Timing Belt Tips

mpr3209 · Post by **mpr3209** » 22 Oct 2012, 20:58

Completed a timing belt change on our 2003 S60 2.4 Turbo today. I followed the youtube video step by step and kept my ipad in the garage with me so I could watch certain portions again. This was the First time I have done this particular job. It was tough and I was pretty nervous about screwing it up but I guess I did OK cause the engine cranked up and is running fine.

figured I would pass on a few thoughts and a few things that are not in the video that may be helpful:

1. You will have to take the serpentine belt off and put it back on--maybe a few times. Having a serpentine belt tool was a huge help. I bought one on Amazon for about 20 bucks.

2. I took out one spark plug to ease the pressure and help the engine rotate easier while I was cranking it to line up all the marks.

3. Most people take the crank shaft pulley off as part of this job. Unless you have a tool to hold the pulley still or a powerful impact wrench the pulley will move when you try to loosen the 30mm nut. I used a powerful impact wrench which popped the nut off. Once I took the pulley off I put the 30mm nut back on so I could rotate the crank shaft with a socket wrench and a breaker bar when I needed to.

4. The timing marks on the cam sprockets are tiny. Once you find them recommend you mark them with something. I took some white paint and dipped my finger in it then put a dot by each timing mark. That was very helpful later on.

5. Once you line up the cam sprocket timing marks with the timing cover marks you can start looking for the marks on the crank case sprocket and he block.

6. The marks on my S60's sprocket are tiny little cuts in the ends of two consecutive teeth. The timing mark on the block is also very tiny. It took me forever to find it. On my car it was a teeny tiny tick mark near where the sprocket attaches to the block. You will need a powerful flashlight and some patience. I was not able to find the mark on he block until I got the CS pulley off. it was just too hard to see in here. To line things up, you put the tiny tic mark between the two teeth with the tics out of the end. When you find them you should mark all of those marks with paint or a red sharpie or whatever you can. It will really help down the line.

7. Unless you have the fancy gadget that holds he sprockets still, chances are the cam shaft sprockets will move a little bit after you take the old belt off. If you get the new belt on and the marks are not quite lined up, you just have to suck it up, take the new belt off and try again until the marks are aligned. You can move the sprockets a little here and there with the belt off. I used a screwdriver stuck through a hole in the sprocket to make very small adjustments. I read on some forums that guys have used zip ties to hold the sprockets still. I tried it, but it did not work for me.

8. Once you get everything on and running, don't forget to put he bottom plastic timng cover on before you put the serpentine belt back on and start hooking up he ps reservoir and the overflow. I forgot and had to fight to get the cover back down in and back on.

Hope this helps. Feel free to e mail me with questions.

Tonyx · Post by **Tonyx** » 24 Oct 2012, 10:34

I appreciate the write up. It will be handy when I do mine some time next year.
Have you heard of Russian timing belt method? You cut the timing belt in half length wise while it's still on engine. Take off the first half, install the new belt and cut off the second half. This preserves the original timing.
I wanted to throw this out to your thread to see others chime in. Thanks for posting your experience, these are the best posts on this forum.

fn42 · Post by **fn42** » 24 Oct 2012, 13:06

that seems like a lot of effort (cutting the belt in half)

If you make sure the belt is tight from the crankshaft to the intake cam when you put it on you should be fine

mpr3209 · Post by **mpr3209** » 24 Oct 2012, 20:21

One more tip, FWIW. Think if I had it to do again I would impose on a friend and ask for some help. Did this one alone and there were a few times when another set of hands would have been really great, especially to hold the cam sprockets in place while the new belt was going on and to help keep tension on the new belt as it was being threaded through the maze of idlers, gears, and pulleys.

Also forgot to add the funny part. I forgot to put the spark plug back in--the one I took out to ease the pressure, so when I got the new belt on and cranked he engine I immediately heard a loud Bang! Bang! Bang! So I quickly shut off the engine. That's it, I thought. I've somehow screwed up the mark alignment and completely ruined the engine. Valves and pistons are crashing into each other. I sat down on the garage floor, completely defeated trying to figure out whet I went wrong. Then it hit me and I said out loud: Spark Plug! Put the plug in, started the engine, and she purred like a kitten.

. There should be a thread on here for bonehead stories like mine.

mika · Post by **mika** » 29 Oct 2012, 09:16

Hi everyone, I am planning to tackle this job soon, but cannot find if my v70 1998 Base has a pneumatic or mechanical tensioner, does anyone know which is more likely that I have?

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 04 Nov 2012, 08:17

Probably hydraulic (the one with the pin you have to compress)... You can do a visual for this, or I believe go over to fcpgroton and it's broken down by engine numbers. Some '98's made late for that year were mechanical.