924Board.org

[brit vw boy]

Calling all 924s Owners !!
I went to view a 1986 924S at the weekend and it has had its belts changed recently, which I was pleased about. However when the engine runs on tickover the Belts whine quite loudly.
Is this due to a simple over-tighteneing of the belts ? Or could it be one of the pulleys' which has a knackered bearing ?

i am told that its the alternator which is wearing out, but its charging well and i thought the noise was coming from the cam belt cover, not lower down the engine.

any comments would be greatly appreciated as im about to make a deal on the car, but want to be sure im not buying a whole load of trouble.
_________________
1959 vw type 2
1986 Porsche 924 S
1981 porsche 924 fh lux - FOR SALE

[gohim]

Some amount of belt whine is normal after a belt change.

However, severe belt whine after a belt change, or later long after the belt change may indicate belts that are on too tight, or a bad pulley or roller bearing.

When a Seller tells you that the belts have been changed on a regular basis, ask for written proof (receipts). Make sure that the Seller is talking about regular replacement of the timing and balance shaft belts. Look to see when the last belt change was done, and what was changed along with the belts. As a rule of thumb, it is best if the belts, pulleys, and rollers, are all changed along with the front of engine oil seals and the water pump. Some people do the water pump every other belt change, and others claim you don't need to replace the water pump or oil seals unless they are leaking.

Belts that are too tight will cause prematurely wear and possibly early failure of the belts, rollers, pulleys, and/or waterpump.

Any leak from the water pump or front of engine oil seals requires the removal of the belts to access the them, and the belts are replaced because both coolant and motor oil cause the deterioration of the belts.

The cost of labor is about the same whether you replace the waterpump and the oil seals or not, and is usually close to and more than the cost of all of the parts when replacing all of the recommended parts.

If the car has been serviced by the same shop all the time (you can determine by an examination of the service receipts), and the alternator belt is on too tight, you have an indicator that the shop make may a tendency to over tighten belts. You could also visit the shop on the premise that you are thinking about having your car serviced there to see if the shop owns the special P9201 belt tensioning tool (only used to tighten belts on the 944, 924S, 924, and 968 style engines). If they do not know whqat you are talking about, or tell you that the tool is not necessary, you could be getting another sign that the belts were installed too tight, to ensure that they were not installed too loose, and the car needs to go to a competent shop to have the front of engine service done, and the affect parts replaced immediately for safety reasons.

[brit vw boy]