Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Hello I'm wanting to change the cam belt and balance shaft belt and possibly idlers and tensioners.

Would you only recommend using a specialist garage for this work or take it to a local trusted garage?

Would you always replace the idlers and tensioners or simply see if they are noisy?

Any recommended centres ( and a rough idea of cost ) would be much appreciated.

I'm based in Derbyshire but would travel if required.

Many thanks
Paul

When was it last done, were all the idlers & tensioners replaced then. When was the water pump last replaced.

Personally I would use someone who has done it before which the average garage is unlikely to have done. There are a few gocthas that can catch you out. Also worth checking timing chain pad & chain for wear as well.

Either someone that knows what they're doing or is prepared to study the workshop manual beforehand. The balancer belt is a bit of a faff to tension correctly. Some may think the balancer belt isn't that important, but if it breaks it can take the cam belt with it, or if it's missing the vibration can lead to a big problem with the oil pick up tube.

And regarding the rollers / idlers, I think most people would advise to change them 'while you're in there' as it's a bit of a faff to have to re-enter tension everything again after you've done it once already. That and you might not notice a roller is on its way out until it's too late.

You might want to check when the water pump was last done too as it's 'in there'. Well it is for the Lux, presume it's the same for the S2, but someone can correct me if not.

Thank you all for the replies.

I purchased the car 9 years ago and was told the belts / rollers had been changed the year before ( mileage was then 94K )

In the 9 years I've had the S2 it's had very little use mileage is currently 104.000 but it's been off the road for 2 lengthy periods while working away ( and electrical - immobiliser problems ) so the belts will definately get changed.

I've already got the wear pad tensioner kit, would you say this is a job a competent DIY mechanic could attempt?

I've seen a German guy has uploaded quite a few useful S2 DIY mechanical job videos on YouTube unfortunately the one showing belt / roller change hasn't got any subtitles otherwise I'd be tempted to let my usual mechanic / garage attempt the job with some guidance.

Are there any really good step by step guides for belt/tensioner change that anyone can point me towards online?

Thanks again Paul

PS - Just had good news the car has fired up ( after 2.5 years standing ) and apart from initially spewing fuel out / it seems to be running smooth. ( thankfully no electrical/immobiliser problems this time ) He's going to put it through an MOT tomorrow to see what it fails on and I've asked them to treat it gently, not to give it the nuts on emission check until belts have been done

OMG the belts are every 4 years or 45K miles max. And some would say this is pushing it. If the belts go on a 16V lump it frequently wrecks the entire engine,
Given the time standing I'd budget for the lot including water pump. The bearings don't like being static & neither do water pumps.
I have some new bearings here, bought for a late 8V but some are common to the 16V.

If you intend doing it yourself then you'll need a flywheel lock as a minimum.

I'd at least take the front covers off to get an idea of the condition of the belts and their tension, before driving it anywhere.

Have a read on here, very useful how to guides on pretty much everything 944:
http://www.clarks-garage.com/

As above I'd check the belt condition before taking it anywhere given the age of them; the upper cover is quite simple to remove.

Clark's garage is a great site.

If a garage has done one before and it has been known to be successful you will be fine. From what I can tell a few bits need to be adhered to which is different to most other cambelts:

1) The balancer belt; this is unusually loose! It's one reason why some cars whine more than others
2) It is imperative that the front pulley torque is adhered to and not just 'FT'; It drives the oil; many a cambelt has been done where this bit of advice has either been overlooked or ignored and then oil pressure problems have been present until it has been rectified. From memory it needs to be tightened to 155Nm but I'd check that figure; This is why you need the flywheel locking tool.

Being an S2 you will have 5 pulleys to deal with for the belts. 3 of those will be for the cambelt, of which 2 of these are idlers (8Vs only have one idler on the cambelt). The balance belt has a further 2 pulleys.

On a turbo you don't have to remove the front pulley to fit the cam belt, I'm guessing the S2 is the same. Also in my experience the balancer belt isn't particularly noisy when the tension is correct.

I did my S2 cam belt without taking the front pulley off. However I found it pretty tricky to get the new one back on, so next time I will take the pull etc off. Its not that difficult but you do have to pay exact attention to the porsche manual.
I also would not let an regular/not porsche experienced mechanic do the work. I would take it to a local -ish specialist or even OEM.
Being wrong will be very expensive.

Just had my 4 yr/40k miles service carried out two weeks ago,,,,
timing belt kit with all belts,rollers,,tensioners and idlers = £350
New German water pump with lifetime warranty = £200,,,,jasonp

Excellent video from our German friend :- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1P0n1DXMto

Hi jasonp where did you go for your belts done as mine are due & £350 seems a decent price
Cheers Sam