Is the 2002 S40 an interference or non-interference engine? I've read it was interference but I just wanted to verify.

 

100% Interference.

Very important to keep your timing belt changed. Also a good idea to open the TB cover and check for oil leaks in there every so often.

 

Thank you for the confirmation. Yeah, I just discovered this last night, and now I'm worried about my timing belt. I have about 129,000 right now. I bought the car used about 18 months ago, and as of then, the carfax didn't report any timing belt replacement, though there were many other maintenance visits. I can't remember now but I thought the car sales guy told me the timing belt had been replaced before it went up for sale, but I cannot find any dated sticker indicating this on the timing belt cover or anywhere else under the hood. So now this is a priority if I can't confirm it had been replaced. I guess there's no other way to tell if it has been replaced then?

 

The only thing I could think of is to look closely at the label on the timing belt itself. If it has the original belt the 'Volvo' and other text printed on the belt should be pretty faded. If it had been changed with the last 30k it should still look pretty new.

Any doubts and I would change it personally. Too many horror stories on here and elsewhere about slipped TB's and bent valves, cracked pistons... <shivers>

 

Thanks again. I'll see if I can find the label on the belt itself. I didn't know the belt itself had a label on it.

 

Well I did find the sticker for the timing belt - it looks like it was done @ 102,000 miles back in Dec 2010. For some reason that job is not listed on my carfax so it must have been done at a non-Volvo shop I'm guessing, or it would have been on the list of services. Yet other services have been done at Volvo after that was done. Weird.

I really hope they did the tensioner and water pump too, as I understand that those should always be replaced when doing the belt. I think the kits usually include the tensioner but not always the water pump? Has anyone ever heard of somebody changing the timing belt but not the tensioner and pump? If it wasn't an official Volvo repair shop, I wonder if they went cheap and skipped the water pump?

 

I'd say they went to a shop to avoid the high cost of a timing belt job at a dealer. And any decent shop should have replaced everything. Most TB failures are due to a bearing going out in a pulley, which causes the belt to jump teeth or break. I dont see a shop agreeing to only replace the belt bacause of liability issues if something else fails. And cost of the idler, tensioner and water pump are minimal so I doubt anyone would risk it just to save a little.

That said... In my city anyway... we have these little no-name 'shops' that work on cars for next to nothing. They are always ran by immigrants who are not professionally trained, but say they can fix anything. Just look for the places in the bad part of town that sell used tires for $20 a pop installed Unless the previous owner was dumb enough to visit a place like that I don't think you have anything to worry about.

 

Thanks again - that makes me feel a bit better. I'm guessing that if it was a hole-in-the-wall shop that would skip the water pump or tensioner, they likely wouldn't bother putting the Volvo sticker on indicating the timing belt was changed. Of course I guess anybody can buy those stickers...

 

The Volvo kit comes with the idler and tensioner. I don't replace the pump unless it is leaking or on the second timing belt change.

 

I see. Is there any risk of the water pump causing any damage to the timing belt if it fails? I'm just wondering if the water pump is the original how much longer it's got left. Thanks for the help by the way.

 

The thinking behind doing the pump at that same time is because the labor overlaps. If the pump leaks, the belt has to come off to replace the pump so you are basically paying the labor again. If Volvo had major water pump issues, I would suggest it to my customers at the timing belt service. But they don't leak very often.

If I'm doing a timing belt and I see signs it is starting to leak (usually dried coolant residue on the pump area), of course I sell it at that time.

 

Thanks. I thought I read somewhere that if you need to remove the timing belt for any reason, even if it's pretty new, you shouldn't put the same timing belt back on. Any truth to that one?

 

Nope. If it's soaked in oil from a cam seal leak then yes, it should be replaced.

 

Is the 2001 Volvo s40 1.9t engine an interference engine

 

Yes it is.

 

note the timing belt service interval for the Gen 1 S40s is 10 years/120K miles whichever comes first and the servicing should replace the belt, idler and tensioner and inspect the water pump for signs of leaking (recommend a replace of the water pump with the 2nd belt change)