Quote:
Originally Posted by hewking
S60 D5 2002 225k manual
Please help me to choose or share what brand do you use when changing timing belt. Do I remember correctly that Gates is cheaper and slightly better than OEM parts? Can genuine OEM parts be bought only from Volvo or are there any other places?
Regards
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Ive been investigating this recently due to a cambelt intent on my '06 V70. Generally speaking IME you want to do the water pump, tensioner and idler pulleys at same time, though it was mentioned somewhere here not to touch the water pump if its not leaking as there are myriad of replacement water pumps out there and not all quality is the same (as we know). Whilst feasible the problem with leaving a water pump unchanged is that given the new belt will be tighter, the old water pump will be running in a changed environment (higher belt load on the pump bearings) which increases risk of (premature?) failure. For peace of mind I will be changing my water pump at same time.
Through my online reading I learnt that the OEM part brands specific to Volvo were as follows. Cambelt is made by Continental, Water Pump made by Aisin, Pulleys made by INA. If your going to do a cambelt as I am, it might be worth looking for these specific brand of parts. Ive also read on other forums the SKF water pump is top quality. I dont know about any of the others. WRT to Cambelts, you also cant really go wrong with a genuine Gates belt (I say genuine as there are also fake Gates out there).
Buy either from a parts supplier that is Volvo/Swedish focused and recommended on Volvo forums, enquiring about these specific brands being in the "kit" or from Volvo themselves with a significant cost premium (double cost unless with a trade discount) added on top. This is generally the case with any franchised dealership pharts dept.
I did read that Volvo at some point changed their water pumps (from cast to pressed impellers) and voiced preference is for cast impeller as per OEM but it seems these are no longer available that i could find or see reported.
I would welcome any corrections/suggestions to the above as I am in the same position as hewking and hopefully this is helpful to the OP. Note: these are just my current findings, and the direction I am heading currently.