porsche 944 cam belts

[kareden3]

Iam out of the trade for some years and now wish to change the cam belts on mt 87 944 can anyone tell me if I can do it without the special tensioning tool

[basil brush]

There are cheaper versions available in the states I think. Have a look on the Rennlist 944 list as there are many threads about it over there.

Marcus

[kareden3]

Done the cam belts this morning all went well, just used the haynes manual and the autodata cam belt book ,basically just yook my time but same as always if you have the tools it is not a bad job

[interloper]

Does that mean you didnt use any specailist alignement tools to do the job ? Did you use drill bits as guides as recomended in the Haynes ?

Rather intrigued as I had the water pump replaced late last year (which obviously involves removal of the belts), decided I was'nt going to do it my self because of the need for specialist alignment gear. Would have saved a tidy sum had I been able to do it !

[kareden3]

Yes no special tools ie; drill bits in haynes manual to be used as a guide to setting up correct tension for used belts being retightened so as to ensure no more stretching of them ,but yes with a good tool kit you can do it your self providing you have a good mechanical back ground

[dern]

I though the haynes manual says that the drill method is only good to get the tension roughly right and you should tow rather than drive it to a dealer to get the tension set correctly. Is that not correct?

Mark

[kareden3]

yes that is correct but haynes say that because they do not want responsibility for cam belts being fitted by novices and then breaking and causing damage as I said previously I am out of the trade with some 34 yrs experience as a mechanical maintainance training engineer and I use these belts, fitting/refitting all the time so with information from manufacturers (gates) and my own experience I know the type of tension these belts should be subject to.

[dern]

kareden3 said:

yes that is correct but haynes say that because they do not want responsibility for cam belts being fitted by novices and then breaking and causing damage as I said previously I am out of the trade with some 34 yrs experience as a mechanical maintainance training engineer and I use these belts, fitting/refitting all the time so with information from manufacturers (gates) and my own experience I know the type of tension these belts should be subject to.

I wasn't trying to infer that you were incorrect but trying to find out that if I follow the same procedure then my belt will be at the correct tension and won't need further inspection from a shop with the gauge. I have installed cam-belts on other cars using the quarter turn method and they've been fine but reading rennlist seems to suggest that there was more to installing a belt in a 944 than that. If there isn't...

Mark

[kareden3]

Hi Mark I was not trying to be smart but just ensuring that you did need a bit of mechanical experience in the past I have fitted belts to subaru impretza,lancia,rover etc, but just taken my time and used the mechanical experience that I have,initially when I said i was out of the trade Iam actually a mechanical trainig instructor and just enjoy doing this kind of thing for a hobby therefore I usually get all the mates and family cars to do but I served my time as diesel fitter some 34yrs ago,following that I work as a lecturer for the local college,then to where Iam now
Regards Ted

>> Edited by kareden3 on Tuesday 9th March 19:57