Failed Timing belt tensioner

[2008XC70]

This is why the tensioner should be replaced before 105k! Some may last longer, some might not last as long, but beyond 105k, you are living on borrowed time!

The bearing had leaked its fluid and seized which caused excessive wear on the belt. Caught just in time, now fresh timing belt, tensioners, and water pump on the car. Bought the car at 108k and immediately changed everything.

I consider myself VERY lucky!

[howardc64]

did my friend's 93 850 timing belt+roller recently. His tensioner roller (different tensioning design but a roller non the less) also spun out grease like yours although not quite as bad.

as many people have noted, roller is what fails on this car, not the belt itself. Glad you caught yours before failure. Spend some of that money you saved by not having to replace the heads+pistons on a nice meal :)

[sjonnie]

Can you inspect the tensioner bearing with it still on the car?

[howardc64]

ops pics are shot from the front so yes if you can sneak a camera with a short lens down there and set it in macro mode. But you won't be able to see the backside of course. Not sure if the leak is always from the front.

[2008XC70]

ops pics are shot from the front so yes if you can sneak a camera with a short lens down there and set it in macro mode. But you won't be able to see the backside of course. Not sure if the leak is always from the front.

Orrrrr, head to Costco and get an inspection camera with a flexible lense with light on the end. Good for poking into a wall before drilling/cutting drywall and avoid cutting into live wires or pipes :)

[Waterdog]

Slightly off-topic question, but related to timing belt service.

I am planning to do my timing belt this weekend and will try to do it without removing the crank bolt/damper, but wanted to get feedback on a possible removal method if I can't make that work.

On my Subaru, I used the starter motor to loosen the crank bolt. The method is to have the end of breaker bar resting on the ground and then crank the engine very quickly (with plug leads pulled so it doesn't start). This method works great on the Subaru, which spins clockwise as you are looking at the engine from the front.

Has anyone tried this method on the Volvo 5 cyl engine? Does the engine spin clockwise as you are looking at the end with the TB?

[acools]

Waterdog,

I used to to that on the red-block, non-interference engines if I was working at home and did not have access to air tools.

The starter had more torque then I could put out with my breaker bar, but I would never do that on an interference engine.

I would recommend you use air tools, or a battery powered impact tool. I bought a DeWalt impact gun for $100-$150 and have been endlessly pleased.

Andres

[billr99]

You don't need to pull the crank damper. Just work the TB over the damper first then over the other pulleys. Might be a bit fiddly, but beats having to muscle the damper off.

Cheers,

Bill

[2008XC70]

I'll second Bill's post. There is a cover with two bolts on the right-hand side that should be removed to come off. If you were to try and remove the damper nut, you would still probably need a puller to get it to come off.

[Astro14]

Huh...

I made a tool to hold the damper while the nut was loosened, then pulled it off with a puller...that was a PITA...and took me a while...leaving the damper on would sure be easier...

[Waterdog]

My intent is to do the TB without taking the damper off, just wanted to have a backup plan. Based on the feedback below, I think my backup will be a trip to Home Depot or Lowes to get an electric impact wrench if for some reason it needs to come off.

Do the 4 screws/bolts around the center nut serve any purpose other than to hold the Volvo counterhold in place? The manual calls for angle tightening them when reassembling, indicating that that they should be replaced with new screws - though I hope that doing the belt without removing the damper works and this is simply not an issue.

[howardc64]

After you to take off the old belt, practice with it to fish it on before doing it with the real belt. It is definitely do able and you get better at it each time after figuring out the location and orientation of the blockage.

I believe the main blockage is at 6-8 o'clock. The is a metal stub the extends out from the block towards the damper at 6 o'clock. And the is hard plastic wall at around 8 o'clock. The belt needs to slip through the gap kind of edge wise before mating to the gear tooths. Imagine the belt with the tooth facing away from the engine, go up vertically and turn clock wise so the tooth points up contacting the gear.

Here is a pic for reference. The damper is removed. The crank pulley that the TB mate with is also out (thus a lot of space). You can see the round extrusion at 6 o'clock. You can also see the 2 bolts between 2-4 o'clock that mounts a plastic guard that must be removed to get TB on/off.

http://volvoforums.com/forum/members/one-norse-41036-albums-s80-repair-pictures-765-picture-view-crankshaft-bearing-carrier-crankshaft-end-taken-inside-right-front-wheel-well-blue-line-shows-location-timing-mark-corner-cast-rib-green-box-outlines-splines-crank-have-been-joined-end-make-double-spline-key-timing-belt-pulley-2758/

Here is another link to get a similar view. TB on the 850 is very similar to the P2s except for the timing belt tensioner.

http://www.tracystruesoaps.com/tutorials/850hg/p4.html

[Waterdog]

Thanks for all the tips. Took me about 4 hours (a bit more if you include the full cleanup and putting tools away - I don't have a very good setup for my tools), including changing the spark plugs and the serpentine belt and tensioner.

I used the Volvo TB kit (belt, idler, and tensioner), Volvo serpentine belt tensioner, and a Contitech serpentine belt. The Contitech belt seemed identical to the original. I read somewhere (can't remember where) that someone thought the Contitech was a bit thinner than the genuine Volvo, but I didn't see that.

The belts and pulleys all seemed in generally good condition, though both belts showed some slight cracking when bent. Both TB pulleys ran smooth, and neither was throwing any grease. The serpentine belt tensioner pulley made a bit of noise, but not much. 112,600 miles.

I think that nearly an hour of my time was spent trying to figure out the crank timing mark. I finally decided that mine is a very tiny notch on the engine side of one of the teeth (not in the notch) - barely visible from the top. I couldn't actually see the timing reference mark on the engine, but had the notch lined up vertically when the cam timing marks were lined up. I cleaned up and went inside to a computer to look at pictures several times during that process.

For the cams, I counted belt ribs (19 on mine, including the ribs at the marks) and measured between the marks when they were lined up (17 cm), both of which were useful when I was putting the belt back on, as the intake cam rotated a bit (one tooth) while I was fiddling with getting the TB on. The distance between timing marks was actually about 17.05 cm with the old belt and 16.95 cm with the new belt. Getting rid of that 1 mm of stretch may be why the engine is running much smoother now with the new TB. There had been a slight clicking/tapping noise from the engine, most noticeable at idle, since at least about 80-90K, maybe longer, and that noise is gone now. Even my wife, who is not normally very attuned to these issues, commented on how much smoother the engine runs after the new TB.

It absolutely makes sense to practice the install with the old belt, but I just took it carefully with the new belt, never forcing it very hard. The 6-8 o'clock region was definitely the tightest, and the approach described by Howard below worked well.

I had a hard time figuring out how to slide the belt cover back on and broke one of the retaining clips in the process, so I may get a new cover, though haven't checked the pricing yet.

The best parts - when I cranked it up it ran nice and smooth, and when I took my wife for a drive to a park to walk the dogs she thought I was a hero for all the money I saved. [thumbup]

[howardc64]

I had a hard time figuring out how to slide the belt cover back on and broke one of the retaining clips in the process, so I may get a new cover, though haven't checked the pricing yet.

Oops, forgot to mention this point. Broke mine too. On my friend's 850, I went in from where the wheel liner got folded back to seat the 2 bottom clips. If there is another timing belt job on these P2 cars, I'll try that next time :)

BTW, Sounds like you did it thoroughly which is a must on this task. Great job!!!