I can't get the drive belt right, help please
 

I have a base 2001 986. I lost a drive belt so I went to replace it tonight. Everything went well, but when I changed it and started it up, immediately the belt slipped to the outer edge of the power steering pump and the air conditioning, #4 and #5 in the pic. Upon closer examination, it appears that my #3 deflection roller 1 is not angled properly, IE, the belt doesn't go squarely on it, the belt rides out toward the front of the car and therefore when everything rotates, the belt slides off the deflection roller causing it to then slide off the power steering pump and then the air conditioner.

The deflection roller doesn't seem to be moveable forwards and backwards, except rotation, so I don't know how to adjust it. It really appears to me like it needs to move closer to the front of the car by a shim. Also, the belt appears to be tight so I think the tensioner is working and I had to use the 24 mm socket to move it, but I'm not sure how to check for sure.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I would hate to have to pay a tow truck $150.00 to tow it it Dallas if someone has an easy fix. Does the bolt that holds the deflection roller ever bend down and cause it to get out of line, if so, do you buy a new bolt or a new roller??? How hard is that to install, can I install it using the same access I did to get to the belt, IE, only going through the front engine panel? What about the tensioner? What would you try next? I'm not very mechanical so I was proud just to get this far, but then it doesn't work. Any help would be appreciated. I"m about to go to my son's basketball practice so I'll be back in a couple of hours and will try to post pics of what I'm talking about. The picture I included is a stock photo that everything is functioning properly.

Nothing seems to be seized, everything spins, its just like its misaligned between 3, 4, and 5. Thanks,


Thanks,

Mike

Could it be that the belt is just not fully on one of the 'ribbed' pulleys? You see how some of the pulleys have grooves in them that the grooved side of the belt goes into? Maybe if one of those is not on correctly, it's causing the belt to misalign on one of the other pulleys?

Just a SWAG. The way that looks, I'm not sure I'd want to have to replace the belt.

That's usually what causes the belt to come off. It's usually #6 or #5 in the diagram since they are behind the walls and harder to see. Check them closely (with a dental mirror if you have one) or slide your hand down under the pulleys to make sure the belt is completely on.

Mike,

Was that the original belt? How many miles?

Good Luck,

ddb

Trust me,it's one of the easiest things to ever do to your car. From the 60k tune-up I did,it was the 2nd easiest thing to do,right behind changing the cabin filter. Most of your time is spent removing panels.

Here's the actual pics:

anc a couple more. I believe the culprit is image1872 but I cannot get the belt to go properly on that one and still line up on the other pulleys. It's like that idler pulley is out of line or something. The belt is brand new and I followed the sequence outlined above.

Mike

I think my belt problem may be a tensioner. When I put the socket and breaker on the 24MM bolt and turn clockwise the tensioner moves to the left, however when I release, the tensioner returns but it does not return all the way to the right, in other words if I apply pressure counterclockwise I can move the tensioner further to the right. Does this mean that the tensioner is not retracting all the way to the position it should be in and is therefore defective?

This is without a belt on. I'm just testing the tensioner. If its properly functioning, should you be able to move it to the right by turning counterclockwise on the bolt? Thanks,

Mike PS-Anyone know the part number for a 986 tensioner for a 2001?

ended up taking it to a local shop today to see what they could do. I called Warranty Direct and they would not cover it if I tried myself, so I asked them if they would rather pay for a tow, labor and the parts as opposed to just paying for the parts if I did it, and to my surprise, they wanted the shop to do it. Oh well, hopefully I won't be out any expenses and will be driving again by this weekend. Shop said it appeared to be the upper idler pulley bearings AND the tensioner. I'll let y'all know how it turns out and how much Warranty Direct pays for. Thanks for your advice.

Mike

Mike, do keep us posted. I have Warranty Direct also and am interested in how they take care of you.

Norm

Wondering if you have any updates on this one... I think I'll need to be checking my belt and the tensioners/rollers soon... I started my own thread (rumbling noise from engine)

Hi guys,

No update yet. My car is sitting at a local shop waiting for the tensioner and upper idler pulley to be delivered. Really frustrating. I should have just made the Warranty Direct's roadside assistance tow it to Dallas and get it fixed in an hour. I was trying to be frugal even though the warranty will be paying for it (at least that's what I'm told right now) and save them the tow charge and take it to a local (non-Porsche) mechanic. The local wrench ordered the parts instead of driving to Dallas to pick them up so I'm still waiting. Oh well, lesson learned, next time I'll just have it flat bedded to Dallas. I paid for it, I might as well use it. I'm the local County Auditor and I'm used to trying to be frugal with other people's money but I'm not going to make that mistake again concerning my car.


Mike

The idler pully bearings wear out pretty quickly. My idler pullies had to be replaced at with the belt at 60K because of the rattling noises they made. Some people have had the idler roller split in half and the bearings shatter.

I have 41k on my car now... got it at 40k... I'm thinkin I will inspect the belt soon... if it's gonna need to be replaced, I'll just replace the rollers and bushings so I know it's good.