[ds968]

unless you're able to take out the entire belt and look for every possible sign of cracks on and between the teeth, while twisting it and bending the tooth side outward, closely examining it, you simply will not be able to predict condition.

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[Ryan]

What is "Pete's method" for setting the tension on the ballance shaft belt??? I did mine by feel compared to the old belt. Not the best way, but I was getting some "whine" from it after so I must be in the park. I am due to retension before long so any info would be great.

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[968TDG]

I'm about to pull all of the belt housings off tonight to replace the belts and rollers as well as the water pump. Is it going to be an issue that I don't have the correct Porsche tensioning tool, or do people regularly do this service by feel?

thanks
-phil

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[Cloud9...68]

I bet 99% of people do it by feel.

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[flash]

i do - it's deceiving though, and you can easily end up too tight - i deliberately set mine a touch tight, so that when it loosened up at 2k miles, i would have it "right"

i sent you my number in a PM - ring me up and i can tell you how i did it

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[MikeVT]

just finished my belts. did screw up and have to redo the job.

i have the belt tension tool. its not the best but works ok. the belts will be looser than you might think. the manual also says to tighten new and old belts the same.

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[94SilverCab]

I wouldn't neccesarily do the WP unless you know its bad. These things seem to either work or not, not a standard replacement sort of item.

Belts definately!

Jay

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[flash]

sort of - the seal in there is rubber and ages like the rest of the rubber, so it's sort of an age thing - definitely not every belt job, but i would change it if it is more than 8 years old - the pump is cheap compared to the labor to change it, and we have seen quite a few pumps failing lately

daryl found a cheap new pump source and we are just waiting for reviews on fitment and quality and such before spreading the word

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[Darryl]

<!--quoteo(post=80202:date=Sep 17 2009, 09:25 PM:name=flash)-->QUOTE (flash @ Sep 17 2009, 09:25 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->daryl found a cheap new pump source and we are just waiting for reviews on fitment and quality and such before spreading the word<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I received my pumps...they look great. I'm hoping to get the belts and water pump done on the coupe in the next couple of weeks. The manufacturer on the pumps is Hamburg-Technik and supposedly an OEM supplier. They come included with gaskets and an O-ring.

- Darryl

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[968TDG]

I have a refurbished pump from paragon, is this a bad idea to install if it's currently working? It seems from the records that it at least hasn't been done for 5 years, but the belts were done 5 years ago...so maybe it hasn't been replaced as the belts have only been replaced this once.

-Phil

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[968TDG]

So I did the belts this past weekend along with water pump, all pulleys and tensioner. Things went well, and I adjusted the balance belt by feel after talking with Flash about it. When the car is cold there is a very audible whirring sound. It kind of sounds like the car has an electric engine. As the temperature gauge goes up, the whirring gets quieter until it becomes much less noticeable than the exhaust note. I've heard that it is a standard sound after belt changes, and that it is the balance belt. i wanted to know if anyone has had the same noise after changing the belts.

Thanks.
-Phil

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[flash]

yeah - that's it - mine is currently too tight too, but i only have about 150 miles on it, and i know they stretch and quiet down by the time they are to be re-checked and re-tensioned (2k miles after the change), so i'm waiting to see how it goes

the good news is that you can go back in easily enough and back it off a bit if it bugs you - i may do that - not sure yet

definitely better a touch tight than a touch loose though - i've seen the results of that one and have been sacrificing chickens and walking little old ladies across the street ever since

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[968TDG]

Ok, well as long as nothing is about to self destruct, I think I'll leave it for a bit and see if it tones down.

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[MikeVT]

I would back the tension off. The Porsche repair manual makes a point of telling us that the setting for both new and used belts is the same.

Also, a over tensioned belt can cause failure.

But thats just me.

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[flash]

there is over-tensioned and there is over-tensioned - too much certainly can cause a problem

the real problem is a loose belt - that WILL cause problems - we all know that

as for same tension new and "used:" (though you never re-use a belt, and i presume you meant "already installed"), of course you want the same tension all the time - all i am doing is possibly skipping the re-tensioning step by setting it tighter now, anticipating stretch, and targeting the final tension - i've seen it work - it's an educated guess though, and i may or may not hit it, and i will still check it

either way, we do know that the belts stretch, especially in the first 2k miles - that is why they need to be re-tensioned then, and again every 15k

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[Cloud9...68]

As Flash says, over-tight is all relative, but my personal experience with my balance shaft belt replacement was that I set it a bit too tight, just to the point where it whined at start-up, and then gradually went away as things warmed up. I expected the initial whine to go away as the belt stretched, but in my case, it never happened. The degree of whine never changed as the belt aged. I finally re-tensioned it a bit looser, following Pete's procedure. I think I have it right now.

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[flash]

not a thing wrong with that either - as i said, i am "guestimating" the stretch that i have seen in other cars - i may never see it, which means i am adjusting it anyway - i am fully prepared to say "well, that didn't work - time to get in there"

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[Ryan]

Cloud....could you share Pete's procedure?? I am curious and will need to retension before long.

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[flash]

i got that procedure from pete too, and it's REALLY subjective, consisting of a "until you can twist this much" here and a "until you can push this far" there - i used it and got them too tight - i gave the same procedure to phil, and he apparently got them a bit too tight as well

i think it's something that does not translate well, and really something that you learn by feel when you get it right

i was so scared of leaving them loose though, having seen that nightmare, that i erred on the side of caution and left it a bit tight

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[Cloud9...68]

<!--quoteo(post=80663:date=Sep 25 2009, 10:23 AM:name=Ryan)-->QUOTE (Ryan @ Sep 25 2009, 10:23 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->Cloud....could you share Pete's procedure?? I am curious and will need to retension before long.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I was afraid somebody was going to ask, not because I'm not happy to share any meager knowledge I have, but because I'll have to go by memory, and I'm afraid I may not get it quite right. From what I remember, Pete recommends pushing on the belt until it just touches the gold-colored pulley on the water pump. The belt should just be getting tight when it touches the pulley.

Alternatively, many have used the "twist" method, which simply involves twisting the belt 90 degrees. When tensioned properly, you should just be able to get a 90 degree twist in it.

I went back and forth between both methods, but found the "touch the pulley on the water pump" method to be a bit more intuitive. But as you can see, this stuff isn't really an exact science. It's weird that these belts have to be so loose.

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