Matt O.

I picked up my car from Tony's Foreign Car in Wilmington today. They had closed up but one guy waited until 3:15 for me (they close at 3) because I had to drive down from Greenville (2.5 hours away).

Refresher: They changed the water pump, T-belt, balance belt, thermostat.

Anyway, they told me they test drove it and it runs great. So I pay (after correcting their calculations by $65 - they forgot the core charge for the WP), and go get in Argento.

I pull out and it seems as though I've uncovered 50 extra horses I didn't know I had. Why does it seem this way? I have no clue. It MAY have something to do with how loud it was...

There is ALOT of vibration in the stick at 3250 RPM, and again just above 4000 and just above 5000. EVERYTHING in the car vibrates at these positions on the tach. The car is disgustingly loud after I clutch as the RPMs drop occassionally, and after driving for 15 mins my right foot and right hand were numb from vibration.

The inside of the car is LOUD (read: REALLY REALLY LOUD) at those RPMs, and as stated everything but the kitchen sink vibrates (at least it seems).

I would have taken it back right then but they were closed by the time we got back by (we had to go to another store).

So what gives??? Is my timing belt about to explode or what? I really could care less because then Tony's will be buying me a new engine (jk - I really do care!!!)

Also, they could not for the life of them figure out why my fans would not turn off after the car got back down to cooling temp. If you remember the fans just stay on the entire time the car is running.

OH, and another fun part is that my driver's side door lock, the one with the blinking light for the factory alarm - yeah, well, that's BROKE completely off. I noticed when I went to lock the car and it stayed up. I unlocked and reached in and the thing came off with absolutely no effort. It was just placed back on.

If you can not tell, I am NOT HAPPY WITH TONY'S IN WILMINGTON.

When they open Monday I am going back down there, WITH ARGENTO, and am going to give them a chance to make it right. I will see how they deal with me, as a "kid". They main guy there seemed ok, nice guy and all, but this is uncalled for. I am frustrated with them and to have them say "we test drove it and it drives great" yet in reality I'm going deaf from just the ride home with all the vibration noise is just ridiculous.

Question - could it be that it takes a few weeks of driving for the timing belt and the automatic retensioner to properly stretch and settle and then the car will be back to normal? I'm going to take it out right now for a evening spin, get re-aquainted, and try to figure this out. But as always, ANY and ALL advice/comments/suggestions/horror stories are welcome.

Thanks,
Matt

Luke

Im very sorry you are having problems Matt.

booster

It sounds like they have your balance shafts out of sync. that can cause strange vibrations.

Lizard944

I would tell them "FIAT" (Fix It Again,Tony)
Seriously, sounds as if the balance shaft sprockets aren't aligned right. They had to remove the balance shaft sprockets in order to remove the waterpump, and some people f#@& up when putting them back on, by placing them back on the shafts incorrectly , and using the wrong slot on the sprocket that fits over the woodruff key. They need to make sure the sprockets are properly oriented on the shafts, and the b/s sprocket marks are in alignment with the tabs on the rear plastic belt cover housing before placing the b/s belt on.
As for the fans, sounds like the fan temperature switch is toast. Located on the upper driver's side of the radiator. It's default, when it fails, is to keep the fans constantly running, rather than not allowing them to turn on, thus cooking your engine. Could also be the fan relay switch located in the fuse box, but most likely is the temperature switch. BTW how is the engine temperature? Make sure your shop has purged all of the air out of the cooling system.


Lizard

Perry 951

Totally agree on the balance shafts being out of whack.

Just be stern with them. It was not like that when you took it in, and it should not be like that when you leave. I had the same issue happen with my Talon. It took 6 months and 5 dealers to replace the head (timing belt let go under warantee), put it together, and make it right. It had a serious vibration problem, and none of the dealers thought to check the shaft alignment. Finally, one little mom and pop place took care of it in about 3 hours.

AndyK

Hey Matt--Sounds like you have your answer as to why the vibrations are killing you. All you have to do is hope Tony's knows how to align the shafts!

Good luck!

Hey, not sure if this is the way it is supposed to be, but MY engine vibrates when the RPM's drop below 2k--kinda sounds like I am in the wrong gear till the tach hits 3k--and when I am doing below 60 MPH in 5th gear, same moaning vibration fills the cabin. could MY balance shaft belts be mis-aligned?? Are my motor mounts on the way out? Or is this just the way the 2.5 does business??

Andy

Keith924S

Matt,

I just picked up my (new to me)87 924S that had the timing belt and balance belt done (water pump/thermostat also) and there is no vibration at any rpm or gear. Noted on the invoice is Cambelt Sprocket and Roller for the Cam Belt and Tensioner. Done at Mantis Racing in Oakville, Ontario. Love those people!

Was explained to me that the rollers are always replaced by them. Also, I thought tensioners were usually replaced (they are on Bimmers/I'm too new to Porsche to know).

QUESTION: Is a check of the cam belt tension necessary after so many miles after installation? Mantis want me back, but I forgot what they said.

Al Cody

Yea, the belts settle in, so get it checked around 1000 miles. I put in after market belts and they were real loose after 500 miles. <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

Keith924S

Ok, thanks for that. What a pain in the ***, 2.5 hour drive each way! They told me that it was a cold engine adjustment so that will make for a very long day. Looks like I'll be checking out the tech section info on belt replacements and TENSIONING steps.

John Welch

That sucks Keith. You shouldn't have any problem getting them to fix this. Of course, the time you have to waste isn't free but...

MadMax

Matt,
I would certainly take my car back and get it done right. Good luck.

Keith,
The proper retension should be done between 1500-2000 miles after initial replacement. Belt tensioning is a 'cold engine' adjustment. Most Porsche dealerships want the car overnight to do the adjustment correctly.

Max

IceShark

I was going to mention what Max said. Cold means sitting overnight. I've never had it explained to me properly but must have something to do with the belt fully returning to its original "memory" state.