FCP Euro posted this video from an older S60, which calls for replacing the belt tensioner. That is not necessary on the XC90. FCP also removed the upper left engine pad while supporting the engine from underneath on the oil pan. The oil pans seem to be made of fragile alloy that is not designed to be weight bearing. Not willing to risk that.
Why replace it? Because I’m old school and it’s cheap maintenance in the extreme conditions I live in and drive in. And because I enjoy tinkering with the basic maintenance stuff. The more I can do on my own the less I have to rely on a dealer.
I decided to give it a try with some basic tools:
-Icon serpentine belt tool from Harbor Freight ($70.00)
-OEM Volvo serpentine belt (part 31430016) from FCP Euro ($44.29)
-Serpentine belt installation tool from FCP Euro ($33.49)
Upon closer inspection, I realized I could simply remove the torque rod to allow easier access to the belt tensioner. This was convenient since the factory installed torque rod had torn considerably worse over the past couple months. Although it’s covered under the factory warranty, I had a new one on hand with the new design.
1. Remove the Engine Cover
2. Remove the torque rod (2 x 13 mm bolts, 1 x 10mm bolt, and 1 x 15 mm bolt)
3. Remove the ground wire (8 mm bolt)
4. Position the belt tool (with a 13mm socket) so it’s easy to rotate and push down to rotate the tensioner counter clockwise. Once enough slack is there, slip the belt off a non-splined guide pulley. Note – the tool does have limited movement due to the engine pad, refrigerant lines, timing belt cover, and strut tower. Just gotta find the right angle and then it’s super easy to remove. And I dropped the socket a few times 🙄. Retractable magnet helps. VIDA calls for a 3mm pin to be installed into the tensioner assembly to lock it into place. I just released the tensioner 🤷♂️
5. Inspect the old belt. This belt with over 60k miles looked great!
6. Using VIDA’s photo of the correct route, I moved the new belt into place using the belt installation tool. This was worth the cost. Made the job so easy. Doing this once makes the next time twice as fast.
7. Ensure the belt is correctly oriented around the crank pulley, super charger, alternator, AC compressor, and coolant pump. I went under the car and removed some wheel liner screws to view the belt from below to ensure.
8. I could use either of non-splined belt guides as the last pulley. This part took a little extra dexterity by loosening the tensioner while using the installation tool to guide it onto a pulley. I ended up choosing to use the guide pulley closest to the super charger. I think I was being way too cautious and not loosening the tensioner enough. Once I realized the tensioner had way more space to travel, the belt slid on like butter.
9. Recheck that the belt is fully installed on all pulley guides and the belt is fully seated onto the splined pullies.
10. Reattach the negative terminal
11. Install the new torque rod and engine cover.
12. Start the car and monitor to ensure all is well.
This job should take 30-45 minutes if you’re going slow. I haven’t changed the belt on this platform so it took a little longer just ensuring I was doing it right (and after dropping the socket 🥴).
Hope this helps. I imagine it would be similar on all SPA platforms.