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DIY: Serpentine Belt EZ-Tool (<$2) & Routing Topic is solved

Help, Advice and DIY Tutorials on Volvo's P80 platform cars -- Volvo's 1990s "bread and butter" cars -- powered by the ubiquitous and durable Volvo inline 5-cylinder engine.

1992 - 1997 850, including 850 R, 850 T-5R, 850 T-5, 850 GLT
1997 - 2000 S70, S70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70, V70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70-XC
1997 - 2004 C70

This topic is in the MVS Volvo Repair Database » How to Replace the Serpentine Belt on Your Volvo 850 (and S70, V70, C70)
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bmdubya1198
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Re: DIY: Serpentine Belt EZ-Tool (<$2) & Routing

Post by bmdubya1198 »

Just changed my tensioner today, and this combo worked great. I used a 1/2" to 3/4" socket adapter and a 19mm open end wrench. The drive part of the adapter is long enough to go into the tensioner and leave just enough space for the wrench.
I tried using the adapter on a 1/2" ratchet a while back, but that didn't work since there is no room in the fender for the ratchet head.
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theWIFES_S70
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Post by theWIFES_S70 »

bmdubya1198 wrote:Just changed my tensioner today, and this combo worked great. I used a 1/2" to 3/4" socket adapter and a 19mm open end wrench. The drive part of the adapter is long enough to go into the tensioner and leave just enough space for the wrench.
I tried using the adapter on a 1/2" ratchet a while back, but that didn't work since there is no room in the fender for the ratchet head.
I love this. But I think it costs more than a couple of quarters... :D
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bmdubya1198
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Post by bmdubya1198 »

theWIFES_S70 wrote:
bmdubya1198 wrote:Just changed my tensioner today, and this combo worked great. I used a 1/2" to 3/4" socket adapter and a 19mm open end wrench. The drive part of the adapter is long enough to go into the tensioner and leave just enough space for the wrench.
I tried using the adapter on a 1/2" ratchet a while back, but that didn't work since there is no room in the fender for the ratchet head.
I love this. But I think it costs more than a couple of quarters... :D
Haha, true, but I already had the tools on hand. I don't even know what that adapter cost, but it's a 3/4 inch and it's from Northern, so it probably wasn't cheap. I actually tried the quarters and vise grips first, and I bent the heck out of the quarters. As long as they're still worth 25 cents if material is missing :lol:
00 V70R Venetian Red/Charcoal M56 Swapped 214k
07 XC90 V8 AWD Sport Titanium Grey/Black 220k
92 245 White/Beige 249k
91 944 Turbo 175k
…and a bunch of other stuff
Sold-
03 S60 2.4T
00 S70 GLT
98 V70 GLT
93 944
98 S90
95 850 GLT
01 S60 2.4T
05 S60R M66
08 S40 2.4i
88 744 Turbo M46

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Post by RooBah »

There is this for pickup at Walmart ~$5.70
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Post by abscate »

Sneers from the 1999s who don t have to splurge on 75 cent tools because the M10 in our tool box fits our 14 mm hex tensioner perfectly. We also have sexy Italian throttle bodies. Different routing on the belt too, as well as a freewheeling ALT pulley that can’t be reversed.

I bought the AKN tool as I have three Volvos in the fleet, another 7 I’m servicing locally and that tool does make this job a breeze
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Post by RooBah »

I would add that I needed to grind just a tad off of two sides of the adapter to make it slip in so much easier. Such a small tad that even though I own no 3/4" sockets I think it would still be usable in one. Perhaps 0.5mm off of the two sides.
Biff bam boom with a 3" portable grinder while I had it mounted to a breaker bar. Three 850's in the five Volvo fleet now handled. The 745 manual turbo and 780 are so much easier to work on!! ♥
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87 740 Turbo Wagon w/manual
89 780 Bertone Turbo
95 850 Wagon n/a 5 speed
95 850 Turbo Wagon Auto (The heater hose mod for the PVC is still working perfectly after 35k miles)
*All four previously listed vehicles:https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/a0a ... .44.41.jpg
96 850 Sedan GLThttps://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ct7 ... sitdip.jpg

850oldschool
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Post by 850oldschool »

CTA 1071 tool is $17.62 from FCP:

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... 0-cta-1071

I'd been improvising for years and they finally got me.

Shartcar
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Post by Shartcar »

Figured I would share what I used in a pinch. The head of my 11mm wrench fit snug with the ECU box removed. Threw an adjustable on there for leverage and it worked surprisingly well.
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erikv11
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Post by erikv11 »

Shartcar wrote: 23 Jun 2021, 13:24 Figured I would share what I used in a pinch. The head of my 11mm wrench fit snug with the ECU box removed. Threw an adjustable on there for leverage and it worked surprisingly well.
I loosened the tensioner this way a few times way way back using an 11 mm crow's foot, but then I lost the crow's foot and went to a different homemade tool ...
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Post by LOB »

Don't know if this type of crow bar is widely available in the US but it's cheap and works great for this belt tensioner;
https://www.biltema.no/en-no/tools/hand ... 2000041645

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