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#1
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A little help from the more experienced
Last semester I replaced my alternator. All went well, and it's been perfectly fine since then. The only problem I ran into was getting the belt off and on. The bolt that holds the tension pulley on would NOT come off. The other (very long) bolt moved about freely, but wouldn't loosen it enough to get the belt off. I eventually just unbolted the alternator and pushed it down, releasing it from the belt. Putting it back on, I kind of did the same procedure, then used the leverage from bolting it back in the secure it. The belt never came off, but on cold mornings at the first 5 seconds of start up, it would squeak a little bit. Nothing bad and no longer than a few seconds, but I knew it was because I couldn't tighten the belt right. Now that it's getting much colder, the belt is squeaking a little longer. It's never been longer than 15 or 20 seconds, but it is annoying. I'm worried also that it may snap the belt a little sooner than it should one day. Once the car is warm, it never squeaks. Yesterday, I fought with that bolt for ages trying to get it off again, but it wouldn't budge, PB blaster and all. At this point, the bolt is rounded off. No, it wasn't me. My bogus mechanic that put my tires on a couple years ago said I had a "loose fan belt" and decided to tighten it, without my consent, with a larger-than-necessary leverage system. I know this because he showed me an extendable three foot long wrench that he used to tighten my lug nuts once, that then did not come off with even an impact wrench but another 4 foot pipe. So with the knowledge that he did that, and helped my now rounded bolt, what should I do? It's not crucial or anything. My car runs fine, steers fine, alternator's great. I just really want it to stop squeaking. I realize a new belt might fix it, but I'd rather fix the problem than the symptoms, you know? Also, which way is this bolt threaded? I tried both ways, and neither worked. I've read some stories on those stretch-belts too, but I still want to solve this. Thanks guise.
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1992 Pearl White LS Owned since 2009 175k Miles STi Airlift Performance air suspension 2005 WRX manual swap Rear wheel drive K-Staff front bumper Delta Speed side skirts JDM clear corners Smallcar grille Subaru XT steering wheel Subaru XT shift knob First bagged SVX in the world Worlds first SVX on air suspension. Custom made (by myself) spare tire subwoofer. |
#2
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Re: A little help from the more experienced
Are you talking about the nut on the front of the idler pulley that "locks" the pulley in place that needs to be loosened in order to adjust the tension bolt? If this is the one that is rounded off, removing the fans, and getting vise grips, or possibly other options should get it off of there. Then, it's a common size and thread nut that is common in many other places on a Subaru. Or you could get a replacement from the dealer.
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#3
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Re: A little help from the more experienced
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Part #16 on that diagram. The long bolt (#14 i think?) is fine. It's the one resting on that pulley (#12). It's just so tight and rounded that I can't get it off. Are the fans hard to remove? That would give me lots of room to work in there.
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1992 Pearl White LS Owned since 2009 175k Miles STi Airlift Performance air suspension 2005 WRX manual swap Rear wheel drive K-Staff front bumper Delta Speed side skirts JDM clear corners Smallcar grille Subaru XT steering wheel Subaru XT shift knob First bagged SVX in the world Worlds first SVX on air suspension. Custom made (by myself) spare tire subwoofer. |
#4
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Re: A little help from the more experienced
Okay, that's exactly what I was thinking.
And the fans are relatively easy to remove but do require a bit of finagling. Unplug connectors, remove the charcoal canister from it's hold. (just pull up on it firmly) unbolt the 10mm bolts holding both fans to the radiator at the top,(2 per fan assembly) unbolt the 12mm bolts securing the radiator to the core support, (4 total to give just a little more wiggle room for the fans) and then the driver side fan will come pretty much straight out, though you may have to unclip the trans line to the cooler from the bottom of the ran. It can be done from above. Then the passenger side fan will bit a little more tricky, but just carefully maneuver it around and you'll be able to get it out. You'll eventually slide it over to the driver side and lift it out in a similar fashion that you did the driver side fan, or you may even just be able to move it out of the way enough. It may sound difficult, but it's not bad at all. It makes it slightly easier if you remove the top rad hose, but it can be done without removing that and having to top off your coolant. |
#5
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Re: A little help from the more experienced
I guess so. I'd rather not go to all that trouble to get that one stubborn bolt off... Which direction is it threaded? I may have just been trying to tighten it more this whole time. What if one of my buddies uses one of those stripped bolt removing kits and a long wrench? Thanks to my over-tightened everything mechanic I have to deal with this.
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1992 Pearl White LS Owned since 2009 175k Miles STi Airlift Performance air suspension 2005 WRX manual swap Rear wheel drive K-Staff front bumper Delta Speed side skirts JDM clear corners Smallcar grille Subaru XT steering wheel Subaru XT shift knob First bagged SVX in the world Worlds first SVX on air suspension. Custom made (by myself) spare tire subwoofer. |
#6
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Re: A little help from the more experienced
Quote:
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'94 Laguna Blue LSi ~159k.......JDM ultra short-geared 3.900 STi Version 7 6-speed w/ Cobb shortshifter, ECUtune 244,8.1mm/256,9.1mm i/e cams, group N motor mounts, '97 grille, JDM clear corners, Momo JDM Legacy GT steering wheel, apkarian's LED tails, silver STi BBS wheels, PWR radiator, redstuff pads f/r, drilled/slotted rotors, bontragerworks rsb #18, Koni/GC 450f/375r coilovers, Megan Racing adjustable lateral links, KMac c/c plates, Stebro exhaust, ECUtune 1v5, Optima battery in the trunk where it belongs. Turbo project '97 Ebony LSi ~137k #036.......Power mode mod, JDM clear corners, BBS wheels. AUX/pocket mod Now a mod "over there" ............Photo album |
#7
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Re: A little help from the more experienced
Okay good. It doesn't spin with the pulley so I assumed it was regular, but at least now I know. I'll just see if one of my friends has some more tools that I do up at school to get it off.
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1992 Pearl White LS Owned since 2009 175k Miles STi Airlift Performance air suspension 2005 WRX manual swap Rear wheel drive K-Staff front bumper Delta Speed side skirts JDM clear corners Smallcar grille Subaru XT steering wheel Subaru XT shift knob First bagged SVX in the world Worlds first SVX on air suspension. Custom made (by myself) spare tire subwoofer. |
#8
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Re: A little help from the more experienced
My belts always squeel on cold starts and mine are on tight. I just have a small amount of flex on them, about 1/4-1/2 inch. I use belt dressing and it seems to keep the squeeling down for a few days. Don't over tighten them, you can add more stress on the bearings and add more amperage draw.
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Father of 5 sons and 1 daughter Subaru SVX for fun Hyundai Veracruz for the wife. Susuki SX4 for my older son Ford Ranger for work Mercedes Benz Sprinter for vacation trips, EZ GO Golf cart for driving kids around gated community. |
#9
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Re: A little help from the more experienced
#16 nut cannot be rounded if you used a quality, correct wrench on it
Keith |
#10
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Re: A little help from the more experienced
My old mechanic sure didn't agree...
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1992 Pearl White LS Owned since 2009 175k Miles STi Airlift Performance air suspension 2005 WRX manual swap Rear wheel drive K-Staff front bumper Delta Speed side skirts JDM clear corners Smallcar grille Subaru XT steering wheel Subaru XT shift knob First bagged SVX in the world Worlds first SVX on air suspension. Custom made (by myself) spare tire subwoofer. |
#11
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Re: A little help from the more experienced
Time for a new mechanic then.
Nothing worse than having your nuts unnecessarily damaged through incompetency .
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. Subaru Ambassador 1996 Polo Green LSi #216..138,100 miles...SOLD JFICX8659TH100216.....Date of Manufacture: November 16, 1995..... Fuji Heavy Industries..Ōta North Plant....Ōta City,. Gunma Prefecture, Japan In-Service Date: January 2, 1997 "The Pristine Green Polo Machine” First Polo Green on the Network First Clear front turn signals, JDM Alcyone hood emblem, rear panel, and BOXER engine cover on the Network (US) (2000) First 5000K HID factory fog lights (2007) First SVX JDM BBS wheels on a USDM SVX (2013) HID lighting (5000K) for headlight and H3 fog lights, PIAA SuperExtreme 120W high beams, rebuilt EG33 longblock, Cometic head gaskets, Phase II flexplate, AMR aluminum radiator with custom silicone hoses, 160A high-output alternator in aluminum-ceramic coated case, new design alternator wiring upgrade v.4, rare factory headlight protectors, refinished JDM BBS mesh aluminum wheels and custom, polished billet aluminum new hex center caps, LED grille mod, R1 Concepts high-carbon cryo slotted rotors, Akebono ceramic pads, Goodridge S/S braided brake lines, Smallcar Stage 1 shift kit, ThermalTech aluminum/ceramic-coated valve covers, Energy Suspension urethane front & rear swaybar bushings, Bontrager22 rear swaybar with QS Components Chromoly Teflon/Kevlar endlinks, "$15.00/5 minute" suspension mod. Hella Supertone horns, Custom stainless steel exhaust system with 2" headpipes, Magnaflow cats, AeroTurbine AR25 resonator /AWD "Bullet" muffler. R.I.P. 2010 Subaru Outback Limited 2.5 CVT...338,000 miles. Totaled by a 1,300 lb. COW March 4, 2016 2014 Hyundai Avante Limited ...178,000 miles. Actually quieter and smoother than the Outback 2007 Mazda Miata MX-5 PRHT...102,000 miles. Plenty of parts, service and windshields. 4th Registered Network member —2/21/2001 My NEW locker..I...My Email..I..Wikipedia/SVX . . |
#12
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Re: A little help from the more experienced
He liked to get a good grip on all my nuts
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1992 Pearl White LS Owned since 2009 175k Miles STi Airlift Performance air suspension 2005 WRX manual swap Rear wheel drive K-Staff front bumper Delta Speed side skirts JDM clear corners Smallcar grille Subaru XT steering wheel Subaru XT shift knob First bagged SVX in the world Worlds first SVX on air suspension. Custom made (by myself) spare tire subwoofer. |
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