Lorax

it's not that bad. if you have the late car spring autotensioner just use that then drive it to the dealership to have it retensioned 1000 miles later.

double check to make sure your autotensioner is half decent by using the physical check

Mike C.

I've been doing the belts on my car since I bought it in '88 with no problems. It isn't that hard if you have the right tools. As a minimum, a flywheel lock and a properly bent wrench to counterhold the tensioner while you tighten up the lock nut (assuming it doesn't have the spring tensioner). As to the need for a special tool to tension the belts, that is another particular can-o-worms.... Some people say they are able to get the T-belt off without removing the front crankshaft bolt and sprockets but I've found it to be a very tight fit (when the plastic cover is still in place) and I don't think it a good idea to bend the belt too much when installing. YMMV...

If you plan to do a water pump and must remove the rear belt cover, a pin wrench (to hold the balance shaft sprockets) will make life much easier.

schwank

Yeah I did forget to add that. More than the tensioning tool, the other tools from the arnnworx kit are the most valuable... the offset pulley wrench and the pin wrench.

Yummybud924

i'm going to change just my timing belt this monday probably so I'll get my camera out and take some pictures for you guys.

Luis de Prat

Thanks for all the responses, and especially to Yummybud924 for offering to take pics next time around! I'll never forget the time you did the oil pan gasket on your 944 and put the car up on blocks. You posted some pics and asked if it was secure enough to work under when most of us rely on a pair of jackstands at most. You may not have had a lot of previous mechanical experience, but you were thorough, that's for sure!

Eddie, you can buy a belt and roller kit from any of the Rennlist sponsors in the sidebar. The S2 will take 2 belts and 5 assorted rollers, IIRC. As for the S2 belt job being a bit different, yes, I think there are a few additional steps on the 16V engine, like threading 3 bolts into the distributor housing to preserve the timing.

At any rate, people like Landseer who've done 928 belts are obviously extremely adept at this kind of maintenance work. Thanks for those photos, btw! My biggest fear is setting the tension wrong and grenading the 16V head. I've read through the Arnnworx 920X instructions once or twice but it would be nice to see a DIY of someone actually using the tool to use as guidance.

Good stuff you guys!

theedge

No......

I think the only thing im not a virgin of on my car is taking the transaxle apart...

Multiple engine remove/reinstalls, two rebuilds , a clutch job the painful way, multiple transaxle remove/reinstalls, dash R/R, torque tube rebuild...

So transaxle rebuild, oh and doing the rod bearings with the engine in the car. But the engine is so easy to remove now id never do bearings with the engine in.

Yummybud924

haha, yeah I'm pretty careful and obsessive sometimes. I was just reading an article about timing belt failures and setting the correct tension is pretty important.

a belt that is overtightened or undertightened can cause more stress on the teeth of the belt and then you get teeth shredding off.

but anyways I'll probably post pics on monday or tuesday as I plan on replacing my belt on monday because i just inspected it and the facing on one of the teeth seems worn through and it's making me worry. I'm just replacing the timing belt though and not the pump or oil seals, those were all replaced before.

the main think you need to worry about is proper tensioning of the belts.

and if you're replacing the water pump be prepared to break bolts in the block.

Yummybud924

heres the article I found (About belt failures).

http://www.mlcmotorfactors.co.uk/Tro...mingbeltTT.pdf

mark_uss

done just 3 on my 84 944...lot of fun..and pain..

JakeS2

After I had my balance shaft rollers almost melted due to wrong tension applied by a real mechanic - I decided to do the work myself.

BeerBurner

I have found that the intimidation of doing the belt is far worse than acctually doing it. Once you get into it, the only thing that makes the 944 more "complicated" than a regular car is the fact that you have two belts to muck with... not that either one is difficult, it just takes a little more time to do two versus one.

BB.

tod84944

Timing belt changes are pretty straight forward on our cars. I do a lot of repair work on the side for folks, and have done many belt changes. On everything from a 83 to a 968. I went into my paper work mess last week to see how many cars that I have worked on in 08. I ended up doing 13 timing belt swaps!!!! 4 were on my cars!!

jstand22

I did my first head gasket/waterpump/timing belt job this year and looking back it was no where near as hard as I thought it would be. I'm excited for my next one.

theykallmekem

thank you landseer those pictures are great ^_^ !! i should add a digital camera to my toolbox and i like the way you plugged your sparkplug holes

PorscheDude1

No virgin here.
It's only kinky the first time.
5 belt changes to date with no failures.