NS_Carguy

ok so I have found this show on YouTube Car SOS it is a British car show where they restore cars for unsuspecting owners .
twice now I have seen the lead mechanic change a timing belt by cutting the original belt down the center while it is in-place on the car removing half the belt , leaving the other half in place . This keeps the car in time . then he slips the new belt onto the gears , and cuts the remaining half of the old belt , removes it and slips the new belt all the way on .

it seems very quick and easy , and I can see why it works on the cars he does it on , but would the same procedure work on a 944 ?
check out this video and jump to time 15:00 to see what i mean

ddombrowski

its been awhile since I've done a belt change, but wouldn't the crank pulley make this difficult? The actual work of removing the belt and re-timing the engine isnt all that great. Its all the other things that have to come off the car that make a timing belt job laborious.

mikehayes

As mentioned, because of all the things that need to be removed in order to access the belt, usually all the rollers/tensioners are replaced at the same time as the belt. So while it does seem easier, it's a bit of a moot point with these cars.

NelaK

I've never done a timing belt on the 944 but I'm assuming there are also pulleys and the tensioner that need inspection/replacement? Not to mention that most of the work in a timing belt change tends to be in getting access or the "while you're at it" jobs.

Edit: I just googled it and the engine he did it on is a non interference design so it's a lot safer to improvise there.

931guru

I say, go ahead and try it and let us know how it works out.

Voith

I heard user with nickname special tool used to do this on 944:

V2Rocket

I don't see the point, a 944 belt change is probably one of the easier cars to do. Once you loosen the timing belt tensioner the belt comes off super easy.


on a 944 you ABSOLUTELY MUST change all the pulleys/rollers/idlers along with the timing belt. They DO NOT last long enough to survive 2 belt intervals.

reusing timing belt rollers ABSOLUTELY WILL CAUSE THE TIMING BELT TO FAIL 100% OF THE TIME and you will bend valves and need to remove the cylinder head to fix your cheapness. Also you'll get syphilis.

Wisconsin Joe

As was noted, there's a bunch of stuff that should be changed when the belt is done. The belt has to be all the way off for that to happen.

Also, what is the big deal about keeping the car in time?

That's what the timing marks are for. Line up the flywheel and the cam gear where they are supposed to be and you are good.
This isn't rocket science.

StoogeMoe

It will never work with the fixed tensioner either. Nice try though.

jderimig

I am just going to change the belt this weekend. Last belt change was 7yrs and about 1000 miles ago......Probably not needed, the belts are shiny....but its a good excuse to advance the cam.

pfarah7

++1 with V2, the additional $160.00 for tensioners/pulleys is cheap insurance.

Aivar88

Say what? I thought its ok to change rollers and water pump every other belt change?? Now its not OK anymore? Even if you are not tracking? Belts every 4 years, rollers and pump over 8 years not ok?

neunfünfeins

Lol. From loving a maintenance program that wasn't clean.

As an aside:
In this day & age of modern 100Kmi belt change intervals, requiring rollers able to withstand the same endurance...
It is rather bull$h!t that manufacturers couldn't have upgraded 944 roller/bearing designs by now to extend their service life, to cover at least a 2X belt change interval.
They have the technology.
(The answer of course is, why should they. Cha-ching! )

snb13

Belts & rollers every 3 years/30,000 miles. Waterpump every other belt change.

V2Rocket

it has NEVER been ok to reuse rollers on a 944 or really any other car when changing the belt.

they simply don't last that long, and putting a new, tight belt on old roller bearings just accelerates their early death. Yes, lots of cars have 60-100k belt intervals but they tend to use wider belts which allow for double row bearings or they have superior tensioners. The 944 has a 1970s spec manual non compensating tensioner so the tension is only really correct when the engine is cold...