I just finished replacing the timing belt, idler and mechanical tensioner on my 99 S70GLT with 99K miles. It was not that difficult, except for one thing - adjusting the tensioner. I had read many writeups of this job, and I never read about anyone having a big problem with the tensioner. For me, it was beyond b**ch, it was evil, I was ready to have the car towed, then I got it to adjust.

I used all Volvo parts from fcpgroton. The tensioner was Volvo made by INA in Germany, with the orange covering on the bearings. I tried 2 different ones and had the same problem with both.

I followed these instructions for tensioning

http://volvospeed.com/Repair/ManualTensioner.php

Hold the center bolt with 4 ft lbs tension, turn the hex wrench counter-clockwise which causes the indicator to move clockwise. Go past the right side of the window, then back to the center and tighten the center bolt.

The first time I did it, it worked, then I turned the crank a couple turns by hand, and it seemed to be too far to the right, so I loosened it and tried to readjust. Mistake! I tried dozens of times, using various tensions on the center bolt, and the indicator would not move. Finally it did and I set the adjustment. It's a little too far to the left, but I did not want to mess with it any more. After the first setting, I simply could not get the indicator to move for the longest time, I was ready to give up. Or buy a hydraulic tensioner maybe.

Has anyone else had a problem with it?

Is it not supposed to be adjusted more than once?

 

We had the same problem with these tensioners at the dealership for a couple months. They seemed to bind up for no apparent reason. I haven't had a problem with the last few Ive done.

 

Did you notice if the bad batch had the orange covering on the bearings, and the newer ones are blue as mentioned by tech in this thread?

https://volvoforums.com/forum/volvo-s70-33/timing-belt-tensioner-problem-32573/