2003 S40 Correct timing with VVT Exhaust Cam

[nieljorc]

I bought a 2003 Volvo S40 with a blown head gasket. I purchased the special tool to lock the cams in place, removed the VVT gear and everything else. I have placed the new head gasket on, torqued the head and valve cover on, but now I'm having a difficult time making sure that I have the timing correct and that I replaced the VVT gear back on correctly. I decided to do the timing belt, water pump, idler pulley, and tension pulley at the same time. I have the new belt on, but I want to make sure that I'm where I need to be. I've lined up the two notches on the cams with their corresponding notches, I tried my best to make sure the crank was in the right position, but now I'm second guessing myself. When I rotate the crank 2x, my cams line up with the cover marks, but I'm thinking there's a possibility that I'm exactly 180 degrees off on my crank. I can't get the dust cover bolt off the block under the starter to align the piston, so I'm left to sticking a rod down the spark plug hole to see where the piston is.

Here are the two big questions I have. First, where should cylinder piston 1 (furthest to drivers side) be when cams are aligned with the cover marks?
Second, How do I know that I put the VVT gear back on correctly? (It free spins until torqued down).

Any information that can assist me in making sure that I have timing correct would be greatly appreciated. As far as I understand this is an interference motor, which means a mistake will be costly.

Oh, and that reminds me of another question - if I can turn the crank while connected to the cams and I can do so without significant resistance, does this mean my timing is correct, or is this a false positive?

Thanks in advance for the help!

[alschnertz]

I don't know how close to TDC the engine is when the timing marks are lined up. I know it's close to TDC, but how far? Not sure.

As I recall, the process for aligning everything went like this...
You have the cam locking tool that fastens to the back side of the cams, right? That will hold them in place during your cam gear installation.
And you also have a manual timing belt tensioner as opposed to the hydraulic one, right?

Line up the index mark on the crankshaft gear with the pointer on the oil pump;

Install camshaft gears loosely on camshafts with the index lines approximately pointing toward the
temporarily installed cover;

Install timing belt on crankshaft and up around the idler and intake cam gear. Let the belt teeth determine the proper alignment of the index line/notch - just get it close at this time. Snug the three camshaft gear bolts down - but you will be loosening them again for final adjustment;

Now install the timing belt around the VVT gear, again letting the teeth of the timing belt determine the index / notch alignment position. Again, just get it close at this time;
Install the rest of the timing belt;

Tighten the timing belt tensioner by using an Allen wrench to rotate the tensioner until its pointer is centered between the indicator marks. Then tighten the tensioner bolt;

Check that all your timing marks are still good. Correct them now if you have to. Don't let it be off a notch;

Loosen / tighten the three bolts on the intake camshaft gear - 15ft-lbs;

Loosen / tighten the center bolt on the exhaust camshaft gear - 66ft-lbs;

Install VVT plug - 26ft-lbs;

Turn the engine over by hand at least 2 full crankshaft revolutions to check for the valves hitting the pistons;

Re-check that the timing marks are still all lined up and that the tensioner pointer is still between its 2 index marks.

I think that's it. Here's another video from FCP that may be helpful...
http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/topic/15 ... ng-timing/

[nieljorc]

Thanks alschnertz. I started it up and it runs well. The only thing now is a check engine light that throws P0015 along with several other related codes. I believe if I can fix this it will get rid of the others. The code says that the camshaft position timing is over-retarded. It is referencing the exhaust (which also has the vvt pulley on it). I'm fairly certain that this is not an issue with the solenoid. I'm almost positive it's tied to how I tightened the vvt pulley onto the exhaust cam. My first question is which way to I need to adjust this pulley in relation to the cam; clockwise or counterclockwise? Second, what's the best way to do this? Trial and error? Is there a set way of doing this?

[alschnertz]

I'm almost positive it's tied to how I tightened the vvt pulley onto the exhaust cam. My first question is which way to I need to adjust this pulley in relation to the cam; clockwise or counterclockwise? Second, what's the best way to do this? Trial and error? Is there a set way of doing this?

The only way that I'm aware of to do it right is to use a camshaft locking tool and line up the timing marks on the crank and two camshafts at the same time.

From what I understand, it is damn near impossible to line up and then tighten the center bolt to the proper torque without it. If the center bolt is not tightened to the proper torque, you can see how it could easily come out of "time" with the camshaft slipping inside the VVT gear.

Have you double checked the alignment of the index marks after you put everything together?