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On Monday I went to the mechanic to replace a ripped timing belt (red arrow in the picture). He also replaced some wheelie that was damaged. He told me that green circled box in the picture was the timing belt, and not the ripped belt (red arrow). Now, after I picked the car there is a vibrating and shaking feeling from the wheels/steering wheel when I turn left or right. What is the belt in the red arrows? what is inside that box? And any idea what he could have messed up?

This is a 2001 Subaru Legacy L.

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2 Answers 2

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Your mechanic did not steer you wrong (pun intended). The area with the red arrows is actually your drive or serpentine belt, not your timing belt. What he replaced (besides the belt) was either an idler or tensioner pulley, which probably caused the belt's demise in the first place. The timing belt should be located under the cover which you have circled in green.

While I cannot tell you exactly why you are getting a vibration while turning, but am wondering if the power steering pump might have been damaged as well when the belt let go. While there is an outside chance of this, it is at least plausible. The other two possibilities I can think of are related. One being a belt which is too long was installed or the pulley which was replaced is not providing the correct tension on the belt. This would most likely cause squealing from the drive pulleys though.

I would take it back to the mechanic and show him what's going on. He should be able to better tell you what is going on.

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  • I don't think there is much he could have done, unless it was intentional to cause this issue for you. Nov 4, 2014 at 21:09
  • There are two "accessory" belts on this car; if the arrows are pointing to the rear one in the picture, then the belt was for the A/C compressor, not the power steering pump, which is to the (car's) right of the alternator (just visible in the top left of this picture). The front belt drives the P/S and the alternator, and has no separate tensioner; the tension is adjusted via a bolt on the alternator. It's possible (even sensible) that both belts were replaced at the same time, but if tensioner was involved, that was the A/C belt's. @KingsInnerSoul
    – jscs
    Nov 5, 2014 at 20:22
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    Here's a pretty clear picture of the setup: subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f66/…
    – jscs
    Nov 5, 2014 at 20:23
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    Thats a pretty cool write up you got there! Nov 5, 2014 at 21:36
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The box marked in green is indeed the timing belt top cover. The belt you have marked with red arrows is the serpentine belt. The wheelie thing would be the serpentine belt tensioner. On your desription you have a problem with anything driven by the serpentine belt, and proberbly caused it to shred. Each item needs to be checked individually,

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