12 years old Belts....look!

Maybe im the minority here but I like being able to see the belts, reach down and give them a tug now and then. If owners were coming into my shop with bent valves from chipmunks and other rodents stuck in the cam belts I might be convinced but it hasn't happened yet. Dropping a socket or wrench down there during a service is another story but Im careful and if im adjusting a carb I have a VERY good grip on the screwdriver!

 

The additional covers were found to be as guilty of keeping things in as keeping them out. They quit using them because they were ineffective.

Just another false sense of security.

 

Yeah those idiot engineers at Porsche. Not only did they design a crap tensioning system that adjusted for the lengthening of the belt as the engine heated up but they perpetuated their crap design over the life of the model from 1977 to 1995 just to spite themselves. SMH

The tensioner on my 928 was just fine as confirmed by my ownership after the repair using the original piss-poor tensioner for another 60,000 miles without incident.

The points I was trying to make were that belts of this type can break and that in my situation visual inspection of the belt was not sufficient to identify its condition.




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So what exactly is the service interval in miles/years for 308/328 timing belts that you are recommending based upon your experience?


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As do I. Was surprised to feel a sloppy belt from a seized tensioner pivot.

 

Whatever you are comfortable with.

 

I suspect that the majority of belt failures are the result of something else failing first - tensioner bearing ( I've had an OEM one fall apart while removing it), a piece of debris damaging a belt ( found a hole in a belt, with a matching mark in the lower pulley, probably caused by a pebble thrown up from the road ) or oil or coolant leaks degrading the belt material.
And I wonder how many 308's with belt failures are cars that have had their engines detailed with a high pressure cleaner, degreaser and WD 40.

And I couldn't resist:
If you are confined to home with the coronavirus it might be a good time to tackle that belt and tensioner replacement.

 

Physics and chemistry don't care about your comfort.

 

No offence Thorn but that's just a really ridiculous comment. Comfort, in the sense I meant it (obviously), has to do with understanding and accepting the consequences of your action. Track your car? How hard will you go into the next turn? How late will you brake? The physics is the same for everyone, but we all have different comfort levels and risk tolerance.

 

Agreed but comfort is rarely rational either.

I think the answer of whatever you are comfortable with is actually one of the best. Reality is that we can put out all the facts and science proving one point but there will always be a group that think the factory knows best and will follow them regardless of contrary information put forwards. If you truly believe the factory knows all then that is your reality and you should follow that.

Enjoyment of these cars is spoiled if every noise or acceleration breeds an inner panic of an expensive failure. Not to mention fearing putting mileage on so as to not diminish a cars value. These people do not own their cars rather the cars own them. I could not imagine being a slave to my car like that and have zero interest in being like that. My Ferrari is a toy. I don’t consider it part of my net worth and it will sell for whatever it sells for when the time comes. In between is a fun adventure with no guarantees.

 

If you guys wrote the owners manual for these cars it would be pretty brief - “drive it as you see fit and service it whenever you feel it is necessary” which may work for 10% of your owners that have some relevant mechanical experience to be able to exercise their judgement but the other 90% would drive it until it broke then come back to you to warrant the repair




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I agree with this.
I would also add that "not every leak is worthy of fixing"

 

The factory 2 piece bearing falls apart every time you remove it from the shaft IF the inner race sticks on the shaft. That is quite … normal. It also means you have to replace it, not just put it back.

 

Having experienced timing belt failure, I will abide by manufacture"s recommendations.

 

Can't argue with that...whatever you're comfortable with!

 

John, c'mon now... one might as well say they are 'comfortable' changing their oil every 10 years/100K miles. I mean - ok, if you're comfortable screwing up your engine - well, I can't argue with what makes you comfortable. But I can say that such an oil schedule is factually madness.

 

He's the expert...

 

Non sequitur.

 

And the Miata comparison wasn't a fallacy?

 

You win!

By the way, how are you doing down there? We were in Jupiter from Jan 1 but left Tuesday. We just weren't "comfortable".

 

So far, life in Tallahassee isn't much different for us personally. Less traffic is nice, but oddly the ratio of crazy drivers is now higher. Like 2:5 instead of the normal 1:20... even buying groceries isn't that bad if you know where to shop and where not to.

Shop business has slowed overall, but I've had some longer tickets already scheduled. So while some guys are competing for the next brake job, I've been doing 2-day transmission jobs. I honestly hope for a bit of a break in the work, as they have canceled all vacation time and I'm dearly in need of one physically... 10 months is a long time to go without a few days off.

Eerily quiet though. Like it feels the day after a hurricane.

Hope you made it out of Jupiter safely to your destination. Come back when the madness settles down, ok?

 

I ran mine for 100k miles, then I turned them around and ran them for another 100k. I took them off a 3rd time, turned them inside out and have been running for years without problems. I also buy used motor oil. There's no point in spending money that doesn't need to be spent!

 

As I wrote in my original post, I am not trying to, and nor I will ever, influence your position on belt life or changing frequency
I only wanted to post, what I think was a significant data point for 308 owners
You do whatever makes you feel good
I dont give a rat's a$$ for your attempts to ridicule the subject, like the previous post
I have better things to do than to pay attention to "would be clowns" on this otherwise nice website

 

Nice belt thread guys ! can clearly see you guys need to blow off some steam !

cheers
John

 

Actually most Ferrari owners do change their oil too frequently...