pulley replacement

[boxterfan67]

I have a 2002 OB H6. Idler pulley and tensioner pulley have been ordered from SubaruPartsForYou.com. Anybody out there who has done these replacements? Advice and tips greatly appreciated! They are listed as oem parts and are metal, not the nylon stuff. Thanks!

[cardoc]

Both pulleys just bolt on to their brackets. When doing the tensioner you need to make sure the back nut stays in place otherwise you'll have to remove the PS pump to get it back together. The pump comes off easy enough and can be removed with the bracket.

[1 Lucky Texan]

pay attention to how those 'shield washers' come off as I think they have a front/back orientation to keep them from dragging.

you can search for a more info but I think you've got it covered.

common problem - good time to replace serpentine belt if old.

[boxterfan67]

Thanks for the help guys. Lefty-loosey, righty-tighty? I have a torque wrench, do I need it? I'm assuming standard thread direction, but always good to know 1st. And Mr. Lucky, great advice for everybody about the belt replacement. I always have believed that you should go ahead and replace anything rubber or plastic while you have the motor torn down. Belt should arrive with the pulleys. Thanks again for the advice!

[bshusted]

No torque wrench required, though I'm sure there is a torque spec somewhere in the FSM. Each of the pulleys has 14mm bolt passing through it with a washer as previously mentioned. I think that the hardest part was remembering the belt routing.

[1 Lucky Texan]

stnd threads, I THINK I used a t wrench but don't recall. curiously, there are different T values for the bolts. like 14 vs 25 ???

check the 'sticky' threads on this issue for more info.H6 tensioner bearing#

ez30 tensioner and idler pulley solution

[boxterfan67]

I'm going to give it a try when the parts get here. Really grateful to have a source of knowledgeble pekple who are willing to give good advice. Subarus in the South seem to be an anomaly, but I love mine. I'll keep you guys posted on my progress (or lack of it!) and thanks so much again!

[boxterfan67]

Just pulled both pulleys off. The idler was frozen, and the bearing looks like it has been through a grinder. The tensioner was loose. Very loose. The bearing spins fine, but I can tell someone has put a wrench on it in the past. Also, some moron (maybe the same one) had put the washer on backwards! The washer is a keeper for the bearing and it cannot spin when the washer is backwards. Two questions 1: No nut came out with the idler so it should still be where it's supposed to be??
2: The tensioner is listed as "spring loaded". I see no spring nor anyplace a spring should go. What's up with that? These 2 pulleys look identical to each other. Really. I don't get it. Do you guys know?

[1 Lucky Texan]

identical

the spring referred to must be the tensioner ARM.

[boxterfan67]

I'm really not sure of any of this now. I paid $25 for the idler and $80 for the tensioner. They look interchangeable. The arm must not look like anything I have ever seen, looked to me to bolt straight into the block. I honestly don't see how it could adjust anything. And that price diff...WTF???