jtakhtalian

I changed the drive belt on my 2013 Cayenne GTS today. It was a pretty straightforward project except for one item which I wanted to mention to you all in case you try it yourself. I have an AllDataDIY subscription but the reality under the hood and the instructions were slightly different.

The only thing that gave me pause for a moment was how to relieve the belt tensioner so I could remove the belt. The manual says to use a 30mm socket or an open end wrench. Then it shows what appears to be a six sided nut type fastener to place the socket or wrench on. My reality however consisted of something entirely different.

Long story short, just find the belt tensioner and follow it up to where it's fastened to the engine block. Then take an adjustable wrench and place it on the part that doesn't look like it will move (See picture for reference. It has a T50 torx screw going through it). Start turning the wrench clockwise and the tensioner will eventually loosen, allowing you to easily remove the belt.

It makes sense if you look at the picture below. I should have taken the photo when everything was off but I did my best after the fact (I wasn't planning on posting this at the time).

In the picture, the beauty covers are off, the intake tubing is removed, I'm standing directly in front of the car on the driver's side, and my finger is pointing to the part where you place the wrench and turn clockwise. The belt tensioner is directly below the piece you turn.

All in, it should be a 30 minute job. Super easy way to save a couple of hundred dollars in dealer labor. I hope this helps someone else out there. I took the original belt and placed it in the spare tire compartment just in case I find myself stranded in the middle of nowhere with a snapped belt one day. Happy DIY'ing.

dbv1

The same job on the base 3.6 was so easy. You drive an M8 screw into the tensioner to relieve it, then take your sweet time (5 min) checking the accessories and changing the belt. Once done, just remove the M8. One man job. I don't understand why this standard on all Porsches.

garrett376

It's rather tough on the 958.1 Turbo due to criss-crossing of various vacuum lines with challenging access!

deilenberger

jtakhtalian, you're turning the casting that the bolt holds in place? Am I correct in assuming the casting works like a cam and move the idler arm away from the belt? Clockwise/counterclockwise?

jtakhtalian

You got it. I just placed the adjustable wrench on the casting and turned clockwise. Doing so basically released the pressure on the tensioner. I think it even locked in the loose position when I reached its rotation limit. There was barely enough room to turn the wrench past the radiator hose though. Just push things out of the way. No need to disconnect anything other than the intake tubing. Odd design...

Slickdvl

I’m about to do this today while intake manifold is off - tons of stuff in the way on the turbo - might need to take off one of the coolant pipes. No big deal since I’m doing water pump and thermostat housing and some idler pulleys.

lurchphil

I am about to change the serpentine belt on my 2016 Cayenne Base. Believe it or not, there is no routing diagram for the belt in the car or under the hood. Does anyone have a diagram or photo that will guide me?

Thank You,
Phil

BrendonSF

Curious if it's worthwhile to replace the tensioner while you're at it? And if it increases the complexity of the job much?

911Spdstr

Is this preventive maintenance base on time/mileage or failures?

jonUF02

I'm looking to change the serpentine belt as PM on my 2011 CS. Looks pretty simple. The OEM belt is around $75 (FCP Euro). I'm surprised how the dealer can charge about 5x that amount for just replacing this belt. I doubt it's more than 1hr labor in an experienced shop, probably much less.

CAVU

Don't be surprised. Retail on the belt is $150 and standard rate is .9 hours. It is rare to have some one report out on the forum that their dealer only charged that. Wouldn't surprise me if the total was as you described. I have seen more favorable reports on local Porsche specialty shops. The rates are even better for the DIY.

My two cents worth:
I have no idea how PAG structures their business model and accounting for their various country HQs and then the HQ's dealers. My guess is each country's Porsche HQ is a separate business unit. For example, in the U.S. and China, it appears that the country HQ's have had some tough times from multiple campaigns, environmental compliance fraud, and COVID. I suspect that the HQ's share the misery directly with their dealers because the HQs are not the money makers, the dealers are. The dealers make the majority of their money through the service department so if more cash needs to be sent up to HQ, then HQ will start charging more for parts and want a greater share of operations. "Show me the money Jerry!!!" The dealers' customers pay for a lot of that because of that. The only one we might not be paying for is the environmental fraud if the settlement with the governments made it clear that those costs had to be shouldered by the companies shareholders as a write off

BBgun

Here is a nice video on replacing the belt on a base 958.

NoSubstitute981

With all due respect, this is wrong. The 30mm wrench fits on the outer part of where that T50 Torx bolt is located. Look in his photo… there are flat sides. That is where you should be moving the tensioner. Do what the OP says and there’s a good chance of stripping that bolt!

Dion Houng-Lee

I am doing this job now and those vacuum lines on the CTT are fun. I think you guys are saying the same thing. Original posted says to put an adjustable wrench on the outer casting which is the same place a socket will go.