Whatever works for you. . .

I've seen people use this method with success, but to me it just seems like playing Russian Roulette with your engine. I've always used SOME sort of tool to verify/cross-check my work (the Kriket). Now I've finally got a 9201, so I know I'm going to sleep a heck of a lot better at night.

Just "wingin' it" to me seems both ballsy and reckless. . .

 

So whats the general consensus, 110 degrees for the balance belt and 90 for the timing belt? Jeez, no wonder my car sounds like a supercharger, i have that balance belt a little to tight i think. Either that its the idler pulley.

I really need to swallow hard and just buy the Arnnworx tensioner. Ive been putting it off for so long. The Kricket tool is usable with cars that dont have the spring tensioner, they are practically uesless for cars that do have it. I almost wish my '87 didnt have it, just more stuff that needs to be removed and take up space.

 

used the twist method -and tried the kricket- on three or four belts now. Never had a problem. The belt stretches within the first 500 or so miles anyway negating any special tool reading, so i usually run it just a tad towards the tight side and let it stretch alittle and then recheck the tension after 500-1000 miles. That being said, time to check my belt on the red car!

-Must have set every one by hand and checked them w/ the kricket to double check myself and its right on every time.

 

I had a shop that specializes in Porsches do the belts on my car the day I bought it. The owner did the belts by hand. About 1000 miles later I had sh944 help me re-tension my belts with the 9201. The cam belt was right on but the balance belt was way too tight.

Wasn't there a tread that had results from a 9201 and the kriket tool comparison?

 

First of all, take the chrome belt guide off, you can't twist it far enough with it on, second take the idle roller off, again you can't twist it freely with it on.

Then take the longest span of the belt and twist. You should get it to right around 90 degrees with a little effort. It takes a feel and a few belt jobs to get it right. I always checked the tension with the tool before I got a feel for it. I tensioned by hand (90 degrees) and checked, most of the time it was within specs. I then twisted it again to check the feel. The best way I have seen to do the balance belt tension is to actually use a thin snap-on 17mm (?) wrench. I just let it hang on the tensioner and gravity tensions it within specs every time. It's amazing. You will be amazed at how little tension is supposed to be on the balance belt. If it sounds like a supercharger then it's too tight.

Dal.

 

So has noone else heard/used the waterpump method i described earlier? Or am I the only one??

 

*Krikits*

 

I've never used the waterpump method before, and I've never heard of it before this post.
I am not certain how effective it will be, since it depends on the coefficient of static and dynamic friction between the timing belt and the water pump pulley, which as we know depends both on the tension on the belt, and on the material of each individual item. It is possible that there could be escessive variance there. It is also possible that it is a perfectly valid way of testing belt tension. I suppose if you were truly ****, you could experiment with varying belt tensions, and measure the torque it takes to rotate the water pump pulley?....

Anyhoo, If the timing belt is properly tensioned, it should turn 90* with little effort, then it should take moderate effort to go from 90* - 120*, and it should be slipping off your fingers long before you can twist it to 180*.

The balance shaft belt should take little tension to achieve 110*-120*, moderate effort to 170-180*, and more than that should be very difficult to achieve.
In all fairness the first time you tension the belts properly you will say to yourself 'Now, these are just too loose!', but after a while you will come around. Try checking them on a warm engine... Much tighter.

 

I'm liking the waterpump method. The more methods the better.

 

Whatever.......turns your crank! Errr........camshaft. And hopefully, it KEEPS turning it.

If, it works for ya.......great! I ain't going there, myself.

 

Pretty hard to tell the tension be feel let alone from a picture. 4.0 units feels almost the same as 2.7 units and is almost the same as 1.6 when I finally checked on my belts. Buy the 9201 tool if you plan on paying someone several hundred dollars for a tension.

 

There's no magic to a rubber belt. I learned setting "by feel" on watercooled VW's and noticed that the "twist" method came pretty darn close to the correct tension when a gauge was used.

It has to be tight enough so it doesn't skip teeth or slap, but loose enough so that it doesn't overstress the other pulleys. A belt is a belt is a belt...at least in this case. The concept in the 944 is no different from any other car.

 

Agreed.

 

I agree too. Its a little scarey how much fuss people make over the timing belt on these cars.. like if its not tensioned using the 500 dollar porsche tool to the exact specificaiton then its gonna snap and cause major damage. This is the reason most people get freaked out and decide not to do the belts themselves. Doing the belts was one of the easiest jobs ive had to do on this car. People on here make it seem like a life/death situation. Now im just gonna sit here and hope my timing belt doesnt snap after saying that!

-Jeff

 

Doing the belts is really simple, changing the waterpump was a bit of a pain in the *** .

I am borrowing a nice alternative to the 9201, Kricket and feel method, the Arnnworx AWX tensioner from a friend. Pretty cool looking piece, i am amazed at how someone can figure out how to make something work like this from scratch. I am going to give it a go sometime next weekend...after the supposed 1-foot of snow we are getting tomorrow passes!