Volvo Maintenance Hints for 7xx/9xx - Bill Garland's Nuclear ...

elt tipped (due to wear/age) allowing the belt to slip off...dead car. We have since learned that
the manual calls only for inspecting the arms when the belt is changed. The bearing races can
wear and fail suddenly. [Tale from Vic Lind] I heard a strange squeal coming from the engine in
my '98 V90. I found the timing belt had worn through the front cover. Upon removing the cover I
found the tensioner bearing had failed. More and more reports are appearing at Brickboard
about failure of tensioner/idler/pulleys in low mileage 960/90 cars. We recommend
replacing the timing belt tensioner, its pulley, and idler pulleys as a standard
maintenance item at each timing belt change. Check or replace your water pump at the
same time. [Rafael Riverol] Change with new Volvo or OEM parts the tensioner bearing and
everything else connected with the timing belt that could be even remotely suspect, either with
every belt change if at 70K miles. I do not want to risk a broken timing belt!. This is much
cheaper than an engine rebuild. [Randy] Another item to check is the water pump: in my case,
the entire shaft assembly of my pump had shifted in the cast body and the vanes were rubbing
on the casting, ready to fail. The obvious lesson is that the failure of any of the above-named
parts (pulleys, idlers, water pump) is the same as a belt failure. Not changing them on a regular
basis is a bet against the top end of your engine.
960 Timing Belt Tensioner Lubrication. [Volvo Cars NA] Lubrication and checking for free play of
the tensioner pulley bushing is required on 92-93 960 cars with B6304 engines and
recommended on 94-96 cars. To Lubricate the Bushing:
● Remove lever mounting screw, tensioner pulley, and
sleeve behind screwLubricate surfaces of bushing,
screw, and sleeve with grease Reinstall sleeve, pulley
and screw.Torque for screw: 29 +/- 5 ft-lbs (39 +/- 5
Nm) Torque for pulley lever: 30 ft-lb = 40 NmTorque for
idler pulley: 18 ft-lb = 25 Nm
●
To Reinstall
the Washer
on the Timing
Belt
Tensioner:
● Place
NEW
washer
on
piston
stem of
belt tensioner. Make sure that the correct countersunk side of the washer faces up
● Check that the washer centers on piston stem and tensioner case.
960 B6304 Timing Belt Change. [Tip from Larry Borella] Recently there was an exchange
posted concering replacement of 960 timing belts. I did mine Saturday. All things considered, it
was easier than replacing the belts on my 740. Here are a few hints if you are inclined to do this