Timing belt and balance belt

[krammer]

1990 944S2 130k
Looking for the best timing and balance belts. Also, what special tools would I need.
Thanks..

[flash968]

at least in the 968 world, most of will only use gates. conti is known to stretch too much and have a shorter lifespan.

[mytrplseven]

You should have: 1. Flywheel lock 2. Preferred: special wrenches for bolts on the rollers and idlers, but you can get by with large open end wrenches. 3: either special wrench for the balance shaft pulleys (round on the end with two short pins coming out of it) or a very long needle nose plier with 90 degree bend at the tips.

Gates seems to be the most popular, although I have used Continental without issue on my 944 n/a.

Some people get real anal about tensioning gauges, but on 944's a lot of people have had great success with: Timing belt tightened to the point where the W/P can't be turned when tried by hand. The balance belts tightened to the point where you can twist the long run 180 degrees. Any thing less and you'll hear whining when the engine is running. It'll look sloppy but it's correct. Re-adjust the belts after around 1500 miles. Note: Your car probably has a spring loaded tensioner so that should pre-load your timing belt to the proper tension. There's a real good YouTube video on setting the tensions and clearances of the belts that I strongly recommend your read before you begin. Have fun.

[Bradical]

There are so many threads on timing belts between this site and rennlist, every question as been asked and answered you could ever have. There is also a ton of argumentative conflicting opinions, too!

The tensioning is a gray area I think. Some people buy the arnworx tool for <$200, some buy the porsche tool for <$900, i belong to the group of individuals who believe calibrated belt tensioning tools are better for taking responsibility timing belt failure on newer cars from the engineers at Porsche to the last service tech that touched it.

Best research - watch Van's series on YouTube, he has very detailed information on doing the timing belt and water pump- additionally the workshop manuals can be found in .pdf form though we cant directly link them on our host.

[flash968]

re: conti - just because it hasn't happened to somebody, is not a valid argument. i've never been hit by a bus either, but i know it happens, and am consequently not inclined to run out in front of one.

re: tensioning - that's a tough one. i know guys who do it by hand, but they know what it is supposed to feel like. it's almost impossible to tell somebody how to do it. you have to feel it. how much wrist tension it takes me to twist the belt is not the same as somebody else. if you can get the tool, i'd use it.

[Techno Duck]

In my experience the spring loaded tensioner never puts enough tension on the belt... funny thing is i have found giving the handle of the pin wrench used to move the spring tensioner a light tap in the tighten direction usually gets it pretty darn close.

I have not used the new version of the Arnnworx tool, but i have used a few of his older versions which all worked very well. The important thing with using the tool is that you get repeatable and consistent results, something i could never do with the Porsche 9201 tool. The 9201 i found very clumsy to use with the belt drive layout on the 944. Simply not enough space to use that tool reliably.

The other special tools (pin wrench and offset wrenches) are not required, but make the job alot easier. You can spend the extra $ for the tool or spend the extra time trying to get something else to work. If you have a good 'calibrated hand' from past experience you can probably get away without the tensioning tool, just have to ask yourself if you want to risk it for $160. If you plan to keep the car a while consider it an investment, you can always sell the stuff when your finished also to recoup some cost.

ArnnWorx Specialty Tools

[yundar]

Hey mytrplseven. Something you said in your answer has me worried... or it at least caught my attention. My car definitely has a whining sound coming from the front of the motor. Sounds like a supercharger sort of whine. Could this be a timing belt that is too loose? The timing belt was changed before I bought the car a few months ago. What tools would I need to re-tension the belt only and not replace it. Just wondering, Andy.

[Techno Duck]

The whining / super charger sound is usually caused by the balance shaft belt idler pulley being set incorrectly. The pulley should just barely touch the balance shaft belt, but many people will put a preload on it.

To retension the belt, you will need the belt tension gauge and the pin wrench. The pin wrench is not required as you can manipulate the tensioner somewhat by hand, just makes life easier.

[Rasta Monsta]

Too bad there is no way to search the forums for common info such as this.

[jeffrsmith]

Originally Posted by Rasta Monsta

Too bad there is no way to search the forums for common info such as this.

Rasta - are you sure there is no way to search the forum?

[yundar]

Gotcha Rasta! I had just never seen the reference to the whining/ super charger sound before. That's why I asked here. Besides driving and or working on my cars... my favorite thing to do is read tech forums on Pelican. I have spent most of my time on the 911 forums dialing in my 74. It is in the body shop now for a while so I picked up an 87 944 to tinker with. I like the car but I have to learn a whole new set of skills! All part of the fun