2006 XC90 2.5T Timing Belt Flew Off

[oragex]

A used engine may be an easier - and safer route, especially if the cylinder walls are scored given the high revs when the incident occurred. Do you remember which brand was the water pump?

[mrbrian200]

A used engine may be an easier - and safer route, especially if the cylinder walls are scored given the high revs when the incident occurred. Do you remember which brand was the water pump?

I edited this. Yes scoring is possible but I think it would be better to assess the damage before making that sort of decision.

At the moment he's just trying to determine if by chance he's a 1-in-1000 lucky duck. Unlikely. Worth a shot nonetheless. I would have probably sourced a used WP from a u-pull it place just for the try and gone from there depending on the result. Or picked up a mini camera to get an actual look through the spark plug holes.

[SuperHerman]

I may be wrong, but doesn't one still has to move the VVT into the correct position when installing the belt? As I recall the spring has to be loaded or unloaded as there is a range of movement the VVT system utilizes. It has been awhile so I may be confused.

I understand the added manipulations needed when physically removing the VVT unit from the camshafts - which is required when the front cam seals are changed (unless the cams are removed for a head gasket job and the seals are taken off and installed from the opposite end.)

[mrbrian200]

That business of turning it back a little when replacing the timing belt is just so the pulley doesn't try to move when you're fitting the new belt. Again the potential for VVT misalignment is referring to the center of the hub to the cam and applies only when you've removed the hub/loosened the center bolt. There is no keyway to lock the center of the hub to the cam at a specific position. Therefore when removing/replacing a hub it becomes critical that the VVT mechanism is in its reset/zero position in order to get the alignment of the center of hub that bolts to the cam correct using the timing marks. If that center bolt was never touched this alignment never moved: it's only necessary to verify that all the timing marks line up after the new belt is fitted: any difference in position between the hub and the cam is within the VVT mechanism itself, which when you start the car is controlled by the ECU.

[SoapyCoyote]

Welp, so far not too lucky at all. I checked my marks again, they were all three dead on. I tried starting the engine, but it didn't even sound like it tried to catch when I tried starting it.

Next I removed the belt and tried turning the camshafts sprockets to "spring load" them clockwise to their respective marks before putting the timing belt back on again. The closest thing to the engine catching was a backfire. So I tried aligning the sprockets counter clockwise -same result, engine wouldn't catch at all.

At this point I guess I'm just practicing so that when I do get the Head off and fixed, and the Valves fixed, I'll know how to get the timing belt on correctly and the camshafts in time with each other so I don't just go ruining the new Valves and Head.

I'm guessing I need to align these camshafts with each other using a camshaft tool (even though I haven't touched the camshaft sprocket bolts). Is this correct? Anyway, Here is a picture of the back of my cams. They seem to both have the camshaft positioning sensors on them. What cam alignment/locking tool do I use on these bad boys?

Volvo Camshafts.JPG (646.19 KiB) Viewed 984 times

[SoapyCoyote]

I would consider putting in a used engine if it's not too expensive and not too difficult to do. Any videos on how to do an engine swap on a 2006 Volvo XC90 2.5T AWD? I've heard that the fact that it's an All Wheel Drive vehicle makes doing an engine swap a nightmare. Oh and by the way, this car has just over 200,000 miles on it.

[SoapyCoyote]

@ oragex, I still have the water pump that failed-complete with gouge marks on its water pump housing that match the gouges on my engine block hahaha. It says: HEPU Made In Germany. Not sure what the new one is, got it from Autozone because NAPA (get the good stuff) didn't have it in stock and I thought this would be a quick and easy job... hahaha, it has been anything but.

[mrbrian200]

Regardless of what you decide to do, I'm not sure you're going to get through it without a clean set of written instructions with lots of pictures. Details are too long and many to try to talk through it on a forum.
A forum DIY guide for these procedures, if there is one, is likely to be written with a lot of assumptions, just as a OEM shop manual, which may say "use special tool", but not explain exactly how to do use or install it. The first few times I did major work like this Chilton manual/guides were my friend. They're written in such a way so that someone sort of starting out isn't likely to miss anything, and they will specifically say which special tools you would need and usually how to use them. Chilton is an online access thing now, I'm not sure you'll find a printed manual. You need to gleam through the instructions for cylinder head removal and/or engine removal and replacement before deciding if either is something you want to try.

The tool to lock the rear of the camshafts into position is sold on FCPeuro and elsewhere...
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... s-cta-2864

[SuperHerman]

For starters, I don't disagree with getting a new used engine. I would rather do a head gasket in car than pull the motor - I don't have a lift or the space. In the end the cost may be close though - depending on what damage you find and assuming the bottom end is still good. But if you want to continue you are going to have to pull some material and study it. Volvo 5 cylinders have not changed too much so the process is the same. Major changes are the VVT system and the timing. You will find some really great info on the 850 models.

As to timing you mentioned and show pictures with the "camshaft positioning sensors" still on. If you take these off you will see the back of the cams have a grove that runs the width of the cam. This is what the cam locking tool locks into. Again do some research and you will see homemade and factory tools being used. It will make sense once you see it.

I agree you may be beating a dead horse here, but you still can do a compression test. If you think your marks are right it isn't that much work and it will answer your questions. I am guessing you will have compression only on 1 or 2 cylinders.

You can find plenty of right ups on doing a 5 cylinder Volvo head gasket - I know I looked at a few (in addition to VIDA) when I did my head gasket. You will also find some videos, Robert has a good one. You can make the tools to align the cams out of nuts and bolts and angle iron, but as I stated before they will bend if you try to take off the VVT hub. Again, you should be able to remove the cam with the hubs on and slide the new camshaft seal on backwards, taking care as you reinstall so it sits correctly. Take pictures when you pop the cam cover so you know the depth to put them back at. Even with the factory tools, I would try to remove the cams with the VVTs on.

As for removing the cam cover - you can fashion tools to do this, some use quick clamps others welded spark plugs with threaded bars. Do some digging and you will find plenty of material and pictures of what people have done. This is pretty important as all of the valve springs are held down with the cover. It is not a standard valve cover - it has the cam journal tops built into it. You can ruin (even more) of the engine here.

I guess I am saying, with some research and a little thought you can get the head off to see what damage you have. To be honest, some people have claimed to time these engines with no tools - they manage to get the cams to stay put without the locks - they have the magic touch. Exact timing is needed more on reassembly than dismantle. Close is good enough as everything is coming off. Again - what is critical is getting the valve cover off safely.

mrbrian200 is correct, at this point you need to get some written instructions, watch some videos and decide if you want to proceed. You can always hit the public library - ours have the Haynes manuals and others.

To sum up - other than the added work of pulling the head - much of what you will have to do for an engine swap you have to do to pull the head.

[SoapyCoyote]

Yeah, I can find plenty of info on removing the head and even lapping the new valves in, but I can't find anything on putting in a new engine on an AWD XC90. Thank you SuperHerman, I didn't realize that those cam positioning sensors were still attached, didn't know what I was looking at. I have watched Robert DIY do this and he is a good man. Chilton and Haynes have helped me in the past, but I have to say that forums and YouTube have helped me more. I definitely feel more able to work on the head than do an engine swap at this point in my research.

Thanks mrbrian200, didn't realize Chilton was an online access thing now. I may end up taking this car to a "Volvo specialist" as my trusted friendly family mechanic refuses to work on all Volvos.