markjon

So I drive a 2014 981 Cayman Base that has 42,000 miles. I'm planning to inspect the drive belt soon and was wondering what kind of mileage/time people have change theirs. Looking at my Porsche service booklet it just mentions checking it at certain mileage numbers. Just curious what others have done? Also for those that changed it did you also change the pulleys and tensioner too? The car is only driven 4-5K miles a year and not tracked.

Thanks in advance.

Andydna15

I just changed mine out this weekend with about 55k miles. Belt looked great but decided to change it out anyway. Once all the panels are off it takes about 10 minutes to swap out. Much easier than other mods and maintenance I’ve done.

markjon

Thanks for the info. So did you only change the belt, no pulleys or tensioner? I agree about the panels from what I've read taking them down looks like a pain.

Cyclman

Not hard. Replaced mine since I was in there, pulleys spun easily so left them.

Andydna15

Just the belt the pulleys were good

subshooter

I did mine at 6 years per the manual.

DER951

Does access require removing the seats?

Ernest72

no. I did mine at 30k miles when I bought the car and it was likely 8 years. So easy just do it. No need for pulleys, do it at higher mileage.

Kitc2246

Watch the Tubes on changing the belt in particular the spacer screw that can be easily dropped. Ordering an extra spacer screw when you order the belt should be considered.

Jim981CS

The newer EPDM belts that our P cars have are not prone to cracking that the older Neoprene belts had and with a visual inspection they appear to look good even if they are worn. IMHO a worn belt would be prone to slipping especially at high RPM. I have already replaced mine at the recommended 6 years on my 2014 CS and plan on it again at the 12 year mark.
Jim

MrMoose

At 75K the plastic roller on the tensioner on my 987.2 (same engine) had quite a worn surface. I probably should've replaced that earlier, maybe 50K.

I took the opportunity to replace the roller, tensioner and all the bolts just so I wouldn't have to think about it again for a long time.

john981

Would you change it on a 2014 with 6k miles on it? I did the job on my last one and other than loosing the bolt and trying to fish it out for 2 days, it was a pretty easy job to do.

MrMoose

Just the belt? I mean, *I* probably would, just because the current belt is ten years old and replacing it is cheap and relatively easy.

But honestly if you inspect the belt and don't see any cracks or crazing it's probably still fine.

Kitc2246

You can inspect the belt from under the car. Not as good of a view as removing the panels but much less work.

Jim981CS

If you believe the Gates Tech Bulletin I included in post #10 above, a visual inspection for cracking is not reliable for a EPDM belt but takes a plastic tool to check for groove depth wear. EPDM belts do not typically show signs of cracking from age or wear as the older neoprene belts do.
Jim