Is there any checking I can do to determine weather my Timing Belt is about to go? The Tensioner? If I took it to Volvo could they :look" at it and advise me weather I have a few 100 miles left, or not? I do not have $900 at the moment but, I have had the fear of Satan put in me because my 1997 960 has 150k miles and (obviously) is ready for a changin'! Thanks!
A mechanic once told me that he could hear that my timing belt (on a Saab) was close to failing. I don't know if that is a reliable diagnostic.
No one knows, and you can't really tell without inspecting it, but the work to inspect it is getting close to just changing it (although you want to do your pump too).
Maybe it will just jump a tooth and alter your timing. Or maybe it will grind pieces of your valve train to mush. Or maybe it will run for another 10,000 miles and then break.
Superstition now: These things run on neglect for a long time, but once the owner is aware of the risks and the necessities, they will break in the worst possible way :-)
No.
You _might_ feel the teeth on it. If they're noticeably rounded, then it's an old one.
Heavy-footed use of the clutch (drag starts) and sudden rpm shifts will certainly encourage it to fail earlier.
It's also not that hard to chaneg it yourself (assuming a 4-pot B200 or similar)
No, there are no good warning indicators except for time and mileage.
If that is the original belt on your 960 then you are flirting with disaster every time you use the vehicle.
John
This engine should be on the home stretch with its second belt (a new one is needed every 50,000 miles or 5 years whichever comes first). A new (third belt in your case) is indeed required. I recently changed a similar belt on a Volvo B230 engine (in a 240 model car) and it had run
63,000 miles on that particular belt. The belt itself looked just fine. The bearing in the tensioner pulley had become rough, while the surface of the pulley was clean.The belt and tensioner pulley design in your engine is almost identical to the B230's setup. I would expect to pay around C$200 to C$300 for a belt and pulley change. Some mechanics recommend a pulley change every other belt. My experience suggests that tensioner pulleys last well over 150,000 miles, meaning a new pulley every third belt change.
Consider changing your own belt. It is not that difficult. It would take you a typical Saturday afternoon. Cost of parts is about C$60.
The only way to tell the belt is going out is when it snaps and destroys the engine. Get it changed now, if you don't you'll be kicking yourself.
Chances are that was a chain, I know the inline 4's in most Saabs are chain driven and you can hear when they're getting loose.
John
Where in Australia are you and who is your local specialist? I'm in Melbourne and curious to see if you use the same guy I do.
John
You can't look at a belt and tell with any certainty whether it is ready to break. Short of the obvious like a belt that has split open, etc. Just rely on the number of miles driven and swap the belt according to manufacturer recommendations.
Yes, you can probably save some money by driving beyond the recommended change limit, but why put yourself through all that worry about whether it will snap 200 miles from the closest gas station and possibly destroy the motor in the process.
_____
On Thu, 14 Sep 2006, typed this :
I once ran out of fuel while in Italy, and by some miracle I was so close to a petrol station I was able to coast to a stop, level with the pumps. :-)
[ ... ]
I used to work with a guy who did that.
The station attendant came out and ask him to pull up to the next pump.
Gary
On Fri, 15 Sep 2006, Gary Heston typed this :
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