Need some advice about doing a belt change on my 944S2, which is up for sale. It's a very low annual mileage car. The belts have about 10k mi, and are about 10 years old. I thought that was an ok interval, but I've read many posts saying that is on the old side, so I want to be sure and do it before sale. The best Porsche guys in my area are very expensive, so I want to do the minimum. But of course, people say do it all when you are in there...but I am not doing it myself.

My question is - what is the reasonable amount of service I should do? I was planning maybe the kit with rollers and 2 belts. And the tensioner pads. The water pump has 35k miles. The chain may be original, need to check. The car runs really great, so only want to do what I need to do to avoid a dry rot issue, etc.

Any comments appreciated. Thanks!

 

I would recommend doing belts, rollers, and chain tensioner pads at a minimum. The water pump is possibly OK but if it were my car I'd just do it since it's been such a long time.

I wouldn't worry about the cam chain, though. My S has over 200k on the original chain with no signs of wear. I'll be replacing it when I tear down the engine, but that's only because the cams have to come out anyway to have the head rebuilt. Might as well do it at that point.

 

I see from your ad you have about 100K on the car.

10 years is no big deal for a timing belt. Maybe it would be if the belt was made in 1983. I have several belts in service over 10 years, they are fine. 968, 928S4. I changed a 10 year old 10K mile 928S4 belt recently as I was doing a water pump. The old belt was fine, looked about the same as the belt with 4K on it in my Audi S8. But a new one was like $18 so what the hell, I was in there.

Water pumps should go 120K easily, I would not change one at 60K but I would at 80K if I was in there on other business. There is too big a risk of a bad replacement part.

The cam chain tensioner top pad is getting close in your case but I would not change it unless someone was in there for inspection. Otherwise I'd probably suggest changing the top pad with the next belt at about 120K-125K and then doing both pads and the chain at the next belt in the 175K range, maybe a head gasket if the coolant has not been maintained.

There is a lot to be said for a part that is in-service and doing it's job well within it's service life. Bolts fatigue, new parts are bad (often counterfeit) mechanics make mistakes and all this stuff costs money.
These belts need to be re-tensioned also, you or the new owner should do that right away.

If you have a buyer freaking out about the age of the timing belt they should want to have it replaced within the relationship with their mechanic and not done by your person who will get paid and never see the car again. They should also chill out, worrying about a 10 year old timing belt suggests to me that Porsche ownership is going to be pretty stressful and expensive for them.

A timing belt is not going to suffer for 10 years in the environment unless you nail it to the roof of a shed or something.

-Joel.

 

I just had my timing belt done on my S2. Similar situation. 7k on the belt, 7 years ago. With 64k total I found the water pump had not been replaced. Anyway there's too much to damage, so I had it all done. I would expect with few miles 3 or 4 years from now I'd do the belts again, but not the rollers or pump.
My mechanic did say my oringinal rollers with 64k were getting dry. Going to replace the pads next. Then should be good without fear of something breaking.
With total access you really should do the water pump while your there.

 

Do the belts ASAP.
At least inspect the plastic chain pads.

Where are you located?

 

Thanks for the comments everyone, very helpful... There is so much conflicting information about this belt maintenance. Some people definitely get crazy about a 10-year-old belt. But the car is rarely driven and spends most of its time in a very clean garage. I have not been too worried, but with putting it on the market, I've gotten lots of questions on this subject.

Here is the main thing: the engine is running so nice. Super smooth and better than ever. So I hate to mess with anything, because the only thing that can happen is that it won't be as good. Maybe it will squeal and all that stuff. But I do understand that it may be time for fresh belts, or those tensioner pads... The downside of a problem is too expensive to contemplate.

If I were buying the car, I'd negotiate on price and then have my own mechanic do everything. But buyers so far don't seem interested in that. So I still plan to do the belts, rollers and pads. The water pump was done around 65K miles, so it really should be ok. Again, everything is running perfectly right now so I do not want to mess with more than is absolutely necessary.

And what about 10 year old tires? I have the same problem there. They are perfect, only 10k miles. No signs of age, but still may need updating. Hopefully someone will realize this is a great car to own because it has had great maintenance, and only light use!

 

I've done a ****load of 944 belt jobs over the years.
After removing the timing belt and inspecting it, I've never seen one over 3 years old, that I would want to keep using.

Maybe it's a dry climate thing out here, but belts get dried out, start to crack and get frazzled by the 3 year mark in CA.

 

Thanks...I'm in the Northeast (it's way too damp here...wish I was in CA). I think the dry climate does change things a little. My garage stays pretty cool. All the rubber on the car looks the same as when I bought it.

 

The only dry timing belt I have handled was off my 1998 4runner. I changed it when I bought the truck with 185K on it. It was the factory one (spark plugs likewise, it's easy to tell). The belt was leathery but I would not say it was cracking. The climate here is very dry also. The previous 4runner I had, changed the belt at 140K miles and 15 years. It was fine.

Honestly think of all the cars with over 100K intervals that are not hitting 100K miles in 10 years. My S8 belt was changed at 12 years. 10 years is no big deal for a modern timing belt. 1983 timing belt, I dunno.

Just don't worry about it.

 

My 84 which I purchased from original owner in 2010 had the original belt on it. Mileage was 22,xxx. I had them changed right away. I am doing my S2's belts this week, they are 4 years old with 17,000 miles. I'm going to change the 84's soon as they are going on 6 years old but with less than 3000 miles. Just playing it safe, belts are cheap.

 

Inspection is the first step. On the timing belt, I'd visually check it (and the balance shaft) for signs of cracking, rot, decay. If you decide to keep them, check that their tension is in spec. Check the rollers / pulleys / idlers for noise either by spinning them or listening to them with the engine running, and replace any that are noisy or rough in turning.

On the cam chain tensioner, check the pads for wear, cracking, etc. If the water pump is not weeping, leaking, and turns freely, it's fine.

Change all the fluids if they are not fresh. Make sure the brakes are in good condition and work well, eg, don't pull to a side. Look for any leaks, address any that are serious, eg, radial oil seals on the cam shafts or balance shafts.

Good luck!

 

Is there an easy way to inspect the belts without jacking the car? I think older 944s had an inspection hole...does the S2?

Thanks!

 

Do the belts, period, also replace the cam pads and the cam chain while you have the motor locked at TDC and the belts off. It's not bad to do and its cheap piece of mind.

 

Belts and tires - the same rules apply - don't trust anything that's over 5 years old -

 

You don't have to jack the car to check the belts, but you will have to pull off the timing belt cover, and everything in front of the cover.