Better Safe Than Sorry with 944 Timing Belts

When the 944 was new, Porsche's recommended service interval for the all important timing belt - that's the giant toothed rubber band that keeps the cam and valves moving in synch with crankshaft and pistons - at 60k miles. Porsche quickly realized the interval was optimistic, and backed the factory specs down to 45k miles. Recently, Tony has encountered two belt failures at just 35k miles, and has always recommended a 30k mile interval on this inexpensive, but very important part. What happens when it fails? The valves stop opening and closing at the right time, and the pistons start hitting them. When this happens, the best-case scenario is a bunch of bent valves, and if you're running hard

at high RPM the valves could break on impact and fill the combustion chamber with debris that usually damages the head beyond repair. In his own racecar he's tried aftermarket belts with little success. Most of those have stretched beyond the tensioner's ability to cope within only 3k miles. As a result Tony only uses Porsche belts. This white 944 is the classic example - the belt failed, and valves were bent. For many owners, the repair work after a timing belt failure costs more than the car is worth. Changing the belt at 30k costs just a fraction dealing with the consequences, not to mention the hassle of getting stuck, towing, and dealing with a time consuming head repair.

Smoking 993 Turbos

Smoking on startup: It's more common among 993 twin-turbos than you'd think. It would be logical to check rings, valve guides, and even the turbos themselves as potential culprits. "Assuming those things are good, and there's still a smoke issue, I've had problems with the turbos filling up with oil when they're not running."

"When this happens, they smoke like a freight train when started up after not running." Tony said. Andial made a clever fix in the form of a stainless steel oil line with an extra loop to keep oil from draining into the turbo, but they stopped making the kit. The later 996 twin-turbo cars went to a check-valve on top of the turbo itself.

That 996 part can be adapted to the 993 if oil smoke is a recurring problem. Most likely, your turbo will stay smoke-free - but if it doesn't Tony can help return it to its normally clean starting ways.