Squeaky noise from drive belt on 3.0R-B 2005

[watsuppp]

Hi,

I just had a problem with my 3.0R-B 2005 - done 146000ks, i could hear a squeaky noise coming out from the belt, mainly from the top left pulley. The noise is intermittent, come and goes every 10-15 seconds, some are quite loud. I think it could be the belt itself, bur could be the bearing from the pulley, anyone have had the same or similar problem? Any ideas or suggestion would be much appreciated. Thank you for your help. Vince.

[bates91]

check it ASAP with your mechanic
the tensioner pulleys (ones it just runs around.) check theyre not seized up, this happened to me a couple of weeks ago one of the bearings shat themself and prevented the pulley from turning, so the belt was rubbing against and eventually wore through it -> shredded belt not a good thing.

[Dropz]

Tensioner bearing often craps itself on the 3.0s. Check the belt condition for cracks, glazing or any other visible damage.

[watsuppp]

Will drop the car off on Thursday for check up, the guy told me ne needs to open up to check each bearing on each pulley to see which one is having problem, is it rite? Anyone have idea about the cost please? Regards.

[Robbks]

to test if it's the belt, (you won;t find this in a Subaru Technical Bulletin)
with the car running
just rub the edges of the belt and the pulleys with a cake of soap. WATCH YOUR FINGERS
if the noise goes away, it's just the belt,
if not. look deeper

[watsuppp]

Hi all, anyone have any idea about the cost of the replacement of the drive belt or the pulley's bearing? I am new to the area and will be first time with this mechanic tomorrow. Thank you

[matt_3.0rb]

I got a belt from Subaru for about $90 and bought the bearings from a generic supplier and had them pressed into the original pulleys for about $15 each. Replaced bearings in both pulleys and did the labour myself, so that was the total cost. Subaru apparently dont just sell the bearings, you have to buy the whole wheel and it was a stupid amount of money to replace the wheel that was fine.

**edit - fixing typo.

[bates91]

yep my mechanic told me the same thing, subaru only sell the bearing + pulley as a unit, because you're not supposed to press out bearings and put new ones in...
spring tensioner pulley thing is supposed to be replaced as well because apparently thats what loses tension and causes belt to go haywire

[LovinDeath]

I had my old belt snap as i had a bearing sieze up. 2 bearings were stuffed. Got a new belt and 2 new bearings and pushed in for a total of $88.

[matt_3.0rb]

As long as the bearings are put in properly, and i had mine lock-tight'd in with a little nick with a chissel to keep them in place they are fine. Ive had mine on for about 15000km since that and there have been no problems at all.

Theory is if they need replacing again then i will get the whole pulley and bearing from subaru, but until then this was a far cheaper and just as reliable option.

[Tradewind]

I was always going to offer a belt and bearing set for people here

Seems like I still should, some of the prices I am seeing above are way more expensive than necessary

For those wondering if its right to press a new bearing into the existing pulley - thats how they fit the bearing to the pulley in the first place

Simply use a little loctite (correct grade) and always press on the outside area of the bearing. Before you press the old bearing out, note the position of the original bearing and then press new bearing into same spot

The idler tensioner is a different matter, a definite throw away, maybe I need to find a source of those as well, I bet some of you are paying a FORTUNE for those from Subaru

[watsuppp]

Hi all, got the call from mechanic just now, belt and 2 pulleys needs to be replaced, he must get the pulleys from Subaru as he doesn't want to do just bearing. Cost is $108 for each pulley, $88 for belt and $88 for labour. Sound rite?

[matt_3.0rb]

That sounds about right. Depends if you are happy to pay that. If you are then no problem, but there are cheaper alternatives but they will take up your own time. Comes down to money or time. Whats more valuable to you.

[watsuppp]

Pick up the car today, new belt and 1 pulley ( the other one still ok) --> $283.00 all the noises are gone.

[SpecB]

Hi Guys (been way too long). I have a MY06 ('05) 3.0 RB that's just clicked over 112K and noticed a whistling noise on last Monday. Took it to Subaru Docklands on Wednesday and they said two of the of the bearings have gone in the tensioner pulleys. They quoted $216 per "bearing" (not the whole tensioner pulleys) plus labor to replace. Labor was going to be "round $250".

I've serviced the car religiously with Subaru and walked away to take it to somewhere else because I thought that it was excess particularly given I've spent over $850 and $1000 on my last 2 serviceds. I haven't driven my car since but a but worried that it won't make it to where I'm looking forward to getting it serviced now (Cromwood Auto Service).

Can anyone give me a rough idea on whether it might make the drive? I'm talking a matter of about 10km drive. The belt seems fine to me and I'm pretty sure it's the top right one that is seized because I've run the engine and it's been spinning but then stopped. I've attached the picture and circled the one that stopped. I've driven it a matter of 50km's since noticing the noise. Can anyone give me a half reasonable guess on whether I'd make it?

IMG_1033.tif (184.5 KiB) Viewed 5047 times

Cheers,

GM