Engine: B5244: getting noisy- what options do i have?

[ThomasG]

Hi all.
Newbie (of sorts) here, as i had my Volvo for mere 4 years now (some 15000miles).
What can i say- I love it, so does the rest of family including fish in aquarium.
but petrol after 253000 miles is a rather worn car.
So.. few months ago all seemed fine(ish) after all that i`ve done to her (look lower for that)
end of July- trip to Poland. East of Poland. 1300 miles each way + some 400 there. didin`t budge. all smooth and so on, the only surprise was that i had to add some oil half way there, but none on the way back (checked levels before setting off)
end of August- trip to Royan, France. 700+ each way, some cruising there (wine+cheese from farms/chateau`s).. i burst tyre 23 miles from home.and thats all that there was.
BTW: if anyone of you was slowed down by lane closure on monday 4th September roughly 3am in area of junction 5/M25 westward- it was me and my tyre. sorry for inconvienience- as a penalty i`ve spent 5 hours waiting for AA. 23 miles from home after 1500+ miles journey.
Now lets get to the point:
Engine is noisy now.
I`ve got 2 kinds of noise:
a proper vibration coming and going in waves, every 8-12 seconds and only when idling
and a grinding/friction noise present constantly, changing with rpm.
Now, i`ve spent my young days helping dad fixing electrical motors and machinery, and i can recognize a bearing on its way out when i hear one.
what i dont know in such a complicated machine as car motor is: which one(s) is/are going?
today i took a stick to it (old method, no?)
vibration seems to be coming from gearbox (infamous AW55)
when i gotten the car, it was with a bump on P-D/P-R, as per history of these boxes. i took time to research topic and ended up making maybe 12 sump dumps by now. IT IS much smoother. no bump anymore. But i know damage was done. thus Vibration (torque converter?)
the other noise is much harder to trace
Stick method gave me most vibration felt on alternator case (not surprise), absolutely nothing on main case/crank not much anywhere else.
Yet, after setting up on ramps and crawling under- the most of noise seems to be coming from the rear of engine (area of exhaust manifold)
I`m at lost/stuck.

So now I`m looking for help:
do i still try to trace the oncoming fault?
will it be expensive to fix?
is it better to give Welma well deserved retirement in a slaughterhouse for old cars and get something else?
and if so..
would it be Mk2 D5
or one of the newer:
V70 D3 seems out of question- looks Ford, and i cant expect much longevity
mind the cars within my financial reach will have 120000-180000 on them
D4 seems better option but still .. quite a penny for my pocket
D5 seems thirsty
2.0D had 2 motors (correct me if i`m wrong)- Ford/PSA and Volvo, as stated above Ford is a NO-NO to me

but. whats opinions of members here?
what shall i do?
what real options do i have?
i need a car to carry my tools around london, and the same car needs to be able to take us to EU holidays, covering lots of miles with tent/bikes/camping equipment (we were infected with camping bug this year), possibly turning into a tug for camper in a year ot two..

so?
what would you do?

[Brendan W]

Take off the aux belt and see how much if any of the noise is still there.

[ThomasG]

Originally Posted by Brendan W

Take off the aux belt and see how much if any of the noise is still there.

Ugh... isn`t it upsetting when you can`t find that set of spanners that was in the boot only 2 weeks ago?

Got the aux belt off.
scraping noise persisted and was easier to hear it.
as it was coming from top of motor, o took off cambelt top cover.
quite a bit louder again
and seems to be coming from the middle of valve head, not cambelt assembly
or maybe even cylinder block, as on valve assembly photo (found online) i can`t see much that would cause this kind of sound.. i may be wrong though

cambelt done at roughly 190000, if i remember correctly. ive got paperwork somewhere, bud no time to look for it

[Brendan W]

With my optimistic hat on, the noise is from the timing belt cavity.
What was done at 190k, in particular was the water pump replaced with a non Volvo part?
At this point the next thing I would do is go in further to the timing belt and check out everything. Has to be easier than opening the motor.

[ThomasG]

Originally Posted by Brendan W

With my optimistic hat on, the noise is from the timing belt cavity.
What was done at 190k, in particular was the water pump replaced with a non Volvo part?
At this point the next thing I would do is go in further to the timing belt and check out everything. Has to be easier than opening the motor.

Well.. I`m not that confident in digging in cambelt cavity myself.
I`m also a very very bad bookkeper.. looks like 1/3 of my car related paperwork is missing, and i know for sure that its not the case that i wasn`t given that. i had it in my hands. now i dont. together with papers from my previous car.
anyway..
i had a play with the rest of cambelt cover. dangerous with engine running, i know, but the noise was better heard as i was bending the cover outwards (larger opening for sound to pass)
that said- you must be right there.
what i think i`ll do next will be to wait for my mechanic to come back from his hol`s (i this area i dont trus anyone, especially volvo stealerships- wanted to charge me 400+ for changing piston 3rd gear assembly, something that cost me 25quid+45 minutes myself) and have him quote on cambelt and pulleys replacement
and get in touch with previous owner (plays golf in portugal right now) and garage that has done the job to check records (closed on Sat).

Still. i bought her for 800.. spending much money on a car that has 20mpg or lower london-wise and 30-33 motorway..

[Brendan W]

Keep us posted. I am approaching the second timing belt and any real world experience is valuable.
Be mindful that failing timing belt components can go from bad to very bad in a short time.
That would make the car an economic write off.

[ThomasG]

Not good not good not good...
I had reply from garage:

Hi Tom,
I've had a look at our records and found nothing on the cam belt. We did replace it twice during the time we looked after the car, my records only go back 5 years so I'd recommend replacing it to be sure.
Sorry I couldn't be more help.
Regards Dave


I think I'll be getting my spanners ready...
First : find a guide of replacing that belt and so on (Haynes not very helpful here- it has a guide.. But only vague one)

Second: source parts

Third: find time for jobbie

[Brendan W]

Look for the smoking gun. Naff bearings don't need to be stiff or wobbly. The slightest deviation from silky silent smooth is usually enough to make a timing or aux belt bearing complain loudly.

[ThomasG]

I'll check. But not sooner than coming Saturday, and that's if I'm lucky with my time...
Thanks for all the help, I will update.

[ThomasG]

I've put it into a garage today, turns out that I DO need new water pump.. And while at it- cambelt, pulleys and what not. £350.. I guess Volvo stealer or that indie next to me would ask thousands...
Yeah.. The indie that wanted £180 for A/C refill...

Thanks for help.