recondoc

I recently aquired a 1986 928 S with a manual transmission. The car has 135,000 miles on it. The timing belt was changed with a couple of requiste belt tension checks at the scheduled 120,000 service schedule. That was only 15-16 K miles ago. Problem is, that was back in 2000. The car appears to be in fairly good condition. Had to be kept in a garage, the paint is nice and bright. Interior looks I would say 75%. My point is that the car seems like it was fairly well maintained. Rumor is that 10 years is the marking point for getting the belt changed out regardless of mileage. It has been 10 years and 2 months. With the before mentioned 15k miles on this timing belt. I really have a couple of other issues that I would like to take care of before I dump $1200 in the timing belt (left rear tail light goes out when I turn the headlights on, car seems to intermittently idle rough while sitting at a stop light). What do you all think? Can the timing belt wait a couple of months or should I have it towed to the shop?

Thanks,

Recondoc

davek9

If you do not open it up and look, then you do not know what the condition of the belt "System" is.
It is more than just a belt that requires service and these other parts are also affected by time.
Is your tensioner filled w/oil???
If you do not check out the belt "System" and depend on old documents, you could be looking at ~ $5K in repairs and not just $1200 bucks (most likely less than 600 if U do it).

Imo000

Do it yourself and do it now but if everythign check out, only change the timing belt. The belt is cheap (under $100), get a flywheel locking tool, crank bolt socket and a tensioner gauge for a couple more hunderd $$ and you are all set. There are several very good write ups, with pictures, on how to do it. If the belt breaks, none of the other issues will matter, right?

Stromius

+1 for doing it yourself. Throw a few burgers on the BBQ and beers on ice and see who locally stops by to help. With help I think you can get it done in a day. Plenty of write ups and Roger (ROG100) sells the aftermarket Porkentensioner (info @ 928srus.com) along with all needed parts. Many swear by the Porkentensioner here because it eliminates a few points of failure, while others prefer the OEM system. Just preference..

Conventional wisdom is definately to take the distributors off, then remove the left and right cam covers. 2 bolts on the passenger side and 3 on the drivers. You can get things off with a little wiggle room once you remove the fan shroud. Visually inspect the belt and the coating on the cam gears. The tensioner has two fill plugs (think in the 86 too) to fill up the tensioner with oil. Fill slowly as the rubber cap will come off easily.

Again welcome to the shark tank!

GlenL

10? I'd go with 5.

It is time in any case. At $1200 you should look for another garage, an interested non-professional or getting DIY help.

docmirror

Ok, first option is DIY. You've got a lot of nice folks around you that will bring tools and nasty comments and laugh(oops) I mean help you do this for a lot less than $1200. You'll also get to look at some other things in there that may need investigation.

Next, you can drive it up to SeanR in N Dallas area and have him do it for under $1200 if you don't want to mess with it. He will also investigate all those other little issues you've got and get things sorted out for you.

Finally, yes you can wait a few months for the timing belt job. It's a risk but more than likely it's not going to come apart in a matter of months.

The absolute last thing I would do is take it to a local unknown shop for a TB job. Lots of horror stories on this board start out,,,,, "I took my 928 to the xxxx shop last month and after spending $$$$$$$ now it won't........ " We'd all like to avoid that.

pcar928fan

Actually $1200 from a pro is right on the money...I have NEVER seen one done for less than $1k (all parts included) and have heard quotes close to $2k from shops that are not overly interested...

Doc,

It would not be an unknown shop...they did BOTH my GTS's last year AND my S4 and the owner has an '85 5spd and an '87 Auto and the other mechanic has a couple of 928's that are in various states of repair and the son (who also works at the shop) has a 944 (w/ a 968 motor....HALF a 928 anyway) and the wife has a Lincoln Navigator...OH, and a 951! These guys KNOW 928's!

Bill Ball

I did my first timing belt on my car after it had been on 9 years but only 30K miles since the previous change, a year or so after I bought the car. The old belt was very hard to distinguish from new. According to the factory maintenance schedule, only mileage determines the replacement schedule, unlike some other jobs, such as oil, which have prescribed time or mileage limits. However, the consquences of a belt or tensioning gear going bad can be so dire except in the early 16 valve motors, that time limits have come to be talked about as if they were prescribed. If you can inspect the belt and gear and know what to look for, I go by mileage, and 15K is barely a quarter of the belt's usual replacement interval. If you can't, change the belt somewhere after 5 years.

In and around Austin there are enough 928 owners who enjoy wrenching that if you get to know them, I'm sure you could sponsor a fun timing belt party. See thread below...
https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...austin-tx.html

docmirror

Ok, the shop is known, and so is the price. I still would start with DIY. However, there's no need to bring it to N Dallas if you have a good wrench in town.

pcar928fan

Doc, I made that suggestion too, but I am not sure he has the time. If he didn't have good help (like if I was helping) then it would take a couple of days and I think he needs the car for work and DD use. That was one of the reasons why I suggested the shop. They can do it in a day and do it right. Costs some money, but you get your car right back and it is all good!

IcemanG17

Its a "piece of mind" thing..... you "should" do it just in case......

Heres an example...Bill-Kurt & I changed the TB on Kurts 38k mile, probably original belt 86.5....the belt looked GREAT...it made us wonder why we were doing this much work...but the tensioner was dry, which is the only thing we found wrong.....and its not that much of a "biggie" anyway....

If your 928 was a non interference engine...I'd say drive on.....but since it is a 32V....I would change it.... I really like the fact that my 84 16V is non interference....so I'll run it till the belt breaks or waterpump leaks....

NoVector

Can't we just change it in the Hooter's parking lot next month at the *** GTG?