Broken Timing Belt

Post by **polskamafia mjl** » 01 Nov 2009, 20:46

If seen and heard of many people having trashed pistons after the T-belt broke. I would call it a catastrophe but if you want to ignore the obvious you can call it an inconvenience. It can be repaired. It's tedious and expensive and can easily be prevented by sticking to the correct service intervals and replacing the timing belt. Although the engine is nothing to be afraid of it's not something to be taken lightly...messing with the engine can get expensive real quick. It's better for people to be "afraid" of the engine and in turn maintaining it than to suggest that it is nothing to be afraid of and misleading people into believing it will be quick and easy to fix if they don't.

Post by **tjts1** » 01 Nov 2009, 21:56

C@lvin wrote:OK guys, I am really interested in this discussion.

I was recently considering the purchase of a 95 850 Turbo with an asking price of $600 because the timing belt broke. I assumed it would need a new engine and I found one locally for $750 asking price. But I decided against this because I didn't want to risk that much money (especially since I have never done an engine or tranny swap before).

So, can it be assumed that there is a good chance that the engine could be repaired and that I could do this though never having done it before and that it would be substantially less expensive than replacing the motor?

If I could get the car for $400-$500 and do the repair myself for a couple of hundred dollars I would be very tempted. I would especially love to learn how to do this kind of work.

Are there good instructions anywhere for doing this type of engine repair? Haynes? VADIS? MVS? Elsewhere?

At $750 replacing the complete engine is your cheapest and least time consuming option. See the link in my previous post for more info on the valve job. Honeslty unless you're building up a performance motor, taking it apart is a waste of time. There are too many cheap motors in good condition to bother rebuilding one. You can have the engine swap done in 1 weekend with basic tools and a hoist.

Post by **schigara** » 01 Nov 2009, 22:38

polskamafia mjl wrote:If seen and heard of many people having trashed pistons after the T-belt broke.

Out of over 200 engines I have performed valve jobs on from a belt break, I have only seen maybe 2 with "trashed" pistons and those were only because the valve stems had broken(sodium filled exhaust valves) and the valve head bounced around inside the cylinder and the ring lands got compressed.

I would call it a catastrophe but if you want to ignore the obvious you can call it an inconvenience.

I'm not ignoring the obvious. I'm discounting the improbable.

It can be repaired. It's tedious and expensive and can easily be prevented by sticking to the correct service intervals and replacing the timing belt.

I never said nor did I intend that service intervals and proper maintenance should be neglected?

Although the engine is nothing to be afraid of it's not something to be taken lightly...messing with the engine can get expensive real quick. It's better for people to be "afraid" of the engine and in turn maintaining it than to suggest that it is nothing to be afraid of and misleading people into believing it will be quick and easy to fix if they don't.

Again, I never said that the belt should not be maintained. The point of the original post had to do with after the fact of a broken belt. Whether it was a car you bought with a broken belt or if your belt happened to break, for whatever reason. The point was that the engine and the head is not a lost cause. If you have the ability to pull a head, you can easily buy the valves, lap them and install new stem seals. The only thing you would need to pay a machine shop for is to resurface the head, if it’s outside warpage limits. Sure, if you have no mechanical ability at all and aren’t willing to read a manual and learn, it will be cheaper to buy another engine and have someone install it for you.

To keep from misleading anyone further….Do NOT buy a broken Volvo(or any broken car) if you have to pay retail to have a shop work on it for you. I hate having to spell out the obvious.

Post by **tjts1** » 01 Nov 2009, 23:17

No. Not easily, not cheaply, not with basic tools, not with basic mechanical knowledge, limited resources and limited time. Not for the average volvo owner. It's always cheaper and easier to replace the long block with a good used motor.
End of story.

Post by **polskamafia mjl** » 02 Nov 2009, 02:16

tjts1 wrote:No. Not easily, not cheaply, not with basic tools, not with basic mechanical knowledge, limited resources and limited time. Not for the average volvo owner. It's always cheaper and easier to replace the long block with a good used motor.
End of story.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

9394volvo850s · Post by **9394volvo850s** » 03 Nov 2009, 17:28

tjts1 wrote:
schigara wrote: The Volvo engine is as simple as a Toyota or Nissan and is nothing to marvel at or be afraid of.
Have you ever removed and then tried to reinstall the valve cover on one of this volvo engine?

yea when I put my NA cams in last month.

syrotchen · Post by **syrotchen** » 04 Nov 2009, 00:33

Humorous, because I have the magic Porsche timing belt tool still in my box but my 944T is long gone. I had two belts snap one at 63,000 it was a recommended change at 60K and the second one at 80,000 a month after it went out of warranty from the dealer. I changed the second one myself and sent the head out to a machine shop to have the valve work done. I did the job in an appartment parking lot and worked out a small toolbox and had 50,000 miles on that belt before I decided to give up the weekly repair opportunity and provide parts to others needing practice. Given my skills at the time were way below the average backyard mechanic, I don't think a broken timing belt on a Volvo is beyond most if you capable of following step by step instructions. I also learned a great deal about that 944 tearing it down and putting it back together. Future repairs were a lot faster after I discovered a few tricks and certainly learned a great deal about the car along the way. I guess after that experience, and having done a couple of timing belts on Nissan's the Volvo looks a lot more like the job on a Nissan that it does on that 944.

Craigd2599 · Post by **Craigd2599** » 06 Nov 2009, 15:10

polskamafia mjl wrote:
tjts1 wrote:No. Not easily, not cheaply, not with basic tools, not with basic mechanical knowledge, limited resources and limited time. Not for the average volvo owner. It's always cheaper and easier to replace the long block with a good used motor.
End of story.
Couldn't have said it better myself.

Not even in Slavik?

Post by **polskamafia mjl** » 06 Nov 2009, 20:55

You mean Polish? lol

BIG DOG · Post by **BIG DOG** » 18 Nov 2009, 06:49

schigara good info! There was a 98 here with a broken timing belt I was considering.I could put it in my garage and pick away at it as it would be a good project.And not too stressful as I wouldn't need it for transportation.What I was thinking though was instead of getting a whole motor just get a head I'm sure you could find one at a picken pull or someones back yard junk yard for peanuts.

Broken Timing Belt

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