Question re: Timing Belt and Water Pump

[JD_Vancouver]

Is it time for me to service my timing belt and water pump?

My mechanic says I should do it preventatively. Based on mileage it seems he's being conservative, but based on years maybe he's right?

- I have an '89 944 S2.
- I have records showing that the timing belt and water pump were serviced "around" 63,000km, which was in 2009.
- The car now has 90,000km and it's 2016.

So, 27,000km worth of mileage, and ~7 years.

He says the belts need to get serviced every 30,000 MILES, which seems to match what other sources say, but he also says they should get serviced every 5 years REGARDLESS of mileage, which I can't corroborate anywhere.

Advice?

Thanks!

[Rasta Monsta]

He's right, get it done. Your car also has timing chain pads that should be addressed.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[Alexb944]

belt needs replaced every 30k miles or 2 years, and water pump every 60k or 4 years i believe.

[John_AZ]

....and when were the belt tension rollers changed?---if ever.
90K km is about 60K miles and that is the limit for the rollers.

J_AZ

[88Silver924S]

Here is a reply from an email I sent to Gates a few years ago in regards to Gates' belt date stamps and changing based on age rather than miles or visible condition. I agree with John_AZ, a roller/idler that has consumed it's grease can destroy a good belt quickly.

"I can tell you that the form of date stamping you have is our new way of stamping our belts, and all of our belts from here on out should bear that style. The date stamping on your belt is deciphered in the phrase “2332SS”. The first 3 digits indicate the day it was manufactured and the next digit indicates the year. So in this case, your belt was manufactured on the 233rd day of 2012. The SS is the plant code where it was manufactured, which in your case is Siloam Springs. Our belts have a shelf life of around 6 years depending on storage conditions and an entirely separate service life of 6 years so this is still a relatively new belt. Let me know if I can be of further assistance. Thanks and have a great day.


Drew Conkling

Application Research Engineer

ASE Master Certified"

[944 S2]

I did my recently (65K miles). No evidence of roller having been done previously so I did it all. Mechanic said the rollers where drying out.
Do the cam belt pads too. Easy job. While I was there I did the oil pressure valve o rings.

[cockerpunk]

30k miles? lol what are these ferraris?

a timing belt can easily last 50k miles.