XC90 D5 Cambelt Change - Cost/Timing?
 

I'm loking at a D5 2007 model XC90. I've read a few threads re the timing of the change on D5's - scheduled for 90k, but some have suggested should do at 60k? Any thoughts?

Also - ballpark costs? Just paid >£400 for change (inc Water Pump) on my Vrs...so fear the worst.

Got my belt/tensioners etc done at AC in October - £280. Mine was at 79k at that time - the 163 change is scheduled at 96k - not sure if the 185 is the same.
But better safe than sorry - especially as there was a bit of concern raised by Clan about Ford tensioners failing early in the 2004-2005 models I think.(dont know if mine fell into this however)

You should be able to recognise telltale noises before failure.

I think a 2007 with 50k should have a good bit of life left in it yet.

GOT MINE DONE AT MAIN DEALER IN SWINDON (2006 / 185 d5) FOR £295 IN DECEMBER 2010. sorry about capitals

Had mine done at an independent at 82k miles on an 04 with both timing and auxiliary belts done, all tensioners, alternator pulley and idler pulleys (yes, paranoid I know!) using genuine parts and was about £450. Done early as the alternator pulley was squeaking and on examination both belts were showing some cracking on their surface.

Hi

I phoned a recommended indy in cowdenbeath last week to find out the price - it was £220+vat to do the timing belt and pulleys etc - using the official volvo parts.

Seemed reasonable.

Have the same 2007 MY car, belt change is 108K miles or 10 years. Volvo don't advise earlier fitment as belt is bullet proof and the tensioners are all fixed by 2007. However, I run a warranty and plan to have the job done at 6 years old (should be around 80k miles by then). Another chap on here had his done at an Indy and then the engine blew. So I will have it done at Volvo and if the new belt slips or comes off - Volvo will pay for everything.

I do have a complete Volvo service history.

Cheers for all those replies - a wide range of prices & approaches. If I go ahead with the purchase, I'll see how we go.

Can I ask how much you are paying for 07 reg XC90 and what specs? I am also looking for one!

Not sure I am very representative...I bought privately from a 'friend' leaving for the USA. It's only done 55k, is a D5 SE Geartronic, in good condition, with a FVSH.

I paid <£16k privately & the local Arnold Clark have one up at the moment - virtually identical in every way...for £20k !!! When I was looking, prices seemed to range from about £14.5k for something with >100k on the clock, to lower mileage examples for up to £22k !!!!

Naively I hope to be able to run it for a while & not lose too much !

Good luck

xc90
 

hi drarif look for an se or se lux but watch for the tax brackets as some are £440 and some are £260 to tax if you have the reg you can go to the dvla site and do a vehicle check thier and it will tell you, shop around arnold clark in glasgow have a lovely 2008 se in grey for £16995 with 80k full history and i just saw a black se 07 with 100k on it go on ebay for 12k good luck gary

Thanks Gary

2007 (07) black 2.5 D S (but full cream leather interior)Full volvo servie history one owner 68000 miles on clock
Asking 15K final price from a local showroom (MOT,TAX and 3 month warranty)

does it sound ok?

Presume you mean 2.4 D5 S & personally I like the cream leather option. Sounds reasonable, given the prices of others.

Good point Gary Austin...I get skelpted for the £460 tax I think it is now - gulp ! These things are nae cheap to run are they !

too reasonable for:

Cambelt
Cambelt tensioner
Cambelt idler
Auxillary belt
Auxilary belt tensioner
Aux belt idler

1.5 - 2 hours labour .

Where are they cutting the corners ? The genuine parts alone are that kind of price .

Why do you suggest the Aux belt tensioner and idler need to be changed?

Because that is when they are due to be changed , the same time as the cambelt , didnt the "specialist" tell you this? THESE are the parts which can fail and wrap around the cambelt and ruin the engine , The actual cambelt itself never breaks , it gets thrown off for one reason or another to do with Aux idler wheels failing . They do give plenty of warning by making noises however .

Yep D5 S! bought it,PX for my 05 Reg "RE-NO" grand scenic, will be getting it tomorrow, my first volvo ever! hope for best, actually excited!

and it is K band so Tax 260£ rather that 460£ :thumbs_up:

Not sure why you have the attitude towards me. I never spoke to a "specialist", so why would they tell me?
As you point out the aux pulley gives you plenty of notice (did on my V70 T5), and how does the aux belt get to the cam belt on the basis the cam cover etc protect it?
Can you also explain why you have a problem with any bulb that isn't sold by the main Volvo dealer as you have expressed in other posts?

Enjoy it

I ordered both belts and auxiliary bits from FRF yesterday and even with discount they are £196. I figured at 96k miles, based on what I've heard here, do the lot. I've a year Volvo warranty and didn't want to compromise that if at all possible. Still, pricey enough for discounted parts in tight times when diesel is the thick end of £1.50/litre.

Now my decision is to whether or not I do it myself or pay someone.... technically not hard to do but, with an auto, stopping the engine turning when opening the main pulley nut seems to be the tricky bit. Easy in an manual by getting someone to stand on the brakes. Unless I can get at the turning gear or fit a bracket of sorts on the other pulley nuts to stop it turning, I may resort to a local Indy I've been told about who's an ex Volvo man. For £100 it might be the best solution.

Hi Clan

It was me! The indy was Ron Sealy in Cowdenbeath who seems to have some recommendations on here. He gave me a quick quote over the phone many months ago before I had an XC90 - so can't tell if it covered all of the above, but obviously looks like it didn't if parts are that price I'd imagine.

I can't recall exactly what the discussion involved, so it is now not fair to go on that price until speak to him again.

How much would all that be at a volvo dealer?

A good £450 allowing 2hrs labour. Maybe more depending on how much they charge for the 'bits'.

OK, on the basis of labour being twice the price at a main dealer (say £80-100/hr), then likely only to be £350-ish at an indy perhaps.

I know others have said that if you take it to volvo, and they screw it up, you perhaps have a better chance of recourse should something go badly wrong....perhaps worth the extra £100.

Take the starter motor out (on the one I did I just disconnected the battery, left the cables connected to the starter and moved it out the way). I then got an assistant (the wife) to place a screw driver in the ring gear to stop the engine turning.

You actualy held 300nm of torque with that method ? sounds quite dangerous had the screwdriver slipped.

sorry about that , i see now it wasnt you who said that , i am not an attitude person it is just how it might come over in short messages . it was a long day and took twice as long as normal to get home zzz ..

Well to answer your question , past experience has shown that if the auxiliary belt comes off due to an idler wheel failing it gets dragged around the crank pulley and with the tremendous power there, gets dragged behind the cover into the cam belt .. perhaps 2 out of ten may survive with the auxiliary belt just laying to one side ..

Regarding bulbs , again experience ... volvo use long life ones , halfords etc dont . you can fit what you like of course , my problem is that it can get tedious changing bulbs on a regular basis especialy as generaly the newer the car the more difficult it is ! With 10 or 12 bulbs used on a daily basis you could be doing it every 2 weeks with " normal life " bulbs ,

Sorry to but in guys.

But when I put mine into Volvo to get the belt(s) changed at £280 odd, should they as the dealer replace all parts referred to by Clan?

I remember the guy saying something about another belt, but I'm sure he called it a serpintine or something!!!

Surely they would not just change the cam belt if this is the recommended Volvo procedure?

Was that £280 at AC (& recent?)

Serpentine is another name for the auxilliary belt.

Darryl:thumbs_up:

Yeh!

Check start of this thread, I replied to you.

Glad to know I got them all done then.

It will be more than 300nm with the breaking force. People have been using screwdrivers in the ring gear for many years. It needs to be a good size screwdriver. Highly unlikely to be dangerous as the screwdriver can travel nowhere with all the brackets and cables that surround the area.

As for bulbs, I'm afraid that sounds like hype to me. I rarely have found the need to change bulbs, but have never yet bought a bulb from a dealer. If you buy a good make of bulb, like the Phillips I used on the Xenons in teh XC, it will be produced on the same line as the ones that Volvo supply also made by Phillips. There is no way the quality manufacturers have one line producing low life bulbs for Joe Public and another producing high life ones just for dealers.

As for auxiliary drive belt tensioner and pulley, I understand what your saying and agree with commonly held belief that you should also do the water pump if your paying someone to do the job. However for me if it's an easy one to do I will go on condition (D5) as my time really costs me nothing and the cam belt is easy to take on and off. That said on the T6 I did the thermostat when I did the cam belt based on your advice, as its a pig of a job to get at!

All the above is just my opinion, and my wife will be the first one to tell you I always have an opinion!

Figured you'd had a bad day, as I usually have a lot of respect for your posts.

Rob.

i've just checked my invoice from Swindon Volvo Main Dealer in December 2010. I asked them to do Cambelt as it was approaching 90k. (2006/185/D5) They've charged me for Belt kit + Belt (£98+£35). Total was £290 inc vat. Would the "Kit" include all of the above or just the Cambelt? Have they missed the auxillery belt?

Total was £290 inc vat. Would the "Kit" include all of the above or just the Cambelt? Have they missed the auxillery belt?[/QUOTE]

Presume that was the same as me as the price is = - belt kit on my invoice, but they definitely mentioned the serpintine belt - maybe worth a call though.

Does anyone know the Volvo meaning of belt change - does it include all belts?

Belt change means timing belt. It's the only scheduled change. The other seem to be change when deteriorated to when they need it. However, experience and many apparant failures, means that most people take the prudent route and change the lot. The belts seem to be the best parts and the failures seem to be in the tensioners and bearings. It adds £100 to the price but for another 96k miles I kinda think it's worth it.

To Clarify , The cambelt change at the volvo stated interval in the volvo service checklist has always included the auxiliary belt . This has always been the case but in the last few years they have included its tensioner and idler wheel in a kit .
So now even the older models get the cam belt kit ( cambelt , tensioner , idler and sticker ) and auxiliary belt , tensioner and idler roller .

The 2009 D5 gets the auxiliary belt and improved tensioner changed at 54000 service , so best stick with the manufacturers change schedule , a lot of non volvo garages wont know this .

Water pumps are never changed they are totaly reliable they have to be checked for leaks and rough bearings at the cambelt change but safe to re use them as long as they are ok , I have never seen a bearing fault on one of these water pumps since they were launched on the 960 engine in 1990 .

Thermostat has to be changed on the T6 models at cambelt change time as it is mounted behind the cambelt and often fails within 20000 miles of the belt being changed purely on a time /mileage basis .

Cambelt on xc60
 

Hi folks ive just aquired a very nice xc60 d5awd how can i check if cambelt kit has been done theres nothing in service book? Thank you

If there's nothing in the service book then it hasn't been done properly.

A proper belt change always results in an entry in the service book, so that the reader / next owner is not left guessing.....

...you are now guessing, which is not a good place to be.
So now you need to scrutinize the service book, and if the scheduled time for the cam belt change has passed with no record of the belt ever having been changed, you must always assume the booklet is correct, and the belt has not been changed.

Assuming the belt was changed when it hasn't been, and thus missing the scheduled belt change date, runs the risk of a broken cam belt and major engine damage.

Are you willing to take that risk.... ??

That's not necessarily true. My 2007 XC90 has been fully serviced by Volvo dealers through its entire life and has every stamp in the service book. But there's nothing in the service book to say the cambelt was changed in April this year (before I bought it), even though I have the receipt from the dealer and there is a sticker from the dealer under the bonnet.

Do what I did: contact the previous owner and ask them. Or contact Volvo and ask for the service history.

..... or have a look at the belt and pulleys for their date stamp.
If they're stamped 2016 for example, they're obviously recent parts.

You obviously have conciousness technicians , however no , this is not normal recording belt changes in the service book ..., going by the 10's of 1000's of service books i have seen over the years ... The definitive "on-vehicle" proof of the belts being done by the volvo dealer is the long lasting foil sticker in the engine bay ...