Wasn't me ignoring the maintenance. I bought it two weeks ago and since I am a single dad, am on a pretty strict budget. First thing I had to absolutely do was replace the front tires. Belt was showing on both.

I bought the car because I'm originally from the corner of the planet where volvos especially have a reputation of being bulletproof and I really need a bullet proof car. I'm not completely lost around wrenches and would have done back maintenance over time and when I could afford it. Just bad luck the tensioner went when it did.

I'm about 45 minutes east of Memphis Tennessee.

Bolt holding the tensioner roller in place on it's bracket gave out. It all came out in one piece.

No. Selling it for scrap is not an option. I have the luck of being surrounded by some pretty knowledgeable gear heads. If push were to come to shove, the heads will come off and the valves replaced.

Good luck! - I hope the repair doesnt get too expensive for you...

Valve job on a Volvo 850...
 

Please don't cross your fingers, you'll need them to screw those little bolts out of the cam cover.

The timing belts on these cars are made so the belt does NOT slip on the crank. It has a special guide thing on the under side of it to insure it doesn't jump the belt. It's a silent killer like a stroke. I have never had anyone say they heard a thing or felt anything.
http://img.happywrenching.com/volvo/...mall-space.jpg

A Ford Ranger (certain ones) do not have a interfierence motor. You can break the belt every other day, hook another one up and drive on. These cars have such close tolerances that NO ONE GETS LUCKY. If you don't have valve damage I'll pay you the $20 for the used kit you just purchased. Second thought, I have one better for you... Here are the clean head removal / installation instructions I finished yesterday:

Head Removal and Installation, Volvo 850 / S70 Turbo B5234T, B5254T, Head gasket replacement, valve replacement.

I purchased an 850 that I had to drive home. The timing belt was about 10,000 miles over due. I got it home and the next place I drove it to was to get the belt replaced. I purchased a 960 with less than 54,000 miles on it and the first thing I did to the car was had the timing belt replaced.

Oh, I just noticed that you have not answered my "helpful questions" I asked in one of my earlier post (I'm kinda getting use to it)...

1. When was the last time a timing belt was replaced?
2. If the roller failed, was it making noise upon start up?

Hey.

No way of knowing last time belt was replaced. No sticker or anything so my guess would be its overdue.

Nope. Never heard anything out of the ordinary until motor just quit..

I had a bad roller in one of my cars and it squeeled for a few minutes when I started the car when it was cold. That went on for about a month before someone warned me. When I pulled the belt, the roller was so tight it took both hands to get it to turn.

See? And that's the thing. Never made any odd noises or acted up in any way. I would have definitely heeded any odd noises or the motor acting funny. This car is (was) more to me than a grocery getter. Its the lifeline between my kids and myself.

I understand. My wagon is my only mode of transportation. Public transportation really sucks here.

I hope you are the first person that did not do head damage.

Nope. Everyone was right. Didn't fix the problem. Got the belt put back on yesterday after having set timing. Car is dead. Not to mention the fact that my lovely ex somehow got wind of it. Now facing a civil action that she had prepared with her lawyer citing I do not have personal transportation and should have my shared parenting time set back to two hours supervised per two weeks. Was served yesterday. I have no other choice but to sell it and use it for a down payment on something that does run to try and avoid that.

Really appreciated all the help guys. Much love.

Man, really sorry to hear that the car isn't running, worse yet, that the mother of your children is giving you a hard time. Hope things change for you.

There is a good chance that all the car needs is another head. It may be cheaper to get another car, but if your wrench turning buddies will help you, you can get that one fixed with about $800 in parts and supplies. Should be able to get it on the road in 3 or 4 days.

Alright. Tomorrow the head is coming off to assess the damage. Am a candidate for a used cylinderhead if any of my Volvo brothers and sisters would have such a commodity sitting around..

Ow. Found out it's a non turbo despite of the glt badge?

VMD: I can check salvage yards around here and see if they have one and what they would charge for it.

Hey ibfied. Would help. I'll start calling around here too

Question. Since the marks on the cam sprockets are virtually non existent and I can't tell one scratch from another, how would I know the cams are on the right spot? I can see the notch on the crank, but not on the sprockets. Guy that sold me the tensioner off of fleabay included a idler roller, a tensioner and the two cam sprockets for some reason and the sprockets he sent me have very clear cut lines in them. The ones on my car didn't.

When I did my timing belt and cams, I used a dremel tool to "enhance" the cam timing marks so they arent so hard to find next time. It's a not-that-uncommon thing on volvo cam sprockets.

As for the head: call around and let me know what you find. I know there are currently 3 850 n/a cars in the local yard here, and last i checked (about a week ago) two of them still had heads on them.

I also have access to na heads, not that it matters. I already pulled the cam cover off one of them so an hour of the work is already done. Yesterday was 1/2 price day here so I just missed that sale.

Thinking about it, I think you would be better off with a newly rebuilt head vs installing a head from a jy car for the following reasons:

1. An old used head will likely have old, dry, hard valve stem seals and will likely leak, smoke and soon crack a valve because of it.

2. Because of the work involved, you'll still need to send the used head to the shop for a pressure test and decking. So, the cost of someone sending you a used head will likely be more than the cost of a few valves.

3. You can get a reman head shipped to you from FL for about $425 and I doubt you'll be able to beat that price with our help.

I think I can get a head from a jy near me for less than $100. Shipping would likely be $75 and heck, I would likely want a few $ for my trouble/help.

Your timing is off so I wouldn't worry to much about finding the cam sprocket marks right now. DO NOT take those cam sprockets off the cams. If you do, you will likely mess up timing.

Alright. Status update. Nothces on the pistons indicate all the exhaust valves hit the pistons at some point. If any of you can scurry up a used head without valve damage I would be in a good deal better shape than I am now. Rspi, I understand that a properly rebuilt head would be the way to go but here's the thing. I don't have that kind of money. If it would run for a couple of months giving me time to a. Shoot my ex's claim to bits by parking my glt in front of the courthouse and b. Give me a car to get the kids on the weekend, I'd be golden at this point. When spring rolls around and it's warmer outside, I would have saved up enough money to do it right, then thats when I'll do it. I found it not all too difficult to pull it in the first place and wouldn't hesitate to do it again. For now, I wouldn't mind it smoking a bit..;)

I have 3 at my access and can get one tomorrow if you'd like. Just let me know.