Hello and thanks in advance, I have found this to be a very helpfully sight.

I replaced my timing belt on my '92 940GL (Rex system) after replacing the belt having been careful to align the marks on the cam, intermediate and crank pulley with the cover marks and belt marks. It won't start...in a non impedance engine so even if they are off the engine should be fine.

Any suggestions..i would greatly appreciate the help.

Thanks
Tim

 

History? Was it running OK before the change? What does it do now, just cranks?
That's correct, the engine should suffer no damage if the marks are off.

 

Yes it ran ...not great though that's the reason for the tune up new o2 and ECT sensor otherwise it ran okay with no problems.
It cranks and sounds normal just no start situation.

 

did it run after the o2 and ect sensors, before you changed the timing belt ?

 

Is it possible that you moved or damaged the crank position sensor. Is your fuel pump turning on. I would remove 1 spark plug and see if is wet. You may have to go back and align all of your timing marks and verify you are in time. Something you did in the installation of the sensor and timing belt is causing the problem. Recheck your work.

 

I didn't remove the crank position sensor. The only thing it could be is somehow the timing got off. I was carefully to align the marks. Is there possibly an another way to verify the timing position is correct? I'm about to take the belt off and double check again.

 

Just need to align all of the timing marks. Get number 1 up to the mark and go from there.

 

Yes thanks for all the advice. After taking it on and off five times it works fine by moving the cam past the mark a bit.

Thanks!!

 

So, did it start? If not, are the marks are lined up? Even after rotating the engine by hand several times? O2 sensor and ECT sensor should not cause a nostart...

 

It was definitely a timing issue. I had to move my mark on the cam gear slightly before the notch on the cover. Relief! Thanks!

 

Funny but I had found in my early days that these engines would run even if you were off 1 tooth on either side of the mark. They didn't run good but they would start. So I'm guessing you were off more then a slight bit which would have been 2 or 3 teeth either way. Also did you by any chance check the harmonic balance to see if the outer weight shell didn't separate from the inner which would give you a bad reading.

 

No I haven't checked the harmonic balancer, that would make sense if it where off though...looks I'll be doing some more work on it though.

 

Also with the new O2 and ECT sensor that were faulty I'm wondering if it was just too much for the egg to handle all at once.

 

You might want to check your harmonic balancer. If you are using that device to time the engine, stop. First use the timing gear on the crank to set the crankshaft then put the balancer on. I've seen balancers of that age where the outer ring was moving around and you couldn't get the timing set by using the mark on the balancer. Of course, if the outer ring doesn't align, get a new balancer.

I think that you need to check this all over again. The engine should spin over and start quickly. I've had a few over the years that were timed wrong. They didn't have the power that they should and when we inspected the timing we found it off.

 

Thanks Tony. Yes after the sixth time of changing the belt, I have come to the same conclusion. At first I moveved the cam ccw and the idle came up to 1100..thought I was on to something but after it warmed up it ran like crap. Finally figure just what you said...i need to move the cam cw. It's now back to where it was and runs as it was; minus the heavy exhaust from a bad O2 sensor.

 

Just out of curiosity has anyone else gotten the impression that Volvos are cursed?

 

Nope...they just cranky in their old age.

 

indeed. problem is, with the exception of a few cursed versions like the ecojunk years of 1983-1987(early), these cars were damn reliable and robust for 20+ years so typically got minimal maintenance. swedish bricks. the biggest problem now is the replacement parts pipeline is full of utter junk... now, the youngest of them are well over 20, our 87 that we scrapped last year from terminal interior mold was 30... that 87 would still be a fine driver if it hadn't been up in the NorthWet corner of California, parked outside, and basically neglected/ignored by my daughter who couldn't deal with it. Last time it had been here in santa cruz, a couple sunny days to dry it out and it ran just fine. and it drove just fine. we *thought* we fixed the worst of the water leaks, by getting a new windshield that was *properly* resealed after doing rust repairs of the windshield mounting channel, but blam, a winter in Arcata (Eureka area) and it was all dank inside and growing science experiments, grrrr. since that was 7 hours drive away, I couldn't deal with it. and when it got damp inside, it wouldn't start or drive reliably.

 

Agreed any car that's got mold in the seats and carpet has got problems. I pulled mine out of a guys yard in the both wet coast..moss colored and a night mare up to now....i yay!

 

Cursed? Are you kidding? I have EIGHT of these and all are pretty perfect--it's all about the owners, past and present who pick cars up for $200, or less, that have been abused and molested to death by people unwilling to spend anything on them and have flogged them just because they won't die and keep chugging along. The 940 especially is, if not the most reliable car ever made, then definitely in the top three! That being said, it still takes some minimal mechanical ability and average intelligence not to ruin these cars... sadly, well, you can fill the rest.