Hi, I am hoping someone can help me here. I know how bad it is to have anything timing related break, but I want some input to see if I may be lucky. My car just stalled one day, no loud noise or anything just died. I cranked it several times and it didn't sound weird or anything. I brought it home and noticed the timing tensioner was sticking out through the front cover. I tore it down and the belt was intact and looking new and it was on the pulleys as it should be. Could I have lucked out and had it just skip timing enough to not run and not damage the engine? The timing marks don't look to be too off. How many teeth off could it be without causing damage? Is it best to just replace the timing belt, water pump, cover, and tensioner since it is already apart, then time it and see if it runs? I really appreciate any input!

 

When you say tensioner, do you mean the tensioner or tensioner roller? The pic below is the actual tensioner.


If you are referring to the roller, and it did not come all the way loose, and the belt was still hanging on, your problem may not be timing related at all. You need to check fuel pressure, cam sensor, etc., just go down the line to figure out why your car stalled. Oh yea, after you get your timing belt track corrected. From what I have read, you get 2 teeth off and valves start banging.

 

You can try putting both new pulleys on and resetting everything and see if it runs. I have only seen like 2 people luck out and not bend valves.

 

First off sorry about posting to general Volvo chat, I am very new to this. I will post to 960 from here on out. I am new to everything Volvo. Anyways, It was the tensioner roller that went through the timing cover. But the belt never came off of the tensioner itself. It looks like the roller had been working it's way out for awhile, as it burned through the cover. So I don't exactly know if the timing can stay in time without the roller or not. The timing marks do look like if rolled around they would still line up. So, I guess this could be an unrelated problem? That would be amazing! Would the next step be replace everything up front and time it and start it? Is there any advantage to taking the head off and inspecting it? That is a lot of work, and if it is damaged I will know it right away and the damage is already done anyway, right? Thanks for your replies!

 

So, did the roller come apart? Have you pulled the cover off to look behind it? Was the belt still holding on the edge of the roller or did the roller totally come through the cover?

If you install a new roller, then align everything to the marks, and rotate the belt 2 full revolutions, it is possible that no valves are bent. If you try to turn the system by hand and it gets stuck, I would suspect bent valves. But I have never had the problem so I'm not 100% sure if that will tell you. From what I've heard, the motor usually locks up and doesn't crank at all.

 

The roller was sticking through the timing cover like a half moon (only the top was exposed). I took the cover off and the belt was still hanging on. I think it was working it's way off for a little while because it rubbed through the cover. The cover seemed to have held the roller in place because it didn't burn a full 360, so the bottom plastic was holding it in. Basically the belt never did come off. Is this just a really weird coincidence that the car quit running at about the time the timing belt was going to fall off? I am going to put the belt on and time it today. I will let u know what happens, I am very hopeful!

 

Anyone know where I can find used affordable engines? Mine seems to be seized. Very upset right now. If I do find some engines what price should I expect to spend for it, and the labor to put it in? Thanks!

 

What have you done to determine that it is seized?

Need more details, if you did bend a few valves, than a refurbished head is what you need and maybe at best just replace the bent ones, not a new engine.

Are you doing this work? Do you have a mechanic, and do you trust them?

Need more info.

DanR '94 964 356,000 miles (122,000 on the new engine)

 

I took it to a mechanic that's known for working on Volvos here in Illinois. He has done work on my fiance's 850, and seemed to be pretty decent. He called me this morning and said that he tried to hand crank the engine and even with a big pry bar he couldn't get it to budge. He told me it was seized. I was pretty shocked because even if it was the timing I don't think that it would seize the pistons. So I went online and bought a new 2.9 out of a 97 960 for $931, It seemed like a pretty good deal with a 6 month warranty. The shop said they would put all new timing components in and labor to get the engine in for $975. I paid for all timing parts out of my own pocket already. Does any of this seem off? My 960 has 125,000 miles and is in great shape with brand new goodyear tires. The paint is like glass and ding free, it was a 1 owner garage kept car. I paid $760 for the car and will have $1900 more in it once this is done. I hope I'm doing the right thing, I didn't want to see a great looking Volvo thrown into the junkyard. Am I in over my head? Is this car worth it?

 

A few days ago, you wrote that you were able to crank the engine and it didn't sound weird or anything. Now it's seized. This rapid reversal of fortune makes me wonder about what happened in between.

 

Sorry, I was trying to make a long story short, but that is exactly what I was told from the person I bought it from. I tore it down myself and saw the timing farily intact and now I wonder if the engine blew because of unrelated problems. I hope I am not putting more money into this than it's worth. I really look forward to being in the Volvo scene.

 

Phew!!! This thread has gone south. So what you are saying is that you purchased the car recently and it was NOT running when you got it???

Well, I don't think $2,600 is to much for a nice 960 with a 6 month warranty on the motor. NADA Guides claim that a clean trade in is $2,650, retail is $4,550. I think you'll be fine.

 

Sweet, Thanks for your help. I am really getting into this Volvo thing. My fiance has 1 that she is obsessed with and she got me into them, I have never paid any attention to them until recently. So I don't know much about them. Is there any cool Volvo clubs or anything out there worth looking into?

 

You can check this page out: http://ipdusa.com/Volvo-Forums-Clubs...-Sites/blog-30