JDeitz951

You guys who can do anything in five minutes have me beat. It takes me 20 mins to just to find my tools and get the cars on ramps.

I don't advocate running without covers. Covers protect the belts. I just get a certain comfort being able to see the belt. Also, inspection and maintenance of the front of the engine is just plain easier. Call me a crazy risk taker. You should see how I drive. Belt failure is the least of my worries (j/k).

My question: where are the true-life first-person horror stories of what goes wrong when you go coverless? I'm not about to replace the covers because everyone thinks it's icky. So far I have only seen typical forum know-it-all wisdom ("forum wisdom" being an oxymoron). With thousands of people out there, has anyone actually had a failure or damage due to the covers being off?

Maybe I'll be the first (except now I'm too scared to drive the car at all).

reno808

rberry951 your first mistake is driveing your 951 on the snow.

dacula951

Not trying to be a smart *** or anything, but when I read that the first thing that popped in to my mind was I wonder if a piece of debri went between a pulley and the belt, putting a sudden high strain on the stud causing it to break off.

I just think that car companies wouldn't spend all the extra money for covers if they don't serve some useful purpose. True, many get by without the covers but freak things can happen.

JDeitz951

I was testy yesterday, dacula, my apologies.

If you read my story more carefully, you'll see that this was the failure that led to my leaving the covers off. The reason the stud snapped is cuz the lazy idiot that did the belt job 2 weeks earlier installed it wrong (that would be me). I tightenened the tensioner firmly between the inner and outer nut, but the stud itself was 1/4" backed out from the so-called bearing carrier. It just worked itself to the fatigue failure point and SNAP. I sort of forgot how it goes together and I remember thinking "Gee, that doesn't feel right, oh well!"

I needed a valve job/head refurbish anyway. Now the engine's even fresher than before!

inactiveuser92616

it could be the covers were put on by lawyers to protect against finger lawsuits. Thats why the fans have shrouds.

dacula951

JDeitz951,
I went back and read your post more carefully just after my post and realized my thinking was mistaken. Sorry.

2bridges

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it could be the covers were put on by lawyers to protect against finger lawsuits. Thats why the fans have shrouds.

LMAO! UHHHHHHH, yeah.... well.... don't want to burst your bubble, but shrowd does a whole lot more than protect your fingers.

aribop

2 years and 40k miles with no covers. No problems and no leaks. The covers keep all of the belt residue and oil from leaks (if you have any) inside. You should have ssen the ugliness that looked back at me when I took the covers off after buying the car.

I'm with Deitz...let's hear from someone who has experienced catastrophic failure from running without covers.

2bridges

mine spit a loose primary serp belt on a redline test run...... I had my covers on, So I can't tell you if it would have gotten all up in the timing/balance belts ... but I was glad covers were on

I also have cleaned a reasonable amount of road grunge off of the front of my covers on two ocasions....... dunno what it was, but glad my belts weren't exposed to it

JDeitz951

Ten fingers aren't all they're cracked up to be....

streckfu's

That's my thought. It was as much to keep fingers out as protect the belts.




Because we all know that auto manufacturers have your best interest in mind.....

Chris White

Just to be pesty –

I had a friends car back out one of the 8mm bolts holding the metal cam gear cover on. Since the belt covers were in place the bolt eventually got stuck in between the balance shaft belt and the balance belt crank gear. Broke the belt and left the imprint of the bolt threads on the gear.
On an even weirder note – he drove the car for several weeks before asking me if there was something wrong. The balance belt was nicely rolled up inside the covers and the timing belt showed no sign of damage!

I don’t think that this is a big issue. Not having the belt covers on allows for more frequent inspections for leaks or other damage, having them on allows for a little more protection. If you do take them off than have all the belly pans on.

Chris White

JDeitz951

On my old 944NA I had a similar "bolt" problem. At the time I heard a "pop", but I was going over one of those parking lot speed bumps and since the noise didn't repeat, I ignored it. Two weeks later I started the car in my driveway and as I backed out, the engine started a loud screeching sound. I turned it off, got my tools and pulled off the front belt covers.

The idler bolt and the idler itself were nestled down in the bottom of the covers. Somehow nothing had interfered for 2 weeks until that day when the bolt got between the belt and the lower bal shaft pully. Minor damage to the pulley (scoring) and the both the timing and bal shaft belts were chewed up a bit. A near miss. This incident definitely is part of the reason I want to inspect frequently and conveniently.

dacula951

That's a good point, but why aren't they then protecting the big serpentine accesory belts on today's cars?

2bridges

OK, maybe there is a market for a clear set of covers??? LOL
might look a little "ricey" but I dunno