S40 T4 2001 - how to set the belt timing

[moshejay]

Help!!

I've performed a timing belt replacement (belt, tensioner, idler) but now i encountered a problem with getting the camshaft pulleys to be in the correct place when putting the belt on them.
Due to the springs in the VVT the pulleys have a tendency to spring back a few teeth, so i have to rotate then forward, hold them, slip the (hand taut from the crankshaft) belt on the inlet camshaft then carry on to the exhaust camshaft then over the water pump then over the tensioner.....all well and good.
turn the crank 2 turns & find the camshaft pulleys out by 2 or 3 teeth....

question....is there a trick to setting this up???? (or is it just guesswork?).

thanks in advance

[ITSv40]

No guesswork. If the cams are springing out of position you need the holding tool. This fits on the other end of the cams and holds them solid while fitting the belt. You will need a new seal on the inlet cam as they are single use and you have to damage the seal to remove in order to fit the tool. My previous V40 never needed the tool as the cams stayed in position, the current one and the C70 always spring out of line so need the tool.

[moshejay]

thanks for that...
i have the holding tool and the end caps...i didnt use them because vida didn't say that you needed to use them (although haynes did but i figured that was for non vvt models).

however...if (due to the vvt springs) the cam pulleys can partially rotate independantly of the cam shaft i dont understand how locking the cam shafts lock the pulleys in place...what am i misunderstanding here?

[ITSv40]

Are you sure it is the vvt pulley that is moving and not the complete camshaft.

On both my cars - similar engine just one cylinder short on the V40 - the cams 'spring' out of line, not the pulley, if they are not held with the locking tool. On both cars the vvt pulley only moves half a tooth by hand turning it in relation to the camshaft.

When I change belts I set the crank and cams to the timing marks, fit the tool and remove the belt. At this point the vvt pulley only moves fractionally, so generally it stays in the correct position. I then fit the new belt crank first, up over the inlet cam, over the exhaust cam and round the water pump. Then fit around the tensioner, adjust tensioner and remove the locking tool. Check the marks are still correct and turn the engine over two complete turns and recheck. Never had an issue where at that stage the marks have gone out of line.

I suspect without the tool it is the complete cam that is springing out of line, or you have a faulty vvt pulley as which ever way there should not be a 2-3 tooth discrepancy.

[moshejay]

thanks for responding!!

what happened was when i took off the old belt, as it came off the pulley sprang back which rather took me by surprise...i turned the pulley and noticed that there was a 2-3 tooth movement before i felt it come up against the camshaft - a little more and then the camshaft turned over and i had to rotate the pulley back till the camshaft turned over the other way.
When it came time to put the new belt on, i had to take the pulley up to the point where the camshaft was about to turn, hold it in this position, put the belt on and then move to the exhaust pulley and sort of do the same again. then when i rotated the crankshaft i saw the notches were out by a couple of teeth.
i'm beginning to like your method better!!

so why doesn't vida indicate that one should lock the camshafts???
are volvo mechanics so good at this that they dont need to lock them?