D5 (D5244T to 2005) Snapped Cam-belt Question

[stutgart69]

Here is a question for someone with previous experience of this sort of thing.

My Cam-belt snapped on my D5 just as I was starting to pull away from a roundabout .
Now, given that it happened at low speed ,what are the chances of there being no damage to the valves or pistons?

Should I put a new timing belt kit on and see if I can turn the engine manually
or not ?(At the cost of around £150). Or would I be as well to take the head off first to see what damage there is ? (Because if there is piston damage, the car is basically scrap).

Thanks in advance for any answers .

[NI_Volvo_Nut]

Buy a belt at £20(ish) and put it on, its a fairly simple job, no need to build it back up completely before trying to start. When the marks are all in place and the belt is on and tensioned, give 2 turns by hand, if all seems ok, turn the key. I'd be surprised if there is piston damage, probably will be valve damage though. You should be able to pick up a 2nd hand head or engine at sensible money. If it starts with no issues, go buy a new tensioner and replace it and you have a shiney new D5 engine again

[stutgart69]

Thanks for your reply bud.

I haven't had a chance to look at it yet, since it only happened on Fri night,and I had to try and find another runabout over the weekend to use for getting to work.
If the tensioner is ok ,then I will certainly try your plan. But am I right in saying that it is common for the tensioner to fail,and this causes the belt to come off or snap?

[NI_Volvo_Nut]

I've heard of belts snapping, but not heard of the cause. There's kits on eBay for £65ish, be worth pulling the cover off and see whats needed, get the bare essentials to get the engine running them make a decision from there. Bound to be someone here would have replaced a belt recently and even give you their old one for the cost of postage.

[Mark S60D5]

As said its got to be worth a go with a new belt, but I would very suprised if the engine survived scot free. What did you do when the engine stopped? Did you know immediately that the belt had snapped ? Or did you try and turn the engine over thinking the engine had stalled? If you turned it over after the belt snapped then i'm afraid damage to the valves,pistons and ,in extreme cases , the camshaft is likely.

[stutgart69]

I never thought of that Mark.
Yes, I did try to restart the engine after stalling .
So the starter will have turned the pistons and they will have been colliding with the valves ? Is that how it works ?

[propane pete]

Originally Posted by stutgart69

Here is a question for someone with previous experience of this sort of thing.

My Cam-belt snapped on my D5 just as I was starting to pull away from a roundabout .
Now, given that it happened at low speed ,what are the chances of there being no damage to the valves or pistons?

Should I put a new timing belt kit on and see if I can turn the engine manually
or not ?(At the cost of around £150). Or would I be as well to take the head off first to see what damage there is ? (Because if there is piston damage, the car is basically scrap).

Thanks in advance for any answers .

Had a problem starting my car after driving on motorway and parking on drive previous evening,called RAC out 1st.comment off patrolman battery flat,tried to booststart battery with power pack, then checked battery and connected jump leads from van,still not starting,then said starter motor.recovered to garage.Garage had vehicle for 4 days and then said not starter motor,timing belt had jumped notch?? and might have caused damage to engine.Further recovered to the garage who do all work on vehicle serving etc.who then found engine to be seized and valves bent,camshaft boss sheared off on end.How could this damage have happened after parking vehicle on my drive.Any suggestions would be most welcome,am trying to get evidence to take garage and RAC to small claims court.

[stutgart69]

Originally Posted by propane pete

Had a problem starting my car after driving on motorway and parking on drive previous evening,called RAC out 1st.comment off patrolman battery flat,tried to booststart battery with power pack, then checked battery and connected jump leads from van,still not starting,then said starter motor.recovered to garage.Garage had vehicle for 4 days and then said not starter motor,timing belt had jumped notch?? and might have caused damage to engine.Further recovered to the garage who do all work on vehicle serving etc.who then found engine to be seized and valves bent,camshaft boss sheared off on end.How could this damage have happened after parking vehicle on my drive.Any suggestions would be most welcome,am trying to get evidence to take garage and RAC to small claims court.

My guess is that the timing must have jumped just as you were about to turn the engine off, or when you originally tried to start it the next morning.
Either way, the damage was done long before the RAC got to it .

[Simon Jones]

Out of interest, how long ago / how many miles ago was the belt changed? Was it genuine Volvo or an aftermarket belt? As previous reply suggests, it's likely the problem was already in progress by the time RAC arrived.

[kmosimanekgosi]

My buddy get the cylider head and open up the engine overhaul it. Period.