[wingers]

Had a similar thing on my 944 turned out to be one of the tensioners worn.



Well i am back all in one piece,Thanks for the toast Flash.

First time out and the old girl led for about three laps.

Most impressed by the bog standard 968 cab handling, most forgiving with my mistakes at some of the turn ins.

But the real mistake was the first back marker that i was ready to overtake out of the esses,he decides to run wide on the grass only to shoot back towards myself with stones and debri,i pulled out of the way only to loose the momentum,i should have floored it but alas i was then passed by the two cars who i failed to catch throughout the rest of the race.

Goodness the tyres were hot at the finish but the engine was just COOL!



Oh i seem to have gone passed the start of the red bit on the rev counter without the limiter cutting in is that ok?



Hey Flash Top speed 118, so much for my 150+



   

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[MikeNH]

Changing at 30K sounds very conservative. I have always done it on time (every 3 - 4 yrs) as I don’t drive my car that much.



The prices I have heard people paying is ridiculous. Changing the belts is not a difficult job.



And to answer the original question. Yes, you can remove the top plastic belt cover and inspect the belts. It requires removing the air box and the hex screws holding the cover on.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Cloud9...68]

[quote name='Duckman' post='36708' date='Jun 9 2007, 02:58 PM']I had been planning on having the belts replaced at 40k, along with a water pump, etc., but didn't make it that far. My timing belt gave up at a little under 40k miles. Yep, I had to rebuild the top end.[/quote]



Yikes! Until Flash's and your posts, I was beginning to believe the fragility of our timing belts was an urban legend designed to enrich unscrupulous mechanics, sort of like the con artists at the oil change places peddling the fairy tale that we all need to change our oil after every other trip to the grocery store (or an equally antiquated 3K mile interval). Sorry to hear about your experience.



This reminds me of the situation with the variocam pads, with some all but disintegrating after about 30K miles, and others, like mine, which looked brand new at 80K. I guess the only reasonable thing to do is follow Porshce's recommended interval, and hope our engine isn't the one with the proverbial bullet in the chamber that doesn't even make it to 40K. I guess it's a good idea when owning one of these cars to keep a cash reserve on hand in case of the dreaded pinion bearing or timing belt malady. But I guess every car, particularly older sports car, has its own achilles heel or two.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[wingers]

A look through the previous service history on the Cab Tiptronic has shown that the balance belt broke at about 30,500 miles just in the three years,the cam belt still looks good though.

I will get to the manual Cab belts etc after completing this one.

Fingers cross on that one as it has less miles on it, but that it seems makes little diference.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[rd1cobra]

The porsche dealer I use for service recommends 3yrs or 30,000 miles on the belts - Cam (timing) and balance shaft.



I'm not sure this is "official" since the service manual has different intervals but this is probably from experience.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[ds968]

foremost, in order to mitigate liability, and as a general rule ( probably to enrich service departments,

as well as parts mfgs & distributors <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/dry.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> ), car manufacturers will set the replacement interval recommendations far more frequently than actually needed. You can be assured that if Porsche recommends 60k miles for the belt, that belt, IN MOST CASES, is designed to last, and will likely last

at least 120k miles.. but again, that's in most cases, and you can have belts break after 5k, or 30k or

at any other point, as was evidently and regretfully the case with a few of our members here.

So not sure what's truly reasonable in terms of a replacement interval but I'll probably change mine somewhere b/w 45k to 50k miles from the last replacement.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[flash]

it's not just the miles, but also the time involved - they figure a basic mileage per year and go from there



you may drive only 10k but take 5 years to get there - in that case, you are still needing belts



3 yrs/30k sounds about right to insure that you don't go boink - belt job cheap - bent valves not so much

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[wingers]

ds968, very brave shout!

I wonder how long some of the belts are in storage from manufacturer to fittment in some of the slower outlets?

I,m going for 30,000 mile three year replacement with adjustment on the balance shaft every 10,000 miles.

Will let you know what i find on the other with lower mileage when i have completed this one.

Hope the cam sprockets will be ok to!

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Anchorman]

Hmmm....my last belt change was 15 months, and 20k miles, ago. They were inspected yesterday and look pristine. Guess I'll go a little longer. The previous change had been done after 27 months and 50k miles.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[94SilverCab]

I am one of the unfortunates that was waiting for 60k and had it break at 56k....a $5k lesson.



I will be going with 5 years or 15,000 miles for as long as I own the car. Pete at RS Barn does all of the work on my car and we are now in a 5 year cycle with belts/hoses/cap rotor brakes, etc. (With extras like chip/exhaust/strut braces/header, thrown in for good measure) Driving 3,000 miles/year there is no reason for my car to ever break down and ruin my smile factor.



Jay

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[Anchorman]

"Driving 3,000 miles/year..." Humph.



I guess this is all pointing me to about a two-year cycle. Although, my wife is pressuring me to get a winter car, so maybe my mileage rate will go down a bit.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[ds968]

[quote name='flash' post='37865' date='Jul 5 2007, 12:19 PM']belt job cheap - bent valves not so much[/quote]



cheap if you can do it yourself, but IIRC, around here shops charge b/w $ 800 to

$ 1,000 for the job ( and no, that does not include the water pump job that many chose to do concurrently ). Sure, still way less than the rebuilt you'll need if it breaks, but not necessarily spare change either.. as preventive maintenance things go.

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.

[flash]

well, yeah - it's all relative - 800 vs 5000 was my thinking (apparantly these valves are uber-pricey)

Partial Post: Please Login or Register to read the full post.