Project: Volvo V70 Timing Belt Change 4 to 6 hours

The V70 Timing Belt Change can be done without removing the crank pulley. Need timing mark adjustment info for Volvo 5-cylinder?

C@lvin » How long? I didn’t time it exactly, but……

I’d say about 14-15 hours total due to 1) I’m slow anyway, 2) I’m OCD so I have to check things umpteen times before going to the next step, 3) this was the first time for Tbelt, Sbelt, Plugs, and Fuel Filter.

The most time consuming things for me were 1) getting the new Tbelt over the crank pulley 2) readjusting the Tbelt and cam pulleys multiple times until the marks were all lined up and the tensioner properly adjusted 3) getting the Sbelt on.

For someone who claims to be OCD, I did manage to spread tools and parts all over the place so that I couldn’t find stuff when I needed them again – this made it take longer as well.

Putting the Tbelt on would be immensely easier if you were to take off the crank pulley as instructed by VADIS, but I couldn’t figure out how to keep the crank from rotating while removing the pulley so my fear of messing something up led me to follow the instructions on Volvospeed (Bay 13) which provides instructions for doing it without pulley removal.

The thing that makes is tough to line up the marks with the new Tbelt is that when you adjust the tensioner, it moves the exhaust pulley and the crank a little bit. So I finally figured out that I needed things “misaligned” a little bit before adjusting the tensioner to compensate for that.

I did not remove the plugs first, so rotating the crank was a chore, fighting against the compression. Kind of silly since I was planning the change the plugs anyway. Next time I will definatley remove the plugs.

Also, I did replace the Tbelt tensioner and idler pulley (didn’t mention it before). That part of the job was fairly trivial.

I chose not to replace the water pump.

I bought the parts at FCP (got the copper Bosch plugs (7955 I think) at AutoZone for $1.99 each). The whole job was about $200 so I didn’t mind spending so many hours on it considering it probably saved me around $700-$800 versus having it done at the “stealer”.

FYI, I picked up a 30mm socket at Northern Tool for $2.99 plus tax. They didn’t have individual sockets at Harbor Freight.

Anyway, this was a bugger, but well worth it! Hope this helps.

tjts1 »

Just did the timing belt on a 2002 S40 in my garage yesterday afternoon without a cam alignment tools. Replaced all the pulleys except for the water pump. The easy way to replace the timing belt is to get some whiteout. Once you have the cams aligned with the markings on the cam cover, draw a line across the timing belt and across the cam gear. Do this on both the intake and exhaust cam and the crank pulled and also draw an arrow on the belt to mark the direction of rotation. I didn’t remove the crank pulley.

You can wiggle the T belt if you’re careful with the pulley in place. Once removed, place the new and old belts on top of each other and transfer the markings onto the new belt, keeping the number of teeth between the markings the same. Then replace the pulleys and tensioner and reinstall. With the white lines on both the belt and the pulleys it makes the whole process fool proof. When I have the new timing belt properly installed I used this procedure on the tensioner.

The whole process took about 3 hours including removing engine mount and replaced the serpentine belt tensioner. So far I’ve used the whiteout trick on a 960, 850 and the S40. It should work on every whiteblock.”

V70 Timing Belt Change

Last Updated on May 27, 2021