2004 legacy wagon ac belt

[OregonKJ]

I was driving down the freeway when I heard a high pitched squeal. I pulled over but didn't feel safe on the highway by myself. I turned my car on, the noise was gone and slowly drove 1/2 mile to the next exit. When I got somewhere safe I popped my hood and found I had broken a belt. A Good Samaritan came over and gave it a look. He said he though it was my ac compressor belt and I should be fine to drive it as long as the ac was off. I slowly drove the last 30 miles home with no problem.

 

How do I know if it is just the ac belt? Can I replace it by myself with my limited skills? If I have to take it in, how much will it be? Lastly, I think this belt was replaced only a year ago, is this type of failure normal?

 

Thanks for the help!

[Rooster2]

Not a normal failure............ It is easy to see if the A/C compressor pulley has a belt on it or not, that needs to be replaced, Also rotate the tension pulley. If it spins easily then it is good, if difficult to spin, then it is telling you the bearing has locked up inside the tension pulley, and needs to be replaced. None of this is hard work to do it yourself, or have a knowledgeable buddy do it for you.

 

 

If you need advise on how to do it yourself, let us know, we will walk you through the repair.

[OregonKJ]

I found a video online that makes it look pretty simple.  I am going to recruit some help (and some tools) to fix it this weekend.  Thanks for the suggestion with the tension pulley, I will make sure that it spins.