V-Fib

POS PO told me " I just changed the timing belt and all routine maint. was just done", when I bought the car. Well, the temp was creeping up at long lights (topic of many post's) and I decided to change the water pump and install the 75 degree switch and thermostat, since the condition was unknown. I had already re oiled the fan clutch(which was bone dry). The cam covers were full of rubber dust (first tip off). When I removed the tensioner, I noticed the idle roller was black on the side facing the belt. IT WAS FROZEN IN PLACE! He forced it on, screwing up the bearing. The tensioner was not only bone dry, but is full of RUST!!! <img src="graemlins/cussing.gif" border="0" alt="[grrrrrrr]" /> The piston,washers,every #$%^%$# thing is rusted. <img src="graemlins/cussing.gif" border="0" alt="[grrrrrrr]" /> Can I clean everything up, use a brake hone on the cylinder, or should I just order a rebuilt one (leaning toward rebuilt)? I will be replacing the "new belt" he put on since it is 1/2 the thickness it should be from rubbing the idle roller. If you recently bought a 928 and the T/belt and W/pump was not done by someone known to you as a quality wrench, or you have doubts, get it done right, for nothing else but peace of mind. <img src="graemlins/soapbox.gif" border="0" alt="[soapbox]" />

Anthony Tate
79/928 Silver Metallic
(Quality owner for a Quality car)

Jay Wellwood

Unless the sealing surfaces on the tensioner are corroded so badly that it will not hold a seal - you can rebuild it yourself.

Pretty easy thing to do - just gotta hold the oil.

hth-

Max

Close call! On the bright side, the belt didn’t brake.

When you order your new belt make sure you get the factory Porsche belt not the OEM belt, there is a difference.

Anthony, are you going to do the work yourself?

Cheers

Max

V-Fib

Jay, evidently it has been dry for at least a decade. I used a brake hone/oil on the cylinder and it cleaned up ok, but the piston and washers are beyond hope. The cylinder has extreme wear on one side forming a large lip half way down. I'm going to order a rebuilt one. I want to get it right. Yes Max, I'm doing the work myself, I was a Master Crew Chief in a former life (UH-1,HH-53,CH-3)and do all of my own mechanic work when possible (I do have and know my limitations). Thanks for the info on the belt. I order all my parts from the big 3. I did call the local Porsche dealer today and asked if they would honor the $100.00 off for at least a $200.00 parts purchase coupon I recieved in the mail, and they will. Got to get it back on the road for the Bastrop trip!

Anthony Tate
79/928 Silver Metallic <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

Jerry 87 928S4

I still think I have the best PO lieing !

When I picked up the car after lengthy talks I noticed a few things wrong he neglected to mention so we lowered the price.

However, after I drove it home he called to make sure I made it. Wasnt until the next day I discovered why he was so concerned - he had the wrong size battery installed and it was arcing and he had drilled holes into the gas tank to install an amplifier

I was going to buy the car no matter what; it was just a matter of price. However, I still think I am the best example of why you should have a pre-inspection by a 928 knowledgable mechanic.

Jay Wellwood

Good Luck Anthony.

Sounds like a rebuilt tensioner is the way to go.

Don't forget all of the other parts like rollers, bearings, water pump.

As a side note - be very attentive when you remove the water pump bolts. Seems as though more than 1 owner has experienced the broken bolt syndrome followed by the broken bolt removal nightmare.

V-Fib

I had ordered everything (I thought) in advance, rollers/bushings/gaskets, ect. Knowing how important it was to have this maint. done (and done right) by all the wonderful people on this board, it was bothering me not knowing for sure, so the project began. My intuition was right, it had not been done properly, and I'm damn lucky I didn't have a t/belt failure. If it wasn't for this board and the people who frequent it, I would still be driving around totally oblivious to the horror coming my way. To everyone who contributes, a BIG THANK YOU!
Anthony Tate
79/928 Silver Metallic
(down but not out) <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

Greg86andahalf

It seems like almost every 928 listed for sale on ebay and other places is described as "recently" or "just done" timing belt/water pump. I wouldn't believe it unless I could talk to the mechanic who did it. It occurs to me that the sellers know it is a point of interest to a potential buyer and may claim the service has been done wheather it has or not. Then there is the question of wheather the job was done properly, if it was done at all. The first thing I did when I bought my car was the tbelt/water pump regardless of the the PO had to say.

I recomend that anyone who buys a 928 should right off the bat become intimately familliar with his engine (easy there, Normy!) by doing the tbelt/water pump job and do it right.

Greg

SteveG

I have to jump in now. PO supplied documentation on Tbelt change, but admitted that the mechanic (a reputable shop) didn't have some part for the sensor, so he unhooked the sensor. I asked what is the point of doing that because now I have belt light on each time I start? He didn't have an answer. Anybody got a theory?? I'm not driving til I ascertain the condition of the belt and tensioner. Parts are on order. Somebody said make certain there is oil in the tensioner and hook up the sensor, and you are good to go.

Greg86andahalf

Steve G,


Gotta know the tension on the belt. The $59 aftermarket gauge is a good thing to own. Checking and adjusting tension is a easy process, taking about an hour, but you need the gauge.

You will also want to know if thre are any broken teeth on the belt, which requires more time due to having to get the center cover off, or with just the passenger cover off, slowly turning the crank and inspecting the belt at the passenger cam gear.

I'd pull it all the way down and check all of the tbelt related rollers and gears, rebuild the tensioner, retension the belt and drive with peace of mind for 1000 miles or so until retension is needed. There are detailed procedures posted on tony's and nichols' sites.

You'll need a flywheel stop and a belt tension gauge along with the parts you ordered.

HTH
Greg

V-Fib

I too, have noticed on Ebay, they all list T/belt and W/pump "recent service", and I am highly skeptical. Since I don't have the T/belt warning sensor on the 79, I'm not much use to you Steve, but you should find out which part you need to correct the problem and get it working when you do the R&R. I do have the aftermarket tension tool, and checked the tension before tear down. It was waaaayyy too tight. If the mechanic or person that did the work can't produce a tension tool, it wasn't done right.

Anthony Tate
79/928 Silver Metallic

V-Fib

<a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1849822621" target="_blank">http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1849822621</a>
Speaking of... this isn't correct is it?
Anthony Tate
79/928 Silver Metallic

Greg86andahalf

no, it's not

I think it should be
78-82-- 928 105 157 00 (square tooth)
83-95-- 928 105 157 50 (round tooth)

tdelarm

Anthony Tate,
Boy, have you opened a can of worms here and it’s time someone did…Great post!


Steve G,
You know the right thing to do…get in there and check the tensioner, rollers, belt tension and condition and if it’s over your head, find someone you trust or one recommended that you can watch while they complete the work. Anything less will get you into trouble. Ignore statements like this…

“Somebody said make certain there is oil in the tensioner and hook up the sensor, and you are good to go”.

I’ve just gone through this myself and in fact, owe the Rennlist board a post of my 928 buying experience but haven’t been able to find any nice words to say so I’ve been stalling.

Foreign Performance in Evansville, Indiana performed $5500 in maintenance work on my “new to me 928 Shark” that I bought from Brian Buxton of Buxton Motorsports. The repairs included a complete front-engine job IE: Timing belt change, tensioner rebuild and new H20 pump. I took delivery of the car and 130 miles later, surprise, tension belt light came on so I placed the call to FP and their advice…”Gee, we replaced everything so we can’t imagine what it would be so drive it and if the light comes back on call us”…Well, I knew better but I drove it anyway and less then a ½ mile the light came back on so I parked it, posted on Rennlist the problem and followed the advice of many experienced shark owners and researched for a mechanic that I could trust. Prognosis, the “rebuilt tensioner” had leaked all the oil out and for some reason tension was now down to less then 3. I firmly believe if I had listened to that repair shop any longer, disaster would have struck.

As for my buying and or PO experience, I’ll need my own new post thread just for the room.

Good luck,
Tim Delarm
<img src="graemlins/c.gif" border="0" alt="[ouch]" />

SteveG

Anthony: re the guy with the tbelt on ebay. I saw that and I know they don't all use the same belt. I keep a list of misinformed sellers and all their BS, just to make sure I don't buy anything from them. If somebody posts a statement as obviously ill-informed as that, I don't want to deal w/them on any item. thanks for the confirmation.