Cam Belt Horror Stories

[Levonsrealm]

Originally Posted by Othen

Checking and adjusting the valve clearances plus changing the hushers is pretty obvious, and is covered well in the BofH. I would suggest getting one of these:



... a valve shim remover, so you can replace the shims without removing the camshaft. Mine is by Laser (also fits Vauxhall/Opel) - and probably costs about £25.

Addendum: I've just checked the price of these and can see they are £50-£70 now!

Thanks for this. That is quite pricey. Purchased some hushers. When the Cylinder head comes back i'll measure the clearances. See what shims i'll need.

This may be a stupid question, but can the valve clearances only be measured once the cylinder head is back on the engine and the cam is reseated?

My thinking is it is required to be under tension.

Thanks.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Levonsrealm

Thanks for this. That is quite pricey. Purchased some hushers. When the Cylinder head comes back i'll measure the clearances. See what shims i'll need.

This may be a stupid question, but can the valve clearances only be measured once the cylinder head is back on the engine and the cam is reseated?

My thinking is it is required to be under tension.

Thanks.

You can re-fit the camshaft and measure the valve clearances without the head being back on the block. Do it before fitting the hushers though - the gaps will close up afterwards.

[Chris1Roll]

Originally Posted by Bob 1967

It depends very much on the type of engine.(interference or non interference)
But it would be cheap enough to get a new belt and fit it.
If the marks are properly aligned and it works, it's a win.
If not you could always revert to plan B.

Originally Posted by Othen

... I'd agree Bob: do the cheap and simple thing first. Do a £20 belt swap today and see if it works okay. If it does then delete that post above to save embarrassment and pretend nothing happened.

Yes, my order of options is going to be -
1) Give it a go with a belt (Agreed its worth a go - but I'm pretty sure its done the vales judging by the clanking!)
2) Whip the head off and assess pistons and cost to repair / replace head.
3) Look for an engine. (Another Kjet B230E would be a simple drop in upgrade, but I'm not sure I can be doing with dealing with the DVLA and insurance implications right now, since my priority is to get it back on the road relatively quickly so I can sell my C70)

Tomorrow I'm going to drop into the local independent specialists I used to use a lot and see if they have a belt, or if they even do anything with the RWD cars any more.

I should probably do a thread in the 700 section.

Originally Posted by 360beast

Good old redblock, even with a serious fault like that they keep going, a modern car would have smashed every valve and died instantly.

Welcome to 700 ownership btw sorry to hear it hasn't been smooth sailing to start with, there are a couple of Volvo's in Harry bucklands scrapyard in Cheltenham if you need a new engine.

Thanks for the tip.

Its actually a return to 700 ownership after 16 years, but the previous ones were tatty and at the bottom of their depreciation curve - I had an E reg GLE estate I paid £150 for, and a G reg GLE estate I bought for £225 and which came with 4 spare wheels and tyres in the boot.

[360beast]

Originally Posted by Chris1Roll

Yes, my order of options is going to be -
1) Give it a go with a belt (Agreed its worth a go - but I'm pretty sure its done the vales judging by the clanking!)
2) Whip the head off and assess pistons and cost to repair / replace head.
3) Look for an engine. (Another Kjet B230E would be a simple drop in upgrade, but I'm not sure I can be doing with dealing with the DVLA and insurance implications right now, since my priority is to get it back on the road relatively quickly so I can sell my C70)

Tomorrow I'm going to drop into the local independent specialists I used to use a lot and see if they have a belt, or if they even do anything with the RWD cars any more.

I should probably do a thread in the 700 section.



Thanks for the tip.

Its actually a return to 700 ownership after 16 years, but the previous ones were tatty and at the bottom of their depreciation curve - I had an E reg GLE estate I paid £150 for, and a G reg GLE estate I bought for £225 and which came with 4 spare wheels and tyres in the boot.

Don't mess around with aftermarket parts, Volvo still sell the belts and front oil seals, they sell a lot more than you think and quite often the nearly same price if not cheaper than the aftermarket parts!

Belt number 271713

I swapped a B200F and M47 to a B230FK and M90, the DVLA just wanted to know why it was done and what my qualifications were that allowed me to do the work. I just wrote it in word, printed it and sent it to them with the relevant form filled out and the owner got a new V5 within a few weeks saying it was 2316cc.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by 360beast

Don't mess around with aftermarket parts, Volvo still sell the belts and front oil seals, they sell a lot more than you think and quite often the nearly same price if not cheaper than the aftermarket parts!

Belt number 271713

I swapped a B200F and M47 to a B230FK and M90, the DVLA just wanted to know why it was done and what my qualifications were that allowed me to do the work. I just wrote it in word, printed it and sent it to them with the relevant form filled out and the owner got a new V5 within a few weeks saying it was 2316cc.

We have discussed this previously Luke, and we still disagree (in the friendliest possible way). I don't mind using aftermarket parts and have found Gates belts at a tenner to be exactly the same as Volvo ones at £20 - after all, Volvo doesn't manufacture belts (or seals, or bearings...) they just come in a Volvo box. In this case I don't think anyone would claim the Volvo belt would have lasted 15 years any better than the Dayco one.

That being said, the difference is only a tenner, so if it makes the OP feel any better he could get one in a Volvo box, although I suspect he will buy any one that fits and is available today from his local motor factor.

I certainly think it is worth trying a new belt before doing anything else, it would only take an hour to fit and it might just work. He has nothing whatsoever to lose (apart from a tenner and an hour of his time).

Best wishes,

Alan

[360beast]

Originally Posted by Othen

We have discussed this previously Luke, and we still disagree (in the friendliest possible way). I don't mind using aftermarket parts and have found Gates belts at a tenner to be exactly the same as Volvo ones at £20 - after all, Volvo doesn't manufacture belts (or seals, or bearings...) they just come in a Volvo box. In this case I don't think anyone would claim the Volvo belt would have lasted 15 years any better than the Dayco one.

That being said, the difference is only a tenner, so if it makes the OP feel any better he could get one in a Volvo box, although I suspect he will buy any one that fits and is available today from his local motor factor.

I certainly think it is worth trying a new belt before doing anything else, it would only take an hour to fit and it might just work. He has nothing whatsoever to lose (apart from a tenner and an hour of his time).

Best wishes,

Alan

I went through three gates V belts on my 940 in two years and genuine Volvo ones have now lasted two years with minimal stretch. I personally from my own experience will go genuine every time if possible. Dayco released a bad batch of cambelts for the 960 which snap and cause serious damage, I also used a dayco belt on my beater Clio. The bearing in the Dayco kit actually was slightly wider so it rubbed on the engine mount/top cover. As I needed the car the next day a used a drill to make a slight groove where it was touching to clear it. I've never had issues with genuine Volvo ones and with the OC discount at FRF they're about £15 for a cambelt and arrive very quickly, I see no reason to skimp on £5 when I know I'm getting the genuine quality product.

The orange no name oil seals that are available started peeing oil out after less than 100 miles on one 940 I did, changed to genuine seals that are a dark brown and it has done 20k without leaks now. Again the price difference is only a few pounds which I tried explaining to the owner but he wouldn't have it so paid twice.

I've just bought TRW strut top mounts for my 940 as I didn't know they were available from Volvo still, they have arrived with a groove in the rubber which looks like it has been linished as there is a pile of rubber dust on the top, both mounts look like this and one isn't even fully bonded at the top! I showed Mark (Griston64 and he has advised me genuine Volvo ones are still available for £5 more, each) so I now have to get a refund to spend virtually the same on the genuine thing.

If Volvo isn't available then I try to get skf for bearings etc as they're the original company Volvo came from and suspension was supplied by TRW when the cars were built so I use them.

[Bob Meadows]

I don't get hung up on "Brands" particularly when the specification is like for like:~
Gates for example are a major player & supplier to others car companies.
https://www.gates.com/gb/en.html

Quality & Specification are key and if the comparison is apples with apples then paying the likes of Mr Volvo share holders or others inflated prices is pointless to me.
Bob.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by 360beast

I went through three gates V belts on my 940 in two years and genuine Volvo ones have now lasted two years with minimal stretch. I personally from my own experience will go genuine every time if possible. Dayco released a bad batch of cambelts for the 960 which snap and cause serious damage, I also used a dayco belt on my beater Clio. The bearing in the Dayco kit actually was slightly wider so it rubbed on the engine mount/top cover. As I needed the car the next day a used a drill to make a slight groove where it was touching to clear it. I've never had issues with genuine Volvo ones and with the OC discount at FRF they're about £15 for a cambelt and arrive very quickly, I see no reason to skimp on £5 when I know I'm getting the genuine quality product.

The orange no name oil seals that are available started peeing oil out after less than 100 miles on one 940 I did, changed to genuine seals that are a dark brown and it has done 20k without leaks now. Again the price difference is only a few pounds which I tried explaining to the owner but he wouldn't have it so paid twice.

I've just bought TRW strut top mounts for my 940 as I didn't know they were available from Volvo still, they have arrived with a groove in the rubber which looks like it has been linished as there is a pile of rubber dust on the top, both mounts look like this and one isn't even fully bonded at the top! I showed Mark (Griston64 and he has advised me genuine Volvo ones are still available for £5 more, each) so I now have to get a refund to spend virtually the same on the genuine thing.

If Volvo isn't available then I try to get skf for bearings etc as they're the original company Volvo came from and suspension was supplied by TRW when the cars were built so I use them.

Originally Posted by Bob Meadows

I don't get hung up on "Brands" particularly when the specification is like for like:~
Gates for example are a major player & supplier to others car companies.
https://www.gates.com/gb/en.html

Quality & Specification are key and if the comparison is apples with apples then paying the likes of Mr Volvo share holders or others inflated prices is pointless to me.
Bob.

I have no axe to grind here Luke: I'm not trying to convince anyone that they should buy any particular brand - it is up to folk what they spend their cash on. All I can say is that the aftermarket belts and other parts I've fitted to the RB, the Barge and GAM (... and Porsche, Skoda and other cars in the past) have all fitted perfectly well and functioned fine. If other folk want to buy branded boxes then that is just fine by me .

I agree with Bob on this point. In my experience with many manufacturers over the years is that one can sometimes pay 8 times the price for the same part in a different coloured box.

Alan

[360beast]

Originally Posted by Othen

I have no axe to grind here Luke: I'm not trying to convince anyone that they should buy any particular brand - it is up to folk what they spend their cash on. All I can say is that the aftermarket belts and other parts I've fitted to the RB, the Barge and GAM (... and Porsche, Skoda and other cars in the past) have all fitted perfectly well and functioned fine. If other folk want to buy branded boxes then that is just fine by me .

I agree with Bob on this point. In my experience with many manufacturers over the years is that one can sometimes pay 8 times the price for the same part in a different coloured box.

Alan

I completely agree Alan, one must look very carefully at what the dealers are selling especially these days now that Volvo is Chinese owned as quite a few bits are now made in China which doesn't fill me with confidence. The waterpumps for the b200/230 is now made in England and looks like tin foil and don't last! SKF were the original suppliers and still make a proper water pump so they're the way to go.

I'm not a fan of gates because of the reasons mentioned before, if you look at their V belts the teeth are very pronounced and the back of the belt is about half the depth of a genuine one which is made in Germany and has smaller teeth so the belt itself appears to be more robust.

If Volvo still make the quality part for a decent price then I will always go for Volvo, after you are with red blocks for a while you tend to find out what part to buy from where as not all brands are made the same and some are just shocking quality like PPS which every part I've seen/fitted has been poorly made Chinese junk.

My 940 will be subject to a lot more stress than your cars being a modified turbo with occasional track use and spirited driving when I do use it so it tends to find out which parts are well made and which aren't.

[classicswede]

As most of our cars see at least 10,000 miles a year and are used hard with lots of towing and driven a lot on rough roads parts get tested.

Cam belts, I always use Volvo and probably sell 20 Volvo belts to 1 of other brands
Fan belts the same
Oil filter same story but probably about 10-1, with other brands you need to make sure it has the non return valve if not ordering from me ( I will not stock ones without)
Bearings I stick to the OE brands - SKF - INA - FAG - Timken depending on position

240 top mounts used to use Volvo. They are no longer OE quality and have a very short life now 3-12 months. Your old worn out mounts will outlast them. Not found a rubber one that works so have gone steel bearing on all out cars

Water pump, Volvo have gone cheap and not fit for purpose. SKF still make a good pump