mikec03 Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 I have a 95 legacy which seems to have a belt squeak on start up from the alternator/power steering belt. I know it's this belt because it goes away when I start it without the belt on. The squeak also goes away after its been warmed up by driving 5 miles or so. I've changed the alternator, power steering pump, and the belt. No change. Belt dressing doesn't have any effect. I know that the belt is tighter then on my 97 and 02 lagacys which don't squeak. I'm thinking something to do with the bearing on the crankshaft. I know this sounds bizzare, but I can't think of an alternative. Is this possible? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 No, but the belt v's in the crank pulley could be worn out. Since you replaced the other two pulleys I'd try that next. Make sure you tighten the crank bolt to spec after you replace the pulley. Pulleys usually only wear out if you drive in really dusty or muddy conditions all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 No, but the belt v's in the crank pulley could be worn out. Since you replaced the other two pulleys I'd try that next. Make sure you tighten the crank bolt to spec after you replace the pulley. Pulleys usually only wear out if you drive in really dusty or muddy conditions all the time. Agree, would suspect a bad pulley with a bad bearing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthWet Posted April 14, 2013 Share Posted April 14, 2013 Is there an idler/tensioner pulley in the belt path? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 Is there an idler/tensioner pulley in the belt path? Yes, in my experience it is the pulley at the bottom that goes bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikec03 Posted April 15, 2013 Author Share Posted April 15, 2013 Probably a good idea to replace the harmonic balancer [ie crank pully]. It's the only thing left. And I'm familiar with the crank bolt pully issue. I use the 2'nd generation spec [130 ft-lb] and I mark the bolt vs the pulley to check to see if it starts to slip. There is no idler on the 95 subaru alternator/power steering pump belt. The alternator is jacked up to tension the belt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
952.2LX Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 Could be the power steering tensioiner pulley. Mine squeaked a bit .... whilst it was burning up. Then finally with the belt smoking i found the issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 (edited) I've seen this before, firstly it helps to turn off high drain devices while the engine is cold like the headlights. My stepdads legacy Brighton has done this for years, its never had a problem he just turns the headlights off and it goes away. Also wouldn't hurt to check your idler pully that adjusts the tension on the belt. Edited April 20, 2013 by mikaleda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 (edited) There is no idler on the 95 subaru alternator/power steering pump belt. The alternator is jacked up to tension the belt. Unless the 95 is differant than all the 90's subarus it uses an idler pully that is adjusted with a bolt.Acctually I know the 95 2.2 in an impreza has an idler pully because I pulled an alt from one to put on my gl and I still have the idler. Edited April 20, 2013 by mikaleda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikec03 Posted April 20, 2013 Author Share Posted April 20, 2013 952.2LX and mikaleda What cars are you looking at? From 1995 to at least 2002, the SOHC 2.2 and 2.5 legacy engines have NO idler pulley on the alternator/power steering belt! You can trust me on this. I have a 95. 97 and 02 and they are all the same. The idea of reducing the current draw on the alternator is good. I'll do one better. I'll disconnect the power lead from the alternator and see what happens. I will report back. PS. I have the belt over tight. But I can see that if the belt were longer, then the alternator pulley would be wrapped more then 80 degrees. I have the spec belt length but maybe there is something to a longer belt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 (edited) I know for a fact that the 97 2.2 has an idler pully, my step dad has a 97 legacy Brighton and I've changed the belts on it before, On his motor it had an idle pully for the alt to tension it, I remember because it was a pain compared to my 90 that doesn't have the idle. I don't know why yours would be differant that seems weird to me. Edited April 20, 2013 by mikaleda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 The idler pulley has always been for the AIR CONDITIONING COMPRESSOR belt on the EJ engines. Power steering and alternator are tensioned by moving the alternator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 (edited) The idler pulley has always been for the AIR CONDITIONING COMPRESSOR belt on the EJ engines. Power steering and alternator are tensioned by moving the alternator. Oops lol I usually change them at the same time, your right I knew there was a tensioner somewhere on the engine. Edited April 20, 2013 by mikaleda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
952.2LX Posted April 22, 2013 Share Posted April 22, 2013 952.2LX and mikaleda What cars are you looking at? From 1995 to at least 2002, the SOHC 2.2 and 2.5 legacy engines have NO idler pulley on the alternator/power steering belt! You can trust me on this. I have a 95. 97 and 02 and they are all the same. The idea of reducing the current draw on the alternator is good. I'll do one better. I'll disconnect the power lead from the alternator and see what happens. I will report back. PS. I have the belt over tight. But I can see that if the belt were longer, then the alternator pulley would be wrapped more then 80 degrees. I have the spec belt length but maybe there is something to a longer belt. Well i don't know what i was talking about....lol ... for some reason i typed ps pump instead of air conditioning... oops... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikec03 Posted April 23, 2013 Author Share Posted April 23, 2013 UPDATE I disconnected the power output from the alternator and the squeak disappeared. Just turning off the headlights didn't have much effect. But it's clearly the current draw from the alternator at start up that causes the squeak which is reassuring in that it's nothing really major. It may be that an OEM belt would grip better so that the alternator pulley wouldn't slip? It could be that I have a current leak that draws down the battery slightly so that the start up current is higher. I noticed that subaru changed the dimensions slightly on the 2.5 SOHC engines. They went with a 35.0 in [0.05 in longer] belt so that the alternator sits 1/2" higher and probably has 10% more belt gripping [because the belt wraps further around the pulley]. They had to modify the belt guard to to add an inch in height so that the alternator can sit higher then on the 2.2 engines. Thanks for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 I wouldn't worry about it just turn the headlights off when the cars warming up, I had a 67 Chevy once that had a pully so worn out that every time you floored it the belt would SCREAM like mad until you let off the gas, I just got used to it my step dads been running his Brighton like this for well over a year and never had a problem, we even bought an expensive belt from napa and it didn't change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikec03 Posted May 21, 2013 Author Share Posted May 21, 2013 UPDATE FINAL well, the problem is solved, sort of. The squeak was apparently occuring because the harmonic balancer [ak crank pulley] wasn't doing it's job. The rubber ring in the pulley was failing so that the pulley was acting as a solid pulley. Hence the squeak on start up. It finally failed completely. At 65 mph, all of a sudden, the power steering and alternator failed when the outer ring of the pulley completely detached from the inter ring. The car stopped relatively quickly. So I went to the junk yard and got a used crank pulley. It works fine now and there is no squeak on start up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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