S60R Timing Belt alignment

[cmfoltz]

Guys,

I just completed a timing belt, water pump, idler, and tensioner tune up on my 2007 S60R. Car runs great, but i noticed that the belt has found it's home to the extreme inside of the crank and exhaust gears.

I have re-adjusted the tensioner, thinking this may be the cause...too much tension, but it did not change it much. Any ideas? Any other adjustments? Could it be a bad belt? I purchased all of the parts through FCP Euro, bought the Gates "blue" belt. Scratching my head, the original belt favored this side but did not go to this extreme...

FullSizeRender.jpg (233.29 KiB) Viewed 2613 times

FullSizeRender1 (002).jpg (91.32 KiB) Viewed 2613 times

IMG_7780.JPG (107.7 KiB) Viewed 2613 times

[oragex]

Mine runs exactly on the opposite side.. . you can push it back to the center with your fingers - but it will came back at the same place. I have no idea the reason for this, but at least on my car it stays there

Btw, hopefully you got a quality wp

[mrbrian200]

I used the blue belt from Gates/FCP too. It wanted to sit right on inside edge just like your picture. That was 20k miles ago. I had the top cover off about a month ago it's moved about 1/16" toward center since then. I wouldn't think anything of it. At the time like you I noticed and thought about it for a minute, turned the engine by hand a few revolutions, rechecked the tensioner. Then started the engine, watched, and decided it was nothing to worry about.

[chrism]

If either the tensioner pulley or idler pulley (or WP sprocket for that matter) aren't riding perfectly square to the belt, either due to lax manufacturing or worn bearings, it can influence the belt to creep slightly to one side or the other. This is somewhat common on the old red blocks when the installer doesn't get the tensioner seated properly against the engine block.

Could it be caused by improper belt construction? Possibly. If the belt isn't directional, it would be interesting to turn it around and see if it tends to creep the other way. I doubt if that's the reason though.

Now you've got me wanting to go take a peek at mine and see how it's riding.

[mrbrian200]

The sprocket is slightly wider than the belt- because of that I decided it looked like an engineering tolerance: no two will ride in exactly the same place. So long as the belt isn't overhanging off the sprocket everything is within design spec and good to go. If you're worried about it remove the cover once in awhile and inspect to see if it's position has changed.

[leapdragon]

I had a bad experience with an aftermarket tensioner doing something very similar. Turns out that I had to follow the Volvo directions exactly, not just go for the right tension.

I believe the official procedure is counter-clockwise past the hot range, then back clockwise again to middle.

You can also go the other way—clockwise past hot, then counter-clockwise to middle when adjusting the tension—but when I did it that way, the tensioner in question sat at a slight angle and very nearly caused the belt to jump off.

I don't know if the OEM tensioners do the same thing, every time since then I've been sure to just do it in the right direction(s) to start with, per the directions.

[mrbrian200]

The clockwise/counterclockwise difference depends on which tensioner, old or the newer design used on engine #3188688 and newer. I don't recall which is which. Different DIYs show it either way and don't say whether they're adjusting the old or new style tensioner which results in confusion.
The trick with either style is to understand you're over tensioning the belt to take up any slack then returning it to the proper position to tighten the bolt. One direction (the right way) will tension right away. The wrong direction will release tension on the belt initially before beginning to tighten again almost half way around.

The blue belt kit from FCP includes both oem tensioner and pulley.

When I revved mine it stayed put/didn't change position or 'jump around'. That would have scared me half to death.

[vtl]

I think VVT hubs in all P2 cars are worn at this age and have some play. So your may have slight tilt downwards. Also it is not uncommon that aftermarket belts tend to "like" one or other side, I've seen that a lot on different forums. My Contitech does that too. Hubs have slight play.