Hi can anybody tell me how hard it is to actually change the timing belt in my volvo s40 1.8 gdi. i know that it has to be timed exactly right. but what i,m looking for is how hard is it to change the belt itself.
does the engine have to be taken out. or what has to be disconnected to get at the belt,
please help
j

 

If I were to say that all other S40 t/belt changes take between 2 and 2.25 hours and the GDI takes 3.10 hours it will give you some idea of the complexity. It is not an impossible task for the DIY mechanic but it does need 3 special tools. This info is from Autodata. VADIS actually specifies 9 special tools.

For some reason, and I suspect it is because this is a Mitsubishi engine, t/belt changes on GDI engines are scheduled at 60,000 miles or 6 years. All others are at 105,000.