Timing belt tension gauge

[Tom.B.Taylor]

I have & use a blet tensioning gauge on the timing belt of my 928.....I also have a so-called calibrating tool, but there are no instructions for its use....can anyone explain what it does & how to do it ?????

[pedro951]

site with an explination, hope its what your lookin for:
http://members.rennlist.com/v1uhoh/checking.htm

[Tom.B.Taylor]

Originally posted by pedro951:
site with an explination, hope its what your lookin for:
http://members.rennlist.com/v1uhoh/checking.htm

Pedro...from your msg I take it that the calibration tool should read 4.0 of the dial...wghich mine does, so I assume my gauge is properly calibrated...I have usd it to install timing belts on 3 different 928's with no problems....Thanks, Tom Taylor

[PbFoot]

Great tip pedro. I'm new to 928s. My question is this: today when I took off at the light rather, ahem, aggressively, the Belt Tension warning light came on. While I don't have a tension gage to check (got one ordered tonight from 928 International) it seemed tight. I've read somewhere that this has happened to one other owner. After the car rested for about 30 minutes I restarted the car and the warning went away.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Can anyone offer suggestions?

Since the warning light went out after restart, should I take comfort in that it wasn't the belt tension?

[PbFoot]

Based on what I've read, I'm parking it until the tension tool arrives next week. Dang! I was looking forward to this weekend enjoying the car. Oh, well, it looks like rain anyway.

[AFJuvat]

the tensioners have been known to do that with rather **ahem** "aggressive" driving. Especially running it hard off the line.

Notice any damage to the tensioner?

Verifying the tension with a gauge will give you piece of mind, but you are probably ok.

recommended to change the tensioner every other belt change.

AFJuvat

[cas]

don't need a gauge.tighten bolt 2 turns or untill light goes off. too loose,not too good.too tight,good by belt,valves,pistons,rings and walls.and by the way,international over priced. go to vertex. 305 442 2727 -800 279 9525.trust me,you'll see. cas.

[krankenwagen]

The tension gauge is not calibrated as described in that article. The factory 944 manuals state that you need a small screwdriver to calibrate the gauge, and they actually show a screwdriver inserted into the tool for calibration. I couldn't get a screwdriver to work, so I took the thing apart to find out how to calibrate it. What you really need is a tiny allen wrench. I think the correct size is 1.5mm. I didn't have a metric one that small, so I filed down a 1/16" allen wrench. You calibrate the gauge by adjusting the setcrew through the hole in the bottom. You can't even see the setscrew without taking the tool apart. The zero adjust wheel is just what it says. Changing the zero adjust will not calibrate anything but the zero point.

[Iggy]

Get the aftermarket tension tool. I think it's about $40-$50 at 928 International. There's no need to buy the actual calibration tool with its fancy dial.

Also, make sure you rotate the engine 2x past top-dead-center (TDC) before checking the tension. If you have to add more, rotate it 2x more times past TDC again. You've got to rotate it 2x every time you check the tension to make sure the tension has been evenly distributed across the whole belt.

P.S. Never rotate the engine backwords. It should always be turned clockwise (when facing the front of the car). Also, be sure your timing marks on the cam gears line up together.