[gatos]

This question has been asked many many times in the past, so I decided to make a quick guide that we can refer to people suspecting their Variable Valve Timing Pulley is playing up.


First of all you need to remove the top plastic covers of the engine. To do this, undo and remove the 6 screws (highlighted in the yellow circles). Remove the right hand side engine cover.


To remove the left hand side engine cover, you need to undo the 2 clips (highlighted in the yellow circles) and lift the cover.


Now you can see the VVT pulley and the VVT solenoid.


Now, unplug the connector going into the VVT Solenoid (highlighted in the yellow circle in the above picture) and start the engine.
- If the noise stops, then it is 99.99% the VVT Pulley being faulty and it needs replacing. A lot of people or garages misdiagnose that the VVT Solenoid is at fault, but very rarely does it fail. See Rufe's post here: http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=59917

- If the noise is still there when you disconnect the VVT Solenoid connector, then the VVT pulley is fine and something else is wrong with your car