Any Advice, Part 2!

[Chris152]

I think I'll try to find someone to do the pulley swap for us this week - keeping the pulley on as is isn't such a good idea as we've crimped the edge anyway, and I want to see this through as planned if we can. Keep it all as standard as possible.
I'll let you all know how it turns out!
Cheers
C

[Clifford Pope]

Originally Posted by Stephen Edwin

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In future it might be inconvenient to have to find a non-standard belt whenever a new belt is appropriate.




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I always carry a set of spare belts anyway. So when you first set up your pump, buy two belts.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Chris152

I think I'll try to find someone to do the pulley swap for us this week - keeping the pulley on as is isn't such a good idea as we've crimped the edge anyway, and I want to see this through as planned if we can. Keep it all as standard as possible.
I'll let you all know how it turns out!
Cheers
C

I think that is a good plan Chris. I doubt very much that crimping the edge of the pulley would make much different (belts are a pretty inexact science), but keeping the car more or less original would be nice.

I should think any garage or workshop would swap the pulleys over for you - take both with you and it might only cost the price of a drink.

You and your boy are doing well - learning lots at the same time as enjoying your motor car. Don't worry about the odd little setback, they happen pretty often with older cars :-)

Alan

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Chris152

I think I'll try to find someone to do the pulley swap for us this week - keeping the pulley on as is isn't such a good idea as we've crimped the edge anyway, and I want to see this through as planned if we can. Keep it all as standard as possible.
I'll let you all know how it turns out!
Cheers
C

How are you and your son getting on with that 240 Chris?

Alan

[Laird Scooby]

Just found your thread Chris! Glad to see the car has proved to be a reasonably good buy and you're getting on with things!

I've skim read through the thread so may have missed a few things but picked out a few things that i'd like to add some information to - apologies if someone else has already commented in a similar way, as stated i skim-read the thread.

Originally Posted by Othen

Chris,

You only need to change the belt every 5 years, so it would probably be best to take advantage of Loki's kind offer of a loan of the crank holding tool.


Changing the coolant is not a bad idea anyway, I ran the RB with water in the cooling system (for about 3 weeks) after I changed the head to make sure everything is sealed up properly - which is fine as long as the pressure cap is fitted (otherwise the water might well boil). If you are going to change the coolant then you might as well back-flush it according to the LS method, then re-fill with EG/water mix (I buy ready mixed EG/water - because it was cheaper and I'm a tightwad).

Spot on with the 5 years Alan but also ~40k miles for the square toothed belt or 50k with the round toothed belt.

Also if you followed my back-flushing method exactly and then used premixed EG/water coolant mix, you've put your engine at risk.

The mix will be too weak to cover winter because you can't get all the water out of the system by disconnecting the bottom hose (part of my method) or even draining the block using the drain tap on the side (if it has one and even if it does, it's risky as they are prone to break) because there are numerous places where water will be that won't drain easily.

That's why i say in my method to use the concentrated EG antifreeze so the concentration is correct. I suggest you invest a few quid in an antifreeze hydrometer and check the concentration - you will need to correct it by removing some of the coolant and adding neat concentrated antifreeze.

Originally Posted by Othen

The BofH says to re-tension the belt 600 miles after a change - which is pretty sensible to make sure everything has bedded in. After that there isn't a prescribed interval, but it is such a simple job that one might do it from time to time - perhaps annually with the service?

Alan

The timing belt should ONLY be retensioned ONCE after 600 miles and it MUST be done at TDC on #1 cylinder.


There are several reasons for this, the most important one is that at TDC on #1, there is the most slack on the tensioner side of the belt so it ensures the correct tension is maintained.
On my non-Volvo, there is a special blue timing mark on the crank pulley, ~18ATDC specifically for setting the tension on the belt - again this is where there is the least amount of tension on the tensioner side of the belt and once set correctly after a short period of time after renewing the belt is then set for 96k miles or 8 years on that one.

Originally Posted by Othen

Excellent Chris: working with your boy and learning stuff together is probably more valuable in your project than the motor car itself. I can just imagine you two driving around - as proud as can be with your newly fixed Volvo.

You might try a partial change of the ATF in the steering pump - somethimes that helps.

Alan

Excellent suggestion Alan, repeat a few times at 3-400 mile intervals until the fluid remains clean for that 3-400 miles.

I've also heard from many that the PAS on a 240 is still quite heavy. I remember many years ago now my neighbours had a 244 with PAS and because the "lady of the house" suffered MS, found it too heavy. Speaking with her husband one day, he informed me that the PAS was heavy on 240s and all the 7xx models i've had have what i would call heavy PAS - all other cars i've owned and/or driven with PAS are much lighter.

That may be the answer, nothing wrong with your existing PAS pump that a fluid renewal wouldn't sort out. It may have been incorrectly condemned by the garage as generally now PAS systems are much lighter and whoever suggested it was on its way hadn't experienced a 2/7xx PAS system before.

Keep up the good work and keep those posts coming!

PS - Alan - i've only picked on your comments because they were relevant, nothing personal!

PPS - for mixing the WMP (50/50 acetone/synthetic ATF) nail varnish remover is a good source of cheap, low quantity acetone.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

The timing belt should ONLY be retensioned ONCE after 600 miles and it MUST be done at TDC on #1 cylinder.

Good morn Dave,

Many thanks for this - Chris and his son have a really interesting project here.

I'm not in any way doubting you, but I can't find any reference to the cam belt tensioning only being done once in the BofH. Where did that information come from (I'm just curious)?

My BofH doesn't say anything about re-tensioning at TDC on cylinder #1 either; I was wondering about that, if one wound the engine by hand forwards to TDC then there might be a little more tension in the non-adjuster side, and so more slack on the adjuster side (depending on exactly where the engine was on the stroke of course, a degree or two past TDC would create the converse situation). I'd have thought it would have been better to re-tension at the 90/270 degree point where the engine would tend to stop anyway and by definition the rotational forces would be least (which is why it stops there) and so the tension on the belt would be lowest. Just my thoughts; I can't find that written down anywhere - and can't help thinking the BofH would have mentioned it if it made a difference.

Best wishes,

Alan

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

Good morn Dave,

Many thanks for this - Chris and his son have a really interesting project here.

I'm not in any way doubting you, but I can't find any reference to the cam belt tensioning only being done once in the BofH. Where did that information come from (I'm just curious)?

My BofH doesn't say anything about re-tensioning at TDC on cylinder #1 either; I was wondering about that, if one wound the engine by hand forwards to TDC then there might be a little more tension in the non-adjuster side, and so more slack on the adjuster side (depending on exactly where the engine was on the stroke of course, a degree or two past TDC would create the converse situation). I'd have thought it would have been better to re-tension at the 90/270 degree point where the engine would tend to stop anyway and by definition the rotational forces would be least (which is why it stops there) and so the tension on the belt would be lowest. Just my thoughts; I can't find that written down anywhere - and can't help thinking the BofH would have mentioned it if it made a difference.

Best wishes,

Alan

The information originally would have come from Volvo and then Haynes printed it :


Overview of the double-page spread ^^^^^


Close-up of paras #15 & #16, with the specific instructions on retensioning.

Engines, particularly 4-cylinder engines, tend to stop with "two up, two down" on the pistons so one or other of the pistons will likely be at TDC on a firing cycle. It's unusual that they stop with all 4 pistons at the same height which would be 90 deg B/ATDC depending which you looked at.

The way the camshaft is arranged (remember it turns at half crank speed) is such that the lowest amount of tension on the slack side of the belt (where the tensioner is) occurs at this point (TDC #1) in the firing cycle. Hence tensioning/retensioning at this point, regardless of where the engine was when it stopped.

[Stephen Edwin]

David.

You appear to be referencing pages 38 and 39 (?) of which Haynes Manual?

Thank you.


Edit. Fig 1.8 for example looks of some interest.

And I am interested to obtain perhaps one of that edition of Haynes to read the pagesfully in full context.






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[Laird Scooby]

Not that it makes any difference as it still covers the B230 but it's the 740/760 Haynes Owners Workshop Manual - not one of the Mickey Mouse "Service and Repair" manuals that don't give information.

[Stephen Edwin]

Are there different edition, model years, if possibly so which have you referenced please?




Gosh loads "fit" the description. Please, one of your famous photographs, of the cover?






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