Can you check a timing belt without taking it off?

[Durenol]

Even though the tensioner/idler are 12-13 years old, they don’t really care about years. Just how many miles they’ve been run.

Yeah I kinda figured something like that might be the case which is why I'm mostly concerned with the quality of the belts themselves. Although if the belts are replaced we're going to replace everything else with them just to be on the safe side, except maybe the water pump since there's still disagreement on how long those things last on this model. Also because basically no shop will do just the belt unless they're really sketchy.

or were they forced by some local regulations.

That was the consensus from the side of the argument I agree with. Volvo was either forced to sell a small number of these 'eco friendly' cars in those states or they got some kind of kickback for doing so. Either way, part of it was that the cars had to have certain specs.

[Durenol]

On the P2s in Europe it's 160' km -2004 then 180' km 2005-.

120 kkm in Eastern Europe.

Do they also have a different number for max time in years? My US book says 120K miles or 10 years.

and the belt lost three teeth.

Yeah I know that for anything flexible like tires etc that time-to-failure is pretty variable and eyeballing it won't give you anything definitive. The point of this thread is me trying to figure out, in general, to what extent 07 XC70 belts show their wear to the naked eye, or whether they tend to look perfect until the day they snap.

Although the tooth thing brings up an important related point- how do I rotate the belt around so I can see all of it easily without taking it off? Obviously it'll be spinning too fast to see while the car is on and I'm assuming I probably can't move it by hand when the car is off.

[Rattnalle]

Same way you'd turn the engine when replacing it. Wheel off and socket through the wheel well onto the crank pulled. Or at least that's what I can think of that'll give you enough power.

[Rattnalle]

120 kkm in Eastern Europe.

How eastern? The VIDA recommendations are for the EMEA region which should include Eastern Europe.

[abscate]

Average new car ownership 7 years. Second owner hits 10 years and dealer talks them into a TB replacement.

By ten years, car is approaching 150k miles

My T5 belt had 140k miles on it and looked like new. I’ve got 90k on the replacement and will have to think about what to do later this year

[SuperHerman]

Best practice is to change your belt per schedule. Inspect your belt on a regular basis. Listen to and inspect your pulleys.

That is what the dealer does. That is what respectable shops do.

My XC90 had its belt done per schedule at the dealer - I inspected it 40k miles later and it had tons of cracks. So the Volvo dealer installed belt was showing extreme signs of distress at 1/2 the change interval. The tensioners/pulleys made no noise and were in excellent shape. I replaced everything.

Craigslist has snapped timing belt Volvos all the time. It also has some that have failed pulleys and water pumps.

On a daily basis I hear cars with countless noises being ignored by their owner.

I don't dispute some people get 150k on their belt and related parts.

[- Pete -]

I don't care what any literature states for intervals. 80k for entire timing belt/tensioner/idler/serp belt is what I do (and as others have shown is also the minimum documented recommendation for change). You get the stuff through FCP and only pay the first time, after that it's basically free. Water pumps, 200k is what they are good for. So basically change them at the second timing belt (et/al) change. I just changed an original water pump on a 262k miles 2.5T XC70. Still had zero play/runout & zero evidence of leaking from weap hole. These are stout, don't get the inferior ones. There have been documented cases of premature failures, but very few.

I'm really not picking on you here, nor is anyone else in this discussion. These various fasteners aren't going to un-wind themselves. So complaining about not having tools does you no good here. That's not a reprimand, it's just true. If you don't have money to pay a mechanic & want to inspect the stuff we are trying to help you with, you need to invest in some tools. If you plan on keeping the car (which any Volvo guy/gal would highly recommend, especially at your mileage!), get some tools. The price you'll pay in a simple set of hand tools will far undercut what you'll spend in labor at the dealer. They pay for themselves, essentially. Just gotta learn how to use them & muster up the courage to do so.

THIS, for example, is an excellent set of tools and at $150-160 w/coupon it's got darn near every thing you'll ever need.

There is no need to remove the PS jug, coolant jug, "sway bar" (there is a bar above the engine, but not a sway bar, those are under the car), or anything else. Look back earlier in this thread at the videos Oragex posted. You'll see the access point to the timing belt in those. Yes, if you are removing the front timing cover entirely, it's easiest to get all that aforementioned stuff out of the way. In your case, no. You're just trying to get a glimpse of the belt.

Worry not about torque values for various miniscule fasteners. You're taking plastic covers off. What you'll be doing, just get stuff snugged back snuggishly. No need for precise measurements like 2.3-3.4 white knuckles.

Lastly, driving super short trips on any of these vehicles leads to clogged PCV systems. Even at 48k, I'd be concerned for yours driving only a handful of miles per trip. If the engine can't get hot enough, it can't void itself of all the various gunk that ultimately results in "sludge" & clogged PCV systems. Ideally, these need to be run at temp (hot) for 15-20 minutes per drive cycle minimum. I kid you not, I recently (for “fun”) changed the orignial PCV system on one of our cars @279,000 and it was incredibly clean. Box was empty, top port was only occluded by maybe 1/12th it's aperture. I know this means nothing to you, but the car gets driven hard (not beating), and never for less than 15 minutes at a time. I know for a fact this is why the PCV system has remained darn near spotless all these years and miles. Running decent oil and changing it at 5k or less miles contributes to this.

[oragex]

Same way you'd turn the engine when replacing it. Wheel off and socket through the wheel well onto the crank pulled. Or at least that's what I can think of that'll give you enough power.

Right way, however it's not very easy on these engines. Removing all spark plugs helps a lot - and a good moment to inspect these as well
Can also try 'small' cranks. Won't expose the whole surface inch by inch, so you may be missing 'the' portion with a crack

But as mentioned in the posts above, a belt may not show its age. My suggestion would be to take a very close look - even with a magnifying glass - a look for the surface covered with very tiny cracks - that would mean it's a belt that has been sitting there for several years (say, 5-10 years)

[abscate]

To answer your question in one sentence ;

A visual can tell you positively if the belt needs replacement due to damage, but a passed visual inspection means very little.

[velorider]

Of the one I know that went, it wasn't the belt but the idle pulley. Which is a typical replacement when doing the timing belt. If you lived in a rust belt area, then I wouldn't push the milage. If you live in a place where 20 years old cars look new, then you can probably get more mileage out of it.