How often does the timing belt need to be changed, and what needs to changed with it?...idk how long mines been on, so I'm goin to change it soon, but i need to keep up with how many miles are on it...

 

If you do not know how long your belt has been on, park the car and do not start it until you do the belt. I have seen way too many 944's get parted out because they threw a belt. A shop will charge about 2500 to fix a broken timing belt and have the head rebuilt, etc. I replace mine every 3 years or 36,000 miles. You can probably go 5 years/45-50k if you want to play with fire.

The first time you go in, since you have no history, you need to go in and do the belts, all the rollers, and the waterpump. It is about a 10 hour job and about 400-500 in parts. From then on out, you figure your waterpump is probably good for 90k miles, and the rollers probably 60k miles. A timing belt and balance shaft belt is about 30 bucks in parts, and a couple of hours to replace, so it does get cheaper the next time around if you replace the belts every 36k or so, until you have to do the pump again.

I had a belt break on me, so I don't take any chances anymore.

 

Do you know if I can get a Bentley repair manual for a 944? My brother has one for his 86 BMW 318i, and he says its a lot better than the Haynes manual... if they dont have one, can you recomend a good manual?


And what does that $400-$500 in parts consist of?

 

Get on ebay and get a set of the factory workshop manuals. The complete 7 volume set pops up now and again for about $150-200, and is a very wise investment.

Waterpump kit consists of (I may be forgetting a few small things).
Timing belt
Balance shaft belt
Timing belt tensioner roller
Timing belt idle roller
Balance shaft belt tensioner roller
Balance shaft belt idle roller
Waterpump
Waterpump Gasket
Thermostat and O rings
Possibly the front engine oil seals.