Timing belt busted

92 960, on the freeway at 65 mph, and the timing belt broke. Only
good thing is I was only 15 miles from home, cost 120 bucks to get it
towed in.
But...........I believe this is an interference engine? Most
likely trashed the engine. How extensive might the damage be?
repairable? or time for a new engine?
Maybe now is the time for one of those conversion kits to put in
a chevy small block and 4 speed manual.

 

Most likely you bent a few valves & have a few broken valve guides & it
is time to replace the cylinder head there are 2 ways to go have the
dealer repair with a exchange cylinder head (Rebuilt) have your local
Volvo specialist perform the repair & locate a cylinder head in a junk
yard the last option is the cheaper way to go. But it is NOT time for a
new engine.

Glenn K
Certified Volvo Technician 2008
ASE Certified Technician 2008

 

Most likely you bent a few valves & have a few broken valve guides & it
is time to replace the cylinder head there are 2 ways to go have the
dealer repair with a exchange cylinder head (Rebuilt) have your local
Volvo specialist perform the repair & locate a cylinder head in a junk
yard the last option is the cheaper way to go. But it is NOT time for a
new engine.

Glenn K
Certified Volvo Technician 2008
ASE Certified Technician 2008

 

Most likely you bent a few valves & have a few broken valve guides & it
is time to replace the cylinder head there are 2 ways to go have the
dealer repair with a exchange cylinder head (Rebuilt) have your local
Volvo specialist perform the repair & locate a cylinder head in a junk
yard the last option is the cheaper way to go. But it is NOT time for a
new engine.

Glenn K
Certified Volvo Technician 2008
ASE Certified Technician 2008

 

Oh boy, that's gonna be a mess.

Bare minimum you're looking at probably 15-20 bent valves, damaged
guides in the head, dented and possibly cracked pistons. Most likely
extensive damage that will require a full rebuild if the engine is even
rebuildable. This is why it's REALLY important to keep up with timing
belt replacements. That inline 6 is a fantastic engine, real sad way to
see one go.

 

the damage is extensive, pretty much like you said. Valves stuck and
bent, pistons holed. Didn't look any deeper.
The timing belt was well within it's mileage specs. Makes it all
even sadder.
On the other hand, this car has been a maintenance lemon for me
since I got it 4 years ago. Transmission, wiring harnesses, engine
electronics, anti-lock brakes, have all needed more attention than
they should have. It's time to let 'er go. The body is still rust
free, even though the paint has gone to hell, I might find somebody
that wants her.
And..............may the volvo gods forgive me...........I went
and bought a 1999 Outback yesterday.

 

You can probably find a Volvo guy to take it. If you offer it up for
free, someone may well get it back on the road and fix it up.

There was a guy at the last Volvo meet I went to with a real nice 960
wagon he got for free with a broken timing belt.

 

I have a 1990 740 with the B234F engine that has 17677 mi. on a
replacement belt.

Is there any statistical data as to how often breakage actually occurs?

I guess what I'm asking is - how often does it really happen?

Thanks,

Perk >)

 

The B200s are a little less stress on the cam and belt breakages are
usually down to over-doing the mileage or service periods. It doesn't
seem to be that common. They usually survive a broken belt I hear.

960s I know less about, but havn't heard of many belt failures atall atall.

 

I've seen a couple of 960s that died due to broken belts. Usually it's
the same as the 16V 4's, people run them past the change interval.

It's possible for a belt to be damaged by oil leakage, improper
installation, damaged sprockets, bad tensioner, or just a defective belt
to begin with.

Honestly I don't know why Volvo chose to go with a belt for their
interference engines, Saab used a chain, they're a lot less likely to break.

 

The B234F is the 16 valve 'interference' engine, vs. the B230F, 8 valve
non interference.
Both built on the same almost indestructible block (some minor
differences on the 16).
The only way I've ever blown up a volvo 8 valve was by loss of coolant.
As James says,
by the time you figure it out, it's over. Done story. There's no temp
light, only a temp
guage. Some have a low coolant sensor, but those tend to fail often.

I just blew up my 16 valve (91 940) by overheating it. I drove it
84,000 miles, ending at
284,000. I had the belts replaced as soon as I bought it, and then 2
februarys ago, I had it
done again, because the idler for the belt driving the balance shaft had
come unbolted.
Somehow the two belts didn't contact each other and destroy the engine.
Personally, after having
several 8 valve engines, and one turbo, I dislike the 16 valve. You
have to rev it to get it to
go, and good luck working on the engine other than basic stuff.
Expensive and special tools.

/glenn

 

They really ought to have an alarm. I blew hoses on my 740T twice and
overheated it, neither time caused any damage to the engine, I guess I
have a tendency to check the instruments often. I still always thought
oil and temperature should have an obnoxious audible alarm that can't be
ignored since they're such critical items.