Variable Valve Timing VVT replacement S60 2001 T5

[Beavis]

right, i spoke with the Indy on Saturday, and he dismissed the fact the timing belt could be a tooth out, and if it "appeared" to be the case (as you can see on my pictures), it was because they had adjusted the VVT unit.

now i am no engineer/technician, but from what i gather, when the unit inside the cog is adjusted, the cog remains static, so it should not affect the tooth placement on the belt??

he has said i will need to replace the VVT valve, but would recommend changing the Pulley/Cog at the same time, which comes to about £450!

will be booking her into the Main dealer tomorrow to see what they think....and hopefully it will be just the tooth adjustment and vvt unit reset....

[Clan]

what he is saying is that he got the pulley a tooth out and couldnt be bothered to correct it so slackened the variable valve pulley adjustment and guessed a tooth and moved the centre back in the appropriate direction to compensate . so the timing is not going to be correct as you cant guess it ...

The variable pulley was about £120 last time i changed one ! Hopefully you wont need one ...

[grass hopper]

stuT4 i hope there paying for there **** up,keep a record of all that has been said and work carried out,then contact trading standards if they wont pay for there incompetence.

[Beavis]

well i gave them the indy the chance to look at her again, after saying that the belt/teeth appeared out, but he seemed more convinced it was the problem with the VVT unit and quoted accordingly.

got her booked into main dealer for that second opinion on Wednesday, and i have specified i want a written report. if it is turns out that i am right and belt is at fault, will let the indy know and send the bill his way and also request a refund or get a chargeback of what i have already paid to him.

hassle aside, i just want her fixed as i struggled to keep up with my wifes xc90 the other day, and the d5 xc90 felt sporty in comparison - now that is when you know something is wrong.

i have used the indy for the last 3 volvos/5 years and not had trouble before. just think he has got a bit too busy for the customer care, so if i am right, i will be looking for a new one.

[grass hopper]

ok stu,the vvt units on the s60 are bullet proof,unlike s40 !.

as you say its runs like a bag of **** after the cambelt change says it all.

wish you well.

[duncan_ellison]

As StuT4 has found out, it's very difficult to judge where the timing marks on the sprockets actually line up with the ones on the silly plastic cover.

I took the cover off and drilled a 1mm hole right in the middle of the marks, I then put the cover back and dropped a drill bit back in the hole so that it touches the cam belt.

Even on the 'wrong' side of the belt you can see the marks where the belt teeth are and this makes it an easy and accurate adjustment.

(Don't forget to line up the crank with the LONG rib on the oil pump - haven't found an easy way to do this yet as it's deeply burried)

Duncan

[grass hopper]

before removing the cambelt I used to apply tipex to the rear of the cam pulleys/tooth and corresponding marks on to the head,the vvt pulley/cam has a nasty tendency to move out of position when the belt is removed,the universal front cam sprocket locking tool should be used on these.

[Beavis]

well, i got a phone call from the main dealer today saying the car is ready. they have tested it the last 2 days from cold, and say it is a lot better than it was when it went in. 4.6 hours of work needed to sort the belt and correct the timing (but they are only going to charge 2.6 hours) - got a feeling they are after my continued business....for this and the xc90.

anyway, i am collecting it on Saturday am, and they have said they will stick a technician in for a test drive to make sure i am happy with it.

top service so far, cannot fault them other than not being able to have a loan car due to the short notice when i booked it in.

will report back tomorrow to confirm all is ok, and will then have to call the indy and let him have the good news and send an invoice his way

big thanks to Clan and Grasshopper for the comments on the belt. saved me £450 replacing the cam/pulley/valve when it was not that that was at fault.

[grass hopper]

ok stu sounds like good news,just need to get confirmation from the dealer that the locking tools would not align to the previous cam pulleys alignment marks or reset/guess adjustment on the pulleys ! from the indi !

[Beavis]

ok, car is back and firing on all cylinders. goes like a T5 should. also have a report outlining the work that they have done to correct the Indy's errors.

amazing that MPG over last week has risen from 21.8-25.8 with just that correction.

anyway, big complaint letter drafted to indy and in post along with the pictures and report and request for £360 notes for my out-of-pocketness. now waiting to hear back and see how much he wants to keep my cars....could have been worse, if i had let the indy change the VVT solenoid and pulley it would have been £450 of work done and not needed...grrrrr

if that fails, will then try chargeback on credit card/small claims court and will post a warning on here.

anyway, big thanks to Clan and Grasshopper for the input.