Belts, Belts, Belts & a Chain!

[paulf968]

Am about to start thinking about the dreaded belt job on a 968. Also, as it is arguably one of the most important service tasks on a 968, I think we should have our own thread going on this forum (even if 968.net has valuable info, we should do our own thing).

So many questions arise:

Mileage, Porsche say every 60,000m is that OK? is it different for normal or heavier use?
Is it just one belt or more that need changing?
Is it worth inspecting condition at other intervals? how?
What other known things should we be looking out for at the time?
Is it a job that an inexperienced but handy person could undertake?
Are any special tools required?
Tensioning, are there any tips we should know?
What to look out for in terms of part quality? who to get the parts from?
If using a garage, what to ask if you want to check that they actually know what to do?
Any recommendations of actual mechanics who have done a good job?

Makes my head hurt, all of this, but it is cheaper than an engine rebuild.

bye


paul

 

[paulf968]

John & Alex

Following your recommendation am much re-assured about the existence of a good garage when I visited the site of Hartech. The buying guide is useful and in my view does a great job in establishing their credentials. The published service price list is dated August 2002, but I assume it is current.

some prices:

Hartech timing belts job £220, but only £72 !! if done with their C service.
Hartech chain job £184, but only £160 with a C service.

Then had a quick visit to the website of JZ Machtech in Watford (they say they cannot be beaten on the quality of parts or labour rate!!!! some claim).

JZ belts job £298
JZ chain job £310

nuff said (ps all prices exclude VAT)

bye


paul

 

[Guest]

At those prices its not worth getting your hands dirty, although do they include everything including the pulleys ?

Mike

 

[paulf968]

Might anyone else have knowledge of a good business for doing the belts and chain job? On this sort of important job I always like to compare offerings.

bye


paul

 

[Guest]

I always use JZ near Watford - they are very good, but they aren't the cheapest. I need belts/chain doing this year (That will be 4 years/20000 miles, I think) and am considering using Hartech. Even though it will only be six months since the last service, it is worth getting the C service done with all the rest I think - with all that work, the service will be more or less free! Bolton is a 500 mile round trip for me too, but hire a car from them (cheap) and factor in a trip to the lakes or something, and it becomes worthwhile!

I have been advised before that it is worth having the water pump and engine seals redone at the same time as all of these things - what do people think?

Cheers,
Dave

 

[Guest]

Might be of interest if you haven't already seen it, I found this link on 968.net giving a procedure to inspect your variocam setup which seems to be the biggest cause of catasrophic failure. Change those tensioner pads guys !

Inspection PDF

Damn useful and quite well written.

Mike[]

 

[Mr968]

Mike you beat me to it, in John's image you can see a red component at the top right, this is the Variocam slide/tensioner pad. This is what the chain slides on and what applies the varying tension to the chain.
These can become worn on the surface to such a state that they will start to deteriorate and release bits or particles onto the chain and sprockets etc. So these should also be changed if there is any sign of wear, which there undoubtedly will be at the higher mileages. There are 2, one above which is visible and one below.
Have a look at Porsche 968 Variocam for more info.