No start after dying on wife on way home - multiple tests already run with no answers

[scottinalaska]

2004 XC90, 136K miles. 2.5 turbo engine
Situation: Loss of power slowly for the past month. Intermittent poor idle was solved with a new Throttle Body. Check Engine light was still coming on. Finally, gutless until it just dies at 10mph and rolls to a stop. No more restarting. It turns over fine but shows NO hope of actually starting.
Things I have done recently:
New throttle body and MAF. Oil change. Only the new Throttle Body improved the loss of power and poor idle quality. But as stated above, that only last 3 weeks before in a space of 15 minutes of driving it lost power to the point of quitting.
Things I did AFTER it died:

• Towed it home.
  Replaced the Throttle Body with a new Bosch one – no difference.
  Pulled timing belt covers and confirmed 20K mile old belt was still perfectly timed- it was.
  Sprayed ether (starting fluid) into intake hoping for some fire – no difference. Sounded exactly the same – hopelessly spinning with no ignition of ether.
  Pulled #1 sparkplug to verify spark – it not only sparked, it lit up the fuel vapor that shot out of the #1 hole!
  Put sparkplug back in and checked fuel pressure – 30psi with the key on. 55psi when cranking.
  Still no start situation.

Here are the codes I pulled:
643A – camshaft position
644A – camshaft position, exhaust
3000 – camshaft position sensor
3010 – camshaft position sensor
130A - intake air leakage
982A - ECM
919A – ECM faulty signal
Any ideas before I call the tow truck and pay Volvo?
Thanks!

[cuhfs]

Could try swapping in used cam position sensors from a salvage yard. Its cheaper than a tow or dealership. That is 3 of the codes you listed.

[Roger_850T]

I would take a VERY close look at the timing belt, specifically at the gear on the crankshaft.

The cam sensor codes are set either for a "no signal" (i.e. bad sensor), or "signal too far out of range" - i.e. the sensor is too far out of the time from the crank sensor.

20k on the timing belt is a little suspicious.

I just went through an ordeal where the crankshaft bolt was not tightened down properly. Over time, the splines on the inside of the crank gear wore down, to the point that I had poor compression, and the slop in the crank gear caused the cam timing to be so far retarded as to set the trouble code. Replacing the sensor did nothing.

For your vehicle, I would first do a compression test. If it's low on all cylinders, then I would seriously question the timing belt and the crank gear. Yours especially sounds like mine because of the slowly decreasing performance over time.

Let us know what the compression test looks like.

Roger

[scottinalaska]

Thanks, Roger. in fact, the bolt was MISSING from the crankshaft when I went to check timing. I replaced it. But i didn't pull the lower gear off to examine it closely. It sounds like a compression check should be in order. I will tackle that tomorrow and report back. Thanks.

[oragex]

Any weird lights/messages when this happened?

I just went through an ordeal where the crankshaft bolt was not tightened down properly. Over time, the splines on the inside of the crank gear wore down, to the point that I had poor compression, and the slop in the crank gear caused the cam timing to be so far retarded as to set the trouble code. Replacing the sensor did nothing.

I would check this first, others had this issue

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=58219

What brand are the components on the timing belt? The belt should be marked somewhere. Many replace it along with the water pump with poor aftermarket parts. 20000 miles is a long life for an aftermarket wp on this engine. A compression test would be good.

Then perhaps check the wires in case the ignition coils don't get enough voltage

[Roger_850T]

Any weird lights/messages when this happened?

I just went through an ordeal where the crankshaft bolt was not tightened down properly. Over time, the splines on the inside of the crank gear wore down, to the point that I had poor compression, and the slop in the crank gear caused the cam timing to be so far retarded as to set the trouble code. Replacing the sensor did nothing.

The initial fault happened to the prior owner - I bought it not running, and giving a recurring cam sensor fault. (I think it was P0340, but I'd have to find the thread to be sure.) It would crank and crank and crank and sound like it would almost run, but never actually go. Sensor tested out properly, and the compression was equally low across all five cylinders (maybe ~90psi or so).

I think the crank bolt was not tightened down properly when the oil seal was changed.

Here is a video from when I had it apart. After this, it started and ran properly.


Roger

[scottinalaska]

Update: compression test: 90psi on all 5 cylinders.
The crankshaft sprocket was hell to removed. I had 2 different PosiLock pullers to get it off with my air gun. I don't see how it could every move! But it is off now. Here are the pics. Maybe a new lower crank sprocket will fix this.
Btw, the timing belt was done 20K ago BY THE DEALER since I was out of state for a few months and needed the wife take care it.

[cn90]

Couple thoughts:

1. Not sure why you have to remove the crank sprocket. It is never the cause behind no-start.
2. Anyway, since you are there, the oil leak is evident and a new crank seal (Volvo OEM or Corteco brand) is recommended. Make sure you install it back to the same exact depth as it is now.
3. No-start: search forum for "PEM".

[Roger_850T]

Yep, that's exactly the same as what I had. I was fortunate that the gear wore and the crankshaft did not, so I could replace the gear and have it work. (And it was still available!) Interesting note - my crank bolt was on super-tight too. (I always figured that it was someone trying to patch a fix after it was worn, but maybe it works itself tight?) Anyway, it took me (200#) standing on a 5' breaker bar to break mine loose.

Hopefully a new gear will have you back on the road!

Roger

[scottinalaska]

Yeah, I'll have to get a new gear. I think it will take some serious pounding to get THAT one back on. I don't see how it could have moved either way. And it did not loosen up as it came off. It was a pain and took full pulling pressure all the way to the end release!
Interestingly, the intake blue forward pulley has some play in it. This means with the belt off, I can rotate it back (counterclockwise) a full 4 teeth before I feel resistance and the cam actually moves. When it rotates back, it also moves about 1/4 inch away from the block towards the wheel! I don't know if that is part of the VVT, but maybe we're on to something here?