Cam belt changes

[Mark Mayes]

Hi all,

Looking to pick up a V70 in the next few weeks and I was wondering what the recommended schedule for changing a cam belt on the 2.0D and 1.6D DRIVe engines is?

I've spoken to two different indi Volvo specialists and had different information from both on the subject. The only thing they do agree on is that both engines are belt driven!

I'm looking for something around the 09/10 reg with 100k on the clock and any comments on common problems with both engines are also welcomed.

Thanks

[krzemien]

My careful answer is 10 years or 108k miles whichever happens first.

Clan should be able to confirm if this also applies to these engines.

[adsk]

I have a 2.0D. When my car was approaching 10yrs old (64k miles) with its original belt, I expected the dealer to say the cambelt change was due with the service. It wasn't. When I asked, they said it was 12 yrs. Still unsure, I went onto the volvo service cost estimator and it indicated 12 yrs.

A couple of months ago coming up to 11yrs old (69k miles), the dealer said the car was due the belt change, which I had done. Can't cross-check with the service cost estimator as they have removed cars before 09.

So..10 years-ish.

[adsk]

OP also asked for comments on the engine. 2.0D typically returns low 40ish mpg around town, high 40s on the motorway. Isn't a powerhouse like the D5 engines but 2.0D is certainly adequate for a large car.

Common characteristic is a slight stuttering at 30mph in 3rd gear on a light throttle but is rarely more than second or two. A very common issue is starting problems caused by the flap on the throttle body sticking and if you search the forums (esp V50/S40 forums which share the engine) you'll find the inexpensive fix if your car suffers from it.

[Tatsfield]

Vovlo do not seem to worry as much about cam belt change intervals as PSA do. On my old car there were two servicing regimes; one for cars doing long journeys with few engine starts and another for stop start6 city driving. The logic for the cam belt was that if the car is lefty with the belt still and cooling it will experience more stress when the starter jerks the engine from stationary to running in a fraction of a second. The long distance car will have the belt running relatively constantly with no great acceleration stresses. The difference they recommended was half the interval for the shopping trolley! So if you know you are doing many short trips and that the belt change might be coming up, you might choose to err on the side of caution more than if you do hundreds of miles a day with few stops. The real weak point with Volvo is the aux belt breaking and derailing the cam belt and there Volvo actually recommend half the interval time of the cam belt for aux belt changes. Again, worth taking seriously.

[Mark Mayes]

Thanks for all the replies

[AlexV70Drive1]

Mine was done by a Volvo place at 95k odd because of a leaking water pump Before I bought it, so I’d say around 90/100k miles. to be safe you can have it done when you like especially if the car is 10 years old as it’s usually whatever miles(around 80k upto 100k) or 10 years which ever comes sooner... it’s a thing that if it hasn’t been done then just do it as a priority because you can’t tell when it will snap or jump a tooth or water pump bearing start going. Also have the auxiliary belt done at the same time while checking the crankshaft pulley for play.