Hi all,

My Volvo was due for its timing belt replacement, so I bought the parts and went to work. After replacing all of the parts, I went to put the new timing belt on and it didn't fit. It was a 148 tooth belt (I used a Dayco belt, part number 95252), which was the length needed, and double checked it was the same length as the one I took off. I've also made sure every part is correctly installed, and is exactly the same as the ones I took off of the car. Even with all of this, it seems like my timing belt is way too short to actually work, but that can't be right. I feel like I am missing some really basic thing, but I can't seem to figure it out. Attached should be some pictures of the furthest the chain could go. It might look a little loose in the pictures but it can't make it over the left camshaft gear.

Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

 

From the pictures it looks like the belt is routed correctly. My suggestion is to make sure the tensioner is fully compressed. A new belt is quite a bit tighter than a used one, so with a little fidgiting it should fit. If the tensioner is fully compressed, route the belt up onto the right pulley, then walk it on to the left one. it should go. Also, make absolutely sure that the belt is actually on the crankshaft pulley. There is a metal shield on the underside of the crank pulley and if the belt is not underneath it, it will make the belt seem too short. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Start at 3:20. The belt has to be under the crank dampner.

 

Yup, I did the exact same thing. Twice. You need to get it under the dampener and make sure the belt is actually resting on the sprocket. I made the exact same mistake myself. Once I figured that out it slipped right on.

 

I replaced my timing belt last week, and found it tight as well. I found that if I slipped about a third of the belt onto the cam sprockets, it was much easier to make it around the tensioner.

Once it was on I rotated the engine twice by hand to verify timing. Good thing, as the rear cam sprocket was off by a tooth. It is all back together now and running fine.

 

Hi again everyone, thanks for all the quick help! The belt was not actually under the dampener. I knew it was something simple I was missing! Thanks again!

 

Welcome to the forum.

Glad it was something simple.