LGL

After reading eleven pages of threads on belt tension , I have concluded that an entry by Shane in 2004 is applicable to my problem. It says early 32V cars need tension set on the tight side of the window on the aftermarket tool to avoid hard throttle warnings. I got a Warning under hard throttle 100 miles after checking tension on what should be ,by all criteria, a good belt. My question is, does it need to be on the tight side of the good range to keep my valves and pistons from meeting or just to eliminate hard throttle warnings? I will go to the tight side anyway but I would like to wait till after SITM.

Mrmerlin

Do you know what color the bushings are on your tensioner arm?? Choices are dark gray or tan
Did you replace them??
Tan bushings fit tighter and result in less wiggle of the tensioner arm. Also replace the pivot pin
Is the tensioner filled with oil?? is it leaking??
You might try adding some STP oil treatment with a visene bottle drill out the tip and fill from the hole furthest from the crank and remove both plugs, The STP will push out the old oil so keep on filling, takes about 3 oz.

LGL

Mrmerlin,
The bushings were not changed. I don't see any signs that the tensioner is leaking. The tensioner was not rebuilt, only a new boot and gasket. ( This is all based on PO receipts as it happened before me.)

LGL

I'll take best guesses. It's keeping me awake at night.

leperboy

It needs to go the tight side on the 32V to protect your engine. The belt is probably on the lower end of tightness right now, so high revs loosen it just enough to trigger the light.

The issue may be there is something else that causes the warning, like Stan said. If the bushings are worn or loose, there is play in the pivot. Or, the pivot bolt could be bent. Or the water pump could have a loose or bent pulley.

I would at least tighten to the high side of the kempf tool and check the tensioner oil before SITM. It should only take an hour, and if it's in the middle or lower, then it's too low for a 32V. I put mine right up against the tight edge of the window.

Matt

LGL

Thanks all. I will tighten the belt before driving.

zekgb

Thoroughly check the warning circuit. We dealt with random belt tightness warnings for a few days that turned out to be a loose spade connector on the wire that goes through the timing belt cover. To check for this remove the upper left belt cover and the bottom left bolt on the center cover. Unplug the warning circuit wire at the outside of the cover and check for continuity at the plug while moving the center cover an inch or two in or out. If you lose continuity at any point during this exercise you've found your culprit. There's a chance that the male end of the connector is the problem, but in my case it was the female end that was tight enough to show good continuity until you started manipulating the cover.

RKD in OKC

Had warnings on mine that progressively got more frequent. Turned out to be the tension sensor was coming loose not the belt.

WallyP

False tension warnings are not uncommon. Some possible causes (including those already mentioned in this thread) include:

- Loose bullet connector at the front cover.
- Loose spade connector inside the cover.
- Broken strap connection on the tensioner arm.
- Faulty connection on the Central Alarm Controller.
- Break anywhere in the wire from the tensioner to the Controller.
- Empty tensioner not damping belt flutter.

A warning on hard acceleration can be a combination of slightly low belt tension combined with an empty tensioner.

Gary Knox

LGL,

I've used both the Kempf tool and the official Porsche tool on several different timing belt installations and re-tensionings on '87 - 94 cars. I always find that the Kempf tool needs to be at ~90% of full window "tight" in order to match the proper tensioning setting with the offical Porsche tool. I've painted a "correct tension" line on my Kemp tool!
Gary Knox