whiggins

I ordered cam and balance shaft belts from a large online supplier. I noticed the Gates boxes have no hologram. The date code on the cam belt is 0958SS. Did they just send me a belt made in 2008? If so, I'm not very happy. Why would any supplier keep belts for 10 years and then sell them.

wildcat077

Never knew the belts had a manufacturing date on them ... i just recently ordered all the belts for my new engine, curious
as to what the numbers will show !

Jfrahm

I wouldn't worry about it, if it wasn't stapled to the roof of the shed or sat out next to an ozone generator it'll be fine.

royalschwarz

I have a set of belts sitting here waiting to go onto my car. I ordered them maybe 6 months from Amazon. The timing belt has a code of 1385SS which doesn't fit any date code theories online (85th week of 2013? 13th week of 2085? Stretching a bit and maybe day 5 of 13th week in 2018?) Boxes do not have holograms and none of the 'identifiers' Gates states should be on their packaging. With that said though, they came in the same boxes I've always gotten them in for the last 10 years. I'm not too concerned with it as the one and only time I got a factory belt from Porsche, it was 12 years old.

whiggins

From searching around, always dangerous, I've read the "095" is the 95th day and the "8" is the year. They don't seem to make a distinction for the decade. So, it could be 2008 or 2018. It is beyond understanding why they can't just stamp a real date on the belt. There is no information on their website. It appears you have to call to get an answer.

They do say their belts have an 8 year shelf life under normal controlled storage conditions.

Swenny

If the large supplier is rockauto then you're out of luck. I bought the accessory belts from them ('87 924) and both were dry and cracked when I checked them. I complained and they sent me the same crap. Now I go to autohausaz ( I'm not getting paid to say that) and I'm a happy camper. Partsgeek,pelican,autohausaz seem to have quality stuff, IMO.

mrgreenjeans

It does behoove me to ask this:

why not just order a critical part of the valve train componentry such as a timing belt, right from Porsche? If it breaks and destroys your valve train, at least you can take it up with them.

I buy all my parts from Porsche and get my discount applied via my membership in PCA. No real extra cost, no shipping hassles or wait, just go in and pick up my belt and no worries

royalschwarz

Perhaps you missed it in my previous post, the one and only time I bought one from the Porsche dealer the belt was 12 years old. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I'm not going to install something that's 4 times out of date. I'll take my chances with fresher rubber bought elsewhere.

wildcat077

Porsche dealers are only good for specific dealer only hardware items ... as for the expendable stuff, it's way cheaper elsewhere !

Wisconsin Joe

Because in some cases, the "Porsche" part is simply a part from an outside manufacturer (Gates, Bosch, ect) put in a box with the crest and a huge markup.

Don't bet on Porsche standing behind any part that they sell.

If you buy (for example) a timing belt from Porsche, and it breaks, they will likely tell you to go after the tech that installed it. And if it wasn't them, don't bet on any compensation.

No Lag