markjon

So I've been putting off changing the serpentine belt on my 981 for months. I've been told that it is supposed to be replaced at 6 year intervals. With my car being a 2014 I was late but since the car only has 42,000 miles I wasn't that concerned. The main reason I hesitated was because getting at the belt looked like it would be a major pain. One must remove some plastic trim pieces and the back wall carpet to expose the access panel that exposes the engine. Once that's done then you have to remove a bolt and spacer from a forward engine mount. This allows you to slip the belt out. That in itself sounds easy but it's really not so much. The bolt is not easy to get at and you can only use a wrench's box end because getting a socket on it is impossible. With it loose it's also a little tricky getting it out because of the lack of access. It's all you can do to get your fingers on it. Also it would be very easy to drop it into the abyss below. Luckily I still have some dexterity in my old fingers and I was able to remove it without dropping it. With the bolt removed you then need to remove the spacer. I was warned before hand to be damn careful doing this because it's easy to drop it. It was suggested to place some rags below the area and to also use a tie wrap around the spacer so you'd have something easy to grab. I did both. Fortunately the spacer came out easily using a pry bar to help release the tension holding it in place. With both parts out of the way it was time to fight getting the old belt out. Most people will end up cutting it which is probably the easiest way but I wanted the belt intact so I could compare it to the old one. Getting the belt out turned out to be harder than I expected but I finally won out. Before starting this job I drew a diagram of the belt routing so I'd get it back on correctly. With the belt removed I then removed the plastic tensioner pulley. I would have also replaced the idler pulley but I could not source the pulley without buying the entire bracket and pulley assembly at a cost of $159.00. As it turned out the tensioner pulley was in great shape with no play at all in the bearing. Still I changed it anyway because I could source one for only $19.00. Getting the new belt on was much easier, only wrapping it around the bottom pulley was somewhat troublesome. I ended up getting my hand stuck trying to wrap the belt around the lower pulley and cut myself while trying to remove it. Once the belt was installed I checked and rechecked its routing and then started the engine for a quick test. Everything ran smoothly. I've decided I'd put the interior back together another day as it was running a little in the day. All in all the job isn't that terrible. I'd say you'll need 2-3 hours from start to finish. The only tools you'll need are: a 10mm socket and ratchet,(back access panel attach bolts), a T50 Torx bit preferably a long handle key and not a socket with a bit. There's no space to use a ratchet & socket unless it's very shallow.(tensioner pulley attach bolt), a 30mm wrench or socket & ratchet.(Tensioner release bracket), 16mm box end wrench and a pry bar(engine mount bolt). A plastic trim tool is also a handy thing to have to help remove the plastic bits. In my case the old belt and pulley were in great shape and probably could have gone on much longer.















Owning a Cayman has been wonderful, it's a joy to drive and look at but it comes at a price. Working on it isn't always easy.

tomekz

I worked on regular cars where it's even harder to replace the belt.

john981

Nice job! I replaced the belt on my last 981 4 or 5 years ago. It is a pretty easy job but I lost the bolt/spacer and it took me 2 days to find it! I wrote up about my belt job and it is here somewhere in forum. The other tip I can give, don't try to pull out the old belt as is. Just cut it and pull it out, which is so much easier. The only thing which was not very clear to me, there was a small play after I installed the new belt. I thought those belt were supposed to be self centering but maybe one of the pulleys was not right.
My new to me 2014 Boxster has only 6k miles on it and after talking to my indy and dealership they both think there is absolutely no necessity for now to replace the belt. I have already bought the continental OEM belt but I will listen to the experts and wait a little before I replace the belt.

Richard.

great write up thank you & well done!

davecramer

I've always taken the carpet out without taking any plastic bits out.

chaos2984

Here is a video I did for my GT4. Same routing.
The hardest part was getting the spacer in and out to change the belt. Other than that, its just time consuming to access it.

IndigoInkTaco

I haven't done this job yet. Probably will over the summer. It's hard to tell from pics/vid....but how far down is that bolt? This might sound crazy, but bear w/ me, like I said I haven't personally had this panel off yet. Is it possible to drill a hole in the firewall and just stick a long socket through to remove/reinstall that bolt? Or is that bolt located in an area below where the firewall is vertical so a hole wouldn't help any.

Jim981CS

And to think I’ve taken time to remove the plastic trim and aluminum bar to remove the carpet for the front engine cover for my yearly inspection and maintenance. What’s your procedure? Where do you start removing the carpet, from the side or top?

On a side note, I made a post on a DIY mod to make the carpet panel on top of the engine removable with out removing the plastic trim that involves trimming the carpet, where it is concealed under the plastic trim.
Jim
https://rennlist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1303505&referrerid=203575

markjon

Thank You, glad you enjoyed it. Just thought it might be helpful for someone else.

markjon

Never having done this before I started by removing the plastic parts that the seat belts go through. Then I removed the bar across the top and then started pulling the carpet out a little at the top and then along the sides. It really came out pretty easily.

markjon

I have attached a few pictures of the bolt. The bolt is very close to the opening. I would never consider drilling a hole in the wall for access to the bolt. Even if you got it perfect I don't think it would be much easier. Forward of the bolt is the tunnel. I'd would think VERY hard before drilling this hole. Getting the bolt out isn't that bad, it wasn't very tight and once it was broken loose and backed out some by my wrench I was able to keep removing it with my fingers. Yes it's easy to drop, yes it's a pain to get back in but not impossible. Take your time, make a few precautions (placing rags under it in case you drop it.I've even read that someone put a tie wrap around it. I only used a tie wrap around the spacer and if I do this job again I won't do that as it wasn't really needed. Just don't rush.
I wish I knew how to highlight something in this picture but you can see the flats of the bolt head here, then part of the engine mount and then the spacer. That black stuff is insulation on the wall.

Bolt is just below that top pulley.

I don't know if you can tell from this picture but in front of the bolt is the center tunnel.

markjon

Interesting, you didn't remove the bar across the top either?

markjon

I've worked on cars all my life and this would rank as one of the hardest to access. But I'm sure you're right and others can be worse. What do you mean by "regular" cars?

markjon

Thank you for the compliment. Yes, I understand that cutting the belt would make the job easier. I didn't want to do that, I wanted to compare the old belt to the new belt. My choice and I paid a small price for it. I agree with your indy. I doubt your Boxer's belt is bad. Mine was almost perfect by eye. I just wanted peace of mind and to be able to tell a potential buyer in the future that the belt had been changed.

tomekz

For example, it's harder to do the belt on my 2003 Infiniti G35.