Bad luck with timing belt on 1998 V70 XC

cameronberges · Post by **cameronberges** » 29 Jun 2009, 16:45

I just wanted to share some of the misery I'm having with my '98 V70 XC. I've had nothing but problems with it so far, my current repair being a slipped timing belt. Be prepared, this may be a long story.

I bought the car a couple months ago from a guy that buys salvage cars at auction and then fixes them up. The V70 I bought from him was salvaged because a tree limb had landed on the roof and busted out the moonroof, moonroof track, and the back window. He repaired the damages using glass and parts from junkyard cars and resold it to me.

The car ran wonderfully for the first couple weeks I had it. I did run into a couple little things I had to repair, including a burnt out gear selector light and the dreaded creaky door stop. I may make a seperate post about the pure evil I had to wade through in fixing the door check (mine wasn't just cracked, it was busted clear off the side pillar). A few weeks after my little repairs I started noticing a groaning in the right front of the car. I checked underneath and the boot for the right front axle was torn completely off. So I got ahold of a replacement axle and sent it to my local mechanic, where it sat for about a week.

With the new axle installed, I thought it would be smooth sailing for a while. I was mistaken. The car ran fine for another couple weeks until I drove it to my hometown to do some work for my dad. While driving it around town, the engine just shut off. Luckily, I was able to steer it onto a side street before it rolled to a stop. When I tried restarting the car, the engine would turn but wouldn't start. So I started rooting around in the engine compartment and noticed something very wrong on the side of the engine. The timing belt had slipped off its pulley and sawed its way completely through the timing belt cover.

So I had it towed to the family mechanic, a Ford guy, who agreed to fix it as long as I got ahold of the parts and a shop manual. After reading the horrible reviews for the garage tinkerer shop manuals, I decided to get one of the official Volvo software manuals of questionable origin off eBay, which was a whole other adventure. I printed off all the information he might need and he told me which parts to order. Apparently the pulley seized because one of the bearings wore out, causing the belt to slip off.

Once he gets all the parts replaced, he's going to check out the top of the engine to make sure there wasn't any other damage when the belt slipped, such as bent valves. I'm just hoping the car runs problem-free for longer than 2 weeks once this repair is finished, since that seems to be the pattern thus far. But I'm not holding my breath....

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 29 Jun 2009, 18:26

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but the valves are toast.

This is a good resource for a new head, http://www.cylinder-heads.com/ .

You will also need a new head gasket kit and new head bolts since they are angle torqued. Replace all of the rollers, the water pump, and of course the belt itself while it is apart.

In some cases it is cheaper to replace the motor with a good used one.

...Lee

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 30 Jun 2009, 06:27

Right...I don't know of an interference engine that survives a belt coming off... That's why it's so pertinent to change out the belt, tensioner and pulley at the second TB change (70k intervals so that would have been 140K miles)...but of course, the miles on this XC were never mentioned- my guess is it was past due for these things.

98s70sc · Post by **98s70sc** » 30 Jun 2009, 07:07

I wouldn't buy any parts yet. My timing belt slipped a few months ago, every single valve was bent. I replaced the motor. It was cheaper and easier than replacing the head.

cameronberges · Post by **cameronberges** » 30 Jun 2009, 15:16

I can't remember if my V70 has 104k or 114k. Either way, I've only put a couple thousand miles on it since I bought it. I haven't looked at the manual's maintenance schedule recently, but I remember seeing all kinds of shop receipts in the glove box when I bought it. The original owner had taken the car to the Volvo dealer for all the scheduled maintenance, so I assume the timing belt was changed during one of those visits. I'll look into it next time I'm in town to check on the car.

Hopefully there's not too much damage done to the head, but from the sound of it I may be throwing way more money at this car than it's worth. Puts a sour taste in my mouth.

cameronberges · Post by **cameronberges** » 16 Sep 2009, 09:33

Well, I finally got my Volvo back from the repair shop. Our family mechanic put in a new timing belt, tensioner, etc but didn't have to tools to get into the head. So I took it to a mechanic in a nearby town who fixed it up. Only 1 intake and 1 exhaust valve from the #4 cylinder were bent. Seems to be running fine now. I had them look the rest of the car over to see if there's any other issues I might need to address in the near future. The right front lower ball joint has some play in it and the lower control arm to frame bushings are starting to come apart. Also, the rear brakes and rotors are worn down and will need replaced sometime soon. They've quoted me ~$530 for the suspension repair and ~$260 for the brake repair. I don't know if that's a reasonable price or not, so I'm not sure if I'll be taking my Volvo back there for the repairs. I'm pleased with the work they did, but I'm currently laid off and trying to cut back on the expenses. But at least my Volvo is running well for now. Altogether the repairs cost me about $1800 (~$1300 of that being labor =/).

nightc1 · Post by **nightc1** » 16 Sep 2009, 13:14

Labor can be a big expense on any repair. That's why I visit this and other Volvo sites so I can learn to do this stuff myself. For a fraction of what I would spend on labor I invest into any tools I need to do the job that I don't already own.

Post by **tjts1** » 16 Sep 2009, 14:17

Unless you learn to do the work yoursef this car is going to bleed you dry. Volvos are no more complicated than any other car from the same era but most mechanics will charge you an arm and a leg because they don't see a lot of them. Check out the 'how to' articles on this forum and others, get your parts FCPgroton, IPDUSA or any of the other online parts sellers and you can have a rewarding and frugal ownership experience. Otherwise I would sell the car.
good luck
Justin