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'93 960 timing belt[ALL/1988] posted by Tony Helinski on
Tuesday, 17 February 1998, at 7:48 a.m.
Hi I just purchased (October) a '93 960 with 22K miles. It is now up for
its 30K checkup. The owners manual says that the belt replacement is
"Recomended, not required - no cost to owner " Now I have a feeling that
the dealer is going to say that the belt does not need to be changed. Which
is OK if true. Some of the people I've typed to on the Volvo user group have
told me that there was a change to the user manual and that the timing belt
is a required change at 30K and that there have been some failures at 30-40K
miles. The other thing is that the dealer has said that
to change the belt would cost $450. This seems a little high for a $50 belt
and an couple of hours work. I don't believe that this includes the other
work required at 30K.
Would you please advise me in this matter.
Thank you for your help,
Tony Helinski
Re: '93 960 timing belt[ALL/1988] posted by Don Willson on
Tuesday, 17 February 1998, at 7:54 p.m.
What kind of engine
Re: '93 960 timing belt[ALL/1988] posted by Patric on
Tuesday, 17 February 1998, at 10:33 p.m.
Tony it the price you named sound to me as if that includes the complete
service.
A timing-belt should be no more then $175 installed.
In any case you need to get the timing belt replaced at 30.000 miles.
do not wait passed 30k it is very important that you get this done.
Don Wilson! a 960 has only one engine on the us market.
Re: '93 960 timing belt[ALL/1988] posted by Joe Momma on
Wednesday, 18 February 1998, at 9:40 p.m.
DUHHHHHHHHH, it has an in-line 6 cyl engineered by Porche, all 960's do.
If the dealer is going to replace it for free do it NOW!! if it costs you $$ to replace it, pay the $$ to do it NOW. Unlike all other Volvo engines, the in-line 5 and 6 cylinder engines are " no-clearance" engines ( laymans terms: timing belt breaks=valves bend!!!!! bent valve =$$$$$$$$$$$ ) Timing belt replacement; a small price to pay to maintain your $30k+ car!!
Re: '93 960 timing belt[ALL/1988] posted by Mark Klein on
Wednesday, 18 February 1998, at 10:44 p.m.
Hey Joe,
A little tact can go a long way. I don't think "DUUUHHHHH" qualifies.
BTW, the 16 valve 4 cyl is also an "interfernce" engine.
Re: '93 960 timing belt[ALL/1988] posted by Tony Helinski on
Thursday, 19 February 1998, at 8:32 a.m.
Hi all,
Thanks for all the advise on the timing belt. I took the car
to the dealer this morning with my boxing gloves on and showed
him the owners manual and said that I wanted this done at
"No Charge To The Customer" Please. He said OK No problem. :)
SO I went away a happy costumer. It sure helped typing to you guys
as the service person told at first that the belt should be changed
at 50K. He thought the car was an 850. Could have been a catastrophy.
But again thank you all.
Tony Helinski
Re: '93 960 timing belt[ALL/1988] posted by Lee on
Thursday, 19 February 1998, at 7:07 p.m.
Tony,
If you are moderately mechanically inclined, replace the belt yourself the next time. I replaced the belt on my '94 960 with a Gates HSN (Highly Saturated Nitrile) timing belt (less than $30 at NAPA stores -- NAPA Part No. 250252) without much problem. It's far easier to do than the belts on a four-cylinder Volvo, if you follow the procedure in a good after-market manual (I use Chilton's). The hardest part is finding a square male socket to rotate the "serpentine" accessory belt's idler wheel so you can pin through the convenience holes provided. Just mark the crank and two cam gears with alignment marks, since Volvo so thoughtfully "forgot" to provide them. The timing belt idler wheel is removed with two bolts. Compress (not hard with a vise or large c-clamp) and "pin" the spring back in the holes also provided in this idler. Replace the accessory drive belt while you're at it (less than $20 from Gates, too).
By the way, replacement interval went up to 50k miles on '94 960s and new ones have a 70k mile interval. Did Volvo use more frequent intervals on the new I-6 motor until reliability was verified? I would think, with a new belt on your car, you can now get away with a 50k interval. Is it worth the risk? It is big bucks to fix a Volvo six when the timing belt fails...
Re: '93 960 timing belt[ALL/1988] posted by Tony on
Friday, 20 February 1998, at 5:54 p.m.
Lee,
Next belt change I probably will do it myself under the
tutalage of a Volvo mechanic friend of mine.
Thanks,
tony