850 140k Major Maintenance

[zanzabar]

Good pics, except that the mark I saw on my crank pulley and all the ones online was a single notch in the furrow, not two notches on the peaks on either side of it. Why are they different? And since we're on the subject, I've seen some variation in the marks on the cam pullleys as well. Am I wrong in assuming they were marked prior to engine assembly at the factory? Perhaps the marks are added after all timing componnents are installed on the engine and can vary from car to car? Or...what?

[aahmes57]

Is it necessary to change the idler and tensioner pulleys or can you just change the timing belt itself?

[Jack Rock]

I just did this job on my 850 this weekend and let me tell you I'm glad I had all of the parts with me because my water pump was leaking and my tensioner pulley sounded like a roller coaster. There was no evidence of of the water pump leak on the ground just the inside of the timing belt cover was wet. I also didn't know I had a pulley issue until I had the belt off. It takes little extra time and relatively little extra money (little when it comes to car repair) to replace everything for piece of mind especially if you don't know the service history.

[cknapp58]

Hi Guys,
I am glad I found this tread, I bought a 1999 S70 Turbo with a 2.3 having 197,000 miles to get my wife around while I replace the motor in out 2001 Camry that she drove home after the oil light came on. I love the S70 California car, you can eat off the under the hood. The car is now sitting in the drive next to the Camry. I was limping along with a bad throttle body and Oil trap leak. Then the starter went out and has now forced me to do a major maintenance repair. I am replacing all kinds of rubber, re-looming the harness and need to tackle the timing belt since I do not know its age. I was a mechanic for years and like to know the quirks before I jump in. I was reading all kinds of warnings on the net. This thread looks great. Are there any updates. I have a 99 with a different tensioner that I set to the ambient temperature. No notes on setting the load.

Here are some questions

1. I couldn't get the 850 manual to down load
2. does anyone have any recommendations on belt kits or should I buy OEM
4. What about the oil seals, Does any one change the oil seals, the pump is a given
5. Looks like I have variable cam timing , but it is on the rear pulley, all mention as been that it would be on the front. there is a metal disc bolted to the exhaust cam pulley. (I guess I will just mark its position)
6. All notes I have read how important is not to let the cams move at all and that you make t tool to hold the two cams. If I pull the cam pulleys to replace the seals, what am I up against? Can’t see bending a valve by letting the cams move, as long as they are lined up properly in assembly.
7. I see in this thread everyone avoided pulling the crank pulley.

Any help would be appreciated, I have to get this thing running, My wife if driving my suburban now and I and trying to get around in my 67 mustang, it will be broken next.


8. how do you attach a picture

[Ozark Lee]

There are a couple of broken links to the 850 manual but this one should work.

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/downlo ... vo_850.zip

As far as parts go, I have had some real trouble with "OEM Brand" parts and I wouldn't even dream of using something like ScanTech parts for the timing system. Shop around for OEM at places like Myvolvopartsonline and Tascaparts - they are normally much cheaper than the dealer and they are genuine Volvo parts.

I have changed the cam seals on my son's '96 N/A and it is a real PITA due to the proximity of the face of the engine to strut tower and the ECU box. It is very difficult to get the seals out and then re-seated. Using a seal driver is out of the question.

The way I removed the sprockets was to fist paint the face of each sprocket with some spray paint so as to have something to line the sprocket back up with.

DSC02287.JPG (215.67 KiB) Viewed 3511 times

At that point I slightly loosened the three bolts that hold the sprocket on the end of the cam before I removed the old timing belt. I figured if they moved while loosening the bolts it was easy enough to get the marks lined back up with the belt still on and the timing system still operating as a system.

Some folks use the cam lock and some folks do remove the crank pulley. I have found that, for me, it is just as easy to fight the timing belt back on through the slot in the bottom for about 5 minutes as is is to remove the pulley. The belt is actually harder to get off through the bottom than it is to thread it back in which is why I just cut the old belt in half.

I have not worked with the mechanical tensioner so I have no hands on experience. From what I have seen it is actually easier than the hydraulic version and if you happen to get a tooth off while installing the new belt you don't need to go through the time consuming process of re-compressing the tensioner like you do on the hydraulic version. VADIS goes into the mechanical tensioner with some decent detail. There are a number of eBay sellers of "Factory Service Manual" DVDs that are VADIS - they just don't say so. I think they typically sell for under $20.00.

As far as adding pictures goes:

Look below the post or reply screen and you will see a tab marked "Upload attachment"

Press that tab and then choose Browse.

Using the Browse feature search your computer for the proper directory and the proper picture that you want to upload.

Once you have the correct picture highlighted press the Add the file button and the picture will upload to the server.

From there you need to use the posted attachments window that will be created. Re-position the cursor in the reply box to the place where you would like the picture to appear and then press the Place Inline button.

Matt has a nifty post with screenshots but I can't seem to find it.

...Lee

[corradoandt5v70]

We just finished an 855 and diconnecting the mount to lift the motor works out mint. It was my third TB (first volvo) and I would do it again anyday with this info. It took us 6 hrs but next time it will only be 3.Thanks for the great tips.

[jline]

I was considering doing the same project but wondered if I should buy the cam locking tool from IPD http://www.ipdusa.com/Volvo-850/Engine/ ... -169-1190/ Do you think it would be worth it or just a waste of money? When I needed to get my serpentine belt off someone told me to use needlenose vice grips with four quarters and that worked just fine instead of paying 30 bucks for the level to get it off

[Ozark Lee]

The cam locking tool seems to give some folks a measure of security but I have never used one. The cam sprockets don't really move unless you put a lot of muscle behind trying to move them.

...Lee

[se13allmylife]

Never really fancied doing this one but then my best mate is a mechanic with gadgets so I guess I'm kinda spoilt on that front . The point I wanted to make was maybe I'm a bit neurotic but on every belt driven motor I've had in 25 years I've always renewed the belt , tensioners and , if driven by it , the water pump even if the history says it's done . I do this within a couple of months of purchase using motor factor parts and I've never had any of them fail . The expense has just got to outweigh the possible catastrophic outcome , and with excellent walkthroughs like these reducing costs to parts only it's a no-brainer !!

[db130]

much thanks for this thread, I did the job this afternoon with a friend. some observations:

regarding step #19 - i had purchased a t-45 torx bit with the hex shank for the purpose of loosening the tensioner roller bolt, but even with a wrench and pipe attached to it, I just couldn't get enough leverage on it and I was worried that I was stripping the torx head. then my friend suggested that i go buy a set of lisle torx bits that are much shorter than your typical torx bit set. i knew EXACTLY which set he was talking about because..... I HAVE such a set. you can get a 3/8" ratchet to fit with the lisle t-45 bit and that made all the difference(along with a long 3/8" ratchet for extra leverage)

regarding step #24 - this was probably the most difficult part of the job for me, i just could not slip the belt past the crankshaft pulley, and when i did finally get it through by using a pry bar to squeeze the belt through(flat side facing out as suggested), it ended up facing the wrong way and i had to squeeze it around the crankshaft pulley again. for me what worked was having the RIBBED side of the timing belt facing the back of the crankshaft as it was being squeezed through.

the timing belt that i removed had only 65k on it but the hydraulic tensioner had never been changed(the car had 212.7k on the odometer), so i replaced basically everything but the water pump today(water pump was replaced at 147k) i will say that the old tensioner looked good cosmetically.