Service Help

[Guest]

Hello Chaps,

Just bought this lovely 944 2.5 Lux (Gold ?) as a bit of fun. My avatar

85k miles (Aug 85 Reg) lots of Mot's certs / Service docs etc.

It has been stood/garaged for 2 years, but has had the rebuilt all the wheel bearings, track rods and brake calipers in the last 6 month's.

Going to start getting it road ready tonight.

What tips would you give to me for it's first service, I'm doing all the plugs / leads / oil change / fuel filter / air filters / wiper blades tonight.

Thanks - Great forum by the way will become a regular on here now doubt.

 

[xenon]

cambelt.

cambelt.

Cambelt.

Oh, and you may as well do the cambelt whilst you're at it. Just do that and say, the cambelt, and you'll be fine.
[]

 

[xenon]

and don't forget the balance belt either....[8|]

 

[geoff Ives]

And renew the tensioners.

 

[xenon]

and the rollers []

 

[Guest]

I'm totally thick when it comes to this kinda stuff, good job my cousin is a porsche mech..

Cambelts = timing belt ?

Rollers & Tensioners - what are they

 

[xenon]

Timing belt, yes. The timing belt and the balance belt wind around a series of tensioners and idle rollers to keep the whole thing together. If the belt jumps or snaps you're looking at extensive engine damage, with valves and guides needing replacement as a minimum.

If the car has been stored for a while it's even more important that you get them done as the belts will have deformed at the points of maximum curvature and will retain a bit of the shape - this can cause the belt to jump. (this is not 944 specific - generally).

944 belts are a subject of some controversy - they should be no different to many other interference engines about, although the timing belt in the 16v engines is more loaded than most. On all models the belt drives the water pump as well and even though they may carry no more mystique than belts on other cars, nobody on here would dissuade you from getting them done.

 

[Fred Hindle]

Hello, welcome to the crazy world that is Porsche.

Cam belt - speaks for itself if you know anything about engines.

Balance belt - This is what makes the four cylinder engine so smooth and vibration free. When I first drive a 944 (and being totally ignorant of them) I thought the engine was a straight six or V8 it was that smooth. And mine had a broken engine mounting due to the heat from the exhaust (another thing for your mate to check).
Porsche used this under licence from Mitsubishi. (So not part of Porsche technology!)

Rollers and Tensioners - The belts are slightly oversize so they are tensioned so that they don't slip. Rollers are to guide the belt on its twisty route and give the belt a better path.

The balance belt has been known to break and cause the cam belt to come off. This results in a rather large bill to repair / replace the cylinder head, valves etc.

The belts should be changed either every 36,000 miles or 3 years. If you have no definite record of when this was done then replace them. This is probably the most important assistance you can give to your wallet.

Cheers,
(Written before Xenon posted so some duplication but same advice).[]

 

[Guest]

Thanks xenon.. great help..

Is this the kinda thing I need.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=290136443000&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=019

Don't want to put work on my cousin

 

[xenon]

Yep, you should replace the balance belt too as Fred says. You can replace the belts DIY if you know what you're doing (you must lock the crank, cam sprocket and know how to put the engine at 1.5 deg before TDC) but you need (supposedly) the Porsche special tool to set the tension.

Zcacogp (Oli) on this board says that he sets the tension by feel and I have no reason to doubt the effectiveness of this technique, as long as you have some experience in knowing how the tension feels.

After fitting (1500 - 2000 miles) you should have the belts re-tensioned, in fact, my car is booked in on Friday for this very job.

 

[Guest]

Thanks all for your help.. much appreciated.

Where can you get a balance belt from.. Cost ?

Is that the belt located near the cam(timing) belt?

 

[xenon]

The balance belt is just in front of the timing belt, lower down. You can get the belt from any Porsche indy.

This is the layout:

http://www.clarks-garage.com/shop-manual/eng-10.htm

 

[Fred Hindle]

Try Porsch Apart (Simon Butterworth). He has always been very good at supplying 944 parts and is quick to send out.
Tell him Fred gave you his name and he'll charge you double [][].

Cheers,

Fred

 

[Guest]

http://www.porscheshop.co.uk/acatalog/porsche_944_belts_tensioners.html

Is this the sort of thing to get - the belt Kit 8V.. Does the price look reasonable..

Thanks for the tip fred I will also give him a shout..

 

[Fen]

Do the water pump as well - you don't want that to fail when you start driving the thing and have to take all the belts off again to replace it.

 

[ukporker]

And if the front of the engine looks at all oily you need to do all the oil seals on the front of the engine - they do tend to leak after a while - this will save the belts comming of again to do the job.
Good luck.

Richard
1987 944 T
Nautic Mettalic

 

[sawood12]

ORIGINAL: xenon

After fitting (1500 - 2000 miles) you should have the belts re-tensioned, in fact, my car is booked in on Friday for this very job.

It is very important to do this. My indy says that the overwhelming number of cars that do need the tension adjusting when the cars come back, needless to say mine did.

It has been said that this is uneccessary and they've been getting away with it for years but it is proper Porsche procedure, doesn't take long and any indy worth his salt wont charge you for the re-check, and in anycase the consequences of not doing it could be dire.

 

[Fen]

Actually some charge less for the initial job and then a small amount for the check so it balances out.

 

[Guest]

Quick update..

Did a couple of hours last night... the beast wouldn't start at first, but a new battery on and it eventually did.. coughed and spluttered and sound very very rough..lots of rubbish coming out the exhaust.. []
So we changed the plugs/leads/air filter. Drained the petrol, which had been stood in the tank for a while (looked black !), put some fresh in..

Started first time, no spluttering, engine sounded sweet.. my mate took it for a quick spin, not on public roads !, brakes very responsive, ran really well.. (he is a porsche mech)..

Only downside, found a small leak in the petrol tank.. but was reassured this could be fixed..

Tonight - oil change, check all the lights/replace duff bulbs/wiper blades.

Cambelt / Balance belt on order, should get done early next week, then off for a MOT..

 

[xenon]

That's great news and good luck!

Try and avoid caning it until you've had the belts done though - they could be deformed or perished and if one jumps or snaps you'll be sorry [:-]