My timing belt broke!!!!
 

Has anyone ever broken one and NOt bent any valves?I knowIT ISpossible to break one and not bend valves, but has anyone that owns a 944 ever gotten away with just doing the belts? I figure while I got it apart I will do both belts too. Well any input would be great! I'm going to start tearing into it Monday. Later!

RE: My timing belt broke!!!!
 

Nope. If you broke the belt, you bent valves. How many, you won't know until you pull the head.

RE: My timing belt broke!!!!
 

Doc, are there any warning signs to look for? Or is just regular maintenance the only way to protect from breaking the belt?

RE: My timing belt broke!!!!
 

Do the belts every 30k and you won't have problems unless the belt is old.
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RE: My timing belt broke!!!!
 

Like willard said, replace the belt every 30k miles or 4 years whichever comes first (and retension at after the first 1500 miles, then 15k miles), and you don't have a problem. I don't go over 15k/3 years on a belt, but I am always in the motor changing things, lol. The belts are too easy to change to not swap them out every few years.

RE: My timing belt broke!!!!
 

Is the tensioning toolabsolutely necessary? Is there a lower cost method?

RE: My timing belt broke!!!!
 

I use the 90 degree twist method, but I wouldn't recommend it until you know what a properly tensioned belt feels like. There is the kricket tool available from Napa

RE: My timing belt broke!!!!
 

I am thinking about doing this weekend while the alternator is being replaced, if I ask for a kricket will theyknow what I mean or will I get a crazy look? When I bought the car the previous owner said it had less than 10k on the belt but then again, I had to fix the odometer gear! Not to steal the thread, but, is the plastic cover with the vent on the back of thealternator necessary?

RE: My timing belt broke!!!!
 

I haven't had my vent on for years, but I run AC delete, so the alternator is mounted down lower where it gets a little better airflow. There should be an air tube going to that duct to funnel in cold air. I don't know that I have heard of any premature alternator failures because that vent wasn't installed.