[nifi]

Hello all,



I'm interested in borrowing or renting the Timing Belt Tension tool (P9201). I will be starting my project in mid Aug. or Sept. I'm in the Phoenix metro area. I can be reached at dattmugger@yahoo.com or PM



Thanks,



Matt

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[earossi]

[quote name='nifi' post='57416' date='Aug 6 2008, 02:25 AM']Hello all,



I'm interested in borrowing or renting the Timing Belt Tension tool (P9201). I will be starting my project in mid Aug. or Sept. I'm in the Phoenix metro area. I can be reached at dattmugger@yahoo.com or PM



Thanks,



Matt[/quote]



Finding someone with the 9201 belt gauge is going to be tricky. And, at $600 to buy they are not a great purchase. Since the 968 has an auto tensioner on the timing belt, it is less critical to have to measure its setting. Not sure that many of us ever check the tension of the timing belt anymore, but I could be wrong. What you do need to have is a gauge to tension the balance shaft belt. And, you'll see posts about a lot of guys that don't use a gauge on it, either. There are various ways in use like being able to twist the belt 90 degrees or so on.



Your best bet might be to buy the belt tensioner that many of us use for our 944 and 968 belts. Last tme I looked, I think that you can buy all the wrenchs needed as well as the tensioning tool for less than $200. You should go to the website at www.arrnworx.com, and take a look. I have used the tool about 4 or 5 times, and it works.

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[Cloud9...68]

[quote name='earossi' post='57418' date='Aug 6 2008, 04:43 AM']Your best bet might be to buy the belt tensioner that many of us use for our 944 and 968 belts. Last tme I looked, I think that you can buy all the wrenchs needed as well as the tensioning tool for less than $200. You should go to the website at www.arrnworx.com, and take a look. I have used the tool about 4 or 5 times, and it works.[/quote]

Since you've used your arrnworx tensioner tool several times, I assume you've used it to re-tension your balance shaft belts a few hundred miles after replacement. Have you noticed it get looser between the time you replaced it, and after driving it awhile? I don't have a tensioner gauge, and have used the various "by feel" methods you describe, and I've never been able to detect one iota of loosening of my BS belt after driving it awhile following a replacement. Nor has the degree of whine ever changed over time, so I'm wondering if the recommendation to re-tension is no longer important (because of improved belt materials?). Going in there and trying to re-tension has, in my experience, caused more problems than it has solved, so I'm wondering if my experience is common. Thanks.

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[earossi]

[quote name='Cloud9...68' post='57482' date='Aug 6 2008, 07:29 PM']Since you've used your arrnworx tensioner tool several times, I assume you've used it to re-tension your balance shaft belts a few hundred miles after replacement. Have you noticed it get looser between the time you replaced it, and after driving it awhile? I don't have a tensioner gauge, and have used the various "by feel" methods you describe, and I've never been able to detect one iota of loosening of my BS belt after driving it awhile following a replacement. Nor has the degree of whine ever changed over time, so I'm wondering if the recommendation to re-tension is no longer important (because of improved belt materials?). Going in there and trying to re-tension has, in my experience, caused more problems than it has solved, so I'm wondering if my experience is common. Thanks.[/quote]



I'm not certain that I can truthfully answer your question, simply since I put so few miles on my cars. My 944 eas a project car that I bought with a failed timing belt.....and the resultant bent valves. So. when I rebuilt the head, I installed new belts. Drove the car about 1500 miles before selling it (that 1500 miles took about a year!). Both 968's I have owned came to me with very loose BS belts. On the first car which had an accurate history, I just retensioned the belt and then drove the car about 4k miles without needing to retention it. On my current coupe, the history was suspect, so I changed out both belts when I did a cam inspection. When I pulled the plastic covers off, I found the BS belt very loose on this car as well.



Believing that the BS belts stretch, I set the tension on my replacement BS belt on the high side, assming that a little stretch would occur (hopefully enough to just get rid of the belt whine that I now hear). Since I have only put about 500 miles on the car since changing the belt, I can say that there has been some noticeable reduction in whine, but it has not quite disappeared yet.



So, after all that, I just can't answer your question. But, bottom line, I believe that the Arrnworx tensioning tool works, though not quite as accurate as the P5201. The tool was about $60 when I purchased it. I then spent a little over another $100 to buy the spanner wrench for the BS sprockets and the thin wrenches neeeded to reach the sprocket retaining bolts.

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[nifi]

[quote name='nifi' post='57416' date='Aug 6 2008, 02:25 AM']Hello all,



I'm interested in borrowing or renting the Timing Belt Tension tool (P9201). I will be starting my project in mid Aug. or Sept. I'm in the Phoenix metro area. I can be reached at dattmugger@yahoo.com or PM



Thanks,



Matt[/quote]



I want to thank all of you for your comments! I did find a site that will rent the Tensioning tool. http://www.vertexauto.com/



Thanks again,

Matt

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[Roboman]

Excuse my ignorance here, and I see this is an old thread, but what is the point of using a tensioner on the 968 cam belt? Or is it just to check that the auto tensioner is functioning correctly.

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[MCL968]

Only for the balance belt.

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[Waylander]

Yup balance belt only, and you dont really need it for that


To tight it whines like mad, to loose and it slaps the water pump pulley


And even when you use the tool the first time you will think its far too loose,


It really is floppy at the right tension, if you can twist the belt through 180 in the middle of the longest run with little effort thats about right, when you get a tension tool try it out

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[Roboman]

Great, that was my understanding, and given that I recently did that work I'm glad to have my approach confirmed. Thanks guys.

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