I need an inexpensive way to hold the cam gears while changing the timing belt. I have read about sticking a piece of wood in the gears, sounds like it could work, and of course the rather expensive tool for doing this. Do any of you think that a small clamp on the gears might work? This isn't my car and probably the only time I will be doing this job so I don't want to buy tools that will just sit around after this.
Any advice is appreciated!
Paul

 

It completely depends on which engine you are working on, but I have done them all without any special tools. It's not the best practice, and you have to be extremely careful, but it can be done. Get all your marks lined up exactly before you loosen the belt to remove.

Tell us which engine you are working on for more specific tips. There are different ways to hold the new belt in place on the cams which keeps them from rolling.

-R

 

The best/most economical tool that I've found is . $27.02 with free shipping. Will definitely save you way more than 27 dollars of hassle.

If you buy it, I'll pay you $17.00 shipped for it after you're done with it.

 

That's what I was about to say. Buy the tool then sell it. The car owner usually pays for tools on my jobs. Then they sit in my third level tool chest forever.

 

Exactly. I like tools. My philosophy is that even if I only use it once it has paid for itself.

 

You would think i'd know by now to include that kind of inf.
It's the 2.8 turbo 2000 S80.
If I can get a cheap enough tool then that's fine by me, my customers do pay if I need a special tool for there car but I like TI keep it within reason too.

 

Yea, I understand. When I do a job for someone, they usually get the job done for 50% of dealer cost. That is usually a good thing for them. A $30 or $50 tool usually doesn't bother them.

 

I have a 2004 s80 with 93,000 miles and no timing belt change to my knowledge. The car has had turbo issues and turbo has recently been replaced. Recently it started making a clicking noise upon acceleration that increases as pedal is depressed. It sounds like the wheel of fortune wheel's continuous clacking. I looked under the hood and noticed my oil was low, and seemed to be coming out from underneath a clamp on the (turbo) tube(?). I attached pics. Are these related and is it indeed my timing belt? Also fyi, first pic just shows it is the tube coming over the center of the engine which i believe is turbo, second pic shows close up of oil on the tube below the clamp.

 

I also use this one when it's possible. Seems like it doesn't fit very well on some engines with the VVT actuators stuck out there in the way.



I can't say what the clicking would be without some good video, but the presence of oil in that intake tube is very common and doesn't necessarily mean the turbo is bad. A phenomenon known as intake reversion, as well as excessive crankcase vapor pressures are more likely the cause for the oily intake. Keep that oil topped up, and changed regularly!

-R

 

I put a video of the engine on youtube, starting at idle then revving.

 

I replaced my timing belt this weekend and it was the first time I've ever changed one. Between the VADIS directions and the YouTube video of the guy changing the belt on the 2003 S60 non-turbo, I was able to complete the job beautifully though I went very slow and triple checked everything along the way. Here's some snags I had to overcome:

My car: 2004 S80 T6 98k miles (first belt change for this car)

1) This model has the coolant overflow hose that connects from the thermostat housing through the front timing belt cover and to the servo reservoir. When I pulled on that cover I broke the plastic piece coming out of the thermostat housing. I called the dealer. You cannot buy this little plastic L-shaped piece that would cost maybe 2 bucks. You have to buy the entire thermostat housing which runs roughly $150 new. I followed the directions on this forum to design my own from a piece of bent 5/16" brake line with JB Weld and a brass compression fitting to a nozzle.

The reason I mention all this is because the piece that I had cemented into the thermostat housing blocked me from using the cam lock tool described in this thread. The tool is designed to sit where the two bars are more or less parallel with the belt. I ended up finding a way to make it work by turning it 90 degrees. It held well for the entire job.

2) Unlike the S60 in the video, when I went to remove the 4 bolts from the pulley damper I noticed I was only able to get to 2 bolts, the other 2 being blocked by the wheel well wall. I recommend removing these bolts during the 2 revolution turn as they rotate around and you can actually access all of them.

3) My idler pulley did not have the two visible bolts like in the S60 video. There was a plastic cap over the end of the pulley that I had to pry off and inside was a single 12mm bolt.

I HIGHLY recommend having a decent impact wrench for this job. I made my own makeshift pulley lock just to be safe, but I bought my first impact wrench for this job and I LOVE it. I can't believe I never bought one before. I got the 1/2" Chicago Electric from Harbor Freight. It worked great. On sale right now for 50 bucks.

I also recommend a very long 14mm wrench for the serpentine tensioner. My wrench was way too short and it killed my hand to release the full tension. Maybe use one of those wrench ends that fits on a ratchet seeing as you could use your breaker bar.

All in all everything went very well. I also replaced the thermostat, tensioner/idler pulley, serpentine belt, spark plugs, and oil so it was a very productive weekend. Runs and drives smooth, no codes.

 

Welcome, yfan28!
Glad it turned out well for you. Replacing the timing belt ...and water pump! (You do know you should do it at the same time don't you?) ...is a pretty straight forward operation. The only time any of us get into much trouble is when we have to replace the cam seals, or reseal the camshaft cover as you would to repair oil leaks ...which is a whole 'nother issue ...usually also involves a crankcase ventilation carbon build up problem and repair. Getting everything back together and in time correctly can be stressful.

So, after doing about four of these before I felt confident I wasn't going to end up bending some valves I finally got the hang of it. Still, I criticise Volvo harshly for not engineering timing parts that could be so easily set out of time. Many other manufacturers engine's with variable valve timing perform the same function and are much easier to work with or service. Every maker has issues with some system I guess, but this one can much too easily go ary and cost big bucks to repair. Just my opinion.

-R

 

I have an 01 S80 with 200k miles and seemingly no record of a timing belt change!! Understandably this has me a bit concerned so now I'm left wondering what to do about this.

1) If the timing belt was changed, just not recorded anywhere, would it do me any worse to be cautious and have it replaced anyway? Do brand new timing belts fail often? Basically, I'm wondering if fixing it could potentially cause any problems.

2) Where are the most common locations auto shops place the timing belt replacement sticker? I can't seem to locate any in the engine.

3) What is the estimated parts+labor cost of a complete timing belt servicing (water pump and all that)? I'll be having it done by a third-party garage specializing in European motors.

 

1) Some would advise just going ahead and changing it ...I personally would inspect it as that is easy and cheap. A belt that is clean, a clear, no worn off, part ID print on the backside, with no cracking evident ... and no other signs of a pending problem in that area, such as oil, coolant, or rusty bearing dust, I'd make the call to run it a while. If there's any doubt, just replace everything!
I have NEVER seen a new timing belt fail, and I've been doing new belts since the VW Rabbit came about in the late 70's. I have however, seen old waterpumps, tensioners, and idler pulleys fail and cause the new belt to break or jump time. So, if fixed properly, and all that stuff replaced, no, it shouldn't cause any problems. That said, there's always a chance something can go wrong ...human error and Murphy's law!

2) I always put the sticker on the timing cover, but you may find one anywhere under the hood, in the driver's door jamb, or even stuck in the maintenance record book that should be in the glove box.

3) Nobody can quote costs of repairs outside of their own shop. There are too many variables. A lot depends on your location and competition for business in your region. Some shops can charge whatever they want since there are no real regulations for auto repair work. The best advice I can give is to go visit in person, several potential shops and ask them what they would charge to do what you need done. That also lets you get a feel as to how they deal with their customers. First impressions can mean a lot.

I hope all this helps some.

-Roger

 

I believe that the belt change intervals for that car is 105,000. That being the case, most likely it was done at that time and it is NOW DUE. Also, if you have no printed record of it, have it done ASAP. If you plan to keep the car longer than 2 more years, change the rollers as well. If the water pump is leaking, have it changed.

Better safe than sorry. I have only heard of 1 belt going bad after things had been PROPERLY replaced. It was good for about 25,000 miles. My brother-in-law had 3 belts break/jump in about 1-1/2 years (I think it was actually 2-1/2 years) and less than 10,000 miles. The mechanic that was replacing the head and belt wasn't doing it right. Not changing all the parts.

 

I too just did my wifes 2002 s80 t6, and as I started taking the cover off, I too broke that silly little plastic elbow. so I went ahead and finished the timing belts and waterpump etc.
I did my xc70 2001 week prior with now issues, but this s80 was a little more tighter to work on.
I used no special tools, I used a crescent wrench for the serpentine belt(on the s80&xc70), I used a paint marker to mark the crank, and the cams after I aligned the factory marks up prior to removing the timing belt.
all in all, with doing the sparkplugs and draining the coolant, changing all pullys, and the waterpump, I spent about 6 hrs on each car. at a quoted price of a shop here in town of 900 bucks just for the timing belt, I think I saved a ton of money. oh and bought the parts for about 600 bucks for both the s80/xc70

 

Tech, Would like to ask you a question about the timing belt job im doing. I have secured the camshaft's with a locking tool, and now I am about to put my air impact on the crank nut and was wondering if when I attempt to break the nut free, will this move my crank out of timing mark? I would hate to have it move because I cannot see the mark very clearly but it looks like its were it should be.
Thanks for letting me bother you with this question. My car is the S80 2.9L non turbo.

 

You didn't give us quite enough info. Is the belt still okay, or is it broken, or it and the tensioner already removed?
For instance, if the timing belt is still in tact and tight, your impact wrench should be able to knock the crank pulley nut off with ease and keep the crank in time with the cams, but if the belt is broken or not tight, or the nut is difficult to come loose, then the crank can turn and become out of time just a bit. Set the timing up correctly and make your own line up marks with some bright paint before you take anything apart!

I'm pretty sure there's a special tool to lock the crank in place, also, but I've personally never had to use it. But, all this timing belt replacement work is a procedure you sure don't want to be second guessing yourself. Bent valves are VERY expensive!

Oh, and if the belt IS already broken, then it probably just doesn't matter. It would all need to be rebuilt from scratch anyway.

-R

 

I used a paint marker on the crank, it helped for ref.

 

Oh sorry, The belt is still on. I put marks on the cam sprockets to the block I just didn't want to put my impact on there and spin the crank out of wack. Since I posted this, I did put a socket on there and tried to turn it and it wouldn't budge so I can be confident it wont move.