Changing the alternator belt and oil in a Subaru Outback with your own hands

I think it is clear to any car enthusiast that if your vehicle does not need ongoing adjustments and checks, then one of two things. You only have it from the salon or .. you simply don’t have it. Yes, the proverb “if you like to ride, love to carry sleds” invariably applies to our four-wheeled assistants. The musicians of the Merry Fellows band sang about this beautifully almost four decades ago - “what we need is a narrow highway strip, but a cherished spare parts store.”


The good news is that a lot has changed for the better since then. There is no longer a total shortage of spare parts and the Soviet automobile "service". Today, if you have money, you can find almost any necessary part. And in addition to solid service stations, there are also private craftsmen who are ready to carry out repair work efficiently and quickly for a small amount.


Many people prefer to use the service so as not to bother and not waste time, which can be used to earn an order of magnitude more than you spend on repairs. Nevertheless, some people try to make small adjustments, replacements and preventive maintenance on their own. The latter includes my friend, to whom I came to stay for a short while.

Having a name from a famous Greek philosopher and the age of Christ, he enjoys working with his Subaru Outback sports car. By the way, a friend bought it only a year ago from a neighbor. That middle-aged family man, perhaps, drove his own on a powerful and gluttonous car: for the past few years he has been tritely idle. The owner asked for a very modest amount for a fast car, given the fact that the engine needed to be sorted out. So the new owner did it on his own! Agree, after such a simple change of oil and alternator belt for him?

Minor do-it-yourself repairs

It was this current task that was on the agenda. For her, and began one cool May evening in a spacious personal garage. I volunteered to act as an auxiliary worker, while at the same time capturing the process for history.



First of all, I had to find a ring wrench, which helped to loosen the tension of the old belt and dismantle it. Then everything seems to be simple - install a new one in its place. But something began that reminded me how, in my youth, I changed the rubber belt on my tape recorder "Spring-212". Then I figured out for an hour and a half how to fill it correctly. Here, too, we did not immediately choose the correct configuration for installing the belt. A good help was the photo I took the day before with an old belt. In general, the owner figured out pretty quickly.


After installation, he made a test run of the engine and was satisfied with its work. The next task was easy. Having descended into the repair pit, my friend drained the old engine oil, making room for a container with special oil for powerful turbo engines. Even before midnight, all planned work was successfully completed. Let me remind you that they included:

✅ oil change
✅ installation of a new alternator belt
✅ engine start

In my further plans it was necessary to make sure of the effect obtained. But that only happened a week later. It’s just that before that everything worked out like in the song of Garik Krichevsky, “someone in the subway to the factory, some to the office in a BMW.” Yes, we had a different life schedule: the owner went to work with his car, and I went on business by minibus. As soon as we crossed paths with him in the cabin and I took the navigator's seat, I immediately asked about the effect obtained.


The new belt really "came to the yard", but about the vaunted oil ... The owner himself noticed that only the "engine" would feel its effectiveness. And, of course, you can't ask him. Nevertheless, after a solid run, I hope the effect of less wear will make itself felt.