911vet

Oshin: I should have been smart and bought a new belt before I started. Ccan you get one at NAPA/AutoZone? Or is it strictly a Pelican Parts item?

I'll let you know if mine turns uniformly or not. I would guess what you experienced is due to varying compression as the pistons move??

Oshin11

Yea I just figured its something like the cams pushing the rocker arms or something internal that makes it do that and when it turns "freely" there is nothing touching. I dunno I could be way off. I think my last belt said "Porsche Part # blah blah GOODYEAR" so I guess you can buy them anywhere. Tomorrow morning I am going to do one more valve check and then decide how many new rocker arm screws to purschase. Good luck I hope you dont run into any problems like I did. PS. Even with the backside method you are going to be a little lost at first unless you've worked on cars a bit before. Don't get discouraged, ask as many questions you need to, God knows I do

old man neri

I ran into a belt problem at my porsche shop. They told me they strangely ran out of the correct belt. Generic belts in that size were hard to find according to them. However, they did also say that there is a fairly common belt that is only 1mm wider and it should do.

Oshin11

911Vet: Since I won't be doing much on my car until the new parts arrive, feel free to call me if you need help. I'll PM you my number.

Amber Gramps

While things were going well with your rocker job I placed my first order with pelican for the parts to follow in your footsteps, but now.....I don't know. Dropped nut, loose screws, PM'd phone number to single hot chich in Ohio with loose belt, sounds way too dangrous.

Oshin11

911Vet is a woman?!?!?!

Amber Gramps

__________________
Shannon
87 Carrera Cabriolet, Carmine Red

parts is parts and she's got 'em

Oshin11

I never look at sigs, except for yours.

imcarthur

Shannon: Yes. You should have 1/4" or so of deflection. Deflect the belt (tighten) as you turn. It really helps to have the sparkplugs out, of course.

Oshin11: I have never heard of stripped rocker arm screws. Always something new. Somebody gorilla'd them. Good luck.

You just need to firmly snug the nuts since they're just locking the gap. If you over-tighten, you either round the nut with your wrench or strip the screws . . .

When all is said & done, it's not a tough job. Access is really bad on the cat side, so you will have to have a super shorty medium flathead screwdriver. I used a flathead drill bit locked in a small pair of visegrips iirc for a couple of them. Just don’t rush it.

Ian

911vet

Ian, et al: Off I go into battle armed with my Bentley, 101 Projects book, and a stack of printouts from Pelican and Rennlist.

It's good to know I've got back up here on the forum should the evil valves become too formidable a foe.

I've got the spark plugs out. Though I hear I should worry about carbon falling into the opening.

Oshin: Yep, I'm a hot chick with a Porsche and a loose belt
I'm going to try to tighten my belt if I can break the nut loose. (oh, that sounded really bad. or really sexy, I'm not sure!)

It's been soaking over night and I've got a friend who may be able to get more leverage on it than I can. I'm pretty strong, but sometimes there's no substitute for brute force on a 20 year old car.

Doug: Glad to hear you ordered the parts. If you're doing any of the jobs I've done, let me know. I'd be glad to give any advice I can. Especially on the door brace upgrade. It required more than "creative negotiating" as it says in the 101 book.

I'll give y'all an update later on my progress, or lack thereof! I'm not expecting to get too far today. I still have some preliminary stuff to do before I actually see a valve.

Thanks again to everyone. It is great knowing I'm not facing this alone.

imcarthur

People always yabber about something. It's just a car.

And yes Shannon, with some creative editing those statements above could sound so bad . . . hot chick . . . loose belt . . . been soaking overnite . . . get more leverage . . . but sometimes there's no substitute for brute force on a 20 year old . . .

Hahaha . . .

Ian

old man neri

Shannon: If I can adjust my valves and not have my engine explode on the highway shortly thereafter anyone can do it.

KC911

You are correct in regard to the compression affecting the resistance when turning the belt. When the belt is at the proper tension, it will slip unless you provide a bit of extra tension with your hand as you turn, and although removing the spark plugs will make it easier to turn, that's not a good idea imo. Get a belt from Pelican, and be aware that there are actually two widths sizes 9.5 vs 10 but both will work just fine. There's also some great threads on proper "belt tension" over there. Good luck!

ps: One should always have a spare belt in their tool kit

Keith
'88 CE coupe

Oshin11

So last night this smart engineer did some thinking, and all I have to say is BE WEARY OF THE BACKSIDE METHOD!!!! It is NOT as accurate as you think theyere is a GIGANTIC CAVEAT. PLEASE CALL ME IF YOU ARE DOING A VALVE ADJUST because 2.7racer did not mention this caveat. It is NOT a simple GO/NO GO deal. More to come tonight when I have time to post.

old man neri

My curiosity is aroused.