Yummybud924

I did my belts rollers wtaer pump etc 2 months ago and my car is an 85.5 with manual tensioner. i'm having problems figuring out if my belt is tensioned correctly.

I have the kricket but the instructions online to use it don't seem right. you are suppose to set the tension the belt 1.5 teeth before tdc but I am pretty sure the belt is not suppose to be 40 pounds at this point because if you turn it to tdc after it will be 50 pounds and I know that is way too tight. I've had my belts tensioned a few years ago by a shop and it was not that crazy tight.

now if I set it to 40 pounds at tdc it still feels too tight. a few people here have mentioned that you should be able to turn the water pump by hand at tdc when the engine is cold but if I set it to 40 pounds at tdc with my kricket I can't turn the water pump.

so ended up tensioning it so that I can turn the water pump (not very easily) by hand when at td and cold engine and the kricket get's a faulty reading when I put it on the centre of the belt because it touches where the belt guard mounts (belt guard has been removed and roller also removed) so i'm guessing the tension the kricket is reading is like 30 ish pounds.....

i'm worried that it may be a bit too loose now but the belt isn't flopping aroudn or anything and it get's tighter when the engien gets hot.

is the water pup turn method better than teh kricket method? because I believe with the kricket i'm setting it too tight, when teh engien gets hot the belt almost feels solid with little flex.


oh and I don't really trust the shops here. I took it to weissach and last time they charged me I think 125 dollars and I doubt they actually use the porsche tensioning tool and probably just set it by feel. also another shop (Scan) told me 150 bucks to set the tension and they are pretty far from me.

V2Rocket

set belt tension to the point you can twist the belt between thumb and forefinger about 90 degrees. done

Yummybud924

^ thanks, but that is way too subjective. I can twist the belt 90 degrees at various tensions like 30-50 pounds on the kricket.

Yummybud924

right now my belt is not reading on teh kricket and i stopped using it because I made it looser and the kricket touches the mount for hte belt guide.

I have set it so I can turn the water pump pully at tdc when the engine is dead cold but this is also a bit subjective (how easy should the pump turn). I have set it so there is some resistance when turning the pump as in you can't just spin it easily but it is also not super hard to turn.


and yes I can turn it about 90 degrees at tdc.

V2Rocket

...the highest tension you can set it and still do the twist...

Luis de Prat

Yummybud, you're the fellow who had trouble using the P920X from Arnnworx, aren't you?

What wasn't working for you when you tried it? Sounds like the Krikit is not much better.

Reimu

I bought arnnworx's new tool and although it's anything but precise, it does "feel" like it sets them right.

1nice944

Thanks for the advice V2Rocket,on the twist at the longest point the roller is in the way,do you have to take that roller off?and what would be the way to tell if it is too tight or too loose,I read too tight will mess up your water pump.thanks again for all your info.

St3mpy

Remove the roller at the center. Set it using the twist method. Turn the engine over a few turns. Check tension again. Clean grease off hands, grab water pump pulley. It will be hard, but you should be able to turn the pump.



As far as being "subjective", you're dealing with a rubber belt mounted to a metal that varies size greatly with thermal expansion running at various rpm's. Of course it's going to be subjective.

St3mpy

When you check the belt tension using the twist method, turn the cam pulley 1.5 teeth CCW, then check. When you turn the pump to check, don't turn the engine CCW.

mikey_audiogeek

Are you following the method exactly? You are supposed to rotate the engine CW 2 revolutions to TDC, then CCW by 1.5 teeth. It is important to do the CCW step to get the slack on the correct side of the belt.

Grandpa#3

The Kricket tool is a piece of junk. A simple tool is the Optibelt Tension Tool at the link below. Scroll down to the last entry Install & Maint. and scroll down to the tool. You will still have to take 4-5 readings.
Follow Clark's Garage.com instructions.

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

http://www.optibelt.de/index.php?id=77&L=1

Cheers,
Larry

F40LM

For what it is worth, I agree.

After 4,000 miles hard miles it has worked for me. Knock on wood.

Yummybud924

yup I bought the arrnworx tool a couple years ago, it was the one with the dial gauge. I followed the insturctions exactly and it would set my belt really really loose so I didn't use it. I know there is no way the timing belt was suppose to be that loose.

I can get okay readings with the kricket but I think the instructions to use it are not correct. the instructions online say to set teh tension 1.5 before tdc but i am pretty sure you just adjust the tension at 1.5 teeth btdc and set it back to tdc to check tension (40 pounds).

because I had a porsche shop tension it for me once and I checked with my kricket and it was about 30 pounds before tdc and 40 pounds at tdc.

if you set it to 40 pounds before tdc and then roll it back to tdc and check it again it will be around 50 pounds at tdc and when the engine heats up it will be crazy tight and i'm pretty sure your belt will break pretty fast running it that tight.

right now i'm following the water pump method. being able to turn the water pump when at tdc.

Yummybud924

also didn't know the twist method was 1.5 teeth before tdc that would make it tighter than I have it now.

i'm thinking of buying that new arnnworx tool it's 50 bucks plus shipping I searched online and some say it's not accurate at all and some say it's good as it's based on factory tool to check the 928 belt tension.