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Registered
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Riverside, CA
Posts: 463
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Call me bonehead...
OK, here's my story...
A couple of thousand miles, I did my first timing belt change together with a friend. I bought the Annworx tools (which are of great quality BTW) and the change was completed within a couple of hours. Mainly it was delayed cause I had to drive to Sears to buy an impact socket for the flywheel. Anyway, we didn't have a proper tensioning tool, but from reading I found that several of you had luck using the 'twist' method. After the new belts were put on, the balance belt seemed to whine a little, so we loosened her up...She still whined. I thought that was normal on new belts and decided to leave it like that. Feeling the balance belt, it seemed to have the proper tension (yes, at that moment I didn't know it needed to be THAT loose...). Today I took my car in my local Porsche shop to have a new Magnaflow cat welded in. Since the car still whined a little (after 2000 mi since belt change), I asked my mechanic to check the belt tension. I had a feeling it was too tight. Well...I couldn't have been more right!!! After loosening the tension, one (in best case scenario) of the rollers is doing wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.  Long story short...I have to bring Erica in again tomorrow morning, so they can take the belt off and inspect the rollers. Always the same crap...I try to do something myself to save money, and I just screw it up and make it works...How typical. I guess some things you really have to leave to the pro's. I've done everything to my car (brake overhaul, suspension, swaybars) myself, but I guess I had to screw up at one point. Oh well, I'm gonna have them do to her whatever she needs. At least I know everything will be fine again after that. I hope I can be an example for other people without a tensioning tool... I just needed to vent a bit...I'm sad. 
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Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall...Torque is how far you take the wall with you... 1994 BMW 325is M-Technic 1986 Porsche 944 N/A |
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02-19-2008, 06:55 PM
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Trying to work for parts!
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: MO
Posts: 1,760
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Good going Bonehead!
hahahaha Just be happy you didn't do it so bad that you threw a belt & bent some valves. You were smart enough to notice a problem and have the experts look at it. Hopefully the total wont be too bad.
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86 Metallic Grey 85.5 Metallic graphite - Gone |
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02-19-2008, 07:01 PM
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Registered
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Long Beach
Posts: 159
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My first project ended in a failure that cost me $250 back in 1984. Now, there is nothing I can't fix on a 944. Every success start with many failures. Its better to have done something and screwed it up than to do nothing in my opinion.
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There is no mechanical task so great that brute force and ignorance cannot overcome |
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02-19-2008, 07:58 PM
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meister member
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Quote:
Speedy 
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1983 944 guards red with 16" Fuchs, Host of Wisconsin area timing/ balance shaft belt tensioning party 1987 944S Purchased from Legion. Corvette LT-1 V-8 conversion with Mega Squirt II Check on progress ---> www.porschehybrids.com/gallery/speedracing944 Favorite Road = www.tailofthedragon.com 318 turns in 11 miles (11 min 20 sec best run) |
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02-19-2008, 08:19 PM
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If you have never made a mistake, you've never done anything. I think you should be proud of yourself doing the job and getting it pretty close to right. Next time, it will all work out better. Who knows, now maybe you can share that knowledge to help someone else here to save them from learning the hard way. I wished that was the worst mistake I've ever made. The glass is half full.
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Tom 1990 944S2 Cabriolet 2002 Chevy Silverado 2500HD 2003 Maroon Ford F350 dually Last edited by Razorback1980; 02-19-2008 at 10:01 PM.. |
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02-19-2008, 09:27 PM
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Redline Racer
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 2,444
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Well, at least it was only the balance belt...not so critical. Yeah, it will sound like a supercharger or something if it's too tight. I unknowingly ran the balance belt way too tight for awhile on my first job. I assumed the factory tension numbers for the cam belt and the balance belt corresponded with each other. I didn't have the tool, so I just set the balance belt to feel the same as the cam belt. They are not the same, since the balance belt is twice as thick, and because the factory tool tensions by squeezing the belt between the arms on the tool, 3.5 is much looser than the 2.7 for the cam belt. No harm done...it just whined like crazy. The belt should feel really loose, but just tight enough not to be floppy.
But yeah, anytime you're not sure about something like that, just toss it up on the forum. Here, there are people that know... Knowledge is power. Just don't be afraid to try.
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1987 silver 924S made it to 225k mi! Sent to the big garage in the sky |
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02-20-2008, 04:36 PM
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Registered
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Riverside, CA
Posts: 463
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Well...It turned out that it was actually the balance belt that was too loose. The shop readjusted the belt and the noise is gone...Alright!
I'm happy again.
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Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall...Torque is how far you take the wall with you... 1994 BMW 325is M-Technic 1986 Porsche 944 N/A |
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02-21-2008, 07:19 PM
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