First Servicing Attempt Disappointment

[Steve 940]

Hi,

With a spare day today, I've just tried to do a basic 'refresh' service on my 940 2.0 Turbo bought around 8-9 moths ago, was supposedly serviced when bought.....

New genuine Volvo parts obtained-

Oil filter.
Air filter.
Plugs.
Distributor cap.
HT lead set.
Coil to distributor cap lead.
3 New auxiliary drive belts.

Non Volvo parts obtained.

Shell helix
Rotor arm, Brookhouse, no manufacturer ID on arm.
Magnetic sump plug and washer, Brookhouse.

My first servicing attempt for I think around 35 years, and after 4 hours, the whole episode hasn't been a total success.

Oil and filter changed without major drama, albeit not helped by my first attempt using my old strap type filter wrench, the strap had obviously been damaged by sitting in my socket set box with old oil ingrained it for 35 years or so, first big of tightening round filter and strap parted company.... fortunately I was able to undo the filter by hand after a bit of a clean up to get a better grip.

Mark, aka Griston64 had warned me about the problems of magnetic sump plug, now I know what he meant😀 I think it took about 5 mins trying to get it square into the sump as it has a very strong magnetic pull....... at least it should pick up any metallic particles, so I might swap the original back in next oil change.

Plugs, checked gap as suggested by others on here to set at 0.7mm, and all were spot on out of the packet. Really good tip about using a bit of rubber hose to thread new plugs back in, as it was a bit nerve wracking dreading a crossed thread.

Air filter change, bit awkward, but I was pleasantly surprised that all my airbox clips were intact, however it definitely hadn't been changed for ages, very dirty, and definitely not when I bought it a few months ago. Airbox had good foam on the inside, but a bit of leaf/dust was sitting in the bottom rear edge of the box under the rear filter edge. Hoovered out.

This is where the wheels then came off....

Distributor cap, hmmm....awkward little blighter, what bright spark decided to put it so close to the firewall!!! 8mm ratchet spanner I had bought for the job, the bolt nearest the passenger side was a killer, the head of the ratchet spanner was too big to access the head of the bolt, my short slightly cranked 8mm ring spanner I could get on, but couldn't get any purchase as cables, hoses in the way.

Aux drive belts, had read about these on here and seemed pretty simple, but after bending over the distributor cap for around an hour, and it starting to rain, this dampened my will to continue.

Any tips for distributor cap change, I presume put new king lead onto cap, before fitting to the car, as it looks pretty awkward to do once cap is on.

Set of 'obstruction' spanners on order with prime for delivery tomorrow, hopefully I can then access the offending bolt.

Aux belts for AC and PS I'm trying to get my head round what bolts are what, does anyone know if there is a diagram anywhere as to what fixing/pivot bolts need undoing to enable the removal of the old belts??? I know I mustn't just crank the adjuster bolts without loosening the others first. Think I need to re-look at this tomorrow as with all the faffing around with the distributor I had lost all sense of purpose.

Oh well, at least partly successful and I've saved a few quid from not having my usual garage do the supposedly simple stuff.

Cheers
Steve

[Forrest]

I’ve now done two 940 distributor caps and they get easier with practice. I have used a combination of

Ratchet spanners
1/4” socket set with longish sockets
Ordinary open ended spanners
Flex-drive on an electric screwdriver

You should only need any leverage to get the old bolts moving and nip the new ones tight. Otherwise holding a suitable length 8mm 1/4” socket between fingers and thumb works quite well.

You will find that the old rotor arm breaks when you try to remove it. It will be fused to the distributor shaft. This doesn’t matter provided you are careful to remove all the bits before trying to fit the new one.

Jobs that are easier to do while the distributor cap and leads are out of the way include replacing the cam position sensor and the heater control valve if it is the plastic variety under the distributor.

And yes, it’s easier to fit the king lead before refitting the distributor cap but it can be done by feel afterwards.

The auxiliary belts are much easier if you establish access from underneath. Each of the power steering pump, alternator and a/c compressor have a tensioner and at least two bolts that need to be loosened to enable the belt to be slackened and tightened. The bolts on the a/c compressor are easier to access if you completely remove the alternator.

Be careful to use your replacement belts in the correct order. It is quite easy to get the power steering and alternator belts the wrong way round.

The power steering pump is awkward because the tensioner doesn’t really allow enough adjustment to get the new belt on. You might need temporarily to remove the long bolt altogether.

Remember once you’ve tightened everything up to slacken the tensioners slightly as you don’t want to leave the thin tensioner bolt bearing the brunt of the forces on the device.

Over the years I have tried various methods to get the belt tension right including measuring deflection and using a Krikit gauge which I now cannot find anywhere. The last couple of times I’ve done belts I’ve just used the old school method of adjusting it so that you can flip the longest run on the belt by 90° and no more. This seems to work quite well.

Good luck!

[Steve 940]

Hi Forrest,

Many many thanks, some great suggestions, and I do feel as though despite not working out as hoped today, with a bit of a rest and your tips on how to do the remaining jobs, I have a smidge more confidence for tomorrow.

Hadn't even thought about flexible drives, DOH!! I had a 90 degree 1/4" hand driver and some 8mm bits in the toolbox.....embarrassing😀

I'm sure without the encouragement of all you forum posters, I wouldn't have attempted my various projects, but it is certainly a nice feeling, to finally start crossing some of the jobs off the ever expanding 'to do' list😀

Cheers
Steve

[Ian21401]

Slacken the long adjuster bolts well off BEFORE you do anything else.
Then slacken the bolt which tightens on to the arced slotted bracket and actually holds the alternator/PAS pump at the desired place. ( It may be necessary to remove that bolt completely to permit the alternator to move far enough to permit easy removal of the belt.) Then slacken the bolt which secures that bracket to the engine block. (So that it can rotate slightly to permit the bolt through the bracket to slide in the slot.)
Then slacken (but don’t remove) long bolt which secures them to the engine block/bracket. (Just enough to permit the item to move.)
Move the item towards the engine block to permit removal of the relevant belt. If it’s still not possible to remove the belt, return to the long adjuster and slacken it more until it is possible to move the item far enough to remove the belt.
Once the new belt is in place just nip up the previously slackened bolts but leave them loose enough to permit the item to move as the adjuster bolt is tightened.
My rule of thumb is “ about 10mms. (1/2ins) deflection on the longest run by thumb pressure”. Gradually tighten the adjuster bolt until the desired belt tightness is achieved. Once your happy with it tighten all the other bolts then recheck the belt tension.
I usually then leave the adjuster bolt alone and dribble some oil on it’s threads.
There is a school of thought that suggests slackening off the adjuster once everything else is tightened but I’ve never done that.
It sounds complicated, but it’s not really.
This is my first car with adjuster bolts. All my previous ones required the alternator to be levered into position then somehow tighten the bolts without the alternator moving. The adjuster bolts make it much easier.

I’ve found that there are often problems when attempting something which one has not attempted before when one is already tired and frustrated from the previous unsucessful attempt at something else. Especially if it is cold and threatening to rain.

Regarding the distributor: patience and dexterity are the keys.

[Steve 940]

Hi Ian 21401,

Great detailed notes and tips, much appreciated.

New day and all that, even slightly looking forward to it😀

Cheers
Steve

[griston64]

I always back off the adjuster bolt as they are prone to snapping. Not saying it happens all the time but it does sometimes.

[Laird Scooby]

Everything will seem different tomorrow Steve, you and your eyes will be fresher and you will look at some of the things that have stumped you and face-palm yourself. It will all be as clear as mud tomorrow, with today having been as clear as mud on a foggy night!

[Rversteeg]

I use an open 8 mm spanner for undoing the nuts. It usually takes only a few strokes before I can remove the bolts/screws with my fingers. It is not particularly difficult and takes no more than a few minutes. Don't worry about dropping the bolts once loose; they are cleverly shaped so this cannot happen. Be careful when putting the new one on that it has fitted the slots correctly.
Just last week I replaced the HT leads. One by one, without removing anything. Also quite easy, even the king lead.
I am somewhat surprised about the problems you are having, or it must be because of parts that have been relocated because of the RHD version ( I have a LHD).

[Steve 940]

Update, definitely worth only concentrating on one thing at a time, for a newbie like me.

Revisited the 3 belts today, and once I loosened everything off, and had worked out the way it worked, it was, as they say, simples!!! Will recheck after a few days running to adjust for any initial stretch.

No trace of leaks from oil filter or sump plug, so belly pan refitted correctly into the slots. Must be a pattern or been severely whacked at some time in the past, as I could just about get the 2 rear bolts and those on front drivers side eventually fixed in the correct bolt holes, but the two on the passenger side flange are around 20-25mm out, will perhaps re-drill rear most one to line up with the hole in the chassis rail, the front one has no plastic much left.

Next time I speak with FRF I might see how much a OEM one is if still available.

Have a set of these due to arrive sometime today, hopefully will aid access on offending distributor cap bolt Job for tomorrow then.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...0?ie=UTF8&th=1

Cheers
Steve

[bob12]

Great post and and advice from all.

Brings back memories of my initial foray into servicing these Series!! It gets much easier next time with a few small home made right-angled tools and various sockets etc conected in an interesting way!!

Bob