Squeaking from Belts ?

dlknight · May 24, 2006

Hey guys,

Quick question, I had my belts checked last friday and the balance belt was tightened as the garage said it wasn't tight enough.

Ever since I can hear a squeak/rattle coming from the balance belt area at idle speed (noise increases slightly with revs). Could it be a failing idler/roller or is it likely the belt has been tightened too much ?

Cheers

Dave K.

944turboS · May 24, 2006

IIRC a slightly over tight belt will squeek

sawood12 · May 24, 2006

I thought an overtight belt will hum? It could be the idler bearings and now the belts have been tightened it is putting more pressure on the idler bearings.

Indi9xx · May 24, 2006

Its probably now too tight and could have damaged the tensioner or the balance shaft bearings.

Who tightened it up?

dlknight · May 24, 2006

Hi Jon,

I took it into PCT Cars in Coventry (www.pctcars.co.uk), although the engine now seems a little quieter and my gearstick isn't vibrating quite as much as it used to. They are going to take a look at the squeaking sound on Tuesday... I'm positive it wasn't doing this prior to the belt being tightened.

Cheers

Dave K.

berg944 · May 24, 2006

Ask to see the tensioning tool used to set the belt, If they can not produce one (or say they borrow one) then they will have probably set it by hand and it will be far too tight.
If you suspect that this might be the case then get your cam belt checked properly

Mike[:'(]

John Maddox · May 26, 2006

Agree with previous posts. The cam belt should feel reasonably tight but the balance belt runs surprisingly slack when tensioned correctly. A too tight balance belt tends to hum/whine. One of the belts turns the waterpump and if too tight can quickly knacker the bearings.

On the gearlever vibration - this can be caused by a general drop of the engine as the mounts wear and this can cause the gearlever linkage rod to vibrate against the torque tube towards the rear but causes the gearlever to vibrate especially as you accelerate hard around 3000 RPM.

I fixed my 944T by putting fibre/rubber washers on the fixing where the gearlever housing is bolted to the torque tube. This raises the gearlever linkage away from the tube- no more vibration !! You will have to experiment with how many washers to put in but this fix does work - several people have tried it.