Hello - Took a nice little drive from VA to NH, no worries on the trip up. Coming home is a different story. Started out at -9 degree F in NH at 9AM and put some hardcore miles under me at normal Volvo speeds (80++). Normal, right? Anyway hear a dull thud and all the lights came on. I spent a good 2hours on the side of I-81 in PA.

Don Beyer Volvo of Winchester suggests it is toast. Says that this interference engine is wound so tight for performance that at those speeds the T-belt breaking destroyed the valves and most likely some of the pistons. They fast quoted me $11K for engine replacement. It is a been a somewhat reliable car (started at -9 F in NH) Excellent performance, you truly do get what you pay for. I may be paddling up that river in Egypt known as The Nile (READ: DENIAL) but I just can't seem to come to terms with the fact that a $400 T-Belt job would have saved me $11K. It seems like our Swedish friends would have designed something a little better and the valves would sheer and the cam stop turning the pistons to protect the BIG stuff.

Sorry about your loss but one the good side there are several T6 engines available for your car with in 200 miles. Check out car-part.com
A used motor can be had for $1700-$3000.

Good luck

Good advive what member ALS mentioned...Think I'd get a 2nd and possible 3rd opinion on your engine before deciding which way to go.....Its impossible to tell w/o cracking open an engine what needs to be replaced..Good luck

Yes, thank you ALS and Domotu. I am still sitting on the fence about which way to go here. If I get a used motor with 75K - 115K miles on it, I really don't know what I am getting. I could get one for $2 - 3K or a brand new one for $4.7K. Then there is the labor. I am a network guy so putting in one of these monstrosities is way beyond me. Brakes, oil changes, car stereos I can handle but this one is way above my pay grade.

I am really troubled. I can pay for exploratory surgery ($400-500) for Don Beyer to tell me it's toast and it will cost $11K for them to fix it. I may be able to get a used motor with labor put in for $4k-$6K or a brand new one and find a reasonable Volvo shop to do the work for $3K-$4K. Either way I am looking at $5K-$7K for used and $8K-$11K for new and that ain't OK. The NADA on this car is $7.5K.

I just looked at the S80 when I went to the dealer. Sweet ride but I really don't want to give the Swedish Ford Motor Company another red cent. I already am in deep on the S80 and need to keep my XC70 on the road as the family truckster. I was actually afraid to drive the wagon today for fear that my T-Belt would snap on that as well. A Volvo owner should never be afraid to drive their car!

Just curious, how many miles has your car done when the timing belt snapped?

Hey jwallace..
You really will dont know what happen inside without opening an engine.
I have a 940 model and the same happens to me(timing belt broke).
For sure in mine car and in your,ofcourse there is not the same type of engine,but after that what happens to me,I had just all 4 sucking valves to change.
Nothing more.
Oh I forgot,after change the valves,they needs to adjust.
After repair my engine is idling and working absolutelly like before...
Check what is really wrong inside your engine.
Marek

This same thing recently happened to my moms neon. Now I know its a totally different car but same type of engine. So timing belt went causing the engine to die. Her mechanic is a good guy and he said that he wouldnt know the extent and cost of the damage till he first put a new timing belt on. Once the new belt is on he could tell if it did damage the engine which of course was the case.

So next he called and said he had to go into the engine to see what was damaged. Now the car was on the highway doing around 80 when the timing belt broke. With that my mom had the car back in one week with the total bill being around $2000-2500.

So I would say deffinitely have someone check out the engine. You could get lucky and only need a few things, but either way I still think its worth it. If anything take it somewhere else where you know they have a good reputation and have them look at it for you.

Black

:cat: Hi there jwallace.

but I just can't seem to come to terms with the fact that a $400 T-Belt job would have saved me $11K.

The above is something every car owner must face. Volvo's are not forgiving for non-maintenance.

Have you kept the scheduled maintenance and service check-ups current?

Everybody feels for you. We've all had the $400.00 cam belt routine as sometime or other with whatever car we owned at the time. I had to replace the cam belt on my Honda. $270.00 it cost installed. I thought I was ripped off until I found out how much a replacement engine would cost-then-it became very cheap!

I just purchased the 1999 S80 (used of course, and it is my first car) and I was wondering, does anyone know the early warning signs of a “soon to snap” timing belt? I would like to avoid this problem at all costs. Or is there a certain mileage that these will start to fail around?

Hi, whenever I buy a used car I always replace the Tbelt to be on the safe side, over here the belt is around £40 and the job takes around 4 hours. Volvo recommend replacing the belt every 70,000 miles (I think) - the time between visible deterioration of the belt and catastrophic failure is about 10 seconds. Belt replacement is part of the service schedule, so you might look to the garage that maintains the car...
Personally I would go for a S/H engine - but fit a new belt before putting it in the car.

you've seen this answer before ... we have two Volvos and replaced the timing belts on both as a precaution, on the wagon at 260k and the sedan at 180k, $200+ each ... my mechanic promises me these are NOT "interference engines" ... so ... does he not know his exhaust pipe from his intake manifold or do some models have self destructing engines and others don't ? ... I'm about to buy a V90 wagon so this would be nice to know

also, the replacement engine we put in our '91 240 wagon last year was $2,000 with 100k miles on it, runs a whole bunch better than the old one that I blew out from severe overheating, but it's still overheating, I'm about to put in a new radiator myself cuz the mechanic can't figure out what's pegging the temperature gauge

feedback to my feedback ... or whatever ... replacing the radiator in our 240 wagon fixed all the overheating issues ... now if I could get the a/c to work right in my '94 960 I'd be a lot happier noncamper ... sold my '90 240 DL 5 speed to get rid of the clutch pedal and that anemic 114hp I4, looked for and still looking for one of the supposed dual overhead cam 940's with 153hp but have yet to see one, were they ever actually manufactured and imported to the states ? ... the 960 is a comparative blast to drive with its 201hp I6 but the a/c is a nightmare ... who designed these things ? gorgeous car but we can only drive it in nice weather, and when does that happen in the subtropics ? ... SHEESH !

I don't think there's any early warning signs for a T-Belt that's about to break, other than knowing how many miles are on it. The only guideline is knowing how many miles are on it. Given the position you are in, do a compression check. 0 compression = new engine. You can also pull the upper timing cover to see if the belt is in place. If it's not on there taught, your valves are toast. I don't know where you're at, but I'm in So. California. I just had a 2001 motor with 40K miles put into my 99 T6 (due to a burnt valve) for $2,250, including labor (plus tax). Actually, I spent $4K, but I had new radiator, engine mounts, belt, idler & tensioner pulleys, struts, rotors & pads replaced as well, and a couple of solenoids. By the way, if you change the belt, change the idler & tensioner pulleys too. As frustrated as you may be, there's options if you do a little homework.

I will have to agree with Marek...That story lines up with mine. I have a 2000 S40, same issue; timing belt snapped on the highway.

the dealer said at least 4k to fix, but I am getting it done by a knowledgeable friend for the cost of a new belt, a few new valves/seals, and a head gasket....as far as labor charges, hes a friend, and is doing it for 300 or 400, depending on how long it takes him

Good luck!