Timing belt break

[Vince04o5]

I currently own a 1983 944 Porsche and up until now I have had no "serious" problems. Story: A few days ago, on the fourth of July, I was heading out to a friends. Revved up to about 4500-5000 before shifting gears, was enjoying the ride. Well I park at AmPm to buy some drinks, come out and my car wont start. It cranks as if to start.. but of course - doesnt..

1: My first step in troubleshooting was to test for spark to the distributor. (THERE WAS) Though I made the stupid mistake of not testing a spark plug as well.. So my guess was my distributor cap - which was in very bad shape. I guessed that to be the problem so bought a new one as well as rotor. Well I install it right, and put the plugs in the right firing order - but nothing. Come to find out later from some more testing that the rotor itself does not move when I crank the car on.. *However I smell gas going into the engine and the pistons do move fine.

So I figure it has to be my timing belt. I call around some places; I live in Vacaville, California by the way, and I am told by the places I call that with 944, when the timing belt breaks that it bends the EXHAUST VALVES along with it. I was wondering if this is perhaps myth, or if this is true. I noticed nothing wrong with the piston movements and was wondering if I should percede to take off the engine head and try to fix the belt myself? Or if with the bent valves it is even worth fixing?

The estimates I recieved for a mechanic to fix the engine were at $4000 dollars, $3500 dollars, and around $2500 dollars if I was blessed at not having my exhaust valves broken..

Eh well my main questions are basically.. should I attempt to fix it myself, or is the project more than overwhelming? Should I look into selling the car or spend money over the entire worth of the car?..

A bit confused really.. being eighteen and having not too much money. If anyone had any suggestions or possible solutions to my dilemma, they would be more than appreciated. Or if anyone lived in the area and could give me a hand or take a look at it - cheers.

Thanks, Vince.

[operationcougar]

hapend to me, and yes, bent valves, i tested everything and i only really needed to replace one of the valves (i actually got lucky) but i went ahead and did them all, i was also lucky that i didnt get any real scars or holes in the pistons

anyway as far as you and fixing your car, i would say thats up to you to decide on what to do with it, its all based on how much you like the car, i personally love mine, so i was willing to spend the few weeks it took me to get time to fix it, on getting a quality job

if you did decide to keep it if you have a very minimal mechanical background then you should probably just take it to a dealer and spend the money, i went ahead and did the work myself (i have a fairly extensive mechanical background) although i did have a hectic time with the thousands of vacume lines that are hidden down below the intake manifold, but enough said, after shopping around and getting a good deal on the parts i did the whole job for less than $300

[operationcougar]

although if you do need to get rid of it, let us know, i could use some of it im sure

[speedracing944]

look in the little hole in the cam sprocket cover. There you can see the cam belt and the cam sprocket. Try turning the engine by using a breaker bar on the crank bolt. Watch in that little hole, the belt and the cam should move as you are turning the crank. You may even see the condition of the belt through the little hole.

[SoCal Driver]

About $500 to $700 IF you do all the remove and replace work yourself. Figure a week as you will need to take the head to a shop to grind the valves in. They may want to replace the guides depending on their condition.

How many miles on the car and how long have you owned it.

[Britwrench]

944 NA with broken belts are worth $500 for the complete car. To fix it you need to see how bad the engine is. It will probably need all the front seals, water pump, belts and tensioners, not to mention the oil cooler seals, distributor cap and rotor arm and other service items. Usually at least one or two valves will be bent and the valve guides WILL need replacing.
It can be done, but to have a shop do it is something only you can decide whether it's worth it.

Timing belt maintenance is adjustment every 15,000 miles and replacement before 35k miles.
The new belts need adjustement after 2000-2500 miles after intial installation.

[nynor]

i did this job myself... do a search.

anyway, after all the rollers, a new waterpump, gaskets, a head with decent valves (i had bent 3 exhaust and 1 intake), new plugs, new belts, tools that i needed to do the job right, it cost me about $1200 (vs. about $2500+ at the shop). it actually went really well and i am proud to say the damn thing works great. i have a bit of experience, but this was my first time with a cylinder head.

if you have the money, take it to the shop. if you want a challenge and are willing to take some serious time and be very careful, save some money and get your hands dirty.

[Vince04o5]

Being a newbie at all of this.. is an engine hoist needed for all of this? Will I have to remove the engine entirely or can I simply just replace the belt within the car?

[Britwrench]

You don't need a hoist. However, the valves will be bent so the head has to be removed when the belt breaks.

[Vince04o5]

Well I took off the covering and saw that a portion of my belt (approx. 3inches) had no teeth at all. Thus it is just slipping. The inside was covered w/ hair from all the belt as well..

So I checked it out and I can crank my car with no problems. The pistons move and if I do it by hand, it is just the same.. Should I try replacing the belt w/o taking off the head and digging up the valves to check if theyre bent or is it almost positive that the valves are bent?..

I heard if youre lucky that the valves may not bend. When I drove I heard no sounds or anything, nothing clinging. Its just when I went to turn on the car it would not start up..

Q: Should I try and replace the belt or look into picking up a new engine?.. Taking it to a shop to get all the work done is out of the question.. financially I do not have two to four thousand dollars to drop on it..

Thanks and excuse the ignorance. Im a nub.

[SoCal Driver]

You will have one or more valves bent. Requires removing the head.

If you have to put $1,500 into it and have a decent car to drive for several more years how much is that per month???

Beats the heck out of new car payments and insurance.

[SoCal Driver]

Oh yes, that's $63 per month for two years.

[speedracing944]

What about throwing a new belt on and running a compression test. I would think that if the valves are bent your compression would be low on the cylinder with the bent valves.

[SoCal Driver]

NOT! At least ONE valve is BENT if not more!

Get real. Pull the head.

[speedracing944]

to pull the head = $0 just your labor.

[nynor]

welcome to the 'order of the bent valve'...

if you need any help, email me at monad9 @ comcast dot net

i just did this whole thing around christmas.

[nynor]

oh yeah, we have the same year car. should be the same thing.

[944 Ecology]

1) You have bent valves. No question about it.

2) It is a hell of a lot cheaper to fix your current engine (with a valve job and a gasket set and your own labor) than it is to buy a used engine (even with your own labor).

3) If you cannot afford to fix it, you should sell it now, before it sits in your driveway or yard for three or four years and deteriorates until it is worth nothing.

So, be a man, make a decision, and get to it... one way or the other.

gb

[IceShark]

There are one or two guys I know that have lost teeth on the belt and not bent valves. And I know a lot of 944/68 people around the world. So odds are very remote you didn't bend at least one and the above conclusion of having done so is correct.

You need to decide how much you love the car and move forward.

[PhillysMostWntd]

if you have a bent valve you hear a slight ticking while driving/idling correct? just checking because thats what ive heard