D5 water pump removal/replacement
 

I've searched but failed to find any information concerning how to replace the water pump on the D5 engine. Mine is a D5244T10 205 PS. I've removed all the bolts holding the pump in place, but right now I can't see how the pump is going to come out as the gap is so narrow. I don't want to risk losing the timing by removing the rear timing cover and cam pulley.

If anyone has done this job and can give me some tips I'd be extremely grateful.

I would be amazed if there is anything wrong with it even if it were 30 years old .. i would leave it as long as it spins smoothly and does not leak ... I have never come across a faulty one in 30 years since that type was introduced , working with them on a daily basis ... .. if you were to change it for a non volvo pump it would be hugely less reliable than leaving it ..

Many thanks for your advice. That's very useful. I think I will follow your advice and put it back in place. My only concern is that I might have damaged the gasket when I removed it. If so, I will use the one that came with the new pump, even if it's not as good as the original.


Thanks again.

That is another thing , the gasket .. Renault used the volvo 4 and 5 cylinder engine in some of their cars as their own own engines would not pass the emission tests , anyway they bought the bare engines from Volvo and used their own black gaskets for water pump etc , these were forever leaking after wards , whilst the green volvo gaskets lasted indefinitely . best not spoil the job ...

Thanks for the warning but too late! I've put an aftermarket gasket on just now. What an absolute pig of a job getting the pump back in position. :shocked:

I've worked for the best part of five hours on this, three of which were with a mate. The conclusion is that on this particular engine at least, it's impossible to remove the water pump (with the engine in situ) without taking off the rear timing cover. To remove this cover, the cam pulley must be removed. My concern was losing the timing, as a) the cam might turn when undoing the bolts and b) the holes in the pulley are slotted and the timing depends on it going back in place perfectly. I could possibly have dremelled accurate marks, but I didn't trust myself working on an unlocked cam. On this 205 PS engine, and maybe others, there are fuel supply and return lines that are right in the way of getting the pump out. One other option would have been to cut a piece out of the inner cover, but that would have left a permanent gap. I have to say that the thoughtless engineering that renders this job so difficult is very annoying. Other vehicles have two-piece inner covers, and this arrangement would have allowed the pump to come out. So I have ended up having to put the original pump back, but with an inferior gasket as the original broke up. So I am left worse off than when I started. There's one more problem - part of the inner case has to go behind the pump, so it had to be released to let the pump mate up properly. An example of shoddy engineering from Volvo, in my opinion. They probably couldn't care less - most of the cars will have left the dealer network well before this job might need doing.

That's the problem with most modern cars I'm afraid. Designed not to be fixed by Joe Public. My first two cars were an Austin Metro, teh Pug 205. I tried most things myself as they were simple (even had chokes), and I could see how things went together and the associated Haynes manuall for those vehicles were very good. My own car, I won't even touch anything on it. I look at the engine on the XC70 and think nah. I am not competent enough to go buggering around in there. Plus any mistake I'd make could end up being an expensive bill. However, changing oil is something I want to attempt myself one day, surely that hasn't changed much compared to old cars?

oil
 

sadly even changing the oil can be an issue if you put a little too much in lol:speechless-smiley-5

that said most things are straightforward enough with the exception of tools-ie handbrake retraction,crank locking tool and diagnostic equipment

Yes, I fell foul of the oil level issue but luckily I'd already owned a Saab 9-3 where any slight increase over the level brought up the engine management light. So when I changed the oil on my D5 XC70 it was my first port of call.

The kit you mention isn't expensive. My VIDA and DICE cost £50, and I think the crank locking tool (I borrowed one) is about £30. VIDA will do the handbrake retraction, but otherwise a 9V battery will apparently do the trick.

My beef is not one of complexity, but of access. Next time I do work on this area I will get myself some locking pins so that I can work on the crank and cam without fear of ruining the timing.