Hi everyone Lets see I was going around a corner about 10mph and my timing belt went. I keep hearing its an interferous engine or a non interferous engine, which is correct and is my engine shot? Its a 1990 Volvo 240 DL with about 298,000 miles. Do you think I shot do the work and put a new belt on? I was quoted $500 for the labor and he said he couldn't guarantee anything, HELP I love my Wagon.

 

unless your head was shaved excessively during a previous head gasket rebuild, or you have a non-standard non-stock-US-model high lift camshaft, or a 16V (740/940 only), these are totally non-interference engines

 

its about as easy as any timing belt on any car. you should swap the tensioner, and use real volvo parts for that.

you probably should replace the water pump and theromstat too, while you're in there as you're 90% of the way there already and their life time is about equal to two timing belts at their standard 60K mileage, unless you know that stuff was done in the last 60K miles. If you do replace the pump, use real Volvo seals, as the ones that come with aftermarket pumps are often junk and almost certainly will leak in a matter of weeks. most good mechanics will go ahead and use all new drive belts too since they have to come off to do the timing belt. if your car has a rubber harmonic damper on the main crank pulley, that also should be replaced as they have a nasty habit of failing silently and causing timing problems. when you're done doing it right, you'll likely get another 100K+ out of this motor if nothing else fails.

 

I'd go easy on the replacements just because you are "in there": these days most parts come from Asia, and you are better off with older OEM parts than cheap replacements just because they are "new". That goes for the water pump, the thermostat, the harmonic balancer, even the belts... Besides, why throw money away? Too many "enthusiasts" with little hands on experience suffer from too much eagerness to fiddle with things and that results in badly running Volvos.

 

well, the factory speced changing the timing belts every 60k miles, and water pump every other timing belt, or 120k miles. in my general experience, 120k miles is about right for the pump, any time I've had one much older than that its been weeping and/or failed

my recommendation was based on not knowing this cars service history. if you know the pump was replaced in the last 100K miles

if you're doing the labor yourself, and don't mind doing 1/2 of it again, then sure, wait til the pump fails.

absotively, posilutely, don't cheap out on parts. use bluebox (Volvo branded) or OE parts wherever possible/practical. If you get them from a discount parts dealer like volvopartswebstore.com or tascaparts.com, they are often not much more than offbrand chinese 'Uro' junk.

 

Dear Pierce, First of all thank you very much for getting back to me. All I wont to say is that I've heard so many different versions of what engine I have that I was thrilled to hear your expert opinion. But, don't take this wrong I have a 1990 Volvo 240DL, B230 f wagon. Now this is a non interference engine ? Just double checking before I tackle this big job. Please let me know for sure.....frustrated in Arcata Thank you again Kathleen

 

stock, a B230F is completely non-interference. IF its had head work AND they shaved a LOT off, and/or it has a high lift after market performance camshaft, then its POSSIBLE its interference, but I seriously doubt it.

its really pretty easy to tell if something has bent... take off the upper cover from the timing belt, and turn the camshaft by hand. if it feels even all the way around, its probably fine, a bent valve would likely make for an uneven spot. ideally, remove the valve cover, and check the clearances of all the valves. if the clearance is in or close to spec, then you're golden. I'd say do a compression test, but that won't work very well without the timing belt in place

 

Hi Pierce, Thank you so much for the additional information and education when it comes to my Volvo timing belt. I will take your advice and give it a shot this weekend,, Thanks again for the great tips.....P.S I let you know what happens. Kathleen

 

urbanfinch, the timing belt really is simple, if I can do it on my 1993 240 wagon, anyone can.

I even get to take it off again as I think I didn't put the camshaft oil seal in correctly. Yeah for me!

 

Dear Pierce, Well it a lovely sunny day and I'm up to my elbows in grease. I have another question. To rotate the camshaft what tool do I need? Also are these the correct tolerances between camshaft and valve, .014 to .016 ?. Do I need to pull the fan cover and timing belt cover to turn the cam? Sorry about all these questions but its my first time and I want to be sure I'm doing it right.


Thank you very much., Kathleen in Arcata

 

if your timing belt is broken, you should be able to just grab the camshaft pulley up on top and turn it clockwise by hand. yeah, you'll need to remove the timing belt cover to see it, and if the fan shroud is in the way, that too.

 

Hi Pierce, I feel stupid but with the distributor cap off shouldn't I see the roter turning while hand turning the crank?


Thank you for all your help Kathleen

 

Hi Also while turning the cam shaft the rotor turns and belt seems to be intact, what else could it be? lost and confused......Kathleen

 

this is a 240 with the distributor on the side of the block?

that distributor is driven by an intermediate shaft, which is driven by the timing belt at 1/2 the crankshaft speed (2 turns of the crank == 1 turn of the intermediate shaft).

this intermediate shaft also drives the oil pump.

 

ALL 240s have the dist. on the side of the block...
Don't mean to be buzz killer but a timing belt is not a good project for the novice "enthusiast"... As in this case in point the timing belt is not even the issue... Sometimes there is no substitute for actual hands on practical experience...

 

So you just found out the timing belt is fine? and turned the camshaft with a 17mm socket and ratchet to see the rotor turn right?

so your timing belt never broke then?

You were going 10mph and what happened? Did the engine just die and the mechanic said it was your timing belt? HOW THE HELL DID HE KNOW IT WAS THE TIMING BELT WITHOUT OPENING THE BELT COVER? OR DID HE OPEN THE VALVE COVER AND TURNED THE CRANKSHAFT? YOU GOT ANOTHER PROBLEM LIKE ELECTRICAL OR FUEL RELATED.

 

Kathleen: There's lots of info out there on the procedure for a B230 timing belt change. Try this page, for example.

 

Migbro: Did you read the post? The belt is not even broken!

Besides, if a person can't even determine that, kind of a stretch to expect them to do a belt change, no?

 

ok, the FIRST thing I should have suggested re: verifying whats going on. remove the oil filler cap, look at the cam shaft lobes you can see inside (use a small flashlight if you have to), and have a friend crank the car over. if the lobes turn when its cranking, then your timing belt is in fact connected, hence, not broken. if your mechanic said it was broken, then... FIND A NEW MECHANIC.

 

Greetings Pierce, Thank you again for the help and details on replacing my 1990 240dl Volvo timing belt, yes I did need a little help, but mission accomplished. Now for my newest problem I need to replace the Oxygen sensor on the Volvo. My question is it looks like a three wire plus a green wire second ground is this correct ? or can I get by with a three wire without ground upstream? What do you think Your friend Kathleen