The last shop I went to two weeks ago changed the timing belt - the dealer said it is covered in oil. Dealer said noise is alternator pulley - $910 to fix that. Dealer also said they couldn't get history of the check engine codes. Said current code is 3 way catalytic - $1660 to fix... plus $1740 for timing belt hub and cam seals. Will get estimate from them Monday morning. Kelly Blue Book values the car at much less than the cost of the repairs... What is serpentine belt tension pulley and belt- last shop replaced it for $130 plus labor.

 

Well that last shop should not have changed the belt if the cam seals were leaking. But, they were an independent shop and probably don't have the special tools to replace the seals. So they took your money for the belt anyway. It isn't likely the cam seals started leaking that badly in two weeks.

I can certainly believe the noise being the alternator pulley. Much more common than the compressor. That was what came to my mind initially, except you said it went away at times which threw me off.

They can't get a history of all the codes because they were cleared. The cat efficiency code that was cleared last time came back, and came back quickly. I wouldn't doubt their diagnosis on that one, most likely needs a cat. But, if you also had misfire codes because of a misfire, that may have lead to the cat going bad.

That price for the CVVT hub, cam seals and timing belt seems way high to me. I can't access the parts prices from home, but I know the timing belt kit is about $200. This is the belt, idler and tensioner. The hub, if I remember correctly, is about $380 and the seals total maybe $80. Labor should be about 5 hours if I remember correctly so at $87/hr, thats a total of about $1100. Some engines have two CVVT hubs, but even then, $1700+ seems high.

Also, if the cam seals are leaking, I hope they checked to see if the PCV is clogged. If it is, replacing the seals and not replacing the breather box is a waste of money.

Serpentine belt drives the accessories (AC, alternator and power steering). The tensioner maintains proper tension on the belt. I hope they didn't charge you much labor to do while they were ripping you off for the timing belt. The serpentine belt comes off to do the timing belt, so there is no additional labor for that. There is some for the tensioner, but really, it would be minimal (.3 hours?)

 

Car is still at the dealer - I'm picking up the written repair costs tomorrow. The power steering started leaking after the first shop worked on it. That shop when I went back with the car to complain that the noise is still there, claimed they had to change the timing belt as it was a safety issue - that's not what they told me when they called to give me the cost of the repair.
First shop (that has been on a two week vacation since 8/12) said I could drive the car after the check engine light first came on. Said I wouldn't damage the car if I continued to drive it.

 

First thing first, take an automotive class (or spend countless hours on the internet) quick, before this AUTO REPAIR JACKING continues through your life.

Driving ok car with a misfire will cause damage to your catalytic converter. It is dumping raw fuel into the exhaust system which the hot exhaust damages the catalytic converter. There are other minor issues with driving a car with a misfire that I won't get into now.

I have had an issue with blowing can seals out of the head of the motor. Blew them smooth out when I put my foot in it. WOT (WIDE OPEN THROTTLE). So there is a chance that your car sprang a leak after the timing belt was installed. However, there is NO safety concerns with a timing belt failure. Sure it will destroy the motor, but unless you wife will kill you over neglecting to properly maintain and service the car, no safety issue exist.

If you have no automotive experience/knowledge, no good Volvo independent shop, I suggest you stay close to the dealer for any car you have. Unfortionatley it sounds like your local dealer is like mine, whom gave me a laundry list of needed maintenance and repairs when I took it in to have an AC vacume problem checked. Knowing they had no records for the car they kindly handed me a list that also exceeded the cars value. Most of the items on the list were completed by me within the past 2 weeks. I was outraged, made some stern statements and left. I believe I put another 30,000 miles on the car which was still in great condition when I sold it with 405,000 miles on it.

If you can change a light bulb in your hallway without supervision and without breaking the bulb, I suggest you go pick up a set of tools for $60 and start turning a few wrenches until you can easily afford to pay someone else to fix your cars. You will get a lot of support here and a few other Volvo sites (as well as youtube) to keep the car on the road.

Here us my suggestion, ask the dealer to cut you some slack and replace the front cam seals along with the timing belt. Ask them NOT to replace new idler & tensioner rollers, if the ones on there are newish. (They may not cut you a break because they may be fining you for taking the car elsewhere). Then ask them to check the PCV system and service it as needed. (Gather that estimate before pulling the trigger of course). If you can afford that, proceed.

Then get the car and fix the rest of the stuff yourself with help from people here and other good Volvo sites. There is a chance that your cat converter can be cleaned and not have to be changed.

If all this makes your head hurt you do not need a 10+ year old Volvo. Cut bait and move on.

 

Dealer has told me "repairing the car is just throwing money at a bad thing". Do you think I can sell it in the condition it's on?