98 V70 NA Timing Belt Change

[98v70dad]

My car is due a timing belt change in about 7000 miles. It will be the second change since I'll be at 140,000 miles. So I'm wondering about people's thoughts on replacing the water pump. I was in the Volvo parts department the other day and asked what parts i would need to buy. The parts man who knows his business told me to buy a timing belt, a pulley and the tensioner. He said the water pumps almost never fail....ever! His advise was to replace it only when it starts leaking. Thoughts?

I forgot to ask his opinion on replacing the front cam seals at the same time. i replaced the rear seals already about 6 months ago because they were leaking. I've got no leaks on the timing belt end of the engine.

[dosbricks]

I've always replaced the water pump as PM every other TB change, except for doing one early when the Volvo OE pump started leaking at 103K on my 850 wagon. As oft repeated, Volvo or Aisin brand only.

If you have the hydraulic tensioner like on my early S70, It's OK to reuse as long as it's not leaking any oil around the piston. Later build mechanical one needs to be replaced.

Front cam seals don't need to be replaced as long as they are not leaking--not a job anyone wants to do unless necessary.

[misha]

If water pump is not leaking,leave it.Same thing with hydraulic tensioner.
Replace the belt and rollers.
When compressing hydraulic tensioner in a large vice just take your time.It must be compressed very,very slowly...half a turn per minute.It may take around 15-20 minutes to fully compress it.
It should have a noticeable resistence.If it's not and if it's leaking,replace it.
When you fully compress it,lock it with a piece of steel wire.

[98v70dad]

I've always replaced the water pump on other cars every other time as preventative maintenance too. I was surprised when the parts guy told me he had a different opinion. His comment was those things never fail and it's rare that we have to replace one on a customers car. My dealership has unbelievable prices so I buy a lot of parts from them and he has given me a lot of very good advise. They are usually only a dollar or two more than mail order and I often can walk out with the part I went in to "order".

I don't know what kind of tensioner I have. I'll have to figure that out before I start ordering parts. I'm about 6 months away from doing the job based on the rate I'm putting miles on the car.

I once ran a 96 Camry about 25% past the recommended change interval because I figured i could get away with it. I did get away with it but the mechanic who changed the belt told me that had begun to delaminate and it had started to come apart at the edges. He told me that when the belts look like that the remaining life is "not long". Since then I get the belts changed on schedule. I've never done one myself, but it looks like a doable job, so I believe I'll give it a try.

[erikv11]

This thread already includes most of this but:

My rule on the factory pump is three timing belts. If a car I buy has an aftermarket water pump on it when I get it, then I replace it with Aisin or Volvo and know I will never have to think about it again.

Hydraulic tensioner every second belt. Mechanical every time (it has a pulley built in). Pulleys every time, belt every time.

Front cam seals only if they are leaking, you gain very little by doing them during a timing belt change. And while recently many people have been replacing them just for fun (seriously) or to be thorough (can you say obsessive? lol, we all can be) but it is very rare for them to leak, even on a high mileage/high year engine.