So I just bought an 87 944 with 122,000 miles. Did not come with any maintanance records other then some suspension and brake work. So today I was getting ready to slap on a new timing belt, took off the covers and saw a great looking belt, here's a couple pics:




What do you guys think? Should I go ahead and replace it? Coz it looks damn near new to me.

 

I don't think it looks that great, the added peace of mind of 'knowing' its new will help you sleep better too.

 

Why wouldn't you replace it if youre already in there? Belts are cheap and it takes 5 minutes to put a new one in. Buy a kricket if youre not comfortable hand tensioning it.

 

Looks mean very little when it comes to belts. If you don't know how old it is, it's too old.

 

YUP - Change it!

 

Welcome to Rennlist - change that belt, it's cheap!

 

Alright looks like I'll do just that. Just have a few questions, do I need to remove the balance shaft gear? And how tight should I tighten the new belt? I've changed belts before on BMW e30's and it was very simple. I read that I need a special tool for the 944 belt, I plan on hand tighting it anyway, how much play should there be? When I twist it at a point how much of angle will I be able to get it too? Thanks for your help guys.

 

5 minutes.

 

Heres the rule I made up and it has worked for me on my two 944s (3 belt jobs) and two other 944s I helped work on.

I tension it so that when you push down on the timing belt (right below the cam gear), the belt comes close but doesn't touch the plastic housing.

Once you take the balance shaft belt off (be very mindful of the balance shaft sprocket position!) the timing belt will slip under the pulley at the crankshaft. Then you just tug at both ends to seat it in the teeth.

Many have used the $13 Kricket belt tensioning tool with much success (you can pick it up at nearly all auto parts stores).

And really, once you have the belt covers off, it only takes 5 minutes.

 

Just do the belt man. While you are in there you may find that the PO did not change your tensioner or other roller. This could save you MUCH aggervation. Ask me how I know? See some of my other posts, or simply listen to the wind and when you hear cursing from the northwest, you will know.

 

Few more questions. I plan on also replacing all the seals and waterpump gasket while I'm in there. I take it I have to remove all the rollers and tensioners. I also need to remove the balance shaft gear correct? Is there a way to remove it without using a flywheel lock? Also how do I remove the idler sprockets? They turn freely when you turn the nut holding them on. And if I were to order the reseal kit from paragon does that contain every seal I would need? And lastly, any additional advice?

 

Meh, when it comes to products made of rubber and steel I believe looks can tell one quite a bit. I've seen intact belts much worse looking than that, though of course you should change it as a precaution.

Idlers that will spin without any resistance are supposed to be replaced, though I never replace any of that stuff until I can actually sense bearing wear (hanging up while spinning or noise), though I have my timing covers off about every 5k or so, so I usually will find problems before they wreak havoc.

I always tension by hand and have had no problems on my Turbo or 16 valve cars, but that's just me. The kricket has worked well for those that I've seen use it, just don't waste your money on that Porsche tensioning tool.

 

oh. and go ahead and take those timing belt covers off while your in there.
then you can check the belts whenever you feel like it.

(muahaha. building up my no-belt-cover army!!)

 

Ive found that tensioning the timing belt until I cant spin the waterpump by hand is a pretty good guage for how tight it should be tensioned.

 

I've seen belts in worse condition. Still replace it if you have no record of it being changed.