Dangerous Dan

Or should I say shrieking belts? I replaced the cam belts shortly after purchasing my 84 n/a about 2,000 miles ago. Yesterday, when I jump started my daughters car, the belts squealed when she turned her motor over. The 944 was idling at the time. I then increased revs and she started her car without my belts slipping. Today, when I started to leave for work, the belts squealed again as I let out the clutch.

I know you're supposed to retension the belts after about 1,500 miles but the mechanic said he had never retensioned 944 belts before (that doesn't change the fact that they should probably be retensioned). My questions are:
1. is it the cam belts that are slipping?
2. Why would they slip under load? (Does the torque cause them to loosen because of engine movement?)
3. Can I retension them myself? If so, how do I know when they are correctly tensioned?

Thanks in advance.

Techno Duck

If your cam belt is slipping (which i hope its not) can lead to serious problems with the engine getting out of time. I would vote that the slipping belt is likely the alternator belt. Start the car and turn on the heavy electrical load items...rear defroster, headlights, tail lights...etc. If the squeel increases or you start hearing an intermitten "chirp" its the alternator belt. The belt on my 924S was never retensioned and squeeled like a pig when giving it gas. Retensioning that belt is easy. A turnbuckle holds the tension on the alternator. Loosen the locknut and rotate the turnbuckle to tighten the belt. You can probably do it without even jacking the front of the car, however if your car still has the engine pan you will need to get the car up on ramps or stands and take the pan off first.

Dangerous Dan

Thanks. I thought that might be the case. I'll check it out this weekend.