shamrock

I don't know if you guys get ''Total 911" magazine in the U.S. ,but if you don't there's an interesting article on this months mag , relating to distributor belt breakage.
Now I know this was a known problem for 964's , but , according to the writer of this article , the 993's belt should also be checked every 10 years or 100k miles . Unfortunately , it's not part of the service schedule , and is encased so , it doesn't get checked ... and if the belt snaps , the continuously detonating spark may cause a holed piston or worse.
I can appreciate that this is worst case scenario stuff , but it still has me wondering if I should get the belt checked/changed out at some stage. My car has low mileage , but it's obviously over 10 years old!

Have any/all of you had the belt checked?

chris walrod

I check mine often. Its more than likely due for replacement.

I would think changing it every 60k miles would be a good matter of maintenance, or preventive maintenance for that matter.

Paul E. Dodd

I'm replacing mine next week (I'm at 100k). I think prevailing wisdom is that even with the factory-installed vent tube, replacing the belt periodically is (as Chris says) good PM. Especially if the car sees any track time.

Paul

Robin 993DX

100k miles or 10 years would be a good replacement point. Just like the Ferrari timing belts, 3 years or 30k miles whichever comes first.

When I replaced my DD belt at 90k it was still fine, but was showing signs of typical rubber wear and cracks. The 2nd rotor doesn't take much to turn at all, so there isn't much tension or torque needed on the belt, so it doesn't wear out as quickly as your typical drive belt.

Mike J

I just did one this week at 60,000 miles and another a few months ago on a different car at 65,000 miles. On both cars the belt looked like it was in fine shape, no cracks and very little wear. Its pretty cheap maintenance, the rebuilt is not too hard and I have a shortcut so you don't have to take the entire distributor apart. Once you split the distributor case you can lift and twist the case halfs enough to slip the belt in and out avoiding removing all covers/clips to take the second distirbutor shaft out. Saves a bit of work but you still have to drill out the flared pin etc. This is the hardest and most problematic part of the rebuilt.

From the look of the belts 100,000 miles should be no problem.

Cheers,

Mike

shamrock

Thanks guys .. I'm actually surprised by your responses , I don't know why but I expected y'all to say don't worry bout it , it's a one in a million shot etc. , but looks like you take this seriously. I take heart from your reports that the belts you've examined seemed in good order , but I'm going to have it looked after before I hit the 50k miles (I'm at 46k now).
I wouldn't have the expertise to check it myself but I've a good tech guy in mind for my future maintenance .. Unfortunately he's in the UK so it'll have to be a ferry ride across when it's service-time , but I think he's going to be worth the extra hassle ..

Btw , the article also mentioned an oil filter which is not part of the normal Porsche maintenance procedure , can you shed light on this?.. I've heard reports of oil leaks that turn out to be badly rusted filters , I suppose they'll be talking about this 'overlooked' one most likely.

Thanks for the info so far , this is by far the most 'techie' of the forums I've been browsing ... I LOVE IT!!!!!

quasr

I just had mine replaced this week at 60k. The cost was $130.00 and I suppled the belt. I would rather have it done and not worry about it. The old belt was not cracked or overly worn but was a bit rigid from age and heat.

chris walrod

It is the small filter installed onto the engine. There are two, one larger filter on the oil tank and one smaller one I spoke about above. One filters the scavenge oil the other the supply oil. Simply change both at each oil change. Thats it

Miller_arch

While most here are proactive about this I wonder if anyone has ever had one break? Just wondering what the experience was like, how did you know it broke?

Paddy

That seems like a deal considering how much work is involved on the p-car DIY site.

chris walrod

I've serviced a few 964's that had failed belts, one being a 93 RSA that had the dizzy vent kit from new.

Marlon

Hey quaze - I'm temped to pull my distro and have your guy do it for 130 + parts while the car is 'sitting'. Will he do mine???

mar

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

I've always recommended belt replacement at 60K as I've seen plenty that were not far from failure at that mileage.

Plus, its a good opportunity to inspect the 3 bearings since those don't last forever, either.

quasr

Marlon,

The place is I have the belt replaced is called Zotz Garage (I have no affiliation) and is located in Winter Park, FL. They have a website if you google it. Ask for Donnie. The place has been there for many years and has a great reputation. That was my first time there and I was well pleased. I would think it would be cheaper for you since the removal and installation would not be an issue. Keep in mind it was only a belt replacement and nothing else, though they checked for other problems while in there. Best of luck.

Marlon

Thx!!!