98 S70 Timing Belt Mechanical Tensioner Question

Post by **theWIFES_S70** » 25 Nov 2015, 20:14

Hey everyone, just trudged through a timing belt change today. All went according to plan, was able to get the belt on without taking off the camshaft pulley, didn't knock anything out of place, and, while the rear plastic cover was annoying, it ultimately didn't prevent me from being able to install anything. (Used Ozark Lee's blue RTV trick on that Hepu water pump gasket cause that thing's so thin!)

Here's my question though. I know you're supposed to do this:

: mechtensioner.gif (21.69 KiB) Viewed 3646 times

It was 45 degrees tonight so I figured a little less than halfway between the -5 degrees and the 68 degrees (towards 68, then I torqued it down to 15lbs. Then manually cranked the crankshaft twice, three times. (Timing marks still lined up! Belt didn't fly off!) But the mechanical tensioner moved...

This is the position for a like -25 degrees! So I reread stuff and saw that I was supposed to first do a total counterclockwise turn and THEN move it clockwise to the corresponding engine/ambient temperature. So I loosened the tensioner a little and did that, moving it again to the spot mentioned above and then torqued it down. I then manually cranked the engine. Still have timing, but the little finger thing doesn't stay in the "45" degrees spot, is this normal? Should it go all over the place? I'm having a hard time judging if it's good. And of course, I'm also concerned about torquing and retorquing...

I'll fill the car with coolant tomorrow and report. But I'd just like to know I won't have to take stuff off again cause I'm running out of warmish days (and I still have some front struts and a turbo to install on my Saab...). Thanks for your insight, everyone!

brunocerous · Post by **brunocerous** » 25 Nov 2015, 20:25

I don't have an answer, but that sure does look sweet!

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 26 Nov 2015, 07:39

It usually takes two or three shots to get the indicator settled inside of the window. I don't worry so much about which side of the window it is in, just that it is in the window. Once the car starts you will need to set it again, perhaps more than once, so leave the cover off until the end.

...Lee

Post by **theWIFES_S70** » 26 Nov 2015, 09:01

Thanks Lee, so glad to hear this. Will get on this before the turkey!! Take care!

Post by **theWIFES_S70** » 03 Jul 2016, 22:17

Hey everyone, happy fourth! I hope you all are doing well, enjoying good steaks, good beers, and most of all, family and loved ones!

I'm really hoping someone can give me some insight here. I did the timing belt on our car almost 10 months ago. The car's been fine. (Other than the tires we messed up since we never got a "real" alignment...sigh...) But ever since I did the timing belt, and after the car's really warm, say about an hour in the winter, and ten minutes in the summer, there is this weird sound coming from the timing belt compartment. I can't recreate the sound on video, but it's there. It's a metal rattle that sounds when we drive over bumps when the car's warm. I think it's the arm hitting something, or swinging incorrectly. I have attempted the adjust the mechanical tensioner a dozen times or so. But it always goes super hot, all the time. And the rattle always comes back.

Being that this is such a critical component of our cars, I said, let me just replace the tensioner and see if I can get rid of the sound. (I could have a bad one right?) So I purchased an INA tensioner (the one I installed initially was a VOLVO branded INA one). Didn't move timing off the cams, didn't check the oil pump though so will get back in there and do that. (If that's off a little, will that cause the engine to explode?) The INA tensioner had an arrow pointing in a counter-clockwise position, so I made sure to move it only in that direction... The VOLVO tensioner doesn't have this arrow.

Can you tell me if this arm movement is correct? I am manually cranking the engine here.

This is the tensioner upon first install, so much play here... So I got back in there.

This is the tensioner with a little more stability. Is this OK? It seems too "cold" no? I can't seem to get it to stay in the window with any reliability. As soon as I manually crank the engine it moves like crazy.

What am I doing wrong here?

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 03 Jul 2016, 22:32

I think what you're hearing is the arm of the tensioner hitting the TB cover retaining bolt hole. Very odd...I knew that these arms moved, but not this much. Is there not a counter-hold when you tighten it down? If I recall, the bolt through the middle of the tensioner is suppose to do this....It's odd too that although my S70 is also a '98, it's got a hydraulic tensioner. I've personally never dealt with the mechanical one as each time the TB was done, I had someone do them on our newer Volvos. But...it could be that you have already tightened down the center bolt of the tensioner before you set the middle prong? I think you are suppose to do this after the prong is set. Sorry, if you did this part correctly.

Robert did a video on this- it might be worth a very close look to see if you might have missed something.

Post by **theWIFES_S70** » 03 Jul 2016, 22:47

Hey, MadeInJapan, thanks for the reply. I soooooo wish I had a hydraulic tensioner! It's more work, but foolproof in all the ways this tensioner isn't.

I feel like I've done what Robert says to do. But I will go through all these steps tomorrow. Paying extra attention to this part of the process. But the tensioner isn't staying in place. I think if I get it all together, and the sound comes back, I might just have to pay for a timing belt job, just to be on the safe side...

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 03 Jul 2016, 23:00

Hey Marco- it could be you're not getting enough torque on that center bolt causing things to move? right after Robert's video is A-1's video on the same procedure on a P2 Volvo but it's really the same thing. Btw, doesn't your TB path have the "box" to use a hydraulic tensioner if you wanted to? Seems I've seen that on other '98 S/V70's. Btw, on your first video the belt seems extremely loose...on your second, it still doesn't appear really tight...these belts are extremely tight when the tensioner is applied correctly. I recall on mine, once I pulled the gernade pin, if you didn't have things right you couldn't budge the belt off hardly and it was a real hassle....thus the extra work. Taking it loose and compressing the pin seemed to take a long time too. So, I was just thinking, although you set your prong to be in the middle, maybe you needed another whole turn in other words, one more complete circle in your allen wrench turning...I'm thinking that would tighten the belt to where it's suppose to be and the prong would "come back around" as I am lost for words to explain this correctly. So, even though the prong seems to be at the end of it's position, what happens if you keep turning the allen wrench? Would it not at some point be tighter and the prong switch to the hot side and then work its way back down towards the colder side? So in conclusion, I think maybe your tensioner has been too loose to begin with (not turned full circle) so although it appears to be in the "window," it's really 360 degrees away from being in the window. I hope that this all makes sense.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 04 Jul 2016, 07:16

That belt was originally dangerously loose, I mean don't drive the car dangerous. I have never seen a tensioner behave like that and my guess is that the tensioner itself is broken.

...Lee

Post by **abscate** » 04 Jul 2016, 09:51

I concur with a broken tensioner and way to loose TB