mrfixiter Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 Yesterday, I checked out the belts on my 1997 Legacy GT wagon. The belt to the A/C compressor was starting to crack. I had an extra so I decided to replace it. I got out the manual. Seemed simple enough. Start with the power steering/alternator belt. Remove the covers, loosen the alternator bolt, loosen the locking screw, unscrew the tensioning bolt, then remove the belt. Except it took a lot of jockeying to get the belt off. Eventually it came off. For the rear compressor belt, pretty much the same procedure. I removed all the tension on the belt (the idler pulley was not even touching the belt) and it still would not come off easily. Long story short, I had to use vise grips on the belt and a couple of screwdrivers to guide the belt off of the pulley. If the belt were in good shape to begin with, it could not have been reused. I tried not to leave any marks on the compressor pulley but there are a couple of tiny scratches on it. Was I missing something here? After I removed the old belt, I checked the part number on it. It was marked "Subaru" with the correct part number. I don't understand how I could have made this belt slip off any other way. Soon I'm going to replace the timing belt and I am certainly don't want to destroy the new drive belt to get it off. Thanks for your reply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted June 2, 2014 Share Posted June 2, 2014 I have replaced belts on my 99 OBW, which has the same motor as yours. From your description, that is exactly how belts should be replaced. Usually, When all is loosened up,I will use two hands to push down hard on the compressor to gain the belt slack desired. On the alternator belt, I do the same thing. Hope this helps.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrfixiter Posted June 2, 2014 Author Share Posted June 2, 2014 Pushing down on the compressor makes sense but how does that help if the compressor is still bolted in position unless you mean it only needs to flex just a tiny bit get the required slack? Thanks for your reply Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 The tensioner piece can unbolt fornm the engine. typically, you would loosen the hardware, then remove the bracket, change belt, and adjust the pulley part all the way down, and then bolt it to the engine within the belt then tighten. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 A tip for removing the alternator belt. Slip the belt off of the crankshaft pulley rather than the alternator pulley. The crank pulley doesn't have a lip around the edge like the alternator or power steering pulleys have. Like Miles said, if the AC belt doesn't have enough slack just remove the bracket that holds the tensioner. It's only 2 bolts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Pushing down on the compressor makes sense but how does that help if the compressor is still bolted in position unless you mean it only needs to flex just a tiny bit get the required slack? Thanks for your reply "Pushing down" always worked for me. Removing the tensioner could help I guess. Just never had to do that to replace belts. Just be sure that the compressor mounting bolts are loose enough to allow full travel on the push down to allow belt removal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 "Pushing down" always worked for me. Removing the tensioner could help I guess. Just never had to do that to replace belts. Just be sure that the compressor mounting bolts are loose enough to allow full travel on the push down to allow belt removal. These compressors don't move. They're solid mounted, the tensioner slides to adjust tension on the belt. Much easier to remove two tensioner bolts than to remove the 5 bolts that hold the compressor on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 These compressors don't move. They're solid mounted, the tensioner slides to adjust tension on the belt. Much easier to remove two tensioner bolts than to remove the 5 bolts that hold the compressor on. Good call. I was thinking alternator, and figuring the compressor mounted the same. Thanks for the correction............Rooster2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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