abpri

I bet 2 gears at once was the case. running thru the gears took a lot of effort to move the shifter. In fact, it got stuck in 3rd gear for a while and i couldn't get the shifter out of 3rd. i started up the car, idle sounded find, but as the clutch engaged the motor sounded bad. After backing up up 30 feet and trying various gears, i was able to let the clutch out in neutral w/o stalling the engine. Everything seems back in order. thanks everyone for the help!

Yes, with the gear (5-speed) in netural, as i start to let out the clutch, i can feel the engine engage and the car starts to move forward(!). Then of course as the clutch engages the car starts to stall. All i can think is i pushed the car backwards when it was in neutral (engine off, power steering belt off) and some goofy coincidence occured.

thanks everyone for the suggestions, i will re-do and double check. i wanted to make sure i didn't have to do something like put the engine in top dead center prior to removing the belt, or something basic i overlooked (coming from a honda backgroud). The engine stalls out immediately as i take my foot off the clutch with the car in neutral. i'll double check the alternator is aligned ok when i reinstall the splash shields on the top of the belts. BTW, there is no drag on the power steering or alternator flywheel (when the belt is off).

Question on 2000 Outback 5 speed. I attempted to do a simple change of the V belt for the alternator / power steering (the 5-rib belt on the left side facing the engine; not the 4-rib right side belt for alternator / AC). After changing the belt, the car started up fine. But when I took my foot off the clutch, the engine died. I cannot let the clutch out without the engine stalling! What did I do wrong? Car was running fine prior to changing the belt. I got the belt from the dealer, same part#. When re-tightening the belt tensioner, first I tighened the 12 mm tension bolt, then I tightened down the 12 mm lock bolt.