240 General: B200E Cam Belt Woes

[crcowley]

Originally Posted by Bob Meadows

Whilst the engine is stripped back for the cam belt it may be worth checking the following:~
The tensioner body needs to be able to slide once the securing nut is loosened, when I adjusted the belt on my car the above had to be worked free as it stuck to the block:
A little copper grease on the main body should keep it free for future adjustments.
Good Luck with car.
Bob.

Thanks for the tip, Bob......the existing tensioner was pretty much welded onto the block and took a lot of effort to release, being ultra careful not to break the securing lug into the engine block. I have a tub of copper grease so will certainly use that when re-assembling.

[crcowley]

Originally Posted by 360beast

The crank always needs turning past TDC to get the tool in, just turn it back to TDC afterwards and make sure the camshaft and auxiliary shaft are lined up at TDC too and away you go.

You should change the front three seals and front crank housing gasket while you're there.

Cam/aux seals #6842273 you will need two
Crank seal #1276425
Front crank housing gasket #1378493

When you torque up the cam/aux pulley it will probably jump teeth on the cambelt anyway so don't worry about it being timed up perfectly before torquing those up. Once the cam and aux pulley are torqued you can then remove the cambelt and realign everything before fitting it again.

The tensioner needs torquing to 50nm as do the cam and aux pulleys, the crank if I remember correctly is 60nm plus 90 degrees, it could be 60 degrees but I'm having a brain fart ATM.

You will need sealer for the bottom of the crank housing as it sits against the sump gasket so unless you want to change that too put a thin smear of sealant across it. The gasket is also too long so needs the very end cutting off so it doesn't overhang the sump gasket.

Good luck with it and let us know how you get on

Not many people seem to bother with the gasket even though the bolts are usually loose and it leaks oil just as bad as the seal.

A quick update! I believe I am getting pretty good at taking things apart.....let's see if I can put it all back together!!! Anyway, I eventually managed to get the three cogs off (the crank & the auxiliary/layshaft came off reasonably easily but the cam one was an absolute pig to shift. I have now started to extract the three seals using a special seal remover I bought on Ebay......the cam and auxiliary ones came out easily, but the crank seems well and truly stuck in. I need to replace the gasket on the crank housing, so was wondering if anyone has tried taking this off with the seal still in, and put it back with a new seal (or is that unlikely to work???). Also, I noticed that the cam and auxiliary seals on my car are of a different depth, so I need to find a deeper one for the auxiliary shaft (whatever that is!!!).....I have attached some photos of the seals, plus a before "clean" and after "clean picture of the cam belt area......all quite a mess, and yes, seals certainly in need of replacement!!!

[360beast]

Originally Posted by crcowley

A quick update! I believe I am getting pretty good at taking things apart.....let's see if I can put it all back together!!! Anyway, I eventually managed to get the three cogs off (the crank & the auxiliary/layshaft came off reasonably easily but the cam one was an absolute pig to shift. I have now started to extract the three seals using a special seal remover I bought on Ebay......the cam and auxiliary ones came out easily, but the crank seems well and truly stuck in. I need to replace the gasket on the crank housing, so was wondering if anyone has tried taking this off with the seal still in, and put it back with a new seal (or is that unlikely to work???). Also, I noticed that the cam and auxiliary seals on my car are of a different depth, so I need to find a deeper one for the auxiliary shaft (whatever that is!!!).....I have attached some photos of the seals, plus a before "clean" and after "clean picture of the cam belt area......all quite a mess, and yes, seals certainly in need of replacement!!!

Yes you can just pull the housing off with the seals still on, it is much easier this way. I also fit the new seals in to the housing and then slide them over the shafts, take note of how the lip of the seals sit on the shafts as you don't just push the seals over as it will drage the sealing lip over the shaft and cause a big oil leak.

The orange one is a cheap nasty aftermarket one, the top one is genuine one. Genuine Volvo ones are far superior and are actually the same price maybe even a bit cheaper if you use FRF Volvo in Swansea as they will give you trade discount if you say you're in the owners club.

[crcowley]

Originally Posted by 360beast

Yes you can just pull the housing off with the seals still on, it is much easier this way. I also fit the new seals in to the housing and then slide them over the shafts, take note of how the lip of the seals sit on the shafts as you don't just push the seals over as it will drage the sealing lip over the shaft and cause a big oil leak.

The orange one is a cheap nasty aftermarket one, the top one is genuine one. Genuine Volvo ones are far superior and are actually the same price maybe even a bit cheaper if you use FRF Volvo in Swansea as they will give you trade discount if you say you're in the owners club.

Many thanks for the advice - that’s great, I’ll give it a go! Interesting information about the seal - genuine and aftermarket……..I bought two orange seals with the product number you mentioned from Brookhouse Volvo………so it would appear that both my items are aftermarket items then……I will get in touch with FRF Volvo in Swansea.

[crcowley]

Originally Posted by crcowley

Many thanks for the advice - that’s great, I’ll give it a go! Interesting information about the seal - genuine and aftermarket……..I bought two orange seals with the product number you mentioned from Brookhouse Volvo………so it would appear that both my items are aftermarket items then……I will get in touch with FRF Volvo in Swansea.

Good afternoon all,

Just a quick update on the cam/aux/crank shaft seals fiasco! I managed to obtain the cam/aux seals #6842273 for the sum of £39.11 including packing & postage....ouch!!! As you will see from the attached photo, I have shown the thick light grey original genuine Volvo seal that I removed, then the orange aftermarket seal that I originally bought and finally the darker grey but thinner genuine Volvo seal that I have now bought!!! What I am now contemplating is whether to fit the genuine Volvo seal with the thinnest depth but better quality, or the thicker aftermarket seal? I have been told by one reputable vendor that the aftermarket products are fine, but I am inclined to agree with 360beast that genuine Volvo products should be fitted where possible, as clearly the aftermarket cam/crank seals previously fitted had leaked oil (see photo) whereas the genuine Volvo aux/layshaft seal had not. Any opinions would be most welcome!

With regards to the crank shaft seal #1276425, I have been calling around trying to get this and have been told it has been discontinued, which I found bizarre considering the other genuine Volvo seals are available. I even tried to get in touch with Volvo in Gothenburg where my baby was born in the hope that they would be able to source one for me; alas, I received a one line reply to get in touch with my local dealer or workshop which was a bit disappointing. Likewise, if anyone knows where I may get a genuine Volvo crank shaft seal #1276425 then I would be very grateful.......I have seen ads in the States, but am a bit wary of their authenticity. Of course, as a back-up I do have a new aftermarket seal but would prefer a genuine Volvo one......I am not too keen on doing this job again anytime soon!!!

As always, many thanks again for any help & advice.

All the best,

Charles.