2001 Volvo S40 Stalled out and now won't start

[ambermic83]

The wiring for the cam sensor seems OK and away from the ignition system.
Yes, extended cranking will wet the spark plugs and wash the cylinders free from oil.
If that happens the compression will be low or lost completely and the engine won't start.
If the starter motor goes high speed and runs effortlessly this is what has happened, but even if the cylinders aren't being washed clean of oil wet spark plugs will be enough to give you starting problems.
With the plugs out, put the gas pedal to the floor and turn the key and crank the engine.
By depressing the pedal fully the fuel injectors will shut off and the cranking will blow the gas out of the cylinders.
If it still won't start after drying up you should investigate that error code further.
Usually this involves replacing the cam and crank sensors, but since you've already done this perhaps checking the cam sensor contacts and wiring harness is an option. The cam sensor is connected to the control unit with three wires (Fenix and ECM 2000 systems), so checking for continuity between the sensor and the control unit is a must since a bad connection here will make starting impossible.

Testing those, I do that with a multi-meter? Am I reading voltage or Ohms? I have an old analog one that my neighbor lent me. Drying out the plugs did not work. Still the same thing.

[alschnertz]

We just replaced the FPR, I thought that was the issue too, only thing we have not done is get a new fuel filter.

You may have misunderstood what I meant.
The FPR regulates the pressure. Replacing it will have no effect on how much pressure the pump provides.

My point was to check the fuel pressure provided to the fuel rail with a proper gauge.

[ambermic83]

I just wanted to thank everyone for all your help. The guy came out and he checked the timing and said it was off about 60 degrees. He also said he could replace it but he would not know if the motor was shot until after he did that and I could be wasting more money. The belt is not broken but the timing is off, so I am at a loss on what to do. But the problem is the timing is off.

[alschnertz]

Sorry, but I'm losing track of what's happening. I thought you were tracing a fuel issue.

What guy came out and checked the timing? How did he check the timing?
Not chucking spears, but does "the guy" know that the timing marks on the timing belt cover do not relate
to TDC on the engine?
It's unusual that timing is 60 degrees off just because the car ran out of gas. How was that determined?
Is there an assumption on how it got that way?

What is the guy offering to replace?

Has the timing belt been recently serviced?

[ambermic83]

He is a neighborhood guy that has worked on cars most of his life. The belt was loose and covered in oil. He found the timing marks and said that they had skipped. He has a friend that works on Volvos he was going to see what he thought about and and give me a price. I can take photos of what he showing me but he said the oil leak was most likely coming from the camshaft and it was all over the timing area. I will post some photos of it. I was chasing all the codes the car threw off and then thought it was a fuel problem due to it not starting after I put more gas in it. He checked the spark and checked the fuel pressure all that was good so he went to the timing and pulled up the specs for my car and noticed that they were not lined up properly is what he told me.

[ambermic83]

Sorry, but I'm losing track of what's happening. I thought you were tracing a fuel issue.

What guy came out and checked the timing? How did he check the timing?
Not chucking spears, but does "the guy" know that the timing marks on the timing belt cover do not relate
to TDC on the engine?
It's unusual that timing is 60 degrees off just because the car ran out of gas. How was that determined?
Is there an assumption on how it got that way?

What is the guy offering to replace?

Has the timing belt been recently serviced?

It looks like the big ones notch is in like to 1-2 o'clock position and the other one that is really really hard to get to because I could not get the cover off the screw was rusted tight. That one is way down in the the 4 o'clock position. The belt is not lose but I can pull up on it. Oily. That is what he showed me they were in not sure I don't understand much of the car type but I do my best to research it or ask questions.

[ambermic83]

No I just bought the car a few months ago it has not been serviced.

[alschnertz]

Ok.

A common problem with this vintage S40 is a failure of the VVT (Variable Valve Timing) hub.
When they fail, the leak oil all over the "front" of the engine. That can lead to a timing or timing belt failure.
I don't remember how many miles are on your S40, but it's not uncommon to experience a VVT failure over 150,000 miles.
I had to replace mine at 185,000.

The bad news is that the engine in your 2001 S40 is an interference engine.
That means it's "possible" - some would say likely - that a timing belt failure can result in bent valves. Which is not catastrophic, but can be costly to repair.
Your "guy" is correct in that it's tough to determine if the engine has bent valves without either replacing the timing belt and checking compression, or removing the head and doing a visual inspection.
If the timing belt has "skipped". there is no way to replace it properly replace it without the proper camshaft holding tools.
It's not a terribly difficult job, but it does require some know-how.

[jefe]

I just did the timing belt job on my wifes 2001 volvo V40 with 150,000 miles, so I am assuming the 2001 S40 is nearly identical, but they do not have the VVT cam gear. Not that is matters though, because my exhaust cam sprocket was also a source of leaking oil for me and the only way to fix it is replace the sprocket.

At any rate, I just did all of this work on my wifes volvo starting with the timing belt and cam seals. This led to replacing the serpentine belt, the PCV system (if clogged will cause oil leaks), the passenger side axle, inner tie rod boots, spark plugs, ignition coils, plug wires, air filter, thermostat, a broken brake booster hose, having to buy specialty tools like the cam lock, and a few other random gaskets along the way. All told, about $1000-1500 just in parts.

I did the work myself having experience that this would cost a lot at a shop, and it took me over a month working 1 day a week on it. Without any experience, I couldn't recommend the work especially with the extra challenge of getting proper timing if the timing did jump.

Sorry your car is in such a mess right now, but that's where my wifes volvo was headed and now is running like a champ again.

I would think though with the timing so off and trying to start the car, that it would have been really obvious if something was jacked up with the engine, right? You can manually turn the engine with a socket on the crankshaft and a breaker bar through the passenger side wheel well. If something was really off, you would have difficulty manually turning it. At which point you should not turn the engine over anymore.

[ambermic83]

Thanks guys yeah we only bought the car for 1500 and so far have put almost that into it in the few things we have fixed on it