seagul extra

Just thought I would (vent) share my "timing belt " experience . My car is a 86.5 that I bought three years ago with about 105 000K. The PO had just done a timing belt service less than 1K before he sold it to me. They did the water pump, distributor, idler pullys and the belt. He had a reciept for over 2k for the job. So I thought, great I don't have to spend money on that for quite a while. Wrong! Right off the bat I had to get the belt retensioned because it was so new it was still stretching. $150 then about another 1k later I needed to retension again. $150 After the second tensioning all was well for about 5k and I figured I should be okay until the belt gets old as I do not put many miles on the car. Wrong! At about 5k I developed a small coolant leak from the front of the engine. I got word from my mechanic that the pump was leaking. I did some research on this fourm and learned that there is a problem with the rebuilt pumps lately so I bought a new laso pump and was planning on having the mechanic just install the pump and put it back together as everything else only had about 5K on it and I didn't feel like spending another $300 retensoining a new belt. Wrong! Upon closer examination we could see that the tensioner arm was cocked a bit and the belt was touching the side of the tensioner arm. I had already decided before that if the belt did not look perfect, I would replace it.$ Also the cam sprockets had a lot of the hard coating worn off so I decided to replace them as well.$ As a lot of my experience is with motorcycles I knew that just replacing some of the sprockets isn't great so I also replaced the oil pump and crankshaft sprockets.$ As I was still looking at spending another $300 on belt retensoining I decieded to buy the PK tensioner as well.$ Bottom line is that in the last 6000 miles this car will have had over $4000 put into the timing belt area. I hope I don't have to take those dam cam belt covers off again for a long time!

msc247

I would be more likely to blame the shop that retensioned the belt ! If the are in the business to make money, than the ideal thing to do is to over tension the belt and let whatever happens, happen. proper tension and alignment are key to any timing belt.

SeanR

Easier to blame someone else isn't it.

Worn cam gears will cause a tension issue as they wear more and more. The pivot bolt being bent is common and all of this is the fault of the previous owners shop.

86'928S MeteorGrey

Gahhhh... This is the kind of thing that will make you drink too many beers and sell your car for far too little. Hang in there! If it's done right, it should last you quite a while. The Porkensioner will help considerably with keeping correct tension at all times...

What level are your mechanic skills? The only way to really know it's done right, it to do it yourself, or take it to one of the 928 super gurus....$$$

Hilton

This is exactly why I don't care when the last timing belt job was done on a 928 I'm considering buying. As long as the belt is intact and the engine runs, thats enough I need to know about the belt.

Until I've gone through it to make sure all parts of the belt system are ok, I just don't trust that its been done well. Obviously there are exceptions in local, independent 928-specialist mechanics who can do the job right, but most places just don't know enough about 928's to do a thorough job (e.g. roller arm bushings, or tensioner seals, or belt-driven sprocket inspection/replacement).

msc247

That just reinforces my statement, the shop that did the retension should have spotted or caught the potential damage of improper or worn items. These type of issues tend to make the PO's as deceitful or untrustworthy. The new owner knew that the belt needed a service retension and did so as to the proper schedule and then all of a sudden the problems started to surface. The take home is that the PO and "your trusted mechanic" need to be scrutinized like everybody with that gut instinct feeling. This is not intended to offend or defend anyone.

Landseer

Exactly.
I might even disassemble and inspect one that I myself installed.

GregBBRD

How many times have I seen this?

I redo more timing belt jobs that were poorly done than jobs that I do from mileage/age. People just don't seem to understand that worn, inferior grade parts don't last.

So, the thing you need to think about is if they didn't put in a genuine Porsche factory timing belt...the story isn't over, yet.

seagul extra

It's the Gates belt from 928's R us. Rodger seemed quite confident that the Gates and OEM belt are the exact same belt. He also had some new racing belt, but I didn't feel like being a test pilot on that one, so I stuck with the standard Gates belt.

fredfox

Whatever you do, just remember on an 86.5 if the belt goes it will be a major catastrophe. Bent valves, pull motor, pull heads...............

mrdieseldude

I'm not sure what you're saying GB... From where I come from, Gates is a world class supplier of drive belts, and OE to some of the biggest names in the world. I don't know who/what Porsche uses, but I really don't think they make their own belts. Are you saying that a Gates belt will be a problem?

rexpontius

You think the 928 timing belt is kind of a headache, but be comforted there are far worse cars in that respect, just do a seach on alfa romeo v6 24v timing belts, especially in for example the 156 gta where you practically need to remove the complete engine to get access to the required areas...

Anyway I agree with Hilton, that it does not matter how recent or how expensive the bills of the PO are when buying a 928. Just do it right the first time and replace waterpump, belt, camgears, etc.

And I am a great fan of the porkensioner, I am quite confident that many waterpumps have failed to to incorrect (overtensioning) installation of the timing belt, which is nearly impossible with the porkensioner.

It will cost a little more in parts costs, but not a lot more in labour. Will surely payback in peace of mind and maintenance free period for a couple of years.

Cheers

GlenL

Seagul!

Don't despair. This is a typical new owner situation. You're driving a car that may not have seen many miles in the last few years and may not have been maintained right. Likely both. You pour money and time into it until you think you can't stand it.

Some guys give up and pass on the car, and problems, at a loss.

Some get over the wall and enjoy the cars for years with just regular maintenance and maybe start modifying and improving the car,

The problem is knowing when you've crossed the wall. Decide that you have and enjoy the car!

Mrmerlin

As Glen has stated figure out where your want to go with repairs.
read through this link ( https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...c-5-speed.html ) to give you an idea of the issues you will likely see on your car , spend time fixing everything you can find thats not up to snuff then drive the car it will last a long time

seagul extra

Thanx for the kind words guys. I guess I could look at the glass of water as half full instead of half empty as well. I did get a fantastic deal on the car when i purchased it and if the water pump did not start to leak I would not have found out about the cocked tensioner arm and that may have led to something more serious. Anyway the car is getting a major service as well,
all new hoses, spark plug wires ect. I am not about to give up on her just yet.