New addition, '97 850 wagon, base, M56

[foggydogg]

Slick top, straight bumper, three pedals, what more could a person want ? Great score.
A few folks have had good luck salvaging skins off good seats and recovering the existing seats, so that could be an option to think about. If you can find a good used passenger side seat in a pick and pull, the seat bottoms may swap left for right, but the 850 crowd would know better.
Glad the dog is excited too.

[JayPea44]

I'd kill for an interior in as good of condition as that. And a manual too, awesome.

Looks like a good project. My black 850r sedans paint looks almost identical to yours, the black didn't stand up to the sun out here in CO well at all, but the paint can wait like you say.

[jdm1]

All the new parts arrived last week. Today (Sat.) was nice, perfect for doing some wrenching. Silly me, was thinking I will just throw the timing belt in first!! After I stripped the Torx head bolt on the tensioner pulley and spent 2 hours grinding the tensioner so I could get a grip on the bolt and finally getting it out I was feeling less optimistic. Why did Volvo make that bolt a Torx? Before I put it back together has anyone substituted a bolt that acutally has a head for that Torx bolt? Thanks.

John

[WhatAmIDoing]

All the new parts arrived last week. Today (Sat.) was nice, perfect for doing some wrenching. Silly me, was thinking I will just throw the timing belt in first!! After I stripped the Torx head bolt on the tensioner pulley and spent 2 hours grinding the tensioner so I could get a grip on the bolt and finally getting it out I was feeling less optimistic. Why did Volvo make that bolt a Torx? Before I put it back together has anyone substituted a bolt that acutally has a head for that Torx bolt? Thanks.

John

It's been a while since I've done the timing belt, so I'm trying to remember. But I thought all the fasteners were hex heads when I did mine. As long as it's not recessed, has enough head clearance, and has a big enough head (might need to use a hexflange bolt or a washer, it should be fine to replace with a hexbolt.

[454cid]

All the new parts arrived last week. Today (Sat.) was nice, perfect for doing some wrenching. Silly me, was thinking I will just throw the timing belt in first!! After I stripped the Torx head bolt on the tensioner pulley and spent 2 hours grinding the tensioner so I could get a grip on the bolt and finally getting it out I was feeling less optimistic. Why did Volvo make that bolt a Torx? Before I put it back together has anyone substituted a bolt that acutally has a head for that Torx bolt? Thanks.

John

It's been a while since I've done the timing belt, so I'm trying to remember. But I thought all the fasteners were hex heads when I did mine. As long as it's not recessed, has enough head clearance, and has a big enough head (might need to use a hexflange bolt or a washer, it should be fine to replace with a hexbolt.

There is at least one that is torx.... T45, I think. It requires a short socket because clearance is low. I didn't have any issue with mine, but my car is low miles and was likely stored in the winter. I was always under the impression that Torx was less likely to strip, but my experience with them is still pretty low. I haven't done that much to my Volvos, and my GM vehicles are old enough not to have them. Well, the truck has a few, I guess.

I still have my Torx screws on my thermostat housing, but the tensioner might be a good place to replace the Torx, even if just for clearance.

[scot850]

I bought a set of stubby Torx sockets at Princess Auto here in Canada (similar to your Harbor Freight).

https://www.princessauto.com/en/10-pc-s ... 0008842270

I also had a 3/8 flat socket bar with a 1/2" at the other end. That combined with the appropriate socket gave me the clearance I needed to get this loose and moving. Something like this:

https://www.princessauto.com/en/serpent ... 0008051658

Neil.

[454cid]

I bought a set of stubby Torx sockets at Princess Auto here in Canada (similar to your Harbor Freight).

https://www.princessauto.com/en/10-pc-s ... 0008842270

I also had a 3/8 flat socket bar with a 1/2" at the other end. That combined with the appropriate socket gave me the clearance I needed to get this loose and moving. Something like this:

https://www.princessauto.com/en/serpent ... 0008051658

Neil.

If I ever make it to Canada again, I want to visit Princess Auto, and Canadian Tire. If I ever get to the UK, I should probably visit Tesco. Internet legends, all of them

Harbor Freight actually sells that serpentine tool. I've had two of them. The one I used had too much slop in it to be useful, and I found the 14mm socket was actually larger, but not quite a 15mm. I didn't have the receipt so I had to settle for a replacement that I don't think I've used.

HF doesn't have the stubby Torx set, but my uncle does have a set much like what you linked to. I used that since the sockets are even shorter than my Lisle set.

[WhatAmIDoing]

I have a Stanley branded set of torx sockets that are pretty short. Not all of them have the best fit but they get the job done.

[jdm1]

Thanks, for suggestions. I ended up going to a local Fastenal store and got a replacement bolt with a head. That should fix the issue. I suppose McMaster-Carr would have been another option.

John

[jdm1]

Hoping for some guidance here. As mentioned above, I am putting new timing belt, water pump etc. on the 850. I made my initial marks on the upper timing cover to line up with the marks on the intake and exhaust gear. I got all the new parts on and was going to place the top cover on just to verify alignment. I dropped the cover and it was so brittle the area where the alignment notches are located shattered into multiple small pieces. I thought, no problem, I didn't move anything so all should be good. Just to be sure I tried to rotate the engine by hand.
I got about one full turn of the crank and it felt like I had the compression stroke on most of the cylinders because the breaker bar wanted to move anti-clockwise. I thought pulling the plugs would improve this, it made a tiny difference, nothing significant.

Is this what the engine being out of time feels like? If so, how do I set things back in sync?

Thanks,
John