Newbie, Bosch or Beru?

[simma]

Hello All, After lots of saving and dreaming, finally bought a 993, and it was well worth the wait. Congratulations on the forum, very informative, I've already changed the door check strap as a precaution after reading some of the posts. Next up are the seat motors and bonnet struts. I'll check the distributor cap and arm, leads and plugs, would anybody have any advice on either Beru or Bosch? I've always bought Bosch and they look cheaper than the Beru equivalent, which made me think why is that? Thanks SimSimma, no longer keys to a Bimma

 

[Guest]

Hi there. Bosch were all that I could lay my grubby paws on. They work fine on my car.

When you change the caps, be REALLY careful not to strip the heads of the screws that hols the dissie caps on. Soak them with WD40 for 24 hours, then a gentle (!) tap on the screwdriver and slightly tighten before loosening, to release the torque. I had to modify a screwdriver (shorten it) to ensure it was at perfect right angles to the bottom screw of the lower cap. A bit of help with a mole wrench on the 'driver and hey presto! Coat threads of new cap's screws with Coppaslip for an easier job next time.

Have a look on: p-car.com

It's nice to do a job properly. Cheers.

 

[simma]

Thanks for the advice, I'll save myself a few pounds buying Bosch and invest in a large can of WD40. Did you replace the belt within the dizzy at the same time, send it off to be reconditioned or not worry about it?

 

[Guest]

There's a common belief/possibly paranoia that you have to change the belt. They do break on the 993, but much less than on the 964 because of the venting pipe to expel ozone out of the distribtors. My indie says it's a difficult job and it makes further changes more difficult in future. He also said that unless you were going across a continent at 100mph+, damage is very unlikely. You should get pinking, performance drop etc. I listen to my engine & if it goes, I'll gingerly drive it to the garage immediately! Cheers

Oh and don't forget to check the lower rotor doesn't turn whilst the cap's off!

 

[LK_991GTS]

ORIGINAL: roddylennox

There's a common belief/possibly paranoia that you have to change the belt. They do break on the 993, but much less than on the 964 because of the venting pipe to expel ozone out of the distribtors. My indie says it's a difficult job and it makes further changes more difficult in future. He also said that unless you were going across a continent at 100mph+, damage is very unlikely. You should get pinking, performance drop etc. I listen to my engine & if it goes, I'll gingerly drive it to the garage immediately! Cheers

Oh and don't forget to check the lower rotor doesn't turn whilst the cap's off!

Do you know why it would "...make further changes more difficult in future..."?

 

[Guest]

Hi Lawrence,

I would imagine that it's because there is more of a risk of damaging some of the components in the distributor if you have to go in again. Have you seen what it involves on p-car.com? Not a quick job on a Sunday afternoon, or for the faint-hearted!

One point: If the belt did fail, (and you confirm this via either of the methods listed on p-car.com), you could disconnect the coil lead to the secondary distributor. That shuts down the second bank of spark plugs completely, so safe driving restored (temporarily). I believe it's even better to disconnect (and safely temporarily tape up separately) the LOW TENSION wires to the coil rather than the coil lead...anyone care to give an authoritative opinion on this? Maurice?

 

[Pickled Piper]

I had exactly the same advice when I enquired about having the belt changed as a preventative measure.

pp