I have a 2007 S60 2.5T with ~125K miles. I have had it about a year and have been steadily fixing general issues (new tires, front end suspension, replaced upper/lower motor mounts). My understanding is that the car sat a lot before I bought it, and I don't have the maintenance records. I am hoping to get everything up to par so my son can take the car to college and have a safe, reliable car.

So, here is the question....

I currently have oil leak on the passenger side of the engine behind the timing belt cover. I assume that the leak is from camshaft seals or hubs or crankshaft seals or hubs. I have replaced the PCV system and the leak is better, but still pretty heavy.
I also have higher than expected vibration at idle, in gear. Vibration is worse when I apply brakes. (As mentioned above, I have replaced upper/lower mounts, and lower mount on passenger side, but have not replaced the hydraulic mounts.) Vibration seems normal under normal travel at all speeds.

I like to do all the work myself, but not sure if timing belt. cam/crank shaft replacement is in my wheelhouse. I have received a quote for timing belt replacement ($1600), and camshaft & crankshaft hubs & seals ($3000).

For an 18 year old car, that is more than I want to spend. So, I have read through all the posts on timing belts, etc. but still not clear if this is a job to do myself. I am pretty handy, but don't have any of the specialty tools.

1) Are the quotes I have received reasonable?
2) Is there a way to determine where specifically the oil leak is coming from? Seals or hubs?
3) Would you recommend changing the timing belt, hubs, and seals myself? Do I need any special tools?

Or any other recommended approaches? Should I just replace the belt and leave the leak and drive it for a few more years topping it off periodically.

Thanks in advance for all of your help.

 

re your questions

1) are the quotes reasonable? Personally, I'd say $1600 is on the high side for a timing belt service. I'd phone around for Volvo friendly indy shops asking for labor hours (they should be quoting a book rate) and then shop online from FCP Euro or IPD USA (or others) for a timing belt service kit that includes belt/tensioner to see if the shop will install for you. Seals are pretty generic and cheap too.

2) Is there a way to determine where the leak is? You should be able to removing the timing belt cover (not sure about the 2007s but on the 850s & gen 1 60s/70s there was like a single 12 mm bolt in the center (not a lot of space to work in :-( though. Once off, check if the belt is wet and then clean off as much oil as you can. Run the engine for a bit then see where you can spot any fresh drips. My bet is its a cam seal or possible the hub - front main seal leaks are more rare. You may also be able to see if the seal walked its way out and just needs to be pressed back into place..

3) is this a DIY job? Really depends on your skills and work space. The recommended tool is a rear cam locking tool like IPD - 120980 which goes for $120. The VVT hub needs to be preloaded by rotating back before the belt is installed (why you want the cam lock) so check out vids on Youtube to see if this is something you want to take on.

Note replacing the VVT hub costs $300 or so for the part - so if you are having the timing belt and cam seals done, it may be a good time to replace. If the car has been fed synthetic oil, hubs last a very long time - if the PO didn't service the oil on schedule, then the oil galleys in the hub can tarnish causing issues. Again there's plenty of posts on how to suss your VVT on this and other forums.

 

@mt6127 Thank you so much for the help.

I should have mentioned that I have tried finding the leak by removing the timing belt cover, cleaning the area and looking for leaks. all I can really tell is oil all over the timing belt and the area behind the cover.

Is there any chance that the excessive vibration is related to anything with timing belt?

Do I need the rear cam locking tool if i end up only replacing the timing belt? I have seen mixed info in some of the forums.

Thanks so much!

 

with the VVT engines, using the cam locking tool is the right way - and easier with less risk. Its possible to do the job without the cam lock but then again there's plenty of posts where people had to redo the timing by being 1 notch off or by not correctly preloading the VVT gear.