944 S2 Cam belt time life?

[235tonyw]

Hi All, Bought my S2 cab last year already had new belts fitted approx 7k miles ago by previous owner but that was 5 years ago!
Can Anyone please confirm Porsche recommended time frequency for change & those in the know (long term owners/mechanics) if I should be concerned at time lapse or concentrate on the mileage recommended replacement period?

Any pertinant feed back welcome!

Regards

Tony W.
944 S2 Cab

 

[pauljmcnulty]

Bought my S2 cab last year already had new belts fitted approx 7k miles ago by previous owner but that was 5 years ago!

Change as a matter of urgency. Belts have a four year MAXIMUM life, regardless of mileage, and failure is terminal for the engine.

I'm not trying to be overly dramatic, but I would not start the engine until it's done if it were my car. I've heard of several cases of belts failing between four and five years old. [&o]

 

[pegasus]

Hi Paul,Four years maximum life,most aircraft parts have a shelf/storage life,and are traceable year /month manufactured etc. How do you know how old your "new" belts are before you fit them and surely this should be taken into account when replacing belts on low annual milage cars. I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on this, all the best John.

 

[jasonp]

hiya tony, get them changed asap mate, better to be safe then sorry,when i first took my s2 home, according to services records etc i had another year and 10,000miles to next change, but i had them changed almost immediatly ,just was having a mechanical overhaul/check at my specialists at the time and thought earlier change as car hadnt been used much in the 2 yrs before i bought her, i think always be safe then sorry, next belt change for me in 37,000miles or 3years regards jason p

 

[pauljmcnulty]

ORIGINAL: pegasus

Hi Paul,Four years maximum life,most aircraft parts have a shelf/storage life,and are traceable year /month manufactured etc. How do you know how old your "new" belts are before you fit them and surely this should be taken into account when replacing belts on low annual milage cars. I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on this, all the best John.

Only that it's all the more important to stick to the schedule the belt manufacturer lays down. The belts that fail after, say, 4 1/2 years might, indeed, be several years older than that. At least a belt on a shelf is in a less hostile environment than one fitted to a car; from day one it will be open to heat, oil contamination etc.

I guess that using a supplier with a high turnover is good practice.

 

[NEIL2]

Hi i have seen cam belts fail in months due to oil leaks on engines , also a leaking water pump can cause belt skip if water builds up on crank pully when engine stopped , i always do a visual check on my belts every main service just to be sure , just out of interest i have repaired loads of renaults with belt failure days over recomended time for change regardless of miles covered !!!!! i have also fitted plenty of belts to vw cars years over time and belts disintegrate on removal but did not fail in use !!!!! i will always replace belts on any car i purchase just to be sure far cheeper than a recovery and top end rebuild ..

 

[ChasR]

I was almost sold a 4 year old belt to put onto my S2 when I owned it. I politely refused and asked to get some fresh Dayco belts in. Yes, it was a bit cheeky, but they were factory fresh (they normally come with date stamps on the sealed boxes) and it gave me a little more peace of mind.

 

[pegasus]

Yes that's what I meant,the belt material must degrade from the time of production,we know that water and oil leaks will degrade belts but that is a separate issue,does the four years mean one year on the shelf and three fitted to the car,and in your case if you fitted the four year old belt,did the new belt need changing before you fitted it. I think that porsche should give a shelf life and a fitted life to clear this up as in aircraft.

 

[NEIL2]

Hi good point any man made material will degrade over time , a belt stored for 10 years in nice warm conditions might be ok but what happens if its exposed to heat, cold ,sunlight, damp ect it may be scrap in 12 months ?

 

[ChasR]

ORIGINAL: NEIL2

Hi good point any man made material will degrade over time , a belt stored for 10 years in nice warm conditions might be ok but what happens if its exposed to heat, cold ,sunlight, damp ect it may be scrap in 12 months ?

I beg to differ.

In a vacuum yes, I'd agree but they are still exposed to air which will age the belt. Hell, Michelin advise you not to put tyres on a car that are any older than 3 years old, irrespective of their condition/tread left.

Driving on older stored tyres, it's easy to see why.

FWIW, the two specialists near me (and I believe Porsche schedule was this) said 5 years or 48,000 miles, whichever comes first. One specialist said it was not down to the belts for why they failed but moreso the tensioners.

He may have had a point. My old knackered S2 engine had a 5 year old belt on it with 20,000 miles on it. He did say it was a little loose though (but the belt was oil soaked).

 

[pauljmcnulty]

FWIW, the two specialists near me (and I believe Porsche schedule was this) said 5 years or 48,000 miles, whichever comes first.

It's four years, not five. And, they do, albeit occasionally, fail over four years old.

The only thing I can add to this thread is to suggest buying parts that deteriorate over time from a company with a good turnover. There might be cheaper options, but I don't worry about things like this because the guys I use are doing belts on 944s all day every day, 52 weeks per year. The parts just aren't getting a chance to stand around.

 

[NEIL2]

Gates shelf life 8 years if properly stored? honda 7 years

 

[Diver944]

Over the years of being involved with the Register I have lost count of the number (dozens and dozens) of cambelt failures and they are mostly caused by age - not all but most. I imagine Paul now gets an upsetting number of calls about the same thing, though hopefully these get less and less as we all bang on about it so often.

The Porsche interval says 4 years and very few that change them sooner than that have problems. Personally I have mine changed every 3 years. I prefer to pay a few hundred every now and then instead of a new engine or at best a new head []

 

[pauljmcnulty]

Over the years of being involved with the Register I have lost count of the number (dozens and dozens) of cambelt failures and they are mostly caused by age - not all but most. I imagine Paul now gets an upsetting number of calls about the same thing, though hopefully these get less and less as we all bang on about it so often.

Strangely there are less now, and only one or two mentioned here in the last year or so I think. I guess it's a combination of both increased awareness from us constantly reminding people, and more owners using forums so they get the advice rammed in to their heads. The recent non-starter with DME relay failure was the first I can remember for years, yet it used to be about once a week I had to break the good news to someone that it was a £20 part they needed to try first.

The really common query now is cars cutting out at random, with the FPR being the usual suspect. So, none of you need to ask that question now! [][]