blengine Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 I'm learning basic maintenance on my car, a 94 Loyale. Can anyone walk me through tightening my drive belts? The 2 belts are loose and make an ungodly squeal for a few seconds when the car starts up. The pulleys are tight and the belts were replaced along with the timing belt about a year ago. I would appreciate any help or any links that would help, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syonyk Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 What do you have for accessories? AC? On mine, which is a '92, I have the inboard AC compressor & outboard alternator (there were different locations depending on where things were installed - dealer or factory). To tighten the alternator drive belt, I loosen both alternator bolts, use a big long wrench wedged through the hinge of the alternator, put some serious force into it, and tighten the outside "clamp" bolt to hold the alternator in place, then tighten the hinge bolt again. The AC belt is a bit more of a trick. If you look, you'll see the idler pulley has two bolts - one is an extended head bolt (or nut, one of the two - it's about 2" long), and the other is the pivot. The magic trick is that the standoff for the pivot bolt is a 17mm hex. Loosen both, get a breaker bar & 17mm socket (you might need a deep well), put the socket over the pivot & use that to tension the belt, then clamp it down the the long-head nut. Then tighten the pivot bolt. While you're in there, if they're squealing, you may just want to replace them. -=Russ=- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blengine Posted November 6, 2006 Author Share Posted November 6, 2006 Err well, I'm not only new to this car, but cars in general. A couple of friends of mine are crazy about cars and maintain their own. I've been seriously busy with contract work all summer, but this winter I'm going to have a lot of free time to get my hands dirty. They said a relatively easy project would help get me emersed in the subject matter. I'm not sure what accessories I have. I've actually been looking for diagrams that would tell me the names of all the engine parts I'll be working with, like which pulleys are which, and which bolts are which, but haven't found much. I was hoping to find a full walk-through with photos if possible, that could help me work my way through my first repair. I'll be back banging around under the hood all day tomorrow. The car is not my only one, and not my only subaru, but I've chosen this to be the car I'll work on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blengine Posted November 7, 2006 Author Share Posted November 7, 2006 Russ, thanks for the help. After looking under the hood and seeing that hinge you mentioned, the rest was easy. I'm squeal free now. Tomorrow I'll try tightening the other belt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virrdog Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 A good trick for tight but squeeling belts is to pour some liquid dish washing soap on them. Its an old-school trick and it works great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burtonsnowman Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 Don't make it too tight...I did that with an older belt a few weeks ago and it snapped the next day, 27 miles from work, 35 miles from home...it was a mess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syonyk Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 Don't make it too tight...I did that with an older belt a few weeks ago and it snapped the next day, 27 miles from work, 35 miles from home...it was a mess. Which is exactly why, when you change the belts, you keep the old ones in the back. If I'm going to be dinking around with belts, I prefer to just change them. I do a lot of highway driving, and I'd rather change a belt 10k miles before it was done than be on the side of the road changing it (or, worse, not having one) a few miles *after* it's time. -=Russ=- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blengine Posted November 9, 2006 Author Share Posted November 9, 2006 Definitely a reasonable idea. Now, I'm looking into buying 2 belts to replace these. Just for info I'm searching here, http://shop.autopartsfair.com/buy.php?make_text=subaru&model_text=loyale&ml=&year=1994&part_name=v_belt&brand_name=conti&make_code=SU There's a ton of belts listed. Say I wasn't entirely sure what accessories I have or their make, are any of these belts universal to any extent? Or are all belts really this specific? It was pouring all day today so I didn't get a chance to go out to the car. >=| I'm hoping there's a model name printed on the belts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 Belts are pretty specific. I get mine at Autozone - I like their belts - nice and soft, and I like the ribbed style myself. I think they are made by gates but I could be wrong. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 gates Gatorback GD, for my buck the best V-belt made. dont have part #s handy though. one belt powers the AC compressor, power steering pump, and water pump, and the other belt powers the alternator. IIRC, that is how they are classified... but then again, every store's catalog may be different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blengine Posted November 14, 2006 Author Share Posted November 14, 2006 Syonyk, I'm hoping you won't mind helping me get a bit further here. Right now, what I'm looking at under the hood is this: The small bolt is 12mm, and the large is 17mm, together it looks like they make up the pivot bolt. I loosened the 12mm and tried to budge the 17mm but it was on their tight. That 17mm would move the whole pulley right, making the belt tighter? Before I take a breaker bar to it, I wanted to make sure it was the right one, because on the other side of the pulley there is also another long hex bolt, and it's 13mm. Are there any other nuts or bolts I'd have to loosen to be able to tighten this belt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooziewhatsit Posted November 14, 2006 Share Posted November 14, 2006 The other bolt on the pulley is a 12mm (you said it was a 13?). Both that hex stud, and the pivot bolt need to be loosened. Then should be able to wrench on the 17mm pivot to tighten it. -dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blengine Posted November 14, 2006 Author Share Posted November 14, 2006 Ok great. It was tough to reach that other hex stud, so I could've been mistaken about it's size. I'll give this another go tomorrow, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syonyk Posted November 14, 2006 Share Posted November 14, 2006 There are two bolts you need to loosen, yes. There's the 12mm in the pivot that you drew, and then there's another bolt/hut on the other side of the pulley that holds things tight as well. You'll need to loosen both of them to move the pulley. You should feel the pulley free up a bit when you have both free. It doesn't take more than half a turn or so on either one to free them up, though. -=Russ=- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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