Alright guys, I am needing alittle help with my belt replacement. I have a total of 4 belts. I am only replacing two for the others look much newer. When I bought the car the belts were chirpy and squealed only during acceleration. Now it has gotten progressively worse where at idle they are very loud. The two belts I am replacing is the belt that runs from the fan to the compressor and then the compressor to the power steering. I have the haynes and bentley and sadly they dont have any diagrams and barely say anything about this job. All it talks about is several bolts that loosen, tighten, etc. So any help would be appreciated. I have looked all over online and apparently there is just nothing about this job on 240's out there on the internet. I am going out there now to dive in head first and see what I can come up with. I dont want to tear anything up though. Volvo could have made this alittle bit easier by doing away with the bolts and adding a tensioner.

Thanks Guys,

Dread

 

part of the reason for a lack of documentation is that different year cars have different belt routing, as the accessories migrated around.

tensioners are used with modern serpentine belt systems where there's one big wide belt running everything.

 

Makes sense. Any thoughts on my issue? The haynes is telling me alittle bit more than the bentley. Its saying there are bolts for each component that loosen and tighten. Apparently the placing of the component tightens or loosens the tension of the belt. So I guess I will have to work from component to component.

Thanks,

Dread

 

well, our 240 has the alternator and the comressor as the main things you adjust to tension. its been a long time since I did it, but IIRC, you loosen a lock nut a little, then there's a nut on a screw that tensions things, then you tighten the lock nuts. always took me 2-3 tries to get it just right, lack of experience I'm sure.

I found this picture in my collection of the belts on my 92 740 turbo, but its laid out quite differently, with the alternator above the compressor, but on seperate belts, and the power steering pump on the right side (left of the picture).

 

I see. well I have found after looking in there that each component has the separate bolts I was talking about. I took out the fan, fan cover, and air filter casing to give me some more room to work. I guess now I will go down there and play with the bolts to see what each does. I am only replacing two belts, so I need to only deal with those two components. The compressor and power steering. There are about 4 bolts per each component.

Dread

 

In your picture, the bolt to the left of the compressor pulley, the one with the bushing. I have those bolts on my components as well. Im not sure what it does but I plan on finding out.

 

Ok guys I am at a complete loss now. I have loosened bolts and tugged around but nothing is changing. I have always been in love with volvos engineering but I must say, **** on volvo for this belt engineering. Its way too complex and its further silly that there are no decent diagrams or anything.

Dread

 

ok, I took a closer look at my 740. on the bottom of my alternator, and the top of my compressor, there's a lock nut on the adjuster which sits on a slotted piece. you loosen that nut, and on the END of the slotted piece there's another small hex head, which turns the screw that the adjuster is on. so loosen the locknut and turn the adjuster, tighten the lock nut, thats it.

in my picture above you can't see either of these as the radiator hose is in the way.

IIRC, the alternator on a 240 is flipped around on the other side, and the compressor is on the top, so odds are the nut/adjuster positions are reversed.

ah, you can just see the tensioner screw head under the alternator in this view, peeking out under the radiator hose.

 

Ok so is the tensioner head the long 10mm screw? Or is it one of the bigger 13-14mm bolts?

 

Ok so loosen the 13mm lock nut and then loosen the 10mm long screw. That sounds reasonable. They both sit on a slotted piece. I think I know what you are talking about.

 

I didn't measure head sizes, but its the long screw that goes crosswise and through the slider piece thats in the slotted channel. you loosen the locknut on the slider piece, then adjust with the long screw, then tighten the locknut. repeat until its right.

 

Ok, well I loosened the long screw and the lock bolts and I noticed the belts got gradually looser, but I just keep loosening and they seem to stay the same. They still are not loose enough to pull off of the pulley without damaging anything. I can easily cut these belts off but they are stretched. I cannot imagine what it will have to take to get these new unstretched belts on there. I am kind of at the point of being fed up with this. Some bolts that are double sided you cant even get to. They are covered by the body of the power steering holder. I can slide back there but cant get the wrench on there. I pretty much dont know what to do from here.

 

Well I am reviewing the haynes now. It is showing me some kind of diagram. I am going to go down and retighten everything I loosened and start from scratch. Still taking ideas.

Thanks whoever.

 

I like the sway bar Pierce.

 

good eye. IPD sway bars. car also got all new bushings, tie rods (inner and outer), ball joints, bilstein TC shocks and struts, plus rear overload springs (its a wagon).

the ride is a little taut running around town on the horrible pavement we have in this small left-coast town, but when its fully loaded, its rides and drives great.

 

I'm having the same issue in my 1990 240. I'm changing all four belts. So far the only component I've had luck loosening is the alternator. P/s & a/c won't budge. Any tips?

I've loosened the long 10mm adjustment screws, the lock nut and the mounting bolts 13/14mm which were a bit of a pain.

-Mariner

 

Okay Mariner,

For starters I know you are rather new but site management prefers you don't revive any old threads so be careful of that in the future. Just start a new one.

Secondly, on the drivers side of the engine bay you will see the upper and lower pullies the belts are attached to. The upper pully is attached to the power steering unit, the lower pulley is attached to the AC compressor.

To the left side of the upper pulley there is the long 10mm screw and 13 mm locking bolt for the PS belt sitting vertically. On the rear side of the bracket, like facing the firewall, loosen the 13mm locking nut. Then Rotate the 10mm screw counter-clockwise for a while until the screw is pretty far loose but do not remove. The entire PS unit should move up and down to remove the belt, the belt should be very loose if you loosened the 10mm screw enough.

The AC compressor is a bit trickier. If you look above the AC pulley you should see the 13mm locking nut and 10mm screw sitting horizontally. Loosen the 13mm nut and unscrew the 10mm screw much of the way. The next step is to loosen a hidden AC bracket bolt that is parallel with the first locking nut bracket assembly closest to you. Inside the bracket behind the first locking assembly it is dark and tight in there but you should be able to get your hand or fingers in there to feel the other 13mm nut back there. Sometimes I will crouch down and put my chin on the battery looking down in there with some light and you will see the 13mm bolt attached to a bracket. Loosen the hidden 13mm and once you have the 10mm screwed out most of the way grab a long piece of wood or a crow bar and carefully use the sidewall of the engine bay as leverage to push the AC compressor toward the passenger side of the car (You can also get in there and push the AC unit over with your hands). It is helpful to have a second set of hands to place the belt on while you hold the AC compressor pushed over with the wood or crowbar. BE CAREFUL not to damage anything along the sidewall of the engine bay if you decide to use the leverage trick. The AC belt is very tricky so take your time and again a second set of hands are helpful but it is possible to do it alone.

 

I got the belts off. In the process I broke the long 10mm screw. Aaaand then I broke it off from the other side when trying to remove it from the sliderplate/ strikeplate it came from. Found a replacement on eeuroparts. I have a few more things to put back, but it should be in good order after the part comes in. Thanks Dread.

-Mariner