2007 B5254t2 TB running 1mm over inside edge of cam gear

[Schokakola]

Usually I only read these forums and never have to post anything but now I have to. So after I just did the timing belt, water pump, tensioner and idler using the Gates kit, the belt now rides too far towards the block. So far I've tried with the old idler (INA) and as I had both off again I measured them, the Gates idler is 0.5mm smaller when measured from where it meets the block. Still, the belt rides exactly the same with both idlers. It does not move with the engine running once it has found it's place. Where would you go from here? I know the WP in the Gates kit is not Aisin. As the WP has the inner edge on the pulley that stops the belt from going even further inwards, I'm wondering if the WP is also perhaps 0.5mm smaller and maybe that would cause the problem?

[cn90]

Most of the time, nothing to worry about.
But if you want peace of mind...
- Aisin WP
- Continental TB kit (which has INA pulleys)

The Gates TB is known to do that bc it is not as good as Conti TB.

PS: With all the stuffs posted in forum, why would anyone buy a Gates TB kit? The prices are very similar between Gates and Conti kit.

[jonesg]

I met a guy who was parting out his v70, he said the gates water pump rusted, jammed up and destroyed the engine.
He sent photos to Gates but they denied responsibility.

[dikidera]

Avoid Continental and Contitech, they are known to start splitting early(within 10k km) and cause issues. I mean it was true for the serpentine belt, it would start splitting and then slip and go under the timing belt, but then we saw reports of bad timing belts too.

In my country many tens of volvos died this way.

[Schokakola]

I guess I did not wan't to believe it but I have to, have always figured Gates as a quality brand (and it was sold to me as oem-quality). Changed to a INA kit, belt is branded INA made in italy. Now the belt runs right in the middle. I'm pretty sure the culprit is the Gates branded tensioner which is not running straight, visible to the naked eye when you have it off next to the INA tensioner. Gates belt is probably fine as well as the idler. I did leave the Gates WP in there, for now atleast. I also put a Contitech aux belt but oh well, seems you can't win here. And yea, next time I'm doing my hours of research _before_ I buy anything for this car. I'm used to 740s, could use a fucking shoelace as a TB on those...

[Antoine240bk]

Glad it went well with a new kit.
When it comes to Timing belt or auxiliary belt, seals or ignition, i do use Genuine Volvo parts.
Yes it is pricey but as i save a lot of money on labor, i think i can afford that for peace of mind.
Well my car is a daily!

[cn90]

Nothing wrong w Continental belts.
Car came from factory with Conti belts (TB and serp)
and INA pulleys.

[dikidera]

Nothing wrong w Continental belts.
Car came from factory with Conti belts (TB and serp)
and INA pulleys.

Maybe but factory is one thing, today is another, but several high profile mechanic shops and facebook groups alerted us Volvo users of this issue. I personally saw 2 volvos (xc60s) that died this way. Serpentine belt, no more than 5k miles) had split and went under the TB.

[cn90]

Did the shops check if they had maybe Counterfeit belts?

Serp belt going under is likely from bad idler pulley or bad alternator pulley or AC pulley seizing...

I and many many and many ppl in this forum use Conti TB kit and Conti serp belt with millions of miles. Zero issues.

[erikv11]

No, it's not "zero issues" for US forum members either, vtl saw the same thing recently - viewtopic.php?t=105989.

The Conti serp belts may not be what they used to be. Maybe Gates is a good idea there, maybe not ...