04-28-2008, 04:26 PM
Driving on Saturday, 30 miles left to go on a 200 mile trip. Over the sound of the radio I heard a clunk and a thump from the engine, followed by a red exclamation light and ABS light. 5 seconds later I heard a second thump as the right rear tire rolled over the remains of something from under my hood. Observing a red light on the voltmeter and less than 12 volts, I surmised that the alternator belt had broken.
I drove the car for about 30 more minutes at high speed, turning off all things electric, watching as the voltmeter dropped to around 10.5 or so. I made it to my destination safely and with the engine running normally. Now I was stranded 200 miles from home. I figured I would have to leave the car at a shop and return later in the week, but just on a whim I called Autozone, and believe it or not they had a 1994 Porsche 968 alternator belt! I bought the belt, and grabbed a power steering belt too. They were Dayco belts, same brand as OEM, but they didn't say Porsche. With the help of a friend and some ramps I installed the new belts. The power steering belt came off EASY since all the fasteners had been bathed in oil/PS fluid for the past 5 years. The only problem was the forward AC compressor bolt, it would not budge. I removed the tensioner, and luckily the compressor swung around the threads without having to loosen the forward bolt at all. Go figure. Next I installed the belts, adjusted the tensioners to what felt right (no special tool P901 in my toolbox), then fired it up. Some minor squeal when cycling the AC on/off, fixed by tightening the tensioner another turn. Then drove home 200 miles, no problems. I plan to have the tensions checked this week. A review of the records showed that the alt belt was factory original, making it 14 years old with 95000 miles at failure. Guess I should have included that on a preventative maintenance visit. I would call this an easy DIY job, aside from checking the tension to spec values.
I drove the car for about 30 more minutes at high speed, turning off all things electric, watching as the voltmeter dropped to around 10.5 or so. I made it to my destination safely and with the engine running normally. Now I was stranded 200 miles from home. I figured I would have to leave the car at a shop and return later in the week, but just on a whim I called Autozone, and believe it or not they had a 1994 Porsche 968 alternator belt! I bought the belt, and grabbed a power steering belt too. They were Dayco belts, same brand as OEM, but they didn't say Porsche. With the help of a friend and some ramps I installed the new belts. The power steering belt came off EASY since all the fasteners had been bathed in oil/PS fluid for the past 5 years. The only problem was the forward AC compressor bolt, it would not budge. I removed the tensioner, and luckily the compressor swung around the threads without having to loosen the forward bolt at all. Go figure. Next I installed the belts, adjusted the tensioners to what felt right (no special tool P901 in my toolbox), then fired it up. Some minor squeal when cycling the AC on/off, fixed by tightening the tensioner another turn. Then drove home 200 miles, no problems. I plan to have the tensions checked this week. A review of the records showed that the alt belt was factory original, making it 14 years old with 95000 miles at failure. Guess I should have included that on a preventative maintenance visit. I would call this an easy DIY job, aside from checking the tension to spec values.
