The drive belt in my H6 let go. From what I can tell it runs the alternator / ac compressor and power steering pump. Can someone confirm for me whether the water pump is driving off this belt as welll or if it's done via the timing chain? Just want to make sure it's okay to drive the car about 15 KM to get it repaired (I just need to charge the battery up and hopefully should be able to make it that far before it dies).

Yes the H20 pump is driven by the timing chain.

 

belt is a pretty simple replacement as there is no locking

bolt just a spring loaded idler.

 

but It is tight down there, I can understand your reservations

 

 

I can post the belt run pattern if you wish

 

Good luck, no alt = no heater use

..............no PS = popeye forearms

while the belt is off...take a feel/hear/look at the idler pulley...they are notorious for the bearings go bad....weve seen tons of them.....if it doesnt sound/feel to good it might be worth it to replace that pulley along with the belt....i believe its only 1 14mm bolt..and easy as pie to get to.....just a suggestion...

Excellent idea EVO.

 

there are actually two idler pulleys (#2, #5 below)

One is the tension pully, one just an idler

EVO - recommending the idler, and not the tensioner pulley? i hate to see the prices on those jokers!

Just had a major snowstorm so instead of attempting this I dropped it off at the dealer. They said I need a new idle pulley and the tensioner. As the Idle pulley broke and damaged the tensioner. My normal mechanic (Who happens to be a tech at a subaru dealership a few hours from where I live (not the one I took the car to) Told me that if the tensioner goes I can replace it with a GM 6603 bearing (as that's what subaru use's) However I've called the GM dealer and they don't know what I'm taking about. Does this make sense to anyone else?

Just had a major snowstorm so instead of attempting this I dropped it off at the dealer. They said I need a new idle pulley and the tensioner. As the Idle pulley broke and damaged the tensioner. My normal mechanic (Who happens to be a tech at a subaru dealership a few hours from where I live (not the one I took the car to) Told me that if the tensioner goes I can replace it with a GM 6603 bearing (as that's what subaru use's) However I've called the GM dealer and they don't know what I'm taking about. Does this make sense to anyone else?

 

Subaru will only replace the part, they won't replace a bearing.

 

that four digit number look like a standard bearing number or part of one. call a bearing supply store and they can probably help better.

 

all you'd need to do is look at the bearing, the bearing numbers are imprinted on the outer side of the bearing seal (the face), just read the numbers and any bearing supply store can cross reference any number of bearings that will work for you.

 

you'd have to find a shop that is willing to press in the new bearings for you. and sourcing the bearings can be a pain too. it's a bit of leg work, but can be done and is much easier if you have some good connections/knowledge of the local places.

man..i did another one of these things today at work...02 outback...oddly enough the tensioner pulley felt pretty bad... and the idler pulley bearings seized and somehow the bolt for it ended up in the undercover...anyways

Parts (as best as i can remember)

Customer Price=

Idler pulley:$40

Tensioner Assembly:$112 ( i checked with the parts. dept. on this and apparently you cant just get the pulley you have to get the whole tensioner assembly..what a rip...)

Serp. Belt: $50

Edited December 23, 200817 yr by EVOthis

man..i did another one of these things today at work...02 outback...oddly enough the tensioner pulley felt pretty bad... and the idler pulley bearings seized and somehow the bolt for it ended up in the undercover...anyways

Parts (as best as i can remember)

Customer Price=

Idler pulley:$40

Tensioner Assembly:$112 ( i checked with the parts. dept. on this and apparently you cant just get the pulley you have to get the whole tensioner assembly..what a rip...)

Serp. Belt: $50

 

Sounds about right, I'm in canada so I pay a bit higher price, If I had time I usually order from parts from the US. I paid $80 for the pulley and $105 for the tensioner, I already had the belt, and they charged me $160 for labour. Which sucks because if the car had of been driveable I could have got it done for about $40 labour. I found out today ofcourse a place where I could have gotten the $8 bearing for the tensioner, but tensioner had already come in.

dbullen - why don't you post the part number or info on that bearing you found?

 

those prices aren't as bad as i thought they'd be.

 

mine has a whine when accelerating fast, i'm wondering if it's one of these bearings.

dbullen - why don't you post the part number or info on that bearing you found?

 

those prices aren't as bad as i thought they'd be.

 

mine has a whine when accelerating fast, i'm wondering if it's one of these bearings.

 

The tensioner bearing was just a GM 6603 bearing. I found a local bearing supply store here in the town I live in. (Halifax, NS Canada). That had them, but I wasn't given a part #.

may I ask how many Kilometers are on this car?

may I ask how many Kilometers are on this car?

 

 

140,000 Miles now (Picked the car up about a year ago in NH at an auction)

Had to rebuilt the tranmission and new timing chain tensioners when I got it back to Canada. I bought the car at 120,000 Miles and don't have any history on it prior to that.

thank you sir, it was needed as a reference for when these

must be changed.

 

My 2003 H6 has 75 kmi and they are still in nice shape

I just changed my belt as preventive maint.

140,000 Miles now (Picked the car up about a year ago in NH at an auction)

Had to rebuilt the tranmission and new timing chain tensioners when I got it back to Canada. I bought the car at 120,000 Miles and don't have any history on it prior to that.

 

can i ask too? how much did he timing chain tensioner work run? i'm in the air on those. apparently oil changes are very important for these, but i don't understand why that is.

 

thanks guys, i just got mine las week so i'm learning.

can i ask too? how much did he timing chain tensioner work run? i'm in the air on those. apparently oil changes are very important for these, but i don't understand why that is.

 

thanks guys, i just got mine las week so i'm learning.

 

Timing chain tensioners was $800 Labour at the dealership. I forget how much the parts were I ordered them from the US (I think maybe $60-$80 per tensioner / guide. Since then though I found a head tech at a subaru dealer an hour away from where I live who works on the side for $30/hr and he really knows his stuff. He rebuilt my tranmission for me for $500 labour and I purchased the parts from the US for $500. Much better price then the $5200 the dealership quoted me for a reman transmission. So I use him for all my work now, except ofcourse if the car breaks down to the point where I can't drive it there.

little bit of a hijack but do you

guys remember porcupine's picture

of the front of this engine?

how did you come to decide to have the tensioners replaced? guess i'm not going to view that as "preventative maintenance" any time soon.

 

$800 makes sense, that's CAN? dealer quoted my cousin $699 for her EJ25 timing belt only. so that's basically $600 labor for an easy job. maybe that chain tensioner isn't as bad as it looks?

 

yeah, seen those pic's a few times, they're fun!

how did you come to decide to have the tensioners replaced? guess i'm not going to view that as "preventative maintenance" any time soon.

 

$800 makes sense, that's CAN? dealer quoted my cousin $699 for her EJ25 timing belt only. so that's basically $600 labor for an easy job. maybe that chain tensioner isn't as bad as it looks?

 

yeah, seen those pic's a few times, they're fun!

 

They were making a ticking noise. According to my subaru guy, they are never done under regular maintenance. He believes the reason they went is because someone changed the oil and didn't prime the oil filter first / or it was low on oil at somepoint. Otherwise they never go. I guess it's extreamly important the oil filter is primed each time the oil is changed in the H6 engines.

They were making a ticking noise. According to my subaru guy, they are never done under regular maintenance. He believes the reason they went is because someone changed the oil and didn't prime the oil filter first / or it was low on oil at somepoint. Otherwise they never go. I guess it's extreamly important the oil filter is primed each time the oil is changed in the H6 engines.

awesome. thanks for sharing all of this Dbullen, that's a big help. i probably would not have thought much differently about changing the oil in this one compared to any others.

 

so i ordered an owners manual today, though I doubt i has oil change details in it.

 

thanks again.

on this topic...i do notice a clacking noise every single time i do an LOF on H6 that lasts a couple of seconds...i asked our master tech and he said its the timing chian slapping around...apparently most of the time its unharmful....but wow yeah thanks for the info fellas...i will def. be putting a little oil in the filter on the next H6 LOF i do....

Edited December 24, 200817 yr by EVOthis

As for filling the new oil filter.

 

I have been doing this since I can remember.

Many people thought me nutz.

 

The oil pressure light turns off almost immediately

vs many seconds without the fill.

To fill an oil filter takes some patience.

 

The first "fill" once left to sit

will disappear.

Takes about three fillings

 

I start an oil change by starting to fill the new filter,

pull the drain plug, remove the old filter.

 

Fill the new filter again.

 

Replace the drain plug.

Fill the new filter again and install it.

You may loose an ounce or two but to me

it's worth it.

Hi:

 

Do you have the part numbers for the tensioner and idler? Belt will be due soon so will probably do them at the same time.

http://www.subarupartsforyou.com

Idler Pulley: 23770AA020

Tensioner Assembly:23769AA003

 

The only thing i have to add is when you get the belt make sure its the same one...there is one that is slightly shorter and one that is slightly longer..the parts dept. mixes them up sometimes...(i believe the smaller one is for when Subaru decided to go to the scroll type AC compressor....)

www.subarupartsforyou.com

Idler Pulley: 23770AA020

Tensioner Assembly:23769AA003

 

The only thing i have to add is when you get the belt make sure its the same one...there is one that is slightly shorter and one that is slightly longer..the parts dept. mixes them up sometimes...(i believe the smaller one is for when Subaru decided to go to the scroll type AC compressor....)

 

Thanks for the info, I usually purchase parts from the US but ofcourse didn't have the time to wait this time around. I bought the Belt from an autopart store before I dropped the vehicle off at the subaru Dealer, ofcourse it was too short and the dealer had to end up using one of theirs. But it's all fixed now atleast.