Wtromb

I'm sure this one been asked many times. How do you adjust the tension on the AC alternator belt on a 968. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

BruceWard

Under the car there is a turnbuckle that you adjust. The middle drip pan will need to be dropped to access it. If your 968 is a 94 or 95 it will be the second drip pan. Either way it is the plastic pan behind the skid plate on the front bumper.

The drip pan is held in place by 6 more more 10mm bolts. Once these are removed it should drop down.

You need to loosen the bolts at each end of the turnbuckle so it can pivot without placing stress on the turnbuckle. Then turn it to tighten the belt, reposition lock nuts and tighten the bolts at the ends.

josephsc

Also, take a good look at the threads before starting to tighten/loosen -- one side is normal but the other side is a left-hand thread (turns opposite of normal).

Wtromb

Thanks for the Help! Looking from the top I couldn't see any way to adjust the belt.

Phil Harrison

Make sure you make it tight (- 5mm movement top to bottom play on longest run) otherwise you'll have a sqeaky belt.

terryjenner

I just did this today, as I had a squeaky AC/alternator belt at idle. After removing the plastic pan beneath the engine, you will see two turnbuckles. The large one on the left side tightens the AC/alternator belt, the small one on the right tightens the power steering pump. You may as well check the tension on both while you're down there, as well as clean up any oil drips from previous oil changes, other owners, years of neglect, etc.

Begin by loosening the bolts on the ends of the turnbuckle. The left side is 17mm, the right is 13mm. After they're loose, use one wrench to hold the turnbuckle while you loosen the jam nut on each side (as others have posted, the left one is conventional thread but the right side is left-hand thread). After loosening jam nuts, apply an open end wrench to the turnbuckle itself and turn it counterclockwise as viewed from the right end of the turnbuckle. This action lengthens the turnbuckle, adding tension to the belt. Turn a bit and feel the tension as you go. As they say, you should have less than 5mm play as you atttempt to press on the belt from below. Most mechanics say to apply german torque (gut unt tight). Tighten the jam nuts to the turnbuckle, then tighten the turnbuckle end bolts. Then check the power steering belt. I did not have the specs for the ps belt, so I tightened it as I did the AC belt. (If anyone out there knows the specifics of power steering belt tension, please reply.) Clean up the undercarriage as required, clean the belly pan, and replace all bolts and screws. You should now have squeak-free belts.

Terry

BruceWard

Hey Terry, glad to see you over here.

Welcome!

terryjenner

Thanks, Bruce

Wtromb

Thanks everyone! simple procedure, the worst part is taking the pan off. Since getting my 968 in August I had Porshe replace the cam and balance belts, tensioner and drive belts. I've replaced the fuel filter, cap, rotor, plugs, air filter, front pads, flushed the brake fluid, replaced the radiator fan sensor, and now retightened the alt/ac belt, no more squeak! Just turned 29,000 miles, all that's left is the rententioning of the balance belts, and sevice the auto trans.

BruceWard

I am curious why the pan was a problem?

I use a ratcheting screw driver handle with with 10mm socket and can get it off pretty quickly.

Wtromb

The pan was no problem, just the most time consuming part of a simple adjustment.

NickWuk

Does anyone have any pictures of the turnbuckle from the underside please?

FRporscheman

The tensioner looks like this:


LOL, sorry for this ridiculous picture... the AC tensioner goes exactly where the shiny wrench is in this pic.

This was my emergency fix when my tensioner snapped on a road trip.

Apex

f'n brilliant!

Paulyy

found this on google and LOL.