My wife was leaving a light and barley got a few feet and said the car made a weird sound and just died and when she tried to restart it it made another noise and would'nt start. So I came to check it out and got it home and the timing belt has snapped. I know it is going to be at least 3,000 to fix it. The car is only worth 5,000. My wife does love it and we just got new wheels, tires, alt, tint job, bilstien struts, within the last 2,000 miles. It has 115,000 on it and had the belt done at 74,000. Should I fix it or ditch it?

Thanks

 

Used engine from junk yard?..

 

Ooh...That is really bad. Since Volvo's are interference engines, when the belt snaps, a lot of stuff breaks. If you fix everything, the car should last a long time. So long as all parts involved are definetely working.

It really depends on what you want to do. If you take it to the shop to do, I guaruntee you pay a ton of money and it's gonna be in the shop for a couple weeks.

If you do it yourself, it's cheaper, but it's time consuming and you may not know what you're doing (I don't know how much car knowledge you have).

If you get a "new" car, would you get something of similar price or new? Because If you can afford new, it might be better to just go that route.

An alternate option may be to buy another 850 . I got my 850 Turbo for $$3500. There was 124k miles when I bought it. The key when looking at used cars is to look at maintenance. It might take a long time to find a good car, but it's well worth it.

 

If you buy used and are under a budget, you may be putting $3000 back into another car to get the maintanence up topar, if it wasn't. You would need to find some an owner, who had good book keeping if you go that route. As I read your post, I thought fix it or pick up one from the boneyard.

 

I totally, absolutely agree. Changingyour well-knownbrokenused car for an unknown used one can end up being a headache. It happened to me, I changed my mint Chrysler Cirrus LX 2.5 with a slightly slipping auto-stick transmission for an 850 T5, and now I am at the forums all the time. Guess why...

 

Obviously you've already spent some good money on the car between the suspension, wheels, tires, etc. If you did not like this car, you wouldn't have done that. Was she pretty much at idle when the belt broke? If so, you could probably just get away with only having the head rebuilt or just buying a rebuilt or new head.It is amuch easier job to replace just the head than the entire engine. The valves bend rather easilly compared to the larger items in the bottom end of the engine. So, I think your chances are pretty good of getting away with it. Hell, my father has a '93 VW Eurovan (it, too, has in inline 5 cyl. engine). His waterpump locked up (which is probably what caused your belt to break since you belt was rather recent) while he was traveling at 75mph (which is wellover 3,000 rpmon that engine)on the interstate. I rebuilt the head with all new valves, and 25k later, it's running 100%!!

 

Hello Volvorator,

Greetings from Chicagoland.

I'm sorry about the trouble, it does happen to some cars.

Considering the way you & your wife have treated the car so far, I believe it's better to repair it than buy another car, as Volvo's are noted for long life if proper care is taken. As someone has noted, buying a used car may give you another $3,000 worth of troubles. Unfortunately, buying a used car, especially under $10,000 in this country, is much like gambling. I've been repeating the same phrase hundreds of times, but this is due to normal wear and people neglecting the owner's guide and not following scheduled maintenance. The only good thing about this is that it provides job securities to dealers & technicians alike.

As to the timing belt, it is difficult to imagine that it broke at such a low mileage after the last service. I wonder if wrong belt (narrower/non-OEM) was installed, some oil got onto it, or the hydraulic belt tensioner leaked oil. Wasthe belt more than 6 years old? For your future reference, the belt should be changed at either every 70,000 miles or 5 years (I do mine at 60,000 miles/5 years).

I just did a bit of research and found following URLs:

http://www.aluminumheads.com/

http://www.google.co.jp/search?q=vol...gine&hl=ja

http://www.precisionengine.com/rebui...lvo/index.html

You could try rebuilt head or rebuilt engine. I have a feeling the some pistons may have been damaged as well, though this should be revealed with the head off. See if you can find one near you.

Anyone else has better suggestion about rebuilt head/engine?

I wish you the best,


JPN

 

Yeah she said she just stepped on the gas when the light turned and got like 2-3 feet into the intersection and it happened so she probably had it under 2 grand. I have changed a head gasget and timing belt on my car but it's a 20 year oldsohc. I think I could do it my self but it would take me forever on nights and weekends. I'm going to call around to a couple of Volvo shops and see what they say. I live in Portland so I might stop by IPD on the way home from work and see who they recomend locally.

Oh I did take it apart a little and the whole belt didn't go but a strip of the belt did come off on the edge of the belt and it fell down and lodged the gear/pulley's below. So I am guessing it needs several new valves head work and about 14 hours of labor. I'm keeping my fingers crossed on the pistons. I do like the car as does my wife so I would love to keep it.

 

I just got a engine with 32,000 original miles from the yard for $2200.00. I am going to pick it up tomorrow. I am going to stop buy IPD and get a timing belt and change it out just to be safe since I don't know how long this engine has been sitting. After thinking about it I think that might be what happend to my engine. I got it at about 85,000 and it had the sticker on it from when the belt was changed and it was a while ago and the older couple we got it from had only put 3,000 miles on it in 2 years(they left the old registrations in the glove box). Plus it will be super easy to change the belt with the engine out so it can't hurt.

Can you guys think of anything else I should do before I drop the engine back in? Thanks for all the help! I really appreciate it. I feel a lot better about this now. They said it was a running engine on a rear ended total and it comes with a six month warranty. And they don't need a core so I will have my old engine for spare parts. I won't be able to work on it until next week end but I will let you guys know when I have it running again.

Thanks again,
Arnold

 

Hello Arnold,

I'm glad you now feel better. The reason I write long replies to people is that I've been in crappy situations with cars, and I know it is not even funny and depressing & irritating, let alone the money & time you have to spend.

Anyway, I'll get off my soap box and write up what I would do with the engine. You can ignore some of the items here, but I'm a safety & quality phobia and don't feel good unless it's in top condition. Also, when you have time, please refer to the following post, it may be of some help to you:

https://volvoforums.com/m_48928/tm.htm

Also, I primarily use FCP Groton as my parts source, I'll list their URL but you may be able to find the same parts for less $ at eBay, etc...

http://www.fcpgroton.com/volvo.htm#850

*Is your 850 turbo or NA?

TIMING BELT:
Replace the following items with OEM parts:
1. Timing Belt (Continental, German OEM)
2. Idler Pulley (Continental, German OEM)
3. Tensioner Pulley (Continental, German OEM)
4. Hydraulic Tensioner Cylinder (Febi/Aisin, German)
5. Water Pump (Genuine Volvo or German Hepu, I used Hepu)

IGNITION SYSTEM:
1. Spark plugs (genuine Volvo or Bosch platinum)
2. Ignition wires (Bougicord or Bosch)
3. Distributor cap & rotor (Bosch)

COOLING SYSTEM:
1. Coolant (50/50 mixture)
2. Thermostat & O-ring (Vernet or Wahler)
3. Expansion tank cap (Sameer)
4. All rubber hoses (APA) and new clamps

OIL SYSTEM:
*Before servicing, I would first check for any oil leak spots (seals, gaskets & O-rings). Also, since no one knows how long the engine had been sitting, I would turn the engine with a breaker bar & 22mm socket at the crank pulley just to see if there is questionable resistance due to corrosion, etc...

1. New oil, I recommend name-brand's synthetic/synthetic blend 10W-30
2. Oil filter (MANN)
3. New filler cap gasket
4. New dipstick O-ring
5. Magnetic chip-detector type drain plug & new aluminum gasket
6. If turbo, replace turbocharger oil return line gasket & seal ring

A/C SYSTEM:
*If the compressor on the old engine was working fine, I would put it on the new engine. Be careful with the refrigerant (R134a), when disconnecting any of the A/C lines.

INDUCTION SYSTEM:
1. New air filter (MANN)
2. Clean the throttle body with spray cleaner that is safe for O2 sensor & cat converter. Scrub with tooth brush.

CHARGING SYSTEM:
1. Serpentine accessory belt (longer belt is recommended, it has more contact with the alternator)
*Try turning the alternator with hand to see if there is questionable resistance. FYI, my alternator failed at 130,000 miles/12 years. Some say they have longer life on theirs, so you can think of this as the lowest life on an alternator. Also, try turning the idler pulley & tensioner pulley and check for smooth operation.

ENGINE MOUNTS:
*Not necessary but will ensure smooth ride.

MISC:
1. Dump a bottle of Techron fuel system cleaner into the fuel tank
2. Clean the engine with a can of spray degreaser
3. Flush transmission fluid

That's allI can think of at the moment. Also, wait until others give you different ideas.

Best of luck with the new engine,


JPN

 

Thank you! This will help out a lot. Yes it is a turbo. I am going to stop buy the car wash and clean the engine up all pretty before I get home so I can find any oil leaks easier.

 

Hi Arnold,

One addition:

As for the A/C, it is illegal to allow refrigerant to escape into the atmosphere, and it requires special recovery equipment for proper evacuation & re-charge. So, unless you're sure that the system is empty, I would have it serviced by professional (but the question is, how to get to a professional, since the original engine won't do any good at the moment.....).

I wish you the best,


JPN

 

Thank you for the heads up on the ac. I know it hasn't worked since I got it so I guess I will just push it out of the garage and loosen the line and be ready to get out of the way if needs be. Please don't call the fuzz on me.

Arnold

 

Been working my butt off since Monday morning and have not had a chance to get online much. This is very interesting thread. Please keep us informed on how everything goes. I'm very curious about what it takes for a backyard mechanic to change the engine in an 850, I'm also thinking about doing it when the weather gets nicer. You lifting the old engine out or dropping it down and lifting the car over it? Personally I would have probably just done the head, but you might be getting off cheaper replacing the engine. I dropped close to two grand into my son in law and I doing the head.

Like I said please keep us informed.

 

Well I just got back with the engine and I can't believe how nice it looks it is just as clean and shinny as my 07 tundra engine. It's not just a steam clean job either all the aluminum is new and shinny looking as well as everything else. The other engines next to it where all grimey looking. It has no shaft play in the turbo either. The only thing I noticed is that it is a 97 and I have a 95 I'm sure it will work fine though.I told them I had a 95 and gave them my vin #.

As far as fixing it or swapping the engine. I wasn't sure on what I was gonna do cause I new fixing my old engine would cost me a minimum of $3000,00 after calling around to a few Volvo shops and I would still have a engine with 115,000 miles that had been apart. When I found this engine with only 32,000 original miles I mad my mind up real quick. I can swap the motor way faster then fixing the old one too. I will let you guys know how it goes for sure. I have pulled and reinstalled the motor on my Mustang once and done at least 15 swaps on myStarions/Conquests over the years. Those are bit different though. I am definatly going to need to get some specialty tools that by looking at some of the bolt heads on there.

Oh, I almost forgot I am going to pull it out the top. Should be nice too sincethe way the 850 hood can basicly lift to 90 degree's I won't have to pull it off.

Thanks,

Arnold

 

Most likely it will look like this inside.
Glad you went the engine way.

 

Thank you for the pics, now I'm very glad I went this route. I would have been doing one of these [sm=bangbang.gif]if I had pulled that head and seen some damn snapped of valves ground into the pistons.

 

This car was a 960 that the serp. belt jumped off for some reason we couldn't figure out.
The serp. belt went through the timing cover taking out the timing belt.

I am going to be making a Post about timing belt and Serp. belt warnings with the pics included.

This way alot of members will understand what will happen if the belt breaks.

Yours might not look as bad as the one in the pics but the idea is still the same.

Later you can pull the head and inspect yours and maybe replace a valve or two and have a spare engine.

 

I wonder what my wife would say about keeping an old engine around the house for spare parts. I'd probably end up sleeping outside with the dog.

 

Well I have an 800 sf garage which I already have about 5 engines inI'll just put it on an engine stand and roll it over with the rest of them.