engine belt replacements etc.

[Betsy]

I have a 1995 Subaru Legacy.

I only have 43,000 miles on it. One of those little old ladies.

I hear a clicking sound at about 40 mph and so I'm not sure the belts are 100% o.k. It stops though.

I know there is a belt you should replace at 60,000 miles, but does age of belts come into play? My neighbor says yes. Their being 14 years old - I might need new belts and should at least get them checked. I thought that was checked in PA inspection, but maybe not.

I'm also not sure I see any weights where the tire people balanced the tires when I purchased them a month ago. My neighbor said that might be something to check....some "harmonic" thing.

I'm going for a free balancing where I bought the tires. I get rotation and balancing for the life of the tires.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Max Capacity]

Hi Betsy, welcome to the site.

 

A 95 with that low mileage. WOW.

 

The clicking sound is a mystery.

 

Yes I would have the belts replaced. Including the timing belt, 14 years is a long time. Better safe then sorry.

 

Some shops balance the wheels by only putting weights on the inside.

 

The true test for wheel balance is while driving between 60-70mph. if the steering wheel shakes that's the front wheels. If you can feel your seat, (your butt) shaking, that's the rear wheels.

 

Do you have a mechanic you trust? You don't need to pay the dealer to work on your car. Talk to the people where you work and see who they use to repair their cars.

 

I replaced all the belts and water pump on my 05GT last fall, using parts from the auto part store. You don't need to use Subaru parts.

[PhilT]

You can just take off the timing belt cover on the drivers side to inspect the belt, it takes about 10 minutes.

[ehsnils]

It may still be a good idea to replace the belt because the core may have aged and that's not always visible from the outside.

 

As for the clicking sound - speed related or rpm related is the question. It's hard to decide without hearing it. Some models have hydraulic valve lifters and they can get noisy sometimes when a car gets old. That's not a serious problem, even though it's annoying.

[Betsy]

Thanks all for your replies and good information.

[Max Capacity]

For the ticking, does it sound like it's up high in the engine or down low ?

 

Can you get a video of the sound the car makes at idle and while driving it making the noise?

[Platinum_Racing]

Ticking could be a wheel bearing. Just diagnosed the same thing on my buddies car today on lunch break at work, it turned out to be a loose front brake pad (Go figure!). That's a Pontiac though...

 

The belts would make noise whenever the engine runs, and would change in speed and pitch with engine speed, not so much vehicle speed. I'd jack up the car one side at a time, put on the ebrake, take the wheels off just ease it into drive so that the wheel off the ground spins. Don't give it any gas, you don't want it to fall off the jack, just leave it in drive with some wheel chocks under the wheels (And put the spare tire under the rocker panel just to be on the safe side) and let the wheel spin. Do this one at a time to all 4 wheels and see which one ticks.

[Betsy]

I narrowed this down. The clicking kind of sound appears only when the rpm thing says 2.5. I would have to keep the rpm between 2.5 and 2.75 to have the click audible. No sound at all at any other rpm.

 

I hear it with the window open as maybe from the left front wheel area or the that side under the hood. Of course I'm not listening out the right window!

I have no way to take a video with sound.

I also am quite a senior citizen and don't do any repairs myself so can't jack up the car and look at the brakes.

I just thought to explain it to the mechanic I had to have some sort of vocabulary he would understand.

I had an inspection after this started but the inspection was where I bought the tires and I'd rather have a real garage do any work. So I didn't mention it. I know where to go that is handy and they are honest and reasonable.