To clarify, I am NOT talking about the serpentine tensioner pulley.

I replaced that a year ago, thinking that would fix my problem... put a Dayco belt on it, and it split as soon as I put it back together. Found out that the idler pulley looked a little bent, I should say.

Now that I'm trying to check out the timing side of the engine.. I figured that I'd replace this idler pulley that I bought last year and never got around to changing. I figured that the bolt was bent, but the pulley itself does seem to have a wobble.

Doesn't look like I have much room to change this, however. And there's no mention of it in the Haynes manual.

I'm assuming that this does involve a special tool, no??

 

OK... I see my mistake... http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/for...hp?f=1&t=36978

There's a rubber cap that's covering the bolt, DUR! It looked like it took a torx driver, and didn't think about actually feeling it with my finger to see if there was a rubber cap on.

Anyway.... now I've got a couple other problems.

(1) The idler pulley that I ordered from RockAuto.com last year is the WRONG PART!!

Not so bad, because the original one isn't as wobbly as I thought. The bearings do seem to be just a tad gritty, but nothing that isn't repairable.

(2) The damn bolt was virtually impossible to get off, because there it matches up perfectly with a ridge/hump on the wall of the engine bay. I pretty much had no choice but to bend the bolt, which is what I thought the problem was to begin with.

Now I cannot get the bolt back on!!! I pretty much need to grind 3/4 of the bolt head off, or need to try to grind/bend that ridge/hump deal on the wall.

Any ideas on what the heck Volvo was thinking, or how I can overcome this st00pidity??

Probly just gonna grind the head down, I guess. Don't think I can do much to that ridge with the space Volvo has provided me. Sigh...

 

Anybody think that I could possibly find a spot (like the transmission perhaps?) where I could jack the engine up just enough to screw the idler pulley back in???

 

To get clearance for replacing motor mounts you jack on the engines oil pan. You need to put a block of wood between the jack and the pan but people do it all the time, safely. Just don't try to jack it way up in the air without unbolting those mounts.
You should be able to get and inch or two without loosening up the mounts, maybe have to loosen the one right under the crankshaft pulley.

 

Since this one is now bent, and is obviously what has been causing all my serpentine belt issues....

Any idea where I could find another idler pulley bolt??

 

Dealer or salvage yard. If you have the old one off you might be able to match it up at an auto parts, hardware or home improvement store.

 

Are you talking about the idler that is attached to the tensioner? If so, just pull the entire thing off and then take the pully off.

 

Nope.

That would be the tensioner pulley. Idler pulley is idler pulley.

I guess I will try to match it at some hardware store, and then use salvage yard as a backup. I need to do this today, since I'll be passing by a store that might be able to match it up.

 

You may have already done this but the video of taking the alternator off shows how to get that thing out.