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  1. #1

    Default Timing belt broke! I suspect this may be the end of the road for our 2004 XC70!

    8/1/2012 UPDATE BELOW: It has been a nice 8 years with our XC70, and I had started doing a lot of the maintenance myself. Last April (edit: it was actually October 2010) I did an entire service on it including changing the serpentine and timing belts at 125,000 miles, using instructions off this site. I was so pleased with myself for saving us several hundred dollars, even though it took me hours because I was double and triple checking everything including the torque of various bolts.

    Well, today at 145,000 miles we had a failure of the replacement timing belt. I am not sure exactly what happened, because the car is currently sitting 60 miles away from home near where we were stranded on a late Sunday afternoon. It is at a Volvo dealer's lot, and I expect the worst - bent valves, mangled head, possibly piston damage etc. that will make us unwilling to fix the car. Peeking under the plastic timing belt cover showed a lot of rubber and a loose belt. So it might be a snapped belt, but it might also be that the tensioner let go.

    Funny thing, we were offered $5,000 for the car a few weeks ago, and we decided to wait until our long summer trip was over before seeing if we could get closer to book value. Now I am in a very poor negotiating position with a dealer I am not familiar with. At the very least, even if I decided to do some kind of engine transplant myself, finding a donor engine and finding the time to do the replacement isn't going to happen and transporting the car that 60 miles could get expensive.

    The good news is that we weren't on our road trip, 750 miles from home, when it happened. And when it went, it was at a traffic light near a gas station and not on the highway. Oh and the temperature had dropped from 95 to 88.

    I find out tomorrow morning what the next steps are.
    Last edited by fprintf; 08-01-2012 at 02:56 AM. Reason: Updated resolution

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Virginia Beach
    Posts
    4,132

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    I agree that the likely outcome is not good...but I am curious what the results are...

    As a data point: did you replace the idler pulley and tensioner when you did the belt? Or did you do just the belt at 125,000 miles?
    Current Fleet:
    2016 Tundra Crewmax 4WD 1794
    2005 MB S600 (130K, Michelin AS4, HPL 0W40)
    2005 MB SL600 (58K Michelin AS4, Mobil 1 0W40)
    2004 V70R (147K, six speed M66, HPL 5W40)
    2004 XC90 (247K, HPL 0W30 Euro)
    2002 V70-XC (300K, HPL 0W30 Euro)
    2002 V70-T5 (230K, IPD bars, Bilsteins)
    2001 V70-T5 (125K, IPD downpipe, cat back and other mods)
    1932 Packard Sedan (straight 8, dual sidemounts, original paint and interior, Shell Rotella 15W40)

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Location
    SE WI
    Posts
    1,308

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    OEM parts?-Dick
    '11 XC70 Silver/Off Black-Hers
    '03 XC70 Silver/Charcoal-His
    '99 XC70 Silver/Charcoal -Granddaughter's
    '87 740GLE Junk Yard@287K miles
    2013 Porsche Boxster
    2017 Porsche C4S

  4. #4

    Default

    OEM parts from FCPGroton, which is what I almost always buy. I just checked, and it was October 2010 when I did all the work. While looking in my parts box I see a used idler pulley and tensioner, *but* I also see a new waterpump in there. I now recall that I didn't see the need to replace the waterpump since it wasn't leaking, we weren't having any problems etc. I surely hope a seized waterpump wasn't the cause of this mess.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Western Head, Nova Scotia
    Posts
    3,089

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    Quote Originally Posted by fprintf View Post
    OEM parts from FCPGroton, which is what I almost always buy. I just checked, and it was October 2010 when I did all the work. While looking in my parts box I see a used idler pulley and tensioner, *but* I also see a new waterpump in there. I now recall that I didn't see the need to replace the waterpump since it wasn't leaking, we weren't having any problems etc. I surely hope a seized waterpump wasn't the cause of this mess.
    Typically a waterpump is to be replaced every other belt change, but that's not to say a seized pump can't happen. On the other hand, there is always the possibility of a defective part. I've used the FCP kits many times with no problems and those kits use OEM supplier parts; but.........

    Good luck,

    Cheers,

    Bill
    Western Head, NS CDN

    '08 BMW 750i (Black Sapphire)-204K kms to-date
    '05 XC70 (Lava Sand)-296K kms to-date
    '02 V70XC-gone @393K kms
    '05 V70R (Magic Blue)-120K mi to-date - gone
    '96 854R (Red)-real CDN-spec 5-speed R - gone @270k kms
    And other Volvos and misc. Euro stuff

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Virginia Beach
    Posts
    4,132

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    I would not second-guess your water pump decision. I left the WP in both of my P2 cars when I did the T-belt at 105,000...for the same reason...
    Current Fleet:
    2016 Tundra Crewmax 4WD 1794
    2005 MB S600 (130K, Michelin AS4, HPL 0W40)
    2005 MB SL600 (58K Michelin AS4, Mobil 1 0W40)
    2004 V70R (147K, six speed M66, HPL 5W40)
    2004 XC90 (247K, HPL 0W30 Euro)
    2002 V70-XC (300K, HPL 0W30 Euro)
    2002 V70-T5 (230K, IPD bars, Bilsteins)
    2001 V70-T5 (125K, IPD downpipe, cat back and other mods)
    1932 Packard Sedan (straight 8, dual sidemounts, original paint and interior, Shell Rotella 15W40)

  7. #7

    Default

    Well, got the bad news just now. $5,500 in parts and labor to replace all the valves, the bill would likely be quite a bit lower once they get the head off and determine how many valves are actually broken. One of the techs offered to pay $800 for the car as-is, so he can repair it and sell it or drive it himself. The car is in otherwise perfect condition with really good paint and a very well maintained interior. Oh well.

    This has turned out to be a very expensive lesson. Ouch. But what can you do, basically nothing and they wouldn't offer up any "cause" for it though I might still ask them some more questions before finally deciding what to do.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Pacific Northwest
    Posts
    1,927

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    Sorry to hear about this. And if you do find out what failed, it would be beneficial for future reference to the community. If any of the spinning parts seized or tensioner lost it tension, I wonder if there might be some remaining evidence. If the belt just broke, then the evidence probably already destroyed itself.
    Past Volvos : 01 V70 T5, 01/02 V70XC, 02 V70 NA, 00 V70XC
    Current EV/Hybrid : 13 Tesla S85, 11 Gen3 Prius
    Friends cars under my care 17 Audi A4 Quattro DSG (B9) 05 Audi A4 Manual 6sp Quattro (B7) 04 e320 V6 Auto, 05 Accord 2.4, 08 Element 2.4, 08 Camry Hybrid
    Past Others : 01/03 VW MK4 Turbo/NA/01M. Gen1 Prius, Gen1 CRV, Gen2 Rav4, 02 Town&Country, 06 Corolla, 12 Audi A4 Quattro (B8), 07 Civic 1.6
    https://sites.google.com/view/howardsvolvos

  9. #9

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    We decided not to fix the engine. Instead my local mechanic is going to find a used engine from a wrecked car and replace it. It'll save me about $2,000, though is still going to be quite expensive. I won't get the chance to do any analysis on the ruined engine, so no updates on what caused the catastrophic failure unless in the process of removing the engine they come across the cause.

    Thanks for all the help.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    Southwest US
    Posts
    84

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    I read your comment about being a very expensive lesson, but I disagree. You obviously took great pride in doing your own work, and by your description you took your time to triple check every detail. Although it seems to be the consensus on this site to change WP every other belt swap, it's not entirely unreasonable to replace when you did. Again, evidence that you cared about your car. No lesson here, other than random acts of nature suck, and these cars can sometimes attract these events in many different forms. I know i have had my share. At least you were able to look at the bright side. I am sorry for you my friend, just let the responsibility lie in the parts you replaced, not the workmanship or decisions made.

    Good luck!

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