Saturday morning at 8:30 AM, I headed to the garage. The day before, I had already removed the wheel arch liner.
I lifted the car on one side (I don’t have a lift, just a regular jack) and placed another jack under the engine block with some wooden plates to distribute the weight across the oil pan.
Removed the engine mount (the torsion piece, the part attached to the engine, and later also the rubber part on the fender where everything rests). This allows the engine to drop slightly, making the central crankshaft pulley bolt more accessible. The four surrounding bolts were lightly tightened and easy to remove. The central bolt has a torque spec of 110 Nm plus an additional 90° turn. It was on really tight and just a bit too much for my air impact wrench. With a stronger one, it comes off in seconds. Be careful not to rotate the engine counterclockwise when removing the pulley.
Once the pulley is off, grab the serpentine belt tensioner with a 19 mm wrench under the spring to release the tension, then insert a thin round metal rod or a drill bit (about 3 mm) into the metal notch to keep the tension off. This allows the serpentine belt to come off, and the tensioner can also be removed. That area is very tight; a 13 mm wrench will work, but it’s a bit of fiddling. Ideally, a long wrench with a ratcheting mechanism would be perfect here.
I used a 24 mm socket and re-inserted the crankshaft pulley bolt so I could rotate the engine clockwise.
Removed the plastic cover of the timing belt area and marked everything carefully. Using the crankshaft bolt, I rotated the engine to align the timing marks—both on the camshaft gear above and the crankshaft gear below.
Be sure to mark everything clearly, preferably with a light-colored/white paint marker, as it can be hard to see otherwise. The marking on the camshaft gear is already very small and sits under the teeth. The timing is also at an awkward angle, so it’s difficult to see properly. I used a small mirror to get a better view. I also saw a video where they made an extra mark on a different part of the camshaft gear and on the plastic cover, so you have two reference points.
Once the camshaft gear mark aligns with the plastic line, you can insert a 5 mm drill bit or round metal pin into the U-shaped slot and the hole on the high-pressure fuel pump. I later found that a drill bit sticks out too far and can cause cuts—next time I’d grind it down so it doesn’t protrude beyond the fuel pump gear.
After marking and locking the fuel pump timing, I loosened the bolt on the timing belt tensioner and released the tension. I also loosened the four bolts on the fuel pump slightly so it could move freely. Then I removed everything that was to be replaced.
I deliberately didn’t replace the water pump. A Volvo mechanic told me they often see leaks from water pumps that have been replaced. In their own timing belt kit, the water pump isn’t even included.
I installed all new guide rollers and torqued them correctly. With the tensioner in place, it was time for the new belt. I first compared it to the old belt—length and number of teeth—just to be sure. Installing it was the trickiest part. The new belt is quite stiff, and the camshaft is in a position where a slight move to the right causes it to “snap/rotate” a little clockwise.
It would be nice to secure/lock that in place with a pin. That’s actually possible since there’s an opening on the other side of the engine where you can insert a locating pin (tool: 999 7007) to lock the meshing camshaft gears at TDC. But to reach that, you’d have to disassemble more. In hindsight, I should’ve done that—it would’ve made things easier.
Anyway, I fully loosened the tensioner, first looped the belt around the crankshaft pulley and slightly over the tensioner, then—with as little slack as possible—around the guide roller to the fuel pump, under the upper guide roller and onto the camshaft gear. Once on the camshaft gear, it’s still a tight fit, and getting the belt properly seated in the teeth and keeping it under tension takes some fiddling.
Note that there’s a plastic tab under the camshaft gear; a few times, the belt got caught on it, which made everything more difficult. When working alone, this isn’t easy to see. Once the belt is properly in place, use an Allen key to tension the timing belt tensioner and tighten the nut.
Here’s where things went wrong for me: somehow, the hex key slipped in the soft aluminum of the tensioner. Not sure why—my tools were fine, and I thought it was seated properly. Anyway, it happened. After some swearing, I got a spare tensioner just in case. I eventually managed to make a custom tool that allowed me to tension the belt properly. Otherwise, it would’ve been an expensive fix.
After that, I tightened the four bolts on the high-pressure fuel pump and removed the drill bit. I then rotated the engine a few times to check if the timing marks still lined up—and they did. At one point, I thought the fuel pump timing was way off, but the U-shaped tab where the drill bit goes also rotates with the engine. It’s not mechanically linked to the engine internals. As long as the upper and lower marks align, the U-tab should line up with the 5 mm hole.
After rotating and checking the timing, I started the engine—it ran perfectly right away. Then I reinstalled the plastic cover, removed the 24 mm socket and bolt from the crankshaft, and reinstalled the crankshaft pulley. For this, you really need a special tool (tool: 999 7495) to tighten the central bolt properly. 110 Nm plus 90° requires a lot of force, especially when you’re lying under the car. I made a ring, welded it to a flat piece of steel, and that worked fine while my son held it steady. But if you can really secure it, that makes installation a lot easier.
Then it was time to fiddle the serpentine tensioner back in, put the belt on, reinstall the engine mounts and wheel, and go for a test drive.
Including making the custom tools and picking up the spare tensioner, I worked from about 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM—at a relaxed pace. So yes, it’s doable in half to three-quarters of a day.