After finally receiving all the parts for a timing belt change, I pull the covers, rotate the crankshaft around CW to line them up on top . . . and their a bit off.

So I looked down below at the crank pulley and it looks like the line on the engine? is not between the two teeth with the slit on them, but in the next valley over?! And it's been like this for 6 years, when the indy shop replaced the belt.

So what gives? I've read horror stories about being "one-tooth" off.

I can post photos if there's a way.

Anyone seen this before they start?

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1998 V70 T5 138Kmi; Previous car: 1985 SAAB 900T, 254kmi

Got my car back today from my indy, he made sure the marks were lined up. Also replaced TB, water pump, both pulleys, hydr. tensioner, front crank seal and both front camshaft seals. I was billed for 5 hrs of labor @ $85/hr. FCP Groton saved me a lot on the parts.

The water pump really is built like a tank, so are both pulleys (I wonder if they have roller bearings inside as opposed to ball bearings?)The TB showed minimal surface cracking on the flat side after being in there 6 yrs and 77,000 miles.

The next stall over had an S70, with the mech. TB tensioner and 105K miles I believe. The belt had never been replaced. It should have. Showed quite a bit of surface checking on the smooth side.

It'll be interesting to see if I notice any performance/gas mileage difference with the cams now back to where they should be.
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1998 V70 T5 138Kmi; Previous car: 1985 SAAB 900T, 254kmi

Being one tooth off is not a disaster, the computer will compenstate for it and you can still drive the car. All will be happier when you align everything correctly.
You are replacing the tensioner also, right? Have fun, and watch your knuckles :)

Klaus
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Please answer, we need to know if the advice is good or bad. The 164 has a new home, all I am left with are 2 turbos :)

Hi Klaus,

I just got back from taking some photos and making sure I'm seeing what I'm seeing. It appears to be more than a tooth off, and it's not symmetrical between intake & exhaust. It seems to set things right, I'd have to turn each cam idependently once the belt is off. I'm not comfortable doing that at all.

I do have the slits in the backside of two crankshaft teeth where it's susposed to align with the vertical mark on the engine.

If I can locate a protractor, I can get an angular measurement for each cam.

Is there a way to post pictures here?

Thanks,
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1998 V70 T5 138Kmi; Previous car: 1985 SAAB 900T, 254kmi

After meas. with the protractor, it would appear each one is ~ 10 degrees advanced or ahead of the notch in the plastic as the crankshaft is rotated CW.

This amounts to about one tooth off or so.

New Q: Is it OK to rotate the camshafts backward one tooth to realign them properly?

As to your other comment, I intended on replacing the TB, both pulleys, hydr. tensioner, water pump and cam/crank seals, if they were leaking. Nothing is leaking, it's all dry inside.
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1998 V70 T5 138Kmi; Previous car: 1985 SAAB 900T, 254kmi

That is still one tooth off. Bay 13 has a good pic of the marks:
http://volvospeed.com/Repair/timingbelt2.php

I also suggest you use whiteout to mark the spots on the cams and crank for ease of use. It is OK to rotate the intake and output cams, but only to get them aligned correctly. If one of them needs to move counter clockwise, go back 1/4 turn and then forward to where it needs to be.
Make sure you turn the engine by hand, with the spark plugs out, at least 2 revolutions after the tensioner is released.

Klaus

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Please answer, we need to know if the advice is good or bad. The 164 has a new home, all I am left with are 2 turbos :)

Thanks for the reply. I applied some yellow chalk to the cam sprocket index marks to make them stand out before snapping a few pics.

Another thing I noticed on the new Conti TB is that when looked at sideways, there are sections where one of the layers shows through, a dark deep red/brown color. On one side, you can see it about 75%, on the other it's around 50%. At high magnification, it clearly is some sort of belt with a twist in it. Perhaps it wasn't centered in the mold when the final coating was applied.

Is this a sign of a defective belt? I'm curious what the Volvo belts look like. I always seem to spot things like this . . . . but they're not always faults!
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1998 V70 T5 138Kmi; Previous car: 1985 SAAB 900T, 254kmi