When it snows.......

[Chris]

it pours! What a terrible start. I was waiting for the snow. Wanting it! Wishing it would come.

Setting the stage:
Tuesday evening - Start my car around 5pm so I can make my enormous ammounts of money ($5.15/hr) delivering pizzas part time for Dominos. Shortly after I start my car I hear strange noises. I shut it off, open the hood and find I have shreded my A/C belt. I was a bit bummed. What a way to start the work period. After realizing that it wasnt "that" bad and I ould still make my "enormous" amounts of money, I went to work to deliver pizzas. No problems for the rest of the night.

Wednesday - I start my day a littler earlier that normal because I know I have errands to run. At noon, I look outside and find SNOW! Yea... about an inch or two and still falling. I get called by my sister at work for a favor. "You pick me up for lunch and I am buying." No problem there, I like this weather, she does not. Actually she does, just hates trying to drive in it and play "avoid the dumb asses." Go to lunch (Blimpies -- should charge them for shameless advertising), drop her off and head out to see Mr. Chris Debban. Well, actually Mark in the parts department. Got to get me another belt. Especially today. I found out how uneffective the defroster can be without the A/C to de-humidify the air. BIG difference. $20 for the belt. Crap man, what is this a M1 Tank belt special?? Oh well, to make matters worse, no stock and wont be here till Monday. Chris Debban w has me bring my SVX into the shop to make sure that the belt didnt eat itself due to a siezed compressor or idler pulley. He checks the compressor
and gives it a clean bill of health (good thing too, costs nearly $1000) and the tesioner is fine as well. Just as he is about to finish the inspection he notes a few pieces of belt that I missed. Then upon close inpsection he finds that it was not A/C belt pieces, but alternator/PS belt pieces. THEN the real discovery happens. The harmonic ballancer/crank pulley has separated. CRAP!!!! So, now my $20 belt has turned into a
$20 A/C belt
$10 Alternator/PS belt
$150 (cost special -- Thanks Tom Scott Subaru!) Crank pulley

Thanks to some special work that Mr. Debban did, I have my car back. I cannot go into the details, but I can say that Chris was nice enough to order my parts and pay him later when I have the money/job.

I have never heard of this sort of problem on the SVX and Chris has never seen it before on ANY Subaru. What was also a pisser is that it seems like you got a snow plow in your grarage and maintain it all summer just to wait for winter. And when the first snow hits, what am I driving? NOT my SVX!?!

Oh well, all is better for now. Time to get some sleep so I can find a job to pay Chris back sometime this year I hope!

Will post picttures of pulley after sleep period.... as well as snow pictures if it hasnt melted by then. Oh, last time I saw, the snow amount here today from noon-2am this morning was 8-10 inches. And when I left the shop early this morning, I drove lke a mad man. I am STILL amazed how well this wheled snow cat plowes through the snow. I am sure the M+S stamped tires help as well.

(I keep this server running -- Chris Debban keeps my car running)

[cocacola08]

Sorry to hear Chris, just be thankful it wasn't your compressor.

[Beav]

While it isn't common it isn't unheard of either. Most often the result of defective part or over-tightened belts. It's a great time to replace with an aluminum pulley, not so much for the undersize but for the reduction in rotating mass and being a solid, one-piece design.

Beav

[Aredubjay]

Actually, I remember a couple of instances of pulley separation being reported on the Yahoo club, a couple of years ago. You might search the archive.

I hate to hear it, though. This ain't the season to be having to shell out a lot of money on "essential" things . . . like belts, pulleys, labor, or like, a tire, or something.