924Board.org

akinvan · Joined: 27 Jul 2005 Posts: 19

Hello,

I'm a old lurker who finally got a Porsche and of course need some help. I bought a 1987 Porsche 924s at an auction and one of the things I've noticed about the car is that there does not seem to be any balance shaft belt. I've ordered a belt but a couple of owners on this forum have removed the belt without having any problems.

I'm having an old mech put the belt back on, but I'm beginning to wonder if it's necessary, what's the worst that could happen if he puts the belt on wrong, should I even put the belt back on or just leave it alone, since the car is running fine, no excessive vibration whatsoever. The mech says he doesn't need any special tools to put the belt back on correctly, is this true.

Thanks for any advice that you can give.

Paul · Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2005 1:54 pm Post subject:

Welcome to the board and the joys of owning a Porsche!

Unless you know the history of the car, most of us would recommend that you replace the water pump, all the pulleys, both belts, the balance shaft oil seals, etc.

To be absolutely safe, do this every 3 years or 30,000 miles.

A good test of whether you have the right mechanic to work on a 924S is to ask him to see his Porsche factory service manual and his timing belt tensioning tool.

The car will run smoother with the balance shafts operating.
_________________
White 87 924S "Ghost"
Silver 98 986 3.6l 320 HP "Frank N Stein"
White 01 986 "Christine"
Polar Silver 02 996TT. "Turbo"
Owned and repaired 924s since 1977
Porsche: It's not driving, it's therapy.

gohim · Joined: 02 Nov 2002 Posts: 4459 Location: Rialto, CA

There is a definite difference that you can easily detect when the balance shaft belt is missing.

As Paul wrote, the engine will be much smoother with the balance shaft belt installed and the balance shafts properly syncronized.

Putting the belt on is easy, if you have the manual. Tensioning the belt properly is not easy with the correct belt tensioning tool. The timing and balance shaft belts are not tensioned the the timing belts on earlier, non-interference engines.

Over tension a belt, and it could snap, or stretch, and jump time, and what you end up with is an expensive bill to replace valves, or worse case, replace the engine (valve head breaks off when struck by piston, then wedges standing up sideways against the head as the piston comes up, and the cylinder wall cracks, ruining the block). This is rare, but expensive.

If the "old" mechanic that you are consideriong using does not have the specialized tools, knowledge, and service manuals for properly work on your car, I would advise you to seek a mechanic with experience working on 944/924S engines.

akinvan · Joined: 27 Jul 2005 Posts: 19

Hello,

The other question I have is that since there was no balance shaft belt on the car, what damage could have been done from the previous owner. The car idles fine and drove with no problems when I drove it from the auction. I haven't driven the car since I got it. I want to drive it to a Porsche repair shop but I don't know if any damage could occur from driving it there like this.

Thank you

Paul · Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2005 8:37 am Post subject:

It's a crap shoot, I recommend you have it towed.
_________________
White 87 924S "Ghost"
Silver 98 986 3.6l 320 HP "Frank N Stein"
White 01 986 "Christine"
Polar Silver 02 996TT. "Turbo"
Owned and repaired 924s since 1977
Porsche: It's not driving, it's therapy.

akinvan · Joined: 27 Jul 2005 Posts: 19

Hello,

The other thing I noticed about the car is that the temp gauge does not work so the previous owner installed a custom temp gauge. I started the car today and it eventually the needle on the custom gauge moved all the way up to 220 degrees and stayed there. Since it's a custom gauge I have no way of knowing if this temp means the car is overheating. What temp is normal for this car on a day when it's 98 degrees outside. I will be getting my manual tommorow so hopefully I can stop bothering you guys

Thanks in advance, I really appreciate it, I've owned lots of cars including mercedes with eight cylinders but this car scares me to death.

Paul · Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2005 1:34 pm Post subject:

If the gauge is accurate, 220 is too high. Make sure the radiator fans are kicking on around 190.

Don't be afraid of the car, just respect it and make sure you or your mechanic are well versed on the maintenance schedule and repair procedures.

Bother us anytime....

akinvan · Joined: 27 Jul 2005 Posts: 19

My mechanic is a good guy but I don't think Porsches are his forte, I'm looking for a good repair shop in Georgia, I'm considering Automobile Atlanta but would like to hear from one of their customers

Paul · Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2005 8:17 am Post subject:

I've bought parts from George (Automobile Atlanta) with less than happy results. In fairness, he's always made it right.

They certainly know our cars, but I doubt they are less expensive than a Porsche garage.

Porsche has a 2 year parts and labor warranty, ask George what he has.
_________________
White 87 924S "Ghost"
Silver 98 986 3.6l 320 HP "Frank N Stein"
White 01 986 "Christine"
Polar Silver 02 996TT. "Turbo"
Owned and repaired 924s since 1977
Porsche: It's not driving, it's therapy.

akinvan · Joined: 27 Jul 2005 Posts: 19

Ok, I finally got the manual and the first thing I'm going to do is replace the coolant temp switch, hopefully this will fix the temp gauge and maybe the fans will start working, I didn't see them running. The next step will be the thermostat

Llamaguy · Joined: 02 Jul 2003 Posts: 711 Location: Indiana

if you're going to replace the thermostat, wait until you go ahead an have the water pump and belts replaced. Much easier that way.

Took me from friday night to monday night to replace it all, but I am a mechanicly quick learner.
_________________
1987 924S Guards Red
1997 Suzuki Tl1000 Supersport

akinvan · Joined: 27 Jul 2005 Posts: 19

The thermostat looks accessible without removing the water pump and the manual doesn't suggest removing the water pump and belts just to replace the thermostat, why do you think this is necessary.

Thanks for the reply.

Paul · Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2005 11:45 am Post subject:

You'll loose a little coolant and will have to bleed the cooling system (takes 5 minutes), but other than that it's no big deal.

I'd wait until you do the pump and belts since you will be draining the cooling system and the fact that the thermostat mounts in the pump.

The easiest way to remove the thermostat snap ring is with a large pair of needle nose pliers.

brit vw boy · Joined: 18 Feb 2005 Posts: 59 Location: oxford, england

akinvan · Joined: 27 Jul 2005 Posts: 19

Hello,

I removed the fan assembly today, one of the fans was not coming on, I will probably replace that, after I did this, I removed the coolant temp switch and will probably replace it also. Any suggestions on what else I should do while I have the fan assembly off, I'm also going to flush the radiator.

Can anyone please tell me what the regular running temperature should be....in farenheit or centigrade? The car seems to be hovering between 160 and 210, what's the normal running temp.

Thanks in advance