replacing timing belt and water pump

Hi all,
My 96 volvo 850 is closed to 90K, and I want to have the timing belt
and water pump replaced.
I have been to two garages to check the price. One garage, which is
specialized working on Volvo cars, give me the price right away, "$750
for the total service". However, when I check the price at the second
garage, the price was just $512. There is more than $200 difference!

However, when I was asking the price at the second garage, the mechanic
was using some kind of software to enter my car's information, then he
gave me that price, which TELLS me that he works for any car's timing
belt, or in other words, he may never work on a Volvo and just presume
the same routing as how he works on other cars.

Since I know nothing about how these are being replaced, I guess my
question is is there any speciality a mechanic needs to know before he
works on a Volvo's replacement.

I want to save some money, but on the other hand, I do not want to
have some side effect after the replacement, such as a mysterious
dashboard light goes on, etc.

Thanks a lot and Happy new Year !


CJI







The second garage , Right now I have two op

 

Go with the first garage; they clearly know what they're doing on an
850. If you want to worry about saving money, call your local dealer
and ask for a quote for the same service. You're already saving a lot
of money...

Also, I suspect that the first garage is including replacing the
tensioner, and the second is not. That is a good idea, and could
easily explain the cost difference. The first garage would know to do
this on your car, the second would not.

You're welcome, and Happy New Year to you as well.


Gary

 

Some experienced Volvo mechanics recommend that two bearings be replaced
whenever changing the 850 timing belt. These two bearings are in the timing
belt path. The reasoning behind replacement is that these bearings have
been known to fail/seize around 100,000 miles. The result is a snapped
timing belt, and a ruined engine.

This adds about another $150 - $200, because the bearings are not cheap.

 

Definately!

 

I would stick with a garage which works frequently on modern Volvos.
You do not want someone learning on the job on your car. For instance,
the hydraulic tensioner needs to be very slowly recompressed if it is
not being replace. The uninformed might wail on it and compromise the part.

Also there is the question of what quality of parts are being used. The
quality of aftermarket parts varies widely.

John

 

does this apply to the v70 engine with turbo_

 

I am finding this thread interesting. My wife's 850 is at the point where
she needs a belt. I can see if the wheels are worn to replace them, as wll
as doing the water pump, but is it the concensus that the 2 wheels should be
changed as a safety measure?

Is the tensioner also to be replaced? She has 140 or 150K Miles, this will
be her second belt.
I was going to avoid any risk and buy Volvo parts for the belt, is that a
good idea for the pump and wheels if I replace them too?


Thanks

--Steve

 

Tim (remove obvious) wrote:

Some experienced Volvo mechanics recommend that two bearings be replaced
whenever changing the 850 timing belt. These two bearings are in the
timing
belt path. The reasoning behind replacement is that these bearings have
been known to fail/seize around 100,000 miles. The result is a snapped
timing belt, and a ruined engine.

This adds about another $150 - $200, because the bearings are not cheap.

does this apply to the v70 engine with turbo_

Yes.

 

It's not difficult to replace the timing belt. Buy a workshophandbook like
Haynes. Not expensive. They discribe it in detail.
It's recommended to change the water pump at 240000km because you have to
replace the timing belt again if the pump fails. It's also recommended to
replace the timing belt bearings.

V70 lover