Just did my Belt over the weekend. My 5th time on this car. You gotta love Volvo for making it as easy as it is to change as compared to other manufacturers.

Anyway. a couple of notes.
I put the front tires up on 4 x 4's so I can get enough of my body under there to take off the Belly Pan and get at the Pivotting Bolts on teh AC and Alternator.
The Crank Pulley:, there are a few methods. 'The Rope Trick', 'The Starter method' which was my weapon of choice and of course Impact gun. Which is now my way of doing it. After 20+ years of doing my own maintenence I bit the bullet and got some Air tools.

Taking out the Spark plugs makes turning the engine over to line up the Marks much easier.

A little soap to the Plastic Timing covers while they are out isn't a bad idea.

After lining up the marks and replaceing the Belt,put the lower timing belt cover on and crank pulley and put the crank bolt in use a socket and ratchet to turn the engine just slightly before tightening the Tensioner. Just a slight bit because the Belt will start to walk off the Tensioner. I've notice this helps a lot in setting everything. Tighten Tensioner and use the Socket and Ratchet to turn the Crank at least one full revolution. Line the crank up to the Zero timing mark , take the bolt out and take off the lower cover just to eyeball that the intermediate gear is lined up properly along with the Cam gear. Now you can feel secure that all is well. Because of the way the tensioner works, I have had problems where it would pull in such a way that the Cam gear would be off a tooth after releasing the Tensioner. So it's worth the extra 2 minutes to feel good that all is OK. Button up the Timing area.

While the Fan and Shroud are out of the way, take a Garden hose and blast your Radiator from the Engine compartment outward. You will be amazed how much dirt and crap will end up in the driveway by blowing the dirt back in the direction it got stuck to the fins. The only problem is that I slide under the car to get at the AC and Alternator pivoting bolts so I get a bit wet.

Put the Shroud and fan on. Drive the car for about ten miles then unplug the Grommet on the upper Timing Cover and loosen the Tensioner about 1 full turn. Then retighten. This will take out any additional stretching from the new belt.

Remember to tighten the Tensioner. It is not designed to stay loose and have Spring Tension. If you keep it loose the Belt will Walk off the Tensioner and the Gears. (I think someone had that problem recently).

These are things I do.. Maybe it might help someone who's doing the Belt for the first time.









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'75 Jeep CJ5 345Hp ChevyPwr and two motorcycles: it wasn't Volvos safety , it was Longevity that sold me

Thanks for the helpful tips, but there is one thing I don't understand:

Tighten Tensioner and use the Socket and Ratchet to turn the Crank at least one full revolution. Line the crank up to the Zero timing mark , take the bolt out and take off the lower cover just to eyeball that the intermediate gear is lined up properly along with the Cam gear.

My experience is that if you were to turn the crank one full revolution, your timing marks would no longer be lining up, so how could you be sure the intermediate and cam gears were lined up? It would take many revolutions of the crank in order for the double line on the crankshaft gear to show up at the same place on the crank. And by then, the cam and intermediate shaft marks may or may not be the same as before. In other words, my experience (only having done it once, and looking at doing it again soon) is that the marks on the timing belt are just for initial alignment, and don't line up regularly after that. I don't understand how you could put the timing belt on with all the marks aligning, and then only turn it once or twice around, and have the marks still lining up.

Am I not quite understanding your instructions?

Thanks,
Bruce

Ahh, after the revolution, don't look at the White Marks on the belt. Just make line the Crank Pulley notch up with '0' (top Dead Center)on the Lower Timing Belt Cover. Then pull the Crank Pulley and Lower Timing cover off. Look at the mark on the intermediete gear and make sure it lines up with the mark on the Engine Block, Do the same with the Cam Gear.

Did this clear it up some?


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'75 Jeep CJ5 345Hp ChevyPwr and two motorcycles: it wasn't Volvos safety , it was Longevity that sold me

You are both right, just talking about two different sets of timing marks. The timing marks on the belt do get out of alignment as soon as you turn the engine, and as Bruce says, it will take more than a couple of turns to get back into alignment.

Tony is referring to the timing marks on the gears and how they reference to the marks on the timing covers and block. Check the FAQ and many photos posted in past threads.

Dan W.