[Sneak]

Hi All,

Last summer I purchased a 84' 944 2.5L NA from another member of this board who had really taken the time to prep the car for sale. Timing and balance belt replacement, pulleys, water pump, rotors, pads, etc. were all done to make sure that there wouldn't be any major issues immediately. The car has been amazing and an incredible amount of fun to drive. I ran the car in the last few sessions of the AX season and then spent the winter tackling the normal laundry list of maintenance items (Trans fluid, brake fluid, oil changes, etc.) plus a few of the other minor issues that had popped up (heater control valve, thermo valve, wiring for the reference sensor, rear cv boots, front wheel bearings). This past weekend I took the car out for the first potomac DE of the season at Summit. Had a blast and the car was everything that I hoped it would be right up through the final run session on Sunday. With my my first DE complete I was riding pretty high as I headed for home. Unfortunately, that didn't last very long. I made it about 2 miles from the track when the car died very suddenly. Luckily help was near at hand and I was able to get the car onto a trailer and home without too much difficulty.

That brings me to my current situation. I haven't had a chance to really dig into the issues yet, but my best guess is that an oil leak at the front main seal contributed to the timing belt breaking or slipping. If that guess proves to be true when I get everything taken apart what would people recommend as the best solution? I know that the valves are most likely bent, but whats the fix for that.

1) Buy a used head and simply swap it out?
2) Rebuild the current head?
3) Buy a complete used engine?
4) Consider an upgrade to a 3.0L S2 or 968 engine? What else would need to be changed?
5) Something else that I haven't thought of?

As I said I really like the car so I don't want to ditch it, but at some point the fix has to be priced so that it doesn't exceed the total value of the car. What have other people done in similar situtations?

[Trak Ratt]

It's unusual for the timing belt to fail after only a year. Might want to do some snooping around before jumping into anything.

[Sneak]

Originally Posted by Trak Ratt

It's unusual for the timing belt to fail after only a year. Might want to do some snooping around before jumping into anything.

That was my thinking as well, and I am hoping that I missed something obvious when I was sitting on the side of the road, but the engine sounded very hollow when I tried to crank it over.

[BlackTalon]

Typical #2 bearing issue?

[Lt. Dan]

Ls swap!!!!

[Trak Ratt]

Originally Posted by Sneak

That was my thinking as well, and I am hoping that I missed something obvious when I was sitting on the side of the road, but the engine sounded very hollow when I tried to crank it over.

If it turned over a couple of times it likely isn't the belt. VERY unusual for a timing belt to break and not push a valve down enough to jam the engine. Though the default position of valves with unbroken springs is closed it's rare the cam doesn't stop with at least one open enough to interfere with rotation/

[86911TLCAB]

When my belt went on the e30 there was a very large gun shot sound that come from the engine bay. It was pretty obvious to me what had happened. Did you have anything similar?

[Vicegrip]

Remove dizzy cap. Crank motor and see if the rotor is turning. Won't eliminate a skipped tooth but will see if the belt is still moving the cams

Lot of things can knock a motor dead off

[cmartin]

I'm not a fan of turning it over if you think it could be a belt. I've recovered a few that broke, luck maybe? Pop off the cover and have a look.

I'm not a fofo guy, do you have to check the tension after x miles of a new belt? My memory is foggy but that sounds right.

If you like the car fix what you have. A used motor is unknown and you'll still be swapping belts/seals/whatever. Open it up and see what's doing, in slow logical steps. If/when you find something rethink your plan.

Good luck

[VaSteve]

Originally Posted by Vicegrip

Remove dizzy cap. Crank motor and see if the rotor is turning. Won't eliminate a skipped tooth but will see if the belt is still moving the cams

Lot of things can knock a motor dead off

Remove dizzy cap SLOWLY. Once, the screw that holds distributor in place fell off of mine. Stayed inside the cap. I screwed it back on and ran the car until I spun the bearing later that afternoon!