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Hey all,
I was driving home late last night and I heard a knocking noise coming from the engine so I pulled over, turned it off and popped the hood to take a look I noticed a belt had snapped, I pulled it out and got it in better light and noticed it wasn't the serpentine belt but something else. I am stumped and I am wondering if there is a seal or gasket of any sort that may have bet ripped from where it was supposed to be?? Can anyone help me identify what the heck this is before I have to go to where I parked it and start pulling it apart in the street? Much Mahalo!
The serpentine belt is a 6-rib belt as memory serves. Looks like you lost 2 of the ribs off of yours. It will need to be replaced. Be careful not to run the car until fully inspected and replaced. A loose rib like that can cut hoses and electrical stuff pretty easily.
I would tow it home but for now, it is safe in a neighborhood. I'll be heading over there after work at 1pm to take a better look and determine what to do but again, I don't think its the serpentine belt. I could see that last night still sitting on one of the pulleys. If I do need to tow it then its only 4 miles from home.
The serpentine belt is a 6-rib belt as memory serves. Looks like you lost 2 of the ribs off of yours. It will need to be replaced. Be careful not to run the car until fully inspected and replaced. A loose rib like that can cut hoses and electrical stuff pretty easily.
Does anyone know how easy it is to replace a serpentine belt if that is what it is? I have replaced several but never on a Porsche is there anything I should look out for or change at the same time?
Quite the mystery. As the others said, either part of your serpentine split off from the rest or you somehow got someone else's belt from a much older vehicle intertwined in your engine bay. I have never seen the first happen, but the second seems equally unlikely if you had the belly pan, etc. installed and even if you didn't it would be remarkably unlucky.
Definitely follow the advice of not running the engine until you figure it out. My boat snapped a belt at high rpm and it did all kinds of damage to wiring, hoses, and hydraulic lines.
Does anyone know how easy it is to replace a serpentine belt if that is what it is? I have replaced several but never on a Porsche is there anything I should look out for or change at the same time?
I have replaced several of them on two different CTTs. They are not easy, but if you take your time, you will be fine. The main issue is the number of pulleys for the belt to go around and the nearly complete lack of visibility for the lowers.
Before you take off your belt, spend time familiarizing yourself and take pictures. The Porsche diagrams only go so far. I also suggest that you take off the engine undertrays so that you can access the belt from the bottom as well.
If it is remnants of your belt (which I suspect it is), then the question of why did it come apart, should also be investigated. Inspect idler pulleys, water pump, etc.
The belt itself isn't THAT bad, but gaining access to the passenger-side lower pulleys is probably easier from underneath. After that, it's just a matter of working it up and over to the diver-side where the tensioner is.
Here's a link to a vid for a water pump replacement that might come in handy.
07-20-2017, 11:59 AM
Snapped a belt.. not? what is it??
