BlackOp

Armans in Wicker Park. We'll see how this pans out...if the belt fails, he is on the hook. I would think he would want to take care of it. Next time I want someone who only deals with Porsche.

PorscheDoc

The timing belt and balance shaft tensioner rollers will still the original metal style rollers (the ones with removable snap rings for bearing replacement)....not the plastic/metals ones you see sold these days. In the 100's of 944's I have worked on, I have seen those original style rollers on 1 other 944, and that was a 60k mile 944 with full records and no roller change. The idle rollers spun with zero resistance and were very worn. They should have been replaced with the belts, it was a no brainer that they will not last the life of this set of belts.

PorscheDoc

lol, thats probably it. I just shoved a 997 x51 motor in a cayman which billed over $25k, I don't think I am after $100 in rollers and an hour of labor.

Airflite40

If the belt fails, good luck trying to get him to fix it on his dime.

I'll get together with my brain trust and get back to you since the 3 best shops I know of are outside the city.

philcav7

I don't think the shop would be obligated since the rollers do not have to be replaced with the belt, despite the fact that it's a good idea. I would check the bill and ensure that you were not charged for the labor/parts first, then go talk to him about it. Most likely, it was an honest oversight or he didn't feel like messing with the rollers so he didn't mention it.

For piece of mind, have the shops give you the old parts after your future repairs. As long as there is not a core charge on the part, they have to give them to you and you will know the condition of the item and that the repair took place.

After you talk to the shop, you should be able to determine if should go back.
The good news is the faulty parts were caught before a problem occured.

GloriaRedStang

The guy who did my PPI and the initial maintenance (new timing belt, hoses, and a/c conversion, and replace fluids) showed me a table of the old parts he had replaced, and pointed out some of the work he had done. He even gave me the remaining contents of the jugs of oil, coolant, and wiper juice to take home. He was a solo owner of a Porsche-only repair shop.

I'd never seen any mechanic - whether from a dealer or a privateer - do such a thing, and I found it to be quite professional. I was impressed. Needless to say he'll get all my business in the future.

BlackOp

OK....so I called him today. He said I would have to buy the rollers but labor is on him. I was a little disturbed by the fact he asked "why did you have the belt re-tensioned". I explained it was standard Porsche 944 protocol.....still he should know this right? Do I now have to have it re-tensioned again in another 2k? Here is where I had it done....looks like he is more of a BMW specialist. That could explain the re-tensioning question as those dont require it.

http://www.armansimportautoservice.com/

philcav7

So it seems that he didn't think of replacing the rollers? Perhaps it was a honest oversight due to lack of knowledge or experience with the car(as suggested by the "why did you get the belts re-tensioned" comment). Seems like he is offering to make things right and do what seems to be fair to both parties.

There shouldn't be much need for a second re-tensioning of the belts, since they would be beyond the stretching/break in phase. A belt will probably continue to wear and stretch over it's life but, will be most drastic on new belts.

Airflite40

yeah you do not need to retension it again, its recommended to retension after 2k because of the initial stretch of a new belt.

You can leave it after the rollers are replaced.

Spidey944

Sorry Doc, I did not know that you were the one that looked at it. Of course I trust your opinion, and did not want to make it sound like whomever looked at it was not correct, just offering opinions. Sorry if I offended in any way.

PorscheDoc

Lol, no offense taken If I would have had a camera handy, I would have taken a picture. Anyone who has done their own belts and rollers would agree that they should have been done with the belts.

mtccl

If you take it back to that guy then you deserve what you get. Yes the belts need to be retensioned during the first 2k miles..even on late models with the automatic tensioner. Move on to another shop. (I never send my food back to the kitchen because I expect someone to spit in it.)

And yes...learn to do it yourself and save thousands or at least learn what needs to be done so you can manage your own maintenance. That is why he posted that, because noone loves or knows your car like you; not even your BMW mechanic.

You asked for advice and got it. You're pissing over a couple hundred dollars worth of parts that you evidently did not tell the mechanic to replace. One of your posts says "it was to just replace the old belt." You could be on here just as easily complaining that the mechanic replaced parts I did not authorize because they were replaced 12k miles ago.