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ALTERNATOR BELT

sebrussellsmith

sebrussellsmith

PCGB Member
Member
I can't believe this has happened again - 3rd time in 9 months the Alternator belt has snapped. The last time it was changed was 1 month ago. Either the guys changing the belt don't know what they are doing which I find hard to believe or ..... well I dont really know! The bearing has already been changed on the alternator, one of the pulleys is rusty (if this was an issue it would have been changed before and in 3 and a half years hasn't caused problems).
Last night when it happend there was a whining noise coming from the engine bay. On top of that yesterday morning before it snapped when I put the screen de-mister on, there was a burning noise coming from the engine bay.

Am I extremely unlucky and is it time to offload it. Unfortunately it is my daily driver and I cant trust this unreliability.

Any help/advice much appreciated. Very p....d off.

thanks all
 

Seb I have had one belt go in 8 years/60,000 miles, so this should be very rare. It is also easy to fix if you carry a spare belt and the right tools.

Is the alternator spindle turning freely ? Is there any resistance ? Was the belt too tight ? Was it the correct belt ? Time to visit another specialist for a second opinion, methinks, not to give up on the car.
 
That's more than bad luck. Some years back my OPC changed my belts as a precaution and fitted a modified pulley with different pulley angle to more accurately match the V angle on the belt. This was a Porsche directive I understand to lengthen belt life. Worth checking if yours was ever done.
 
Not sure if this is relevant but I had three aircon compressor drive belts go in one year (rolled off rather than snapped). The root cause turned out to be that one of the metal drain plugs in the rear engine bay compartment had come loose and was sliding around. Occasionally it would lodge under the aircon pulley wheel and fray the belt (burning smell and frayed edge were the first symptoms). One day I spotted this nicely polish disk sitiing under the belt and managed to fish it out - problem solved !

I'm not sure without looking at the engine if the same problem could affect the alternator belt, but it is easy to check that your drain plugs are in place (one each side at the back of the engine bay, about 4cm in diameter).

Rob
 

ORIGINAL: Porker993


Seb I have had one belt go in 8 years/60,000 miles, so this should be very rare.  It is also easy to fix if you carry a spare belt and the right tools. 

Is the alternator spindle turning freely ?  Is there any resistance ?  Was the belt too tight ?  Was it the correct belt ?  Time to visit another specialist for a second opinion, methinks, not to give up on the car.
Click to expand...

Thanks Mark -
Yes it does turn freely. What I do know is for the last year, the battery goes flat if not driven after 3 weeks although I am told this is normal. I recently replaced the battery as it went dead in the space of 20 minutes when I was sitting in the car listening to the radio. This would suggest either a battery not retaining its charge or an alternator not charging properly. In addition when the last belt was put on, the OPC claimed that the belt as per the porsche listing was not the same size as the one he had to fit i.e.the pulley/s were a different size to the original. Suffice to say perhaps better looking for someone else - the question is which in London has a good reputation?

 

ORIGINAL: John Maddox

That's more than bad luck. Some years back my OPC changed my belts as a precaution and fitted a modified pulley with different pulley angle to more accurately match the V angle on the belt. This was a Porsche directive I understand to lengthen belt life. Worth checking if yours was ever done.
Click to expand...

Hi John - I dont think it was done but how would I know for sure? Would Porsche have a record?
 
Seb - the OPC would possibly be able to confirm if it was done within the OPC network from your VIN if you ring the local dealer.
 
It's all in the shims!

I had my belt replaced as a precaution about five years ago by an OPC and the thing squeeled like a banshee for a week or so and snapped before I could actually get back to them to adjust it. The shims sit between the two halfs of the pulley with the number of shims affecting the tension of the belt. I suspect that my belt was changed by a technician not familiar with 993s. To be fair, the OPC were great about it, they collected my car, renewed the belt and delivered it back to my house and the new belt has behaved perfectly ever since.

I think there's a belt replacement walk through on P-car

 
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