'93 850--Coolant leaking, but from where?

[RegisWhite]

OK.

I got the belt cover off, and, while it's still hard to see down in there, I'm content (loosely speaking!) to surrender that this is probably the water pump. After getting the cover off, there's a slow, steady drip--as if the cover itself was helping to hold some of the fluid, which is probably true!

I took some pictures I wanted to show, because of some other bits of strangeness that may or may not be related:


The shiny blob to the right of center is where the drips are coming out. Based on what everyone has said, that's why I'm figuring it's the water pump.


Here's another good view of the drips. You can see the green pool on that lower cover...


But here's the weird part: The sticker has, in Sharpie, 135,100 mi. as the last belt change, which is fine. BUT, beneath the Sharpie, in pen, it said "102,448" for miles, and "1/14/98" for the date. I can only assume that the belt was changed at 102k, then again at 135k? The belt looks pretty fresh, not that I'm an expert; but it's not frayed or raggedy-looking.


Here's a timing mark someone made on the left-side timing gear...


...and here's one on the right-side gear, EXCEPT that there are TWO marks; someone goofed up the first time? Don't know... That's why I'm here seeking opinions...


But here's what bugged me: See how far off the mechanisms the belt looks to be? Is that right? I mean, granted, there are bigger fish to fry here, perhaps, but is this how it's supposed to look?


Here's a picture of what I can only call "scoring" on my timing belt cover, which, I assume, was caused by the side of the belt rubbing up against the plastic.


...and one more shot of that.

The mileage now is about 151k, so if the belt was changed out at 135k, is buying a new belt (and rollers and stuff) necessary? And how about that protrusion of the belt? It's not coming off of the rollers; it just looks like it wasn't pushed all the way in. If I do end up taking it to someone, I can point that out, I guess...

Last query for now: I'd read something here about someone having a similar problem, and, just in the course of driving the car back to the house, something blew up, and the engine was ruined. Where am I on the "disaster scale"? If I just top off the coolant a bit and drive it 10 miles to the mechanic, am I in danger of blowing stuff up?

Thanks for the help, and for listening to me rant. In life, as in automotive radiators, sometimes you just need to let off a little steam... Looking forward to your input!

RW

[anmartin44]

you need to get your belt changed too! the leaking coolant has probably got onto your belt and is making it slip off the gears. the 1993 has a different size TBelt which is wider than the older ones so make sure you or your mechanic get the right parts. check to see if the belt feels loose. it should be very tight. your lucky you noticed the leak and took a look before that belt slipped off. you would be shopping for a new motor if it did. I think you should get the whole system replaced to be safe. (belt, tensioner and pulley, idler pulley, and WP)

the write up on here is really good and i did my timing system without ever doing one before. it's hard but if you can follow directions then you should be ok. Of course if you dont feel comfortable doing it then don't and have a mechanic do it.

good luck,
andrew

[Ozark Lee]

You need to address the belt immediately. I had one that didn't track correctly as well and it was due to a bad (I'm convinced it was counterfeit) INA tensioner roller. I replaced that roller with a genuine blue box Volvo part and the belt tracked properly after that.

From your picture the belt is in the process of destroying itself and, as you know, if the belt fails it is "Game Over" for that engine.

...Lee

[RegisWhite]

Well, I guess that answers my questions!

No further convincing needed; one way or the other, things obviously need to be changed out. I'll re-read that series of posts about how to do it, and decide from there if I feel up to the task or not. I agree with the consensus of changing whatever you can afford to change, of course; are there any suppliers that can just "sell you a kit," or do you have to pretty much piece together what all you need? I assume all the MVF sponsors are legitimate sellers, so as to avoid counterfeits? Advice is much appreciated...

To answer Andrew's question, the belt isn't what I'd call loose; it's not "bands of steel" immovable, either, but certainly not sloppy-loose. Suffice it to say, though, that it's going to be changed, as well. I'll make sure that a '93 replacement is specified!

Last question (for now): If I decide that I don't want to tackle this job myself... then what? Is it safe to drive it to a garage? Don't want it dying on the way to the hospital, as it were... What I come to realize is that the best thing would be to find a mechanic that makes house calls, which should happen shortly after I sprout wings, I suspect. But I digress. If I have to take it somewhere, should I drive it or have it towed?

Everyone here is really great; do you know, I also own a '97 Honda Accord, went on to some forums for advice about a problem I was having with it, and barely heard a peep from anyone? Maybe it should be a new marketing slogan: "Volvo--Our Drivers Are Friendly And Pleasant..."

[anmartin44]

it's true. this is by far the best car owners site i've ever come across. the only other good one i have been on is turbobricks.com. but it is also volvo!
As far as driving it...if you can shimmy the belt back onto the pulleys and make sure there's water in your tank you would PROBABLY be fine for a short trip. make sure your Tbelt cover is on nice and tight. But I would only drive it if you absolutely have too!! that Tbelt could go at any time. If you decide to do it yourself there are a ton of people on here who have done multiple TB jobs on 850's including me so don't hesitate to ask questions.

FCP Groton sells a whole kit for timing belts and it's like $250ish. but i think WP is included.

Good Luck!
Andrew

[Ozark Lee]

My bad tensioner rollers all came from FCP. I called Nick 2 years ago to report the problem and I guess they are still selling them. I hate to dis a sponsor but it is what it is.

Castings don't bend.

...Lee

[RegisWhite]

All good stuff to know. I found this FCP kit:

FCP 850 Timing Belt Kit Info

...and was curious as to whether or not it was the ultimate, A-1 choice to get.

Of course, if it's not as super-duper as one might hope... well, I'm open to suggestions, and would sure appreciate a couple. I guess I'm talking myself into doing this; I'd have to invest in a good jack and some stands, since I don't yet own those--just a set of ramps--but I guess, if I make this happen, it'd still be cheaper than having it done somewhere, not to mention what I'd pay to have it towed to a place, since, now, I'm kind of scared to try and drive it!

So I'll order some parts mid-week (payday!), and start the gin and tonics shortly thereafter, to stave off the waves of panic. Any ideas on alternative parts suppliers, I'm all ears, cybernetically-speaking... Thanks!

[anmartin44]

http://www.ipdusa.com/Volvo-850/Engine/Engine-Mechanical/Timing-Belts-&-Tensioners/Timing-Belt-Kit/p-72-153-168-169-3943/

the above link is for IPD USA. they are an awesome company that makes alot of performance parts for volvos. they also have a timing belt kit but the price varies depending on what engine number you have. this is if you dont want to go with the FCP stuff (i have never used their roller and pulleys so i cannot attest to the quality but Ozark Lee is pretty knowledgeable). I think you have to buy a water pump seperately with the IPD kit (go with volvo or hepu brands.)

good luck
andrew

[RegisWhite]

Yeep.

The IPD version runs about $100 more than the FCP version, give-or-take-ish, because you DO have to buy the water pump separately...

On the other hand, I don't want to invest in something less-than-good, and then have to do the whole mess again in a relatively short time. What I can't help wondering is, how much would a thing like this really matter when you're talking about a car that goes, maybe, 15-25 miles on a given day, rather than running hundreds of miles at a time? Maybe it's just because I'm sitting here at 2:30 in the morning watching Top Gear on BBC America, but does a person have to make allowances for "performance parts" as opposed to "going back and forth to work" parts, you know?

Well, I've bookmarked both sets of parts from both sellers on my computer, so I can afford to wait for a few opinions from hither and yon before actually buying the parts, which won't happen til about Wednesday. In the meantime, I think I'll start the tear-down procedure tomorrow, if weather and time allow, and maybe even get around to cleaning that PNP switch that has been occasionally touchy on me... Thanks again for all the help! Back to Googling stuff about engine timing...

[taxi]

Hi again from sweden and happy new years! I want to begin with agreeing with the above somewhere; this forum is one step greater than the swedish one, and its universal -the volvo forums (and saab actually) are the best!

I just completed my first timing belt change and all went well except the timing belt now seems to be rubbing against the cover, above and under the roller, it looks like if I look on the inside of the cover.
But the strange thing is that the belt is where its supposed to be, centered, unlike the pictures earlier in this thread.

Is it possibel to get the cover on the wrong way?
Car runs fine, even better than before, I used cam and crank locking tools and didnt really look at the timing marks, couldnt even find mark on the crankshaft. So I would recommend locking tools when changing timing belt, you never know whos been there before!

Also, thanks to ozark lee (you should be swedish) for your write-up, this wasnt even hard with you and the swedish version of ozark lee

If I should make my own thread of this, please let me know!

Thanks in advance!