03 C-70, How much damage is too much - valves hit piston

[erikv11]

Several people on this forum have had trouble with brand-new Gates timing belts not tracking very well, lots of wobble.

So many people are throwing away old, working Volvo water pumps and putting in junk aftermarket ones. The water pump can easily go to 200k, regardless of how old it is.

[Plova25]

Just a follow up to my original post. The culprit was a seized water pump that caused the belt to slip. I figured that when the previous owner had the TB changed that he did not do the pump. I was wrong. After removing the pump I noticed that it was not a Volvo but some other sort of pump with no markings. The Aisin bought through suppliers is the same as the Volvo pump and in fact they simply have to grand off the Volvo stamp to sell.

I had the head rebuilt after a 2 week or so delay as it was impossible to find Osvat valves locally and many online suppliers were out with no ETA. I decided to go with "InterValve" and after waiting a week they arrived and look good. Got head back a few days ago but haven't put it back on yet. Trying to figure out how to get the timing set before starting. The shop needed the cams for valve adjustment but took the gears off with no marking left for me as to the position of the gear on the cam. I know that there are a number of post about timing but nothing really fitting my situation so I will start a thread.

Thanks all for the input.

[oragex]

Sad, yet another one of those aftermarket water pump failures.. what happens when the car gets in the hands of that corner of the street mechanic..

[Plova25]

Yes, even more sad as the shop that did the TB change for the previous owner specializes in European cars. Only thing that I can think of is that the previous owner told them to do it as cheap as possible although he owned the car for three years and 18k miles. The water pump had approximately 24k miles on it.

[bmdubya1198]

That's unfortunate. Let this be yet another PSA for forum members: DO NOT USE AFTERMARKET WATER PUMPS!

[erikv11]

...
Trying to figure out how to get the timing set before starting. The shop needed the cams for valve adjustment but took the gears off with no marking left for me as to the position of the gear on the cam. I know that there are a number of post about timing but nothing really fitting my situation so I will start a thread.

Setting the timing is straightforward.

(1) Put the crank on the mark before you install the head.
(2) Install the cams and set the cams in time using the slots in the back (battery) ends. Now the engine is perfectly timed.
(3) Set the sprockets so the slots line up with the notches in the timing cover. This is so you can find perfect timing next time. Tighten the sprockets.
(4) Install the belt as in any timing belt change.
(5) Spin the engine by hand until the cams are lined up perfectly again, and check the sprockets. If you don't like where the notches are when the engine is in time, you can fine-adjust the sprocket position now.

[precopster]

Wouldn't this be a twin CVVT engine? If so you had best use the rear cam lock.

These are almost a devil to time accurately without the right tools if sprockets have been removed.

[bmdubya1198]

The C70 should still be single (exhaust) VVT. Dual VVT didn't ever come on a P80, I don't think.

[erikv11]

...
Trying to figure out how to get the timing set before starting. The shop needed the cams for valve adjustment but took the gears off with no marking left for me as to the position of the gear on the cam. I know that there are a number of post about timing but nothing really fitting my situation so I will start a thread.

Setting the timing is straightforward.

(1) Put the crank on the mark before you install the head.
(2) Install the cams and set the cams in time using the slots in the back (battery) ends. Now the engine is perfectly timed.
(3) Set the sprockets so the slots line up with the notches in the timing cover. This is so you can find perfect timing next time. Tighten the sprockets.
(4) Install the belt as in any timing belt change.
(5) Spin the engine by hand until the cams are lined up perfectly again, and check the sprockets. If you don't like where the notches are when the engine is in time, you can fine-adjust the sprocket position now.

Good point from precopster, my description of these steps is oversimplified for a VVT engine like OP's, but same basic steps apply, just steps (3) and (4) must be modified to account for VVT. I would use the rear cam lock tool even without VVT, it is just easier when dealing with an engine where the sprockets have been removed.