Which manufacture timing balance belt

[EMBPilot]

Ive searched but haven’t found any conclusive and definitive advice, can you guys recommend a brand belt for balance and timing?

my belts, tensioners and rollers have about 4K on them, but were last completed back in Dec of 2003 by the PO. (also did a head/valve job at the same time)

This is such an important job to trust to a 10 dollar belt.. just wanna make sure im getting the right brand.

Is going with the Conti Okay? Should I get a belt from the dealer?
Conti 10 bucks (here)
Gates is about 23 (local NAPA)
(interestingly enough, when i called the porsche dealer he told me that the belt they sell is a gates belt)

while im at it, other than the belts is there anything else i'll need to get to do just the belts?

I have the full kit tools in the mail from Arnnworx but if theres other stuff i need please let me know...

[Techno Duck]

The maker of the OEM belt i am pretty sure is Gates. OEM belt through the dealer is close to $40.

I had the Contitech belt on my 924S for the 20k miles i used it and sold the car. I also have the Contitech belt on my 944 and have over 20k miles on it no problems. I changed 3 timing belts for people and they all used the Contitech belt, they havent had problems either.

The balance belt is only available as OEM as far as i know, i dont think ive ever seen an aftermarket one for sale.

Dont blame me if the Contitech does blow up though.. .

I would not hesitate to use a conti-tech belt again. Besides, that $20 you save off the OEM belt can be put towards a rebuilt head if the belt does break......

[Razorback1980]

You may want to consider the water pump while you are in there. I do my water pump every other belt change along with the rollers and reseal. I'm not sure what the recommended interval is, but that is how I do it.

I have always used dealer or gates stuff but I am getting ready to put a Contitech on mine. I haven't heard anything bad about them and that is what I received when I ordered mine from here.

[Eldorado]

I've got a conti belt on my car.. has been for better than a year... zero problems... inspected by a porsche mechanic 1 year after installation, and it was still in perfect shape.

[conkeytonk]

I used Conti belts for timing, AC and water pump on my '82 Scirocco when I rebuilt the engine a few years ago and have had no problems. They still look great.

[EMBPilot]

the more im thinking about this isnt the belt change interval 5 years?
i may be good till next december?

[Techno Duck]

Most literature i have read says 3-years. If it were my car and i was feeling lazy i would probably let it slide till 4 years. After that i would defenetley change it.

[Aerkuld]

I use the Conti belts and they perform fine. They are a manufacturer of good quality parts, so I wouldn't worry. For the price difference you could change the belt out twice as often as the Gates belt!

As for change interval, I would be very reluctant to push it. 3 years or 30,000 miles is what is advised.

At the end of the day, assuming you do the job yourself, $10 and a couple of hours work is a heck of a lot cheaper than the alternative if a belt lets go! I don't think it's worth the risk.

There are some good websites about with step-by-step instructions. I will tell you that the belt change is pretty easy. If you are worried about doing it, see if there is another Pelican member in your area that would be prepared to give you a hand. A lot of these guys seem helpful like that, right guys?

Ultimately it's down to you, but I know what I woud choose.

[EMBPilot]

okay thanks for talking me back into it. Ive been planning on doing this for a while since i got the car, I think i may do the water pump this time along with the belts, next time i'll do the rollers ect. but like you guys said, its right at that time, so im gonna do it. not sure where the 5 years came from, but now i know, 3 years so its time...

im very apprehensive to do this on my own, but know the importance of learning this procedure. theres tons of good stuff at clarks. There is a pelican member here thats going to give me a hand which im thankfull for. cause without him i dont know if id have the nads to do this on my own. plus if we kill my car it will haunt his driveway/heated garage!

sounds like everyones pretty happy with the conti. so i guess either way, both good companies just will come down to which one i feel like getting. i think i may just get all the parts from pelican then just get the gates belt at napa.

the parts list i worked up here on pelican for belts, pump seals and a rebuilt pump is looking around 250, which isnt that bad.

ive been reading some stuff about guys 'turning the engine' by hand after taking adjustments, either, twice then measure, then four times and measure, some guys turn it back a tooth and a half, do you need to do that with an 88na w/ spring tensioner? im getting mixed reads on that. i may have been reading about an S that confused me.

[Slam]

Spring tensioner final adjustment is different than early cars but initial installation and tension is similar. Have you had a look at the write-up on Bruce's website? I think it's www.arnworx.com (somebody please correct me if I'm wrong). There's a good write-up on www.clarks-garage.com too.

I use the Conti and change every second summer. No complaints.

[Techno Duck]

Set TDC to change the belt. When you get the new belt back on, rotate the engine by hand two full rotations. Then using the cam gear as the reference, then rotate it backwards aprox. 1.5 teeth or 10 degrees. This is ONLY if you are using the 9201 tool.

For the Arnnworx tensioner you use a different method. Put the car in gear and do the same thing, just as you rotate the engine in reverse by hand you will feel the resistance of the engine compression. This is when you take your reading.

Usually before i call the job done and start the car up, i rotate the engine 2-4 times by hand to make sure i put everything back together correctly.

[motownbill]

Gates info specifies a 45k mile replacement for the timing belt compared to 30k for the Conti belt.

[EMBPilot]

i think im gonna go with the gates for the cam, and i got the conti balance coming from our host along with a fuel filter. Next time around with the belts im going to do rollers, seals (maybe) and the water pump like you guys recommended.

Regardless of what manufacture recommends which interval i think from all the reading ive been digging through, its all pretty much the same. As long as its a big name belt and its changed frequently. I think were all a little paranoid around here so most of us are changing our belts well inside of the limits (time/miles). (i know im paranoid about it)

Jon,
reading Bruce's write ups, please correct me if im wrong, i think the car is supposed to be in neutral, then you turn the engine until you feel the resistance of compression then take the reading?

ya know, im still half frightened by my 944 does the feeling ever go away? someone here said it best in a thread, its like having a rebellious teenager in your garage.

[Techno Duck]

Regardless of the manufacturer of the belt, i would not push 35k miles witih it. That is just for my peace of mind. The cost of a timing belt at less than $20 and maybe 3 hours of my time on a sunday afternoon is well worth saving a couple hundred dollars on headwork and new valves.

There are two methods of doing it with a 5-speed manual car. You can either leave the car in 1st gear or reverse and let the cam lock that way...or you are supposed to install the flywheel lock and let it lock that way. Either way will achieve roughly the same result, of the cam turning back a one or two degrees and not moving any farther.

So yes, the car is SUPPOSED to be in gear when you do this.

[EMBPilot]

ah ha, okay thanks man, i was planning on using the fly wheel lock during the install.

?? how i the engine going to turn if the flylock is on or the car is in gear? i suppose there is going to be some play? (like you said a tooth or two...

[speedracing944]

I would read the write up on www.clarks-garage.com . You rotate the motor to TDC on the cam then I would go off the mark on the flywheel, install the flywheel lock, remove belts, install belts (line up the timing marks for the cam (cam may be off a tooth or 2 due to the spring pressure) and balance shaft), do an initial tension to take up slack, remove flywheel lock, rotate the motor 2 times clockwise to 1.5 teeth past the timing mark on the cam, back the engine up 1.5 teeth, take your tension readings, Adjust if nessesary, rotate the engine 2X and retake the reading as before. Do this until you get good figures then I would rotate the engine again and check it one more time. Reinstall everything, start it up and go racing

Speedy

[Techno Duck]

Even with the flywheel lock installed, you will get roughly half a tooth of 'play' before it engages. Its actually half a tooth now that i think about it, i dont think its 1-2 teeth.

[EMBPilot]

cool thanks guys, that cleared it up, ive been reading clarks as much as possible.

[Panzer909]

EMBPilot, I'm doing the belt/water pump/seals job in parallel with you right now. I ordered both belts from Paragon Products in TX and they're the Conti brand. My old ones wee Conti and they look brand new afer 3+ years.

Maybe you've run into this small issue as well: in setting the engine to TDC, I'm finding that my cam & "OT" marks are always about 1cm apart and never aligned to their marks together exactly. Is this an issue or am I being overly-meticulous? Anyone care to chime in here?

[Techno Duck]

All of the cars ive worked on were the same way. I would estimate its litrerally about half a tooth off. Nothing i would worry about.