hello everyone, I have a question. When should i change the timing belt on my 2003 v70. I brought it off a volvo/jag tech about two months ago and it had 62900 miles on it. Now the car has alittle over 64000 and from what I know the belt has never been changed. So I am wondering when i should change it, so i don't run into a huge head ache down the road.

 

My 2004 V70 2.4 L 168 hp 5-spd auto has only 55,000 miles on it and I bought it new in fall 2003. I think the change interval is 105,000 miles or 10 years, whichever comes first.

One has to wonder if this would be sooner than necessary, if the car has been driven gently, but a broken timing belt would wreck the engine. When the timing belt is replaced, also change the tensioner and the idler pulleys. Also change the accessories belt (serpentine belt) because if this breaks, it can get fouled in the timing belt and take it out. But from what I read it is not necessary to change the waterpump.

But I tend to put off expenditures like this and I may let it go until 12 years unless I learn that this is truly taking a real risk of catastrophic failure.

 

LOL, if you're a risk taker, you're right on track. The change intervals on the belt is already a stretch and risk, pushing that any more is not a good gamble. Old rubber, greased bearings, moving parts, yea, do it on schedule or sooner.
The 960 I had was on it's 3rd belt before it had 90k on it. Old rubber is not a good thing to gamble on.

On the other hand, a better gamble would be if you were a high mileage person that put say, 25k a year on the car. Maybe you could do it at 5/125k or 6/150k but do you really want to take a chance on destroying the motor? Try not to be one of those people that keeps putting off needed repairs until something finally causes the car to break down, then tries to figure out the 1 thing to fix to get it running again when 6 things caused it to fail.

On another note, the only way a failed serpentine belt will cause a timing issue is if the belt gets caught on the crank. You will have to be pretty unlucky but that space is pretty tight. You can see the cracks in the belt long before it breaks.

 

Thank you, I also remember seeing the change interval is around 105k or every 10 years. However I have a friend whose timing belt just went and my uncle's volvo's timing belt just snapped a few months ago. That is why I am slightly worried about it. Is there a way i can check the timing belt? I know a few cars have a small hole you can look into to get a small glance of it, but would i have to take the engine apart to get a look at it? Any advice would be appreciated. Oh and rspi, you would recommend changing it now? If so would you recommend me doing it on my own or just get a mechanic to do it for me? I use the car as a daily driver to get me to and from college so if it doesn't long I'll consider doing it myself.