My steering began to squeal quite a bit so I decided to check the drive belt, found it on the loose side and then set out to tighten it up.

I soon found out that this performance cannot be done from the top of the engine. So I jacked up the car and took off the engine pan and then proceeded to loosen the pivot bolt which was now available to me to see.

It was really stuck on there so I had to work at extending the 13mm wrench to give me enough leverage to 'break' the nut seal and get the pivot bolt loosened. There was not enough room for me to fit a regular socket onto the nut.

Actually adjusting the 10mm bolt was the easiest part of the job and could be worked at from the top of the car.

Whoever had worked on this car last had failed to put the engine pan on properly. None of the tabs at the front of the pan were pushed through their appropriate slots and a couple of the bolts were non-metric, forcing me to use three different socket sizes to remove the pan. And I think this was from a professional garage, not from a previous owner.

So I am going to try and get some 10mm body bolts and to replace the buckshee ones that were put there by some mechanic in a rush.

Hope my squeal is gone when I take her out for the test drive.

Hi muskox37,

You mentioned:
It was really stuck on there so I had to work at extending the 13mm wrench to give me enough leverage to 'break' the nut seal and get the pivot bolt loosened. There was not enough room for me to fit a regular socket onto the nut.

You could use the two spanners method to tighten/loosen bolts in such a tight spot. The pivot bolt is 13mm. Use two spanners each with ring-end and open-end. Put the ring-end of the 13mm spanner onto the bolt; put the ring-end of the second spanner (size say 14mm or 15mm) onto the open-end of the 13mm spanner. Manoeuvre the second spanner so that it is locked onto the first (13mm) spanner's open-end thus becoming an extension.

I just tightened my steering pump pivot bolt yesterday. Of course the engine pan need to be removed first. While you're at it tighten all accessible bolts from below namely:
- AC compressor
- Engine grounding cable
- Engine mount brackets
- Sway bar end-brackets
- AC compressor bracket
- Steering rack bolts*
Many of these bolts needed the two spanners method.


*steering rack bolts to front axle member - torque value from the Volvo Pocketbook mentioned 26 ft lb
with additional 150 degree angle-tighten. I checked their tightness yesterday and could turn 1/6 a bit more using 2 feet breaker bar. Must have gotten a bit loose over the years.

Now my steering feels great : ))


Regards,
Amarin.

Hi Amarin,

That is what I did. As you advise, I hooked the box end of a second wrench to extend the length of the wrench that was set onto the bolt. It is a useful strategy when there is limited space in which to work. And a 13mm box end wrench does not supply all that much leverage.

Thanks for your reply.

Bob

Dear muskox37,

Hope you're well. I've always adjusted the power steering drive belt "from above'. That said, the engines are B230F/FD, not B230FT. Changing the drive belts does require removal of the splashguard (black plastic) as the air compressor's bolts cannot be reached from above, at least not without an extra long arm!!

Stuck bolts or nuts are best treated with a penetrating oil, e.g., PB Blaster, Kroil, etc. These oils take a couple of days to weaken corrosion bonds.

Sorry to hear that a mechanic did not properly install the splash guard: this job is not so hard....

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook

Hi Spook,

Splashguard is the word I should have used instead of engine pan. I was surprised to see how sloppily it had been installed but I have to admit that it wasn't going to go anywhere.

I ran into this a couple of years ago when I had the air conditioning radiator replaced and the garage lost all of the special plastic dzus fasteners that hold the top plastic shelf in place. Cost me another twenty dollars to find and replace those fasteners. But the air conditioner is still working and he didn't overcharge me. C'est la vie.

muskox37