Please help!? My 850 ran fine until I actually REALLY needed it!? (Failed Tensioner)
 

Was picking up my little girl for first time in a long while. Car was running like a top until this afternoon. Lights on dash came on and motor just stopped. It will turn over and I had neighbor listen for fuelpump under the spare. It's working. Please help guys?

If the lights are on and you have fuel is your timing belt still good? Open the oil cap and have someone crank it. If you see the cam turning the timing belt is likely good.

Usually if all of the dash warning lights come on, the alternator is out. Is the serpentine belt still on?

Yes. Belt is still on?

Is the cam turning when you try to start it? Looking into the oil filler hole.

Have you checked for spark at the end of the coil lead and at the end of a plug ??

Thanks for the replies guys. Was dark when I got the car home last night. Felt like a complete... When neighbor pushed it back to my driveway in a hopped up chevy...

As soon as things warm up this morning a bit I'll start the real troubleshooting. Are y'all telling me it could be something else than a bad alternator? I will check for the cam turning. I hope it's something simple. Is there a fuse between the coil and where ever it's fed from? Checked the fusebox in the dark last night but didn't see a description along the lines of "ignition".

Really appreciate the help guys.

Ok. Heres what I have. Timing belt ate through the plastic housing. After opening the housing up, a roller bearing came falling out. I know where it's supposed to mount back, but the bolt holding it down fell behind the assembly. The belt seems fine. Can I unbolt the assembly holding the roller? Isn't that supposed to be the tensioner? How do I make sure it's still on time?

I'm 99 percent positive it's the tensioner. Please tell me that bolt is not in the block and theres a way to unbolt the assembly to re mount the roller?

I think I'm screwed right? Trying to start it without a timing belt probably bent every valve in the head right?

Not every one. Probably 3 or 4. Still expensive. Last time I priced Volvo valves they were about $30 each. Not like Chevy parts. Of course, at this point that's the least of your worries.

If the belts broken or off any of the gears and you tried starting it, somethings bent and you'll have to pull the head or replace the engine. A valve job would be the minimum it would need and there's always a chance there is going to be more to it.


http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/for...php?f=1&t=8803

Ok, well, not ok but as painful as it is, this is where you can help other people. When was the last time a timing belt was replaced? If the roller failed, was it making noise upon start up?

If the roller failed and the car jumped time it damaged the inside of the head and maybe even destroyed a piston. You can do 3 things;

1. Have the roller and belt replaced and see if it starts. In my opinion that is a waste of 3 hours and $150 if you do it yourself, $400 if you pay to have it done by a independent mechanic, $800 at a Volvo dealer.

2. Pull the head and have it fixed. $800 / $2,200 / $4,800.

3. Sell the car for scrap and use the $350 you get to get another town car (a car that you drive around town).

I always say it

If your not going to maintain your car, just buy a Honda, they run good with poor maintenance.

Volvos you WILL kill them without maintenance, with good maintenance they'll run forever. 99% of times I hear of a car getting scrapped it was because people don't change their freaking timing belt!
Pay now or pay later.

I think Volvos do fall into that category where you can ignore a lot of maintenance and it will allow you to up to a point. The previous owner of my poor wagon didn't do a thing that didn't absolutely need to be done to start or stop the car. Even oil changes were just a new filter once a year. It leaked so she figured she was adding a quart often enough she didn't need to drain it !! It's come a long way from the crumpled front fenderd, broken windshield, MIL light, clunking rear, scraping front, non idling vehicle packed with fast food bags it started out as when I first bought it.
An interference engine just isn't forgiving, no wiggle room no matter who the manufacturer is. Break a belt, spin the engine, you bend a valve minimum.
BTW ... there are plenty of interference engines in Honda models too :eek:

So Dutchman, where do you go from here ??

If you're the curious type you could always pull the plugs and run a compression test to see how many holes have bent valves but basically you're going to need to pull the head or engine to get it running again. :(

That and see if you can get the broken bolt out of the block as that might be a reason you'd have to pull the engine anyway. A lot of times when something like that snaps it releases the tension and the part of the bolt remaining isn't that hard to get out with a easy-out, vice grip or reverse drill bit. Just depends on the room you have to work on it while it's in the chassis.
Can you post a picture of the offending bolt ?? That is if you're still unsure what it is.

You should also go into your "UserCP" (profile) and add your location. Might be someone in the area with skills who might be willing to take a look at it or if you choose to sell it people would know what area it's in.
I'd still list it in the classifieds if you chose not to fix it.

I think the op is done with us for now.

OP is the poster child for how to screw up a new used car. He has owned this car for about a week. Car has unknown mileage - broken odometer. The first thing you do in this situation is assess the timing belt and then change it asap.

This car is now going to the junkyard. OP will never overlook the timing belt again.

Where are you located and is it going to end up a parts car ??

Those are assumptions, and you know what they say about that...

I have warned several people about timing belts and to date, NONE have heed the warnings and yes belts have broken. So, do I believe they have learned their lesson? NO!

I'm watching at least 4 cars now that are at least 25% past the change schedule. It must be the look on my face, not scary enough.

Hey now.

Really appreciate the replies. Spent 20 bucks on a used timing lot on fleabay. Includes a tensioner roller so I can at least I can put it back together and see what happens.

No. The car made no weird noises or gave me any indication anything was wrong. It just stopped running.

One of my friends had the same thing happen to him. Not with a Volvo but with a ford ranger. He was as desperate about the whole mess as I am but decided to put it back together on the advice of a mechanic friend of his. He told him that when something like that happens, if luck is on your side, it may be ok. Since the roller gave out from one moment to the next, it would have disconnected the crankshaft from the cams pretty much instantaneously. And the valve stems don't typically come to rest on the highest point of the lobe. I didn't instantaneously try and start the motor back up because it puzzled me for a second. I hope that second was long enough for the cams to stop turning altogether. Hopefully the valve springs were strong enough to stop the cams in all valleys pretty quick.

When I did try and start it, the starter turned pretty freely. So I'm still keeping my fingers crossed.