We just purchased our 1st Volvo. It is a 94 850. I took it to an import mechanic and was advised to replace the timing belt etc. unless we have documentation that it has been done. We don't! There is 118k on it. He told me it would run about $1000 to do. Upon reading some of the past posts it doesn't seem like he gave me a fair price. Can someone help?

 

The motor in your 850 is an interference motor, that means if the belt or tensioner lets go, the piston will hit and damage the valves, very expensive. The mechanic is right in that it is better to do the service but his estimate seems a bit high. It seems your only recourse is to find another mechanic that is willing to do the service for a more reasonable price. Competition is good.

 

OK, thanks. Should I have just the timing belt done or all of it including the tensioners, head, water pump etc? Or is that overkill. He told me that if taken care of properly then it would last well over 500k miles. I want to do whats right and not end up on the side of the road with my 3 kids and my dog...

 

There is "the guy" on this forum and his name ie Tech and he has the "take it to the bank" answer but I would say your mostly right. I think Volvo sells a timing belt set that comes with the belt, tensioner and idler pulley because you need to replace the whole component system, cheap insurance. The water pump would be a smart item to replace, they don't cost much and since whoever does the timing belt will already have done the hard part, getting at it, it souldn't cost much. Some of the members will have a real close estimate on how much this service should cost. I know Volvos last a long time but 500K, seems a little long. You will need to do your timing assembly about every 70k or so. We wouldn't want your dog to have to walk. Hey! is it a turbo?

 

It's not a turbo that I can tell. I have some mechanical skills and have done some work on some GM's before. How hard would it be for me to change out the timing belt and the necessary components? I don't want to drop a $1000 right after paying for the car you know? The only other problem I have is the price sticker adhesive on the window. The windows are tinted and I don't want to mess up the tint, but I have a line of adhesive that I don't know how to get off. Any suggestions on that?

 

I haven't done one, mine was done at the dealer before I bought it, but its not hard, just alot of parts to take off to get to it. If you do a topic search, I bet you'll pull up some step-by-step directions. On the tinting, I would just run by a shop that specializes in it and ask them. It might be worth it to give them a shot. Good luck.

 

For the timing belt most Good places will charge about $300.00 to $350.00.
It isn't that bad to do. I would replace Belt,Tensioner,Idler, and inspect the water pump good and then decide.
I have seen the water pumps last 140,000 easy. But have seen some go at 80,000 miles as well.
Here is a link if you want to try to read up on the belt.
http://www.babcox.com/editorial/ic/ic60326.htm
You have a hydrolic tensioner.

For the adhesive on the tint try a Non amonnia based window cleaner. If not then ask a tint shop.

 

I paid $330 for the timing belt replacement here in Columbus, OH. If you do it yourself, which I have done also, be very careful. The timing marks on the crank are hard to see. Make sure you turn it over by hand two times before cranking it. I didn't and bent two valves, and had to take the head off and have the valves replaced. Had we tried to turn it by hand it would have stopped and we would have known it was not in time. I will probably do it myself again the next time though. Just make sure you align the marks and you a looking at the right mark.

 

Here is a couple of pics of the marks. The Serp. belt pulley is not on there though.

 

I would not replace water pump if there is no sign of leakage. Idler pulley and tensioner pulley lasted to 155k miles on my 1995 850 . I would flash the cooling system and put OEM blue antifreeze. The OEM water pump is expensive, and it does not make sense ( to me at least) to replace working OEM pump w/ aftermarket stuff.

"don't fix what ain't broken"

 

Helpful Procedures on Timing Belt, Tensioner, Idler Pulley, and Sepentine Belt...

http://www.volvospeed.com/maintence.htm
http://www.volvospeed.com/Repair/timingbelt.php
http://www.volvospeed.com/Repair/ManualTensioner.php
http://www.volvospeed.com/Repair/850_serp.pdf

http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/repairs.php
http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/cha...pic.php?t=4489
http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/serpentine_belt.php
http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/cha...pic.php?t=2994