cam belt intervals
- Thread starter huw
- Start date
stevie d
New member
How long ago were they last replaced (age wise) ? General rule on here and TIPEC site is that they should be changed every 4-5 years or 40k miles which ever comes first whilst the water pump should be replaced every second belt change . However I don't think Porsche themselves ever set an official time scale for changing either but this is now considered best practice by many owners .
Originally the belts were said to be for the life of the engine!!
4 years if regular use, if they've been sitting for a year, I'd want to change them.
4 years if regular use, if they've been sitting for a year, I'd want to change them.
stevie d
New member
If its been more than 5 years since they were last done (cam belt & balance belt) then most people on here would advise you to get them done regardless of mileage . Having said that when i bought mine (21 years old , 120k miles) it had been about 12 years since the belts were done and it was still on its original water pump without any drama . The local OPC inspected the vehicle after i bought it and advised me on the age of the belts but having looked at them the mechanic said he would be happy enough to drive the car with belts as they were . I changed them and the water pump any way for peace of mind as a failure of either can potentially wreck the engine . You could use the cost of a belt change to negotiate some money of the asking price of the car [
] .
Funnily enough a bloke stopped me in Halfrauds car park early this week to tell me the car was from Wales where he used to collect reg numbers . Its still in completely original condition apart from the Cup 3 alloys that i'm trialling at the mo so it'll still look the same as it did back then .
] . Funnily enough a bloke stopped me in Halfrauds car park early this week to tell me the car was from Wales where he used to collect reg numbers . Its still in completely original condition apart from the Cup 3 alloys that i'm trialling at the mo so it'll still look the same as it did back then .
I've always wondered about this and when I was at the Race Retro exhibition earlier this year I went on the Gates stand.
They apparently make 90% of all the world's drive belts. The chap there said that their belts would last the life of an engine and that they only change them when they do an engine rebuild.
So what do we do , well I'm currently driving round in my 944 which hasn't had a belt in 50k just waiting for that clank!
They apparently make 90% of all the world's drive belts. The chap there said that their belts would last the life of an engine and that they only change them when they do an engine rebuild.
So what do we do , well I'm currently driving round in my 944 which hasn't had a belt in 50k just waiting for that clank!
I would have asked him: what does "the life of an engine" mean?
By definition, on an interference engine, when the belt lets go, it has served the life of the engine. These days they are designing cars to be as low-maintenance as possible, and then thrown away when they are between 8 and 12 years old.
I/ve been through this with the "sealed for life" auto transmissions that BMW changed to with the later E39 5-series and onwards from there. Previously you could change the fluid and filters fairly readily and indeed it was available as a service item. Subsequently they won't do it, and a lot of them go bang at around 120K to 150K miles. "Sealed for life" means "sealed for the life of the transmission", not "sealed for as long as you will want to use the car".
By definition, on an interference engine, when the belt lets go, it has served the life of the engine. These days they are designing cars to be as low-maintenance as possible, and then thrown away when they are between 8 and 12 years old.
I/ve been through this with the "sealed for life" auto transmissions that BMW changed to with the later E39 5-series and onwards from there. Previously you could change the fluid and filters fairly readily and indeed it was available as a service item. Subsequently they won't do it, and a lot of them go bang at around 120K to 150K miles. "Sealed for life" means "sealed for the life of the transmission", not "sealed for as long as you will want to use the car".
Yeah,
I'm a bit confused too. I fully understand the need for cam belt changes, but this whole thing seems to have taken on mythical proportions. Avoid at all costs a car without documented and very regular changes? Why the time thing? I understand rubber perishes over time, but surely mileage is the important factor? I have rejected numerous cars because of cam belt /tensioner history, but what is the evidence? Somebody put me in my box! I just want a car in good condition that has been looked after. I kept my Sprite for 18 years, I want a 944 to keep and develop. I am now open to any model within my budget of 3K. As stated elsewhere, unfortunately, I am laid up at the moment with a slipped disc, but really want one of these wonderful cars.
I'm a bit confused too. I fully understand the need for cam belt changes, but this whole thing seems to have taken on mythical proportions. Avoid at all costs a car without documented and very regular changes? Why the time thing? I understand rubber perishes over time, but surely mileage is the important factor? I have rejected numerous cars because of cam belt /tensioner history, but what is the evidence? Somebody put me in my box! I just want a car in good condition that has been looked after. I kept my Sprite for 18 years, I want a 944 to keep and develop. I am now open to any model within my budget of 3K. As stated elsewhere, unfortunately, I am laid up at the moment with a slipped disc, but really want one of these wonderful cars.
simkin911
New member
I wouldn't reject any reasonably priced and otherwise good car just because the belts haven't been changed. Buy the car and start afresh yourself with a new belt change having hopefully used this as a good point to reduce the price somewhat. You could be missing out on decent ars for no good reason.... [
]Why not adopt this approach?
I'm sure no-one of repute has advised you to avoid a car that has not had recent belts: just budget to do the belts. The engine does not deteriorate gradually as the belts age: it generally runs perfectly until the belt snaps or jumps and the engine is immediately destroyed.
While you are on your back read the 944 section of this
http://www.hartech.org/docs/buyers%20guide%20web%20format%20Jan%202007%20part%202.pdf
and you will find prices here:
http://www.hartech.org/docs/service_prices_944_jan2011.pdf
While you are on your back read the 944 section of this
http://www.hartech.org/docs/buyers%20guide%20web%20format%20Jan%202007%20part%202.pdf
and you will find prices here:
http://www.hartech.org/docs/service_prices_944_jan2011.pdf
pauljmcnulty
Active member
I've been around the cars for about six years, and been 944 Register Secretary for several of those years. I do get reports of belt failures, some have been posted here as well. The recommendation is every four years MAXIMUM, and as I've heard of them failing under five years old then I'd not risk pushing it further. You've got to change it sometime, why risk it? It's not only the age-related degradation, but things like oil seals weeping and contaminating the belts; my first belt lasted one year because of this.
There are two perspectives here. One is that the belts rarely fail. Looking another way, almost 100% of people in Clubs and on enthusiast's forums know the intervals and stick to them, so any time-related failures are actually a significant proportion of the few cars that have gone more than four years. What no-one knows is how many ratty cars, bought cheap and never serviced, suffer failures and are just scrapped.
I'd not reject a car due to old belts, any more than old tyres, although they do point to someone who doesn't maintain the car properly. If they've left this, would they change the oil regularly or say "it's only done a few miles so we'll leave it a few years"? Just check in to it further. A belt change doesn't cost more than many other jobs on the car, consider it part of a list of jobs that are nice to see recently done on a car you're buying, or factor in to the price. Most indies do menu servicing now, listed on their websites.
Diver944
Active member
Lets get this straight. There has ALWAYS been a Porsche recommended interval of 48,000 miles or 4 years - whichever comes first. If a belt snaps it usually trashes your engine so you have to ask yourself can you afford a secondhand engine of unknown origin or a bill for thousands for a rebuild. Weigh it up against a belt change for roughly £300 - £400 every 4 years.
We don't hear of as many failures these days as we used to, and I like to think it's partly because we have been banging on about it for the past decade or so. However we have all seen the figures for how few of our cars are left now so it's simple maths that the fewer left the fewer failures we get. When I was a club official I had at least 10 calls a year from members snapped belts and it's always a pretty upsetting conversation []
Don't discount buying a car with old belts but budget a few hundred quid to change them immediately and you'll be fine []
We don't hear of as many failures these days as we used to, and I like to think it's partly because we have been banging on about it for the past decade or so. However we have all seen the figures for how few of our cars are left now so it's simple maths that the fewer left the fewer failures we get. When I was a club official I had at least 10 calls a year from members snapped belts and it's always a pretty upsetting conversation [
]Don't discount buying a car with old belts but budget a few hundred quid to change them immediately and you'll be fine [
]
Northern924
New member
I guess its all been said, but the 3 things to consider:
1. Degradation of material
2. Milage covered
3. Contamination
If you are an experienced home mechanic, then doing the belts is an afternoons work for £140 (both belts and all tensioners), and if you do it right you can get the tension within the Porsche limits very easily depsite what some say, just ask Eldavo we checked mine with the tool after 2k and they were spot on, the +/- on them is bigger than you think
Now this is just a personal opinion, but I would only change the rollers & balance belt every other change as well, the balance belt runs at a much, much lower tension than the cam, now yes we know it runs at twice engine speed but its a heck of a lot slacker and it only under the load of shafts not the full engine torque, and if the tensioners can only withstand 40k then they must be pretty badly made!
End of the day I would never dismiss a car because it hasn't been done, if its running its not broken!!!!! And changing the belts isn't a huge task
1. Degradation of material
2. Milage covered
3. Contamination
If you are an experienced home mechanic, then doing the belts is an afternoons work for £140 (both belts and all tensioners), and if you do it right you can get the tension within the Porsche limits very easily depsite what some say, just ask Eldavo we checked mine with the tool after 2k and they were spot on, the +/- on them is bigger than you think
Now this is just a personal opinion, but I would only change the rollers & balance belt every other change as well, the balance belt runs at a much, much lower tension than the cam, now yes we know it runs at twice engine speed but its a heck of a lot slacker and it only under the load of shafts not the full engine torque, and if the tensioners can only withstand 40k then they must be pretty badly made!
End of the day I would never dismiss a car because it hasn't been done, if its running its not broken!!!!! And changing the belts isn't a huge task
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