jyoon

Wondering if the aftermarket timing belt paragon sells is good enough. The OEM is $38, and the aftermarket Continental is $11.50. I'm tempted to go with the aftermarket one cause the OEM is rediculously more expensive and they are changed at a relatively short interval compared to other cars. Anyone have any bad luck or experience with the aftermarket ones?

hosrom_951

Well, i always thought that the OEM was made from Continental, guess i was wrong.

I know that it's ok to use the aftermarket ones, but need to be replaced at 45,000miles (60,000kms) unlike the OEM which lasts 60,000miles (80,000kms)

I think?!

marky522

nope, i believe the rule is change them at 45K, I would like advice on anyone that has used the gatorback belt??? When my dad's 924s busted the belt he got one from autozone, so i could retime and check for damage.

Mark

Don 944 LA

I would think that the belts are the most important thing to be 100% sure of. I would go with OEM if you can, but thats coming from someone that has his fingers crossed. I haven't done mine, and have no idea when there were done last.

tod84944

My mechanic uses the Cont. belt. The original belts that came on the cars from the factory were Pirelli. They were crap so Porsche switched to the Cont. made belt.

Legoland951

I have always used continental and have changed over 100 timing belts on these cars without any problems. I change them at 60k miles and have seen them last longer than that on other people's cars and not seen them break. I believe proper tensioning is the key here.

RMills944

Well, belts are like seals, so I'll tell the story again (this was in a thread a long time ago)

A vacationing penguin is driving through Arizona when he notices that the oil-pressure light is on. He gets out to look and sees oil dripping out of the motor. He drives to the nearest town and stops at the first gas station.

After dropping the car off, the penguin goes for a walk around town. He sees an ice-cream shop and, being a penguin in Arizona, decides that something cold would really hit the spot. He gets a big bowl of sardine ice cream and sits down to eat. Having no hands, he makes a real mess trying to eat with his little flippers.

After finishing his ice cream, he goes back to the gas station and asks the mechanic if he's found the problem. The mechanic looks up and says, "It looks like you blew a seal."

"No, no," the penguin replies, "It's just ice cream."


MORAL: ALWASY USE FRACTORY SEALS/BELTS!!

Tony K

Just visually inspecting the belts, the Continental ("Conti-Tech") appears to be so much better quality than the several others I have seen --this is regarding both timing/balance belts and altenator/pwr steer belts. The others I have seen just feel flimsy in comparison. The most I put on a Conti timing belt was 52k miles, the majority of which were accompanied by a leaking front seal. I trust them, and wouldn't put any other on my car. I am under the impression that they are the best you can get for these cars.

Cheers,

Peckster

If you think $38 for a belt is ridiculous you're driving the wrong brand of car.

Seriously, the other belt is probably OK but given the risk I'm going OEM.

tifosiman

Agreed.

And for some levity, I just bought an OEM Nissan Pathfinder timing belt for $52.00 at the dealer.

Tony K

The problem with "OEM" is that it sometimes translates to "whoever PCNA most recently made a deal with to supply parts". For example, several weeks ago on here, someone realized that the Porsche oil filter from the dealership was the same filter you could buy under the "STP" brand. At other times, parts vendors other than Porsche dealers improperly use "OEM" when what they are really selling is a substitute. For example, I bought an "OEM" head gasket set for my 83 a year ago, and what I got was "Victor Reinz" - which is Dana corp. I don't recall where the gaskets were made, but I did note that it was not Germany, Austria, Belgium, or Sweden, so I highly doubt that they were the same gaskets that were used at the factory. Maybe Victor Reinz was a manufacturer in Germany or Austria at one time (I have no clue), but if they were, Dana bought them, and now what carries the "Victor Reinz" name may or may not be (most likely is) a different gasket from a different plant. But once again, given that they were not made in a country you would expect the original Porsche parts to come from, I seriously doubt today's "Victor Reinz" gaskets have anything to do with "OEM" (I hope I am totally wrong here, though). I have bought "OEM" thermostats within a month of each other that were from different manufacturers. So I am a bit cautious when I see "OEM".

I try to find what manufacturer made the part that went on the car back when it was made, and use that, whether or not is is currently the part that comes in the box labeled "Porsche". If I can not find what that is, I will buy the "Porsche" part. If that is not available, I go with something made in Germany.

Cheers,

Tony K

My first "OEM" alternator/ac belt that I bought only had 5 ribs on it. Funny, the pulleys have 6 grooves. The Conti belt has 6 ribs...

Geo

The peace of mind is worth the additional $26.50 to me.

tifosiman

That is a function of early v late 944's. The pulleys have a different number of grooves in them.

Tony K

I don't care how much it cost - I want to get the best belt for the car. The Conti's just look and feel to be better-constructed. When you buy a belt in a Porsche box, who knows, they might get their belts from 2 or 3 different suppliers?!? I am sure they are all good.