RostyToasty

I'm in the process of buying my first Porsche 944. After a lot of research I realized how critical the timing belt is in this car and wondering if anyone would be able to help me with the job. Never changed a timing belt so quite intimidated!

Funn944

Not really that tough of a job. Check out Clark's Garage, and there are a number of videos online. I was concerned about doing my own as well, but the job actually was quite easy. Just make sure you get your top dead center set correctly and that your alignment marks line up. I made my own thin wrench and used a pair of large bent needle nose pliers from Harbor Freight in place of the Porsche pin spanner for the shafts.

RostyToasty

Thanks for the tips Funn944. Any brand of belt recommendations? What should I keep my eye out for?

Dougs951S

Get the Gates belts, not the conti. And dont get the kevlar racing belts. Job is not hard, but you will need the thin tensioner wrench and the pin wrench for the balance shaft belt (and probably a flywheel lock). You'd be wise to change the water pump and also do a front engine reseal (thats front of both balance shafts, front of cam, and front crank seals). Not including tools, all those parts will run you ~ 275. Be sure and torque the crwnk bolt to 155 ft-lbs when you're done since it drives the oil pump, and failure to do so will result in low or no oil pressure. Run 15w50 synthetic oil in it, they take 6 quarts for early cars and 6.5 for late cars (85.5+). Dont over or under tension the belts. To check, grab the longest unsupported run pf belt and twist with your thumb and index finger. you should be able to turn the Timing belt ~90* and the balance belt 180*. If the warer pump or balance shafts whine, the belts are too tight. not sure what else to say, the job is straigh forward even for a first timer, just follow the instructions at clarksgarage.com. Better bookmark that sight, you'll be there a lot. Good luck.

divil

Get the special tools from Arnnworx. They might seem expensive, but they're not - especially when you consider how much you're saving/learning by doing this job yourself. If you don't get the full set, at least get the flywheel lock.

If you forget the orientation of anything, or exactly where the washers go etc., refer to the PET catalog (which you can download from the porsche website, although you'll have to google for it).

Replace all the rollers and tensioner sprockets along with the belts, at a minimum. Changing the seals/water pump is good advice too, but the rollers are the absolute minimum if you're doing the belts in my opinion.