Genuine Balancer Shaft Belt

[Jonny944CS]

Hello all,
I have tried to search for an answer to this, both on here and Rennlist; is there anything special about the genuine balancer shaft belts?
Porsche are asking nearly 4 times the price of belts by conti tech and Dayco. Contrastingly the OPC prices for Cam and auxiliary belts are within 10% of the alternatives.
In the past I have used Dayco belts from ECP (I think), however having had the tension set and re-checked by both a leading independent and myself using a borrowed gauge, I end up with what always seems, to me, to be a strong belt whine.
Does anyone know who makes the genuine belts?
I have experienced parts from an OE manufacturer to be produced differently to the original Porsche spec, for example brake disks without the any anti corrosion treatment on the surfaces not swept by the pads, perhaps this could be the case here?
Maybe the Porsche spec stipulates the rubber has some kind of expensive silicone additive to reduce noise"¦.? If this was to be true and people have experienced quieter running with genuine belts, perhaps the extra cost could be justified for such a key engine part.

 

[George Elliott]

Johnny
I got all my belts/pulleys/water-pump/gaskets from Promax.
Its OK 40,000 miles on, in fact I will soon need another....
George

944T
964

 

[zcacogp]

I've always used non-OE parts in VW's, and was planning to do the same with the belts in my S2.

However my indie did the work, and he insisted on using genuine rollers and pulleys, but was happy to use Conti-Tech belts. (I argued the toss with him on this, but he was adamant that one was OK to save money on, but not the other. Despite me putting him in contact with Bert, who was equally adamant that the pulleys are the same parts from the same production line in different boxes.)

So, make of it what you will.


Oli.

ETA: That was 20k miles ago, and all has been well.

 

[A5DSR]

Last time I changed the belts only with ones from GSF, as you say there was a constant whine at the recommended tensions. I've just fitted new belts/ rollers and tensioners from Berlyn Porsche parts these are Conti belts. The new rollers are much tighter, the old ones are noticeably loose compared to the new ones. I haven't set the tensions yet so I don't know if the whine has gone. This will be next week when the tesion gauge arrives.

 

[Fen]

My indie will only use genuine belts. Reason? They are warranted against failure, if fitted correctly, for a period (might be 36months / 36k miles).

 

[morris944s2john]

Interesting stuff, I'll be doing this job on my S2 as soon as it has an MOT. BTW- did anyone change their waterpump at the same time as the belts?? How many really fail that often on the 944?? Bert Gear said if the pump is not leaking and its not noisy and it pumps then leave it alone.

Any horror stories out there to counter this advice?

 

[pauljmcnulty]

My pump is noisy, sounds like Peter's supercharger will do - which is actually quite nice...[]

My indie reckoned it would easily last the three years until I have the belts done again, and I was happy to take his advice. I guess it's a lot easier when you leave it to the indie, if doing it myself I'd probably err far more on the safe side and change everything!

 

[knightma]

I don't think the whine has anything to do with which balance shaft belt you fit. I fitted a genuine belt myself and tried to tension it without a tool, knowing that it needs to feel 'very loose'. When I started the car it whined quite noticably. I played around with the tension but never really got it quiet. Eventually, I got an indie to tension it while the car was there for the MOT. After this it was even louder! In desparation, as I was about to bring it over to Germany, I took it to PCT near Coventry. They couldn't believe how tight the previous indie had adjusted it. It's now quiet. So I think there are 2 morals to this story, if it's whining it's too tight and not even every indie knows what they are doing with these belts!

 

[Fen]

Rule of thumb is change the pump every second belt change. They do fail and I have seen many people here and on Titanic have to do the belts early because the pump has failed. It's a balance and I guess the chance of the pump failing between 2nd and 3rd belt change is thought to offset the extra cost of replacing it while it might still be OK.

You're replacing it because it's one of the pulleys, and you should be doing the other rollers and tensioners at the same time.

As an aside a mate had a noisy belt, another mate (who is a dealer trained technician) checked it with the OPC's tool and adjusted tension very slightly to make it spot on, but it still whined. I believe it stopped after some miles.

 

[944 man]

Notwithstanding the above: changing your water pump with every belt change is old and now somewhat outdated advice. When the cars were still in the clutches of the dealer network it was a false economy not to renew the water pump, because at about £200 (later at about £100 when they dropped the price) it was a small price to pay for the piece of mind.

The job can be done for so much less now that Id agree with Bert Gear, if it all appears to be good then you dont need to change it. Also: the pump now accounts for a substantial part of the cost, as opposed to a small part, which used to be the case.

 

[Fen]

It's definitely a case of "you pays your money..." and i completely agree with Simon's logic (and Bert's I guess). That said every second change is every 6 years or 72k miles (or 8 years/96k miles if you want to push it). Speaking personally a few hundred quid every 6 years sounds like a worthwhile preventative step for peace of mind.

 

[944 man]

I wouldnt disagree with every second change, far from it.

 

[Diver944]

Certainly in my early years of 944 ownership and forum use I heard of a water pump failure quite regularly. However nowadays it does seem to be a rarer occurance. Whether this is because we have preached so often to change every other belt change or whether it is because the pumps are better I cannot say [&:]

Personally I will continue to change mine every other belt change as I much prefer to pay a few hundred than an engine rebuild []

 

[berg944]

My pump is noisy

If its noisy, leaks or when you take the belt off you feel play ........I would change it!

They can seize and this will cause belt failure and kill the engine[]

If you had a noisy belt pulley...............you would change it.


Pump bolts tend to snap[]. I tap the head with a flat punch and use freeze spray and they can still break!

Mike[:'(]

 

[TTM]

ORIGINAL: morris944s2john
How many really fail that often on the 944?? Bert Gear said if the pump is not leaking and its not noisy and it pumps then leave it alone.

I replaced the water pump along with the belts and gaskets on my turbo last month and found out the pump & the gaskets were original. The pump was slightly leaking but was still rolling decently ... not bad for a pump with ... 170k miles ... As you would expect with old dried out gaskets the whole place was filled with oily filth and the belts did not look too good ... Mr Luck is my other name ... []

 

[sawood12]

Isn't the OEM balance shaft belt about £30 or so and the timing belt around £15? I seem to remember it was when I had my belts changed last time. If so I don't understand why anyone would think this is too expensive. It is hardly enough for a good night out on the town and for piece of mind i'd rather by OEM. I can understand if they were very expensive items but they aren't.