Pulley problem...

[Dr Nick]

On my way home from work tonight my steering suddenly got very heavy and the charging, ABS and brake warning lights came on. "No problem," I thought. "The fan belt must have snapped."

Pulled over and flipped the hood. Not only had the fan belt disappeared, so had the bottom pulley and bolt!!

I've ordered a replacement from my favourite supplier but it won't be here for a couple of days. (Fortunately a friend has loaned me a Ford SportKA which is pretty cool for a small hatch).

Can anyone enlighten me as to why this should have happened? The fan belt was last tightened by a Subaru mechanic about a year ago and I haven't done anything apart from oil changes since.

Also, I presume it's just a case of replacing the pulley and bolt. Yes?

[THAWA]

We don't have fan belts but I know hwat you're talking about. Maybe the pully wasn't in tight enough and it worked its way out? Did you notice anything clunk off when you were driving home? That was probably it if ya did. Other than that I dunno what could've happened. Maybe the pulley bolt snapped and the pulley came off though that seems kinda unlikely. If the pulley snapped ther ewas a thread about it a while back. Otherwise it should be just get a new pulley bolt and belts. MAke sure it's torqued down to specs.

[Legacy777]

unfortunately, this is more common then it should be. The torque specs in the FSM are incorrect, so most mechanics that don't know subarus as well go off of that, and it's not tight enough....over time, you get the problem you just had.

The bolt should be torqued to a minimum of 110 ft/lbs. The engine builder where I got that spec from told me to also use some locktite on the threads as well. I replaced my pulley probably 4 years ago, and have not had a problem with that combo.

[Dr Nick]

Thanks Josh.

My replacement pulley and bolt should arrive tomorrow. I'm off to buy a torque wrench...

Once again the board comes up trumps!

[evolutionmovement]

Make sure the crank's not damaged.

Steve