2001 V70 sepentine belt question

Marauder 1 · Post by **Marauder 1** » 16 Oct 2016, 00:48

Greetings all:
I purchased a 2001 V70 2.4T that has had most of it's service performed by Volvo over it's life it currently has only 125,000 miles on it. The day we purchased the car I noticed we had a low voltage indication on the car as we were driving it home on the freeway, shutting the air off caused the condition to clear after several minutes. After getting it home quick check revealed the alternator was not working under full load. I purchased a replacement alternator and had our mechanic install it for us. (I haven't purchased a good set of torx heads yet) My wife drove the car home and it sat in the driveway until today. I went to start the car and noticed there was a chirp coming from the serpentine belt at a regular interval, As my wife drove the car away it seemed to be a little worse with acceleration. Once the car is at speed you don't hear it. I have seen where during installation of the alternator it requires removal of the top radiator hose, could there be anti freeze or grease on one of the pulleys or on the belt be causing the issue?

I've read some posts on this and other forums where folks are saying the timing belt might be an issue, but the car shows a service sticker on the engine saying it was serviced at 90,000 by Volvo with a diagram of the timing belt, I believe they did the timing belt during that service. again this sound did not appear until we had the alternator replaced.

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Any help is much appreciated.
Thanks
Mark

Post by **precopster** » 16 Oct 2016, 02:20

You can safely start the car without the serpentine belt attached to the engine and see if the noise goes away.

The power steering, A/C and alternator won't have drive so this would best be a driveway test only.

If you have the 14mm bolt on the tensioner pulley it's quite a bit easier to release the belt than the torx 60 system on the tensioner (especially if you don't have a torx set)

Marauder 1 · Post by **Marauder 1** » 16 Oct 2016, 14:59

Thanks for the info, can I spray the pulleys down with carb cleaner if I find they have some oil or residue on them? Also how does one determine if the main belt is stretched out of spec? I was thinking it may just be a loose belt due to age.

I will be checking other stuff on the car today so your advice will be included in the list. This is my first Volvo, I already find myself wanting another one.

Thanks
Mark

Post by **abscate** » 16 Oct 2016, 19:30

Before you take off the belt, use a piece of hose to isolate exactly where the chirp is coming from, then clean there

Careful with solvent, don't go crazy

Post by **precopster** » 16 Oct 2016, 19:37

Yes Mark, once bitten by the Volvo bug it's difficult not to start wanting more of them

.

If I'm going to clean a belt I'll remove it and spray down the belt & pulleys properly as there could be oil trapped in the ridges of the pulleys. The biggest culprit here is the clamp on the power steering reservoir which can leak PS fluid on to the serpentine belt.

The tensioners usually have enough play in them to accommodate any stretch due to temperature or wear; never seen a belt stretch out of spec due to the nylon cords that reinforce them, however it could be worn below limits and could have begun to slip for this reason.

Marauder 1 · Post by **Marauder 1** » 19 Oct 2016, 11:25

Thanks for the help all, looks like it was the belt. I replaced it and problem has cleared.