dove

I went into my local OPC to buy a distributor belt to be told that the dont do the part and the only way was to have an exchange distributor at a fitted price of £900,when I told them that belts can be had for £10 and a good DIY'er can fit it themselves in an hour they disagreed,are they mad even if I get it fitted at my specialist its £70 including the price of the belt.
I went to the OPC to get a genuine Porsche belt but as this is impossible are the non Porsche belts ok??
Paul

Andy Roe

Not sure about non-porsche belts, but I got mine replaced by my spanner for about £90. Here's a link for a drive belt - http://www.type-911.co.uk/gp_serviceitems.htm

£10 + vat!

Andy

Bill Gregory

Porsche does not sell the distributor belt separately, they only, as you found out, provide rebuilt distributors.

Sire

I've had the same, but here in Holland you can replace it for a rebuilt Eur 265,-. And OPC was asking Eur 900,-. Verry big diverence.

johnfm

The price of £900 is the "we don't want to work on 964's and don't have to knowledge to anymore" price!! They'd rather you went to an independent anyway, because as a 964 driver, you are hardly likely to walk in and place an order for a 997 or Cayenne. This is why independents have 2-3 week waiting lists to look at a car these days!

racergreg

Order online at www.performanceproducts.com, search for "distributor drive belt." It's US $12.95.

garrett376

I had no receipts for the swap of the belt on my cabrio - and I had ALL the receipts so I am positive it had never been changed out. When I replaced the belt it was EXACTLY like the replacement belt I had from Pelican Parts - had the "Nicht Knicken Do Not Crimp" notation on it with the same numbers, just like the original belt. I bet that the Pelican one is the same - so don't worry about it being as good as the original. I am willing to bet it is.

dove

I just ordered this one from type 911 http://www.type-911.co.uk/images/general/964belt.jpg
£10+vat.

Lorenfb

"Porsche does not sell the distributor belt separately, they only, as you found out, provide rebuilt distributors."

Some Porsche dealers here SoCal do sell the belts for about $5.00.

dove

Garrett, The belt I just bought from Type 911 here in the UK is exactly the same as the belt in your picture,I think your right there only seems to be one type of belt so Porsche must put these in their rebuilt distributors.
Looking at your picture the freyed binding on the outside of the belt is caused because the black covering misses some of the binding on the edge leaving it exposed,you can see this with this new belt.I dont think this would have any detrimental affect to the strength of the belt though.
Paul

springer3

I agree the strength of the belt is still OK, but it is nearing failure when the edge frays. The problem is that frayed material gets caught between the pulleys and the belt or snagged on other internals. It is a little like pulling on a stray thread, and destroying a garment. There is very little room for stray material inside the distributor, and a loose string will find a way to make trouble eventually. Fraying therefore progresses quite quickly once the edge starts to go.

dove

Like I said Springer the edges on these belts come new with the material already exposed,and from that area the freying starts,its bad that they dont make them correctly to start with.How many of these belts have been put into distributors with the material exposed,most I would say.. its not good but when they come like this new what can you do?
Paul

Dunasso

Just ordered a belt from the Benzbin.com for 12.95 + 5.50 shipping. Hope it gets here before Thanks Giving. I plan on replacing it during the vacation break. I also think that I'll post some pics of the operation for anyone interested in seeing whats to be done to replace one. Duncan

bhensarl

Please do, Duncan. Also, a list of the tools you needed would be great. Sounds like a good opportunity for an excellent DIY thread!
Brian