Timing belt frequency?
 

When I bought the car - a 240DL with B230K - I fitted a new Volvo timing belt, tensioner and water pump as a the car had been sitting for 8 years.

It is now 4 years later and only 10k, so is it due for a change now on time rather than mileage. Would it be without risk to go for a further year when I may add a further 3k.

TIA.

The main issue I should think is not the age or mileage but the fact that at that age of vehicle you are in prime camshaft old seal failure, risk of contamination etc.

I would get a trusted indipendant to do it that way you ensure you have a nice fresh belt in a clean housing. If it were me I would actually do it myself. Probably easy.

Hi XC

No noticeable leaks. I’ll take off the top cover and check.

I agree the B230 is a very easy cambelt to fit, having done the original refurb.

You would notice if there were leaks with the cover off.

If it were me I would change it however that’s mainly as I enjoy working on vehicles. If it does not leak then in reality another 12k is not likely to make a huge amount of doffeeence and it is highly likely to be done.

Check of it is an interference engine. A lot of the older ones were not

Our 240 gets regular use, usually 4-5k miles added each year.

I've changed the cam belt at 45k intervals or 8 years, whichever has come first.

That's with the B230E engine, rumoured to be interference due to high compression. The belt has always looked okay at the point of change.

That's what I have always done, approximately.

When a belt reaches 40,000 I start looking for a convenient slot to fit in a change. I don't want to do it in very cold weather - too uncomfortable- or just before a holiday, or if my wife's taking the car somewhere the next day, or any number of excuses, knowing I've got all the time up to 50,000 miles if need be.

I wouldn't worry too much about the cam shaft seal if it's not leaking. You can spot it anyway without dismantling to look. The easiest inspection method of both belt and seal is the upper belt cover, and you can check for obvious wear or cracking. If you start it up with the cover off you can watch that the belt runs true on the sprockets, and listen to the tensioner.

I've never actually replaced a tensioner. I've always found that a noisy one responds well to removing it and soaking in oil overnight and then draining and drying thoroughly.

The system is pretty robust. Not like a modern car where plastic pulleys and things crack up and wreck the belt and engine. The water pump too is nothing to do with the timing belt, and doesn't suddenly fail without warning.
APART from the upper seal to the cylinder head, which can leak and as I found suddenly fail and blow out.

Even if the cam seal does leak, I've never found it got onto the belt. Oil seems to run down behind the plastic bit next to the block on to the steering rack, and along the seam between the head and block above the spark plugs and down the back of the engine.
I have heard that there is no need to remove the old cam seal - simply move it along and fit another one. I don't know if that is true, and it would obviously work only once.

Evening all

Thanks for all the replies.
I will certainly leave it another year at least.

Returning to this thread please.

My B200F timing belt is approaching four years young. I remember seeing five years as the time interval. I have seen I think four years in the Bentley manual. But eight years?

Wot's the SP please?

Thanks.


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I suppose also it depends how long the "new" belt has been sitting folded-up inside its box in a storage warehouse.

So is my memory correct please. Five years? Is there a Volvo published number of years?

If it is five years I can wait one more year. The belt was changed four years ago by me.