Timing Belt, when to change?
 

I have always heard the timing belt should be changed every 30K or 3-4 years, but then I have talked to others that say the newer belts can go 60K. Just curious if anyone knows what is recommended these days.

I bought the cricket tool a few years ago, I may attempt the change myself.

the belts can go 60k, but they could also break at 57k or 45k. I guess it comes down to how much you can stomach and what your tollerance to risk is. I just had timing belt replaced it had only 40,000KM on it but it was also 4 years old. I decided to change it, the belt still looked fine but why chance it?

You do know what happens if the belt breaks right???

i've understood that 35-45k, or 2 years (3 max)... whichever comes first...

better to do the repair a lil more often than to have to look at a head overhaul.

When do you change belts? That's easy....always change them before they break! :)

...it's your call, I thought I would chance mine once and took it to the track at 60....well, I can tell you how much valves cost now and what a pain it is to rebuild heads...even more importantly...what it feels like to not get to drive my car for a couple weeks. There are a lot of people around here say 30 to 35 but I usually change mine between 40 and 50 or every two years...but I don't drive it hard either. It only took one trip to the track for me to figure out I can't turn corners....it was fun though..till it broke. When I was driving I was getting worse times than the Dodge Neon...then the instructor took it for a run...kicked everyone's butt....except the Ferrari F50. So, if the instructor can beat everyone, so can I ...yeah right...right up to the point where I broke it. Nuff said...packed it up, came home and ain't been back. I'll leave that stuff to Z-man and the others with talent. Bottom line is that it isn't worth pushing that particular part...other things maybe but not the belts.

Re: Timing Belt, when to change?
 

No, newer belts on newer engines can go 60,000 miles or more, newer belts on old engines still only last as long as the originals. Never exceed the interval listed in the manual. Never.

Manual says 30,000.

The 85.5 I just bought didn't have records to state when it had been last done...So I didn't drive it until it was done (After my test drives)

Its not worth the risk, its not cheap, but much less expensive then a broken engine...

Do it yourself at 30k or 3 years. Guestimate the tension and leave the covers off. Call a good shop and have them tension the belts for you. Keep the covers off and have the shop retension after 1500 miles. Then put the covers on. To tension the belts, the engine should be cold, so plan to leave the car with the shop for 1/2 day. With the covers off, the labor should be 1/2 hour each time. Many shops have a 1 hour minimum, but for $80 x 2 you know the tension is correct. At $160 every 3 years, it will be a long time before you pay back the cost of the Porsche tensioning tool.

book time on a simple retension is 1.3 hours... depending on the shop, you might get away with being charged less if you remove the covers yourself.. but probably not very much, it's only 5 mins to take the covers off..

Getting the belt changed on Friday, got a few track dates planned. Thanks for words of advise