First start after belts & front engine seals replacement. 3D printed belt tensioner tool worked like a charm!
Awesome, thanks for the feedback!! How did you set the balance shaft belt tension? I'm mulling a companion tool for that....
Re: New 3D-Printed 944 Timing Belt Tensioner Tool
Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2023 12:18 pm
by Paul M
A companion tool for the balance belt would be fantastic! Yes sign me up!
I did do the BSB but obviously set with more slack than the cam. I used a combination of a coil spring "home-made" belt deflection tool I made, but mostly I used the twist method and an educated guess? The Porsche shop manual says 4.0 and 2.7 respectively for new cam and BSB. So I did a careful comparison after the cam timing belt was tensioned property. I figure I can comfortably twist the BSB to about 130-145 degrees. I feels a tiny bit firmer than the used BSB that I removed. It seems decently firm but with no whine noise. We'll see.
Re: New 3D-Printed 944 Timing Belt Tensioner Tool
Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2023 12:31 pm
by Tom
No whine, that's why I asked. The belt feels super loose when tensioned to the middle of the range (3.5) so a lot of people without a tool end up over-tighten and getting a whine. You seemed to get it just right.
Re: New 3D-Printed 944 Timing Belt Tensioner Tool
Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2023 8:46 pm
by DMRK
Thanks Tom! I'll give it a try soon and report back.
Will the carbon fiber Nylon work in most printers?
Re: New 3D-Printed 944 Timing Belt Tensioner Tool
Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2023 9:15 pm
by Tom
DMRK wrote: Tue Feb 28, 2023 8:46 pm
Thanks Tom! I'll give it a try soon and report back.
Will the carbon fiber Nylon work in most printers?
Not necessarily-- you need a machine with hardened high temp hot end, a hot bed, and an enclosure -- realistically. But you can print it in PLA or PETG and be just fine. The screws add the strength it needs. The NylonX version I did was mostly a novelty since I find that material so cool....
Re: New 3D-Printed 944 Timing Belt Tensioner Tool
Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2023 7:32 pm
by Tom
We have a new printer at Carpokes HQ, the Bambu Lab X1 Carbon. If you are in the market for a printer, this printer is a quantum leap forward vs. typical FDM printers. The speed and print quality are just unbelievable and it prints up to 16 colors at once. As part of getting to know it better, I did this timing belt tool below in PLA and it is by far the sharpest looking one I've seen anywhere to date, with a head-nob to the Gulf livery look. This was a 4 hour print at .12mm layer height. At .2mm layers in all one color, it can make these in about an hour. At lower resolution and faster print speed, you can make one in about 30 minutes -- and it STILL looks better than most. Crazy.
