Your engine uses a serpentine belt to power the accessories like the power steering and water pumps. Over time, the belt gets worn out and can slip or even break. Visually inspect your serpentine belt for cracks, fraying, and other damage. In any case, it is a good idea to replace your serpentine belt according to the manufacturer’s recommended service interval.
While this is a fairly straight forward DIY, you will need to have some experience working on cars or mechanical aptitude and patience to replace the serpentine belt yourself. If you are unsure, please visit a certified Porsche dealership or independent mechanic.
To get an overview of the procedure, check out the video above from YouTuber, irena25661. Keep in mind, that in the video, the person also replaces the engine air filters and serpentine belt tensioner pulley. You do not need to do either of these when just replacing the serpentine belt. Detailed steps can be found below.
Engine spacer bolt: 27 ft-lbs
Step 1: Prepare your car and work area.
- Ensure engine is cold, so you don’t burn yourself.
- Put on eye protection and gloves.
- Gather parts and tools.
- Open engine cover.
Step 2: Remove the engine air box.
- Undo MAF sensor plug on top of the air box.
- Undo another sensor on the passenger side of the air box; unclip it to remove.
- On the passenger side and lower portion of the air box, unplug a vacuum line by simply pulling it out.
- Loosen hose clamp holding air intake hose to engine air box.
- Disconnect the air intake hose from the air box and get it out of the way.
- Pull the engine air box out; the serpentine belt should be revealed.
- Cover the air intake hose with a plastic bag to prevent dirt from getting inside.
Step 3: Remove the engine spacer.
- Remove your rear license plate, which will reveal a hole. This hole will allow you easy access to a 16mm bolt and spacer that must be removed.
- Using a 8″ extension, a ratchet, and a 16mm socket, remove the engine spacer bolt and spacer. If you have a hard time pulling the bolt out, use a magnetic pick up tool to pull it out.
Step 4: Remove the serpentine belt.
- IMPORTANT: Take a picture of the arrangement, so you know how the new serpentine belt should go.
- Using a 30mm wrench, locate the belt tensioner and rotate it to relieve tension on the serpentine belt; carefully grab the serpentine belt and work it out.
Step 5: Install the new serpentine belt.
- Take your new serpentine belt and feed it into the engine bay from below your bumper.
- Carefully re-route the new serpentine belt based on the original pattern.
- To get the belt around all the pulleys, you will again need to relieve the belt tensioner using the 30 mm wrench.
- You may have to really pull on the serpentine belt to get it around all the pulleys; it is a snug fit.
Step 6: Re-install everything.
- Put to engine spacer bolt back on, apply some thread locker, and torque it to 27 ft-lbs.
- Reinstall the engine air box following the prior steps in reverse.
- Clean up your work area and put away your tools. You’re all done!
