Getting a '89 740 for free!

[mrreilly]

Hello.
It's been a while since I've posted here. My S70 is running quite well, so I haven't had any need to come here that much. But this summer I've got a few things I'm going to take care of so I'm sure I'll be back to ask some more questions.

So now to the point of this thread. My friend's girlfriend's dad has a 1989 Volvo 740 GL. A few weeks ago the Timing Belt broken on it. Their mechanic says that everything in the engine is ok and nothing was damaged when the belt went. So it is fixable and it should run fine again. He doesn't really want to pay to fix it, so he decided he'd let me have it to do what I want with it. =) Given all the work and experiance i've had on my car he figures I'll have no trouble fixing this up a bit.
I'm planning on just replacing the timing belt and cleaning it up and checking everything else out, and then I'm going to sell it and give the money to my dad to pay back my car.

As far as replacing the timing belt, is this a do it yourself thing or is it more tricky than the S70. I did mine on my S70 in a few hours, so I'm guessing it won't be that hard to do it on the 740. I'm thinking I'll order the parts from IPD along with the installation DVD. But before I do that, does anyone know of a site or something that could help me out? Or has some one here done this and has some advice?

I'll post back when I find out the millage (I know it's over 200,000k), and any other details along with some pictures. The car is at their mechanic, so once I get things in order he'll have it towed to my house.

Thanks for any help!

Mike

[CarVolvo]

Believe me the timing belt on a 4 cylinder volvo engine is much easier that a 850/s70. Also because this is a non interference engine, unlike the 5 cylinder,it will not be damaged when the timing belt goes.

Typically you have to remove the cooling fan and all the accessory belts to get to it which isnt that hard and you have loads of space to get to it.

Even better the cost for the timing belt is between 20 and 30 dollars.

The worst part is as in most cases with any timing belt..trying to line up the 3 timing marks on the engine upon installation, but that too will be easy once you get your bearings on what to look for.

Im not sure what the cost of the dvd is...but i would look into going to your library and looking up Haynes manual or Mitchells. Or just go to your local automotive shop and buy a Haynes manual.. its pretty good at the basic instructions and is around $20.