S80: Engine Problems won't go away. What else could there be?

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by venomtail

Still trying to fully map out all the events that happened so I know where to start, looking back however I'm told that the timing belt didn't snap and I'm wrong.

On the Humber Bridge, instead of the timing belt snapping the alternator belt did and in the process got caught up in and jammed up the timing belt. Having the car towed to my mechanic, the alternator belt was to be replaced and mechanic said the timing belt change was due, so might as well do both at the same time. Hope I got the events and order right this time.

Good news then on possible damage. If timing belt didn't snap as I've been corrected, can't see a way there can be damage.

If the alternator belt snapped and went between the timing belt and the pulley, there's every chance it made the timing jump so yes, there most certainly could be damage!

How the alternator belt managed to find its way behind all the timing belt covers and cause the belt to jump is another matter though or did the mechanic mis-time it somehow?

[venomtail]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

How the alternator belt managed to find its way behind all the timing belt covers and cause the belt to jump is another matter though or did the mechanic mis-time it somehow?

Woudn't know how the alternator belt would snag up in the timing belt. Guess that's the dealership quality you pay for, for them to miss everything...

And I should add that the timing belt problem appearing was the first time I went to the mechanic that I've now been going to for a while. He had never seen the car before then.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by venomtail

Woudn't know how the alternator belt would snag up in the timing belt. Guess that's the dealership quality you pay for, for them to miss everything...

And I should add that the timing belt problem appearing was the first time I went to the mechanic that I've now been going to for a while. He had never seen the car before then.

Are you saying this happened after having it serviced at a dealer? If so i would have had it towed back to them and told them to put it right under their guarantee!

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by venomtail

Woudn't know how the alternator belt would snag up in the timing belt. Guess that's the dealership quality you pay for, for them to miss everything...

And I should add that the timing belt problem appearing was the first time I went to the mechanic that I've now been going to for a while. He had never seen the car before then.

The auxiliary belt & timing belt are next to each other. It can happen very easily.

[venomtail]

Been a while. Can't believe it's been 237 days since my last update but here I am with news. Not sure what you've been up to but I've been busy with my S80, more like keeping a mechanic busy rather than myself.

Found another Volvo fanatic that lives not far from me, has his own garage, some 4+ rare volvo's T5's, AWD's the lot, knows his stuff. In a nutsheel we agreed that he'll take apart the engine bit by bit till he finds the thing causing all these issues. I didn't give him an hours cap cause money wasn't a thing anymore, I needed this for my own pyche. I need to know what's at fault so I can sleep better...

Cracked head. More specifically cylider head castings are broken around the hydraulic lifters. Inlet valves can't open correctly or not at all. Mechanic was surprised with such damage the car cranks and runs at all. There's some fighting spirit left in her.

As for when this happened, the only thing we can come up with is that when the alternator belt snapped and jammed up the timing belt, there probably was some hit somewhere with the valves. Not enough to break the head castings that day. Was only a matter of time till these microscopic cracks/weakpoints were gonna give and that fatefull day likely was when we delivered the car off at the dealership. That being said, their attitude still urks me to this day.

Here's some pictures, will help you visualise the issue better:



What next? What the sensible choice should have been long ago. The bare minimum repairs I can calculate would be £700-£1500 in used/refurbished parts (mostly the head, prices swing wildly from £200 to £1000 on ebay) + £700 for the mechanic in hours for replacing the head with accompanying parts. That's if nothing else comes up, which I already know isn't gonna happen due to a issue or two we had before the head cracked, plus who knows what might have gona faulty while the car's been sittings around different shops for like 3 years.

I've got the car back, will take a few pictures, can just hope maybe someone can find a better use, future for the car before I let it go for some breakers
I'm open to offers but who knows for how long. Just gotta remember to get back my number plate from DVLA, £80 just to do that privilege

What a journey, definetly defines me. Hope this is a fun read for the rest of you and if there's a lesson here, it's this: If there's an issue, actually have someone look into it part by part rather than by elimating the symptoms like I did, by only looking at that the diagnostics said is the next part having "wrong" readouts, rather than searching for the root making part have abnormal readouts. My lesson's also no diesels. Never again. Most likely just a coincidence but I've had my fun.

One thing I can say for certain is that Volvo's a part of me now. Caught whatever my parents had and their loyalness to Volvo. Back to the used car market with me.

[Simmy]

this is the most common failiure for d5 engines . it is also possible for the same thing to happen to a petrol engine that has not had cambelt changes so dont ig nore volvo diesels just keep up with the recomended services aux belt tensioners cam belt ect a well maintained volvo d5 can do 500k im on 245k and counting . good luck for the future.

[venomtail]

Originally Posted by Simmy

this is the most common failiure for d5 engines. It is also possible for the same thing to happen to a petrol engine that has not had cambelt changes so don't ignore volvo diesels.

If it's such a common failure then why are there mostly diesel Volvos around? This is the first time me or anyone else I know has really faced with a cracked Volvo head.

Throughout my family, relatives and friends we've all in 40 years collectively had at least 20+ Volvos and never had anything this serious happen. The most repairs that were ever needed was grandfathers T V70 that had an ABS or traction control module fail, just had to have that replaced, my friends D XC70 had both rear bushings broken that needed replacing and another one's D 1.8L had a broken turbo. Don't forget about mine.
Then again diesels have been in the minority. Out of the 3/20+ cars that had repairs, 3/4 are diesels the rest have just need general maintinance.

Still on the fence of ever looking at a diesel, just looking at the history within my close circle of people.

[Simmy]

trust me this is a well documented thing check the forum to find posts on cambelt failiure poor maintainance will kill any engine in time.

[ferg55]

I think Simmy is referring to the aux belt failure, which then becomes entangled with the cambelt. I believe this is what happened to your car? So it's not surprising the damage you have seen in your head - the forces inside an engine are huge and when valves collide with pistons this is an unsurprising result. The aux belt failure on the D5 is the most common reason one will be "written off". But it's a known issue which can be prevented using the correct Volvo parts and service schedule. Other than that, a D5 engine will go on almost indefinitely.

[passenger]

Is INA making parts for aux set for D5?