cars and tractors for years and I'm having a big brain-fart on this here simple belt replacement....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maozebong Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 what you did wrong off the bat, shoulda taken a cell phone pic beforehand. if a picture is worth a thousand words, it ought to be one hell of a repair tool. secondly, somewhere in the engine bay i have seen the belt routing diagram on my 91 loyale. if yours is anything like mine it should be there, probably on the underside of the hood. also listed there is the spark plug gap, base ign timing, and vacuum hose routing. if not search for the ea82 service manual PDF download. its floating around in different places, so its not too hard to find with a quick search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naru Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Manuals http://www.finleyweb.net/JonsStuff/SubaruDocumentation.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennyt Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Tension the belt using the alternator bracket. The tensioner pulley is for the rearmost belt that you don't need if you don't run the AC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keish Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 Yes pictures, I know...... Thanks for those links to the manuals, that is a great thing to have acess too. It seems like I need to have two belts on there, but somehow I've only took one belt off........This is whats causing my confusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keish Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 The belt I took off was around the alternator but it is the shorter of the two belt sizes. Is it possible that the car could have been running without a belt around the crankshaft pulley? Possibly the crankshaft pulley still could have been driving the belt but only from friction on the backside of the belt where it was wedged (improperly) between the C/P and the water pump? In looking closely at the belt the back side is quite glazed and smooth. Obviously if I had taken better notice in disassembling this wouldn't be a question and regardless I have to put the two belts on properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loyale 2.7 Turbo Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Let me Tell you that the EA82 engined subies with Air Conditioner option, came in Two (2) Different Belts Array, Depending on which A/C unit they have. The Most Common model is the one with the Hitachi A/C Pump, in that case you'll see from Middle to Right: First the Power Steering Pump, then the A/C Pump and Finally the Alternator. Rare models have a Panasonic A/C Pump, in that case You'll See: First the Power Steering Pump, then the Alternator and Finally the A/C Pump. Both configs has Two Different Belts. I Kindly suggest you to Post here Pics of your Subie's Setup in order to Help you Better. You Might Upload the Pics to a Free Pics Hosting Website, Such as Photobucket, Flickr, Webshots, etc... and then Copy/Paste them Here, on a Post. Kind Regards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keish Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 Mine has the regular Hitachi A/C pump. I went back to AutoGeneric store and told them what was going on a the guy gave the longer of the two belts (last time I just went in with the shorter belt I had taken off and asked for a repacement), the proper one for the the Crankshaft Pulley to Alternator with power steering, water pump, and AC along the way. It fits properly. What I am still confused about his how I only took off one belt, it's the same size belt that goes around the idler pulley and not the alternator but when I took it off it was around the alternator. The car has been running with out any problems except for the belt slipping when it's really cold out. About a year ago I was far from home and the pulleys on my timing belt seized. Got towed to a local shop where I had to convince them that the engine was fine just replace the timing and all that goes along with it. Long story (really long story involving much mechanic idiocy and an ATTEMPT to charge me nearly $2000) in doing work I didn't ask them to do they replaced the drive belts as well. Could that drive belt actually have been turned by the friction on its back side alone for nearly 15,000 miles?? Thanks for reading responding. Lesson relearned pay more attention, take pictures. Also thanks for the links to those manuals those are a great resource to have access too..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 By looking at the pullies from the side you should be able to determine which ones line up with eachother. If I rememeber correctly the AC unit had a seperate belt but I'm not sure. As a note, check the idler pulley for any side play while you are in there. The bearing for it wears out and can cause the noise you heard. If there is some movement to the side the bearing needs to be replaced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loyale 2.7 Turbo Posted January 25, 2011 Share Posted January 25, 2011 Also it could be that your Subie's engine Had the Two Belts and one of those just Snapped and Fell off without you noticing that... untill Now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keish Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 The car was running fine, minus the terrible whine upon starting, when I changed the belt. Also like I said the belt I took off was the smaller of the two and around the alt. pulley. I don't think the car would have running for to long sans that belt. Extremely odd and hard to believe but true.....That was what all my confusion was stemming from.....Oh well she's back too tearing across the ice and snow again just fine.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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