Timing Belt: Mileage versus time period

My 97 960 only has 40K miles. According to the owner's manual, I
don't need to change it until 70K miles. There is no mention of
number of years.

Should I really wait until 70K, or should I do it this year as the car
will be 7 years old? Time and mileage are two factors that
deteriorate a car components.

Thanks.

 

If in doubt, change it, it's cheap insurance and you'll be kicking yourself
if you don't and it breaks.

 

Don't wait.

Indeed.

I have a very-low-mileage '95 850T (still only 62,000 km (=37,000 mi) as
of today). When I took it in (to the dealer) for its 45,000 km (=27,000
mi) service in August of '01, the mechanic, noting the car's age,
advised me that Volvo says every five years for that belt, regardless of
distance driven. (And what's more, he said that here, in the frozen
north--I live in Finland--the local guys actually recommend every _four_
years, because of the harsh climate.)

Specifics may be different for the 960 but it's certainly worth asking
your mechanic about. Broken belt = costly repair.

cheers,

Henry

 

Should I ask the dealer to look at the water pump or anything else
while he is in the neighborhood?

I know with the 240, when I change the timing gear belt, I always ask
to change the water pump at the same time. I had two water pumps died
on me while driving and I'm not interested to have it happen again.

Does the 960 suffer from the same weakness?

Thanks

 

I think I would go to the source for that kind of information IF it's not in
the owners manual. Go to the factory web-site. I know of no car with a
timing belt that recommends changing it according to the amount of time it
sat in your garage. Ed Hayes

 

As a Volvo Master (91,92,93), I would recommend changing the timing belt
every 50k miles. The factory recommendation of 70k miles is under normal
driving conditions. Towing, mountainous driving, or a heavy foot on
acceleration decrease the life of the belt. The maximum life of the belt
should be thought of as 5 years.
The B21, B23, B230, and B230F are all non-interference engines which
means if the timing belt does break or strip, no damage is done to the head
or valves. But if it happens a hundred miles from nowhere, the tow bill
alone will stretch your budget.
Front seals are another problem which should be addressed when changing
the belt. You should only pay an additional 1/2 hour to replace the front
seals. There is no milage for replacing them, but if in question do it at
the same time. Also the flame trap should be replaced every 30K miles. It is
like the PCV valve on a domestic car. If it is clogged, the pressure in the
crankcase can blow the front seals out and also the rear main seal. The
front seals can only go so far before being stopped by the pullys, but the
rear main seal can blow all the way out, emptying all the oil in less than a
minute. Turbo equipped cars do not have a flame trap.
Also, the waterpump is normally only good for about 4 years. Even if the
shaft seal isn't leaking, the top seal deteriorates at which time the pump
should be replaced.
Here are the shop times for the work:
Timing Belt 2.5 hrs
Timing Belt plus seals 3.0 hrs
Water Pump 2.0 hrs
Timing Belt Plus Seals Plus Water Pump 4.0 hrs

These are the prices I pay for parts:
Timing Belt 33.33 (Volvo)
Front Seals(3) 35.50 (Volvo)
Water Pump 48.60 (After market)
If any shop charges over 30% more, be suspect.
I have done 3 sets of belts, pumps and seals in the last 2 weeks.
I know this seems kind of long winded, but I hope it helps all of you 2,7,
and 9 series owners who have had these same problems.

 

I would change it now. Not that hard to do and the consequences of a failed
belt are to horrible to risk.

John

 

(Please don't top post--it can make things very confusing. I have tried
to straighten out this thread.)

Thanks, Rod. Not long-winded at all, and a point that needs to be made
even in regard to the non-interference engines.

cheers,

Henry

 

Thanks Rod. I printed your post.

About the front seals, could you be more precise please? I'm a
beginner with those mechanical things.

Thanks

 

Not that it belongs to this thread, but just a comment about top posting:
It gets confusing when replies are given in both top and bottom, but I think
top posting is easier that is if you are following the debate in a thread
you actually dont have to read the bottom part, and therefore, when using
Outlook, no need to scroll down to get to the new post.
Also I guess its a matter of habbit. At my work we all use top posting in
our daily communcation.

Per Hauge

 

very much so

Ah, but that's a big 'if' .

Many times it happens that you don't come upon a thread until there are
already three or four or more messages in it. In that case, it is
clearly easier to start at the beginning and work your way down.

Another thing that people need to remember is that good _snipping_ is
essential as well.

cheers,

Henry

 

Go ahead and replace the waterpump at the same time, the reason I say this,
is because thats pretty much standard procedure. Since they usually have
clear access to the waterpump at the same time as the T belt, so it's best
to not double your labor, by having it replaced later. Waterpumps are
reasonably cheap now adays, so it pays to just replace it at the same time.

 

Most of the newsgroups I visit, including the ones at my workplace,
prefer 'bottom-posting' for some reason (not that it makes much of a
difference to me, personally) Quite often, *they" will jump all over you
for not using proper 'netiquette' if you "top-post", so I wonder what the
standard really is. Does it vary among newsgroups?

 

<snip>

 

There are 3 oil seals under the timing belt cover. The camshaft seal, the
intermediate shaft seal (both the same), and the crankshaft seal.

 

Hi sammy,


Don't take the risk : I let time go by on my 940 gle 16v, a european
edition with collison cyliders, and it happened : broke the belt while
running .;;;a 5000 EUROS (yes ive thousand euros, ie 6000 USD ) repair
at volvo dealership in Paris, France.

is it worth saving 150 euros for belt change, regarding repair costs .....

NO

C u vince

Sammy a écrit: