Volvo 960 2.5 timing belt / skipped one tooth

[SalvadorP]

Originally Posted by 360beast

The one I linked to has a mirror and a few other bits, plus it can take photos

The reason I say about the borescope is because you can waste hours fitting a cambelt and if the valves are bent they aren't going to collide with the pistons again and they might not get stuck going up and down through the guide so there's a potential to waste quite a few hours and money for nothing.

I agree. Borescope is the way to go here.

I bought one of the stand alone units from amazon. The ones that have a screen, because comments are unanimous in that the software of the phone ones is full of malware. And because it was FULL HD and I could record to an sd card.
When it arrived the sd would stay in. I recorded a few seconds holding the card in and when I checked footage it was actually 360p, not HD. Equivalent to an old nokia.

If the cable is thin enough it can be bent like a hook and insert like that in the hole with the cam facing upwards so when it gets in it's already facing the top of the combustion chamber. Alternatively a thin thread tied to the tip of the camera may allow for some control over the lens direction.

[AntoineBa]

360Beast, I totally agree with your proposal, it seems the right way to go. It will save me from purchasing a complete timing belt kit, a cam locking tool, as well as a hydraulic tensioner just to find out that all valves are bent...

[Forrest]

I'll be interested if you get a borescope that works well for you. I bought a ZOTO Industrial Endoscope a few years ago but have not found it as useful as I anticipated. The issues I have found are that the 16ft of rigid cable is a pain when working in close proximity, although fairly narrow the head is not small enough to fit in some places I have wanted to use it and when using it to try to facilitate routing cables through confined spaces dust often adversely affects the view.

And OK, it may very well be a case of all the gear, no idea!

[SalvadorP]

Originally Posted by Forrest

I'll be interested if you get a borescope that works well for you. I bought a ZOTO Industrial Endoscope a few years ago but have not found it as useful as I anticipated. The issues I have found are that the 16ft of rigid cable is a pain when working in close proximity, although fairly narrow the head is not small enough to fit in some places I have wanted to use it and when using it to try to facilitate routing cables through confined spaces dust often adversely affects the view.

And OK, it may very well be a case of all the gear, no idea!

That's everybody's story with the borescopes, unless you are a proctologist I guess. Everyone thinks it's gonna be super useful but then the real world applications are very few. Especially the cheap ones have a long tube lens, which makes it nearly impossible to make 90 degree angles if the passage isn't fairly large.
But I think for OPs application it is the best solution, especially because he can buy a full HD smartphone one for about 30€. Beats doing a whole belt job to find out the engine is trashed.

[AntoineBa]

Many thanks to you all for the advice, I have bought this endoscope : https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B072N24YXM/...HEI2T51CR&th=1

I will let you know the result once I will be able to get to my car, which is located in the Southern part of France (I am now back to Paris).

[SalvadorP]

Originally Posted by AntoineBa

Many thanks to you all for the advice, I have bought this endoscope : https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B072N24YXM/...HEI2T51CR&th=1

I will let you know the result once I will be able to get to my car, which is located in the Southern part of France (I am now back to Paris).

Good luck.

[Piet22]

For future diagnosis or repair it would be interesting to know what caused the slack in the distribution belt. It the tensioner is not leaking oil it is unlikely that it is the culprit.

Have you parked the volvo on a steep slope?

[AntoineBa]

Originally Posted by Piet22

For future diagnosis or repair it would be interesting to know what caused the slack in the distribution belt. It the tensioner is not leaking oil it is unlikely that it is the culprit.

Have you parked the volvo on a steep slope?

Hello Piet22, the distribution belt was very loose, I therefore believe it is the only reason why it skipped one thooth at the intake camshaft pulley while parking. The hydraulic tensioner was not leaking any oil (see pictures). The car was always parked on a totally flat place. I have no more clue, I will try to investigate further when I will have access to my car again, likely end of April or May, hoping the head is not destroyed, although pessimistic on this. I will let you know! Thanks, Antoine

[AntoineBa]

Hello,

This week-end, I will have access to my car and intend to check the valves' condition (potentially being bent) with a borescope. What would be the best way to do so : through the spark plugs ports or through the injectors ports? Obviously the easiest would be through the spark plugs ports.

Thanks,

Antoine

[Chris1Roll]

If you go through the injector ports you will get a good view of the inlet valves (which I think are more prone to getting hit). Thats what I did a couple of weeks ago - see my 700 ownership thread a bit below.

It won't of course let you see the exhaust valves, so you would need to go in through the plug holes or take the exhaust manifold off to do that.

If you pull the injectors out, expect the pintle caps to break and need replacing (on my wifes V70 I had to vacuum the bits out from on the top of the valves) and you should replace the seals regardless.