To belt or not to belt...that is the question 98 V70 Topic is solved

[rspi]

To avoid getting the wrong belt, etc., I usually order the parts for the '97 850.

[SonicAdventure]

I think the part that intimidates me the most about this job is that if I can't knock it out in one weekend, I will have to leave the car taken apart and then bus it back and forth to work until I can either get parts that didn't come in or study more about the repair.

I think I will go to the local junkyard this weekend and "practice" this repair on one of their cars, i.e tear down the timing belt components to see how it all comes apart. Sure, I'll buy the water pump and tensioner to comply with the yard rules that whatever you take off you have to buy, (even though I don't plan to use the parts) which should be less than $15, but the experience of getting in there and seeing how it comes apart without risking my car would be worth 10 times whatever I pay for the parts. Who knows, maybe there will be a half disassembled motor there already that I can just study without actually buying any parts.

Watching the videos and reading manuals is great, but there is no substitute for getting your hands on the nuts and bolts and seeing how things come apart.

[bmdubya1198]

I think the part that intimidates me the most about this job is that if I can't knock it out in one weekend, I will have to leave the car taken apart and then bus it back and forth to work until I can either get parts that didn't come in or study more about the repair.

I think I will go to the local junkyard this weekend and "practice" this repair on one of their cars, i.e tear down the timing belt components to see how it all comes apart. Sure, I'll buy the water pump and tensioner to comply with the yard rules that whatever you take off you have to buy, (even though I don't plan to use the parts) which should be less than $15, but the experience of getting in there and seeing how it comes apart without risking my car would be worth 10 times whatever I pay for the parts. Who knows, maybe there will be a half disassembled motor there already that I can just study without actually buying any parts.

Watching the videos and reading manuals is great, but there is no substitute for getting your hands on the nuts and bolts and seeing how things come apart.

You have to pay for parts you remove? That's funny... you could tear apart a whole car at my closest junkyard and they won't care. Anyway...
that's a good thing to do... practice the job before you do it on your own car. The most crucial part of this is to properly line up the crank and the cams at the factory alignment marks. Don't just leave them where they are and say "it'll be fine if I don't move anything." It doesn't work that way. I just did my first timing belt job a few weeks ago on my cousin's car, and it didn't go too well for the reason that nothing was lined up correctly. As far as replacing all of the components, it took us about 3 1/2 hours on a Saturday morning that was a little colder than usual. It wasn't too hard. Just be patient and follow a good DIY, and you'll be fine!

[erikv11]

Figure out in advance how you are going to remove the torx bolt on the pulley. I use an L-shaped torx and a thin pipe. That one can eat a lot of time if you are not all set to go on it. If you budget all day Saturday then a few hours Sunday for mop-up, you can get it done. It's not a hard job, just zero room for mistakes so it's good to be deliberate.