I bought a nice '97 960 wagon today with a broken timing belt. I figured it'll cost no more than $1K to get running, doing it all DIY, so it will be a cheap way to try out a Volvo. It has 140K miles and is a deep purple with tan leather.

Other than the major issue, it has power seat cable problems, the SRS light is on, the sunroof leaks (apparently) and that seems to be about it.

I'm sure I'll run into some problems and hope I can count on you guys for some tips here and there. I have owned many quirky cars in my time but no Volvos, so it'll take a bit of getting used to but I'm not too worried. My plan is to rip off the head and see if the damage is limited to valves, or if guides are deformed, or (shudder), there's piston damage. Parts seem easy to get from the web, only $500 for a rebuilt head. Anything I should watch out for? I'd like to know more about tools to stop the cams from turning when clamping/bolting the cover down...

Cheers,
David

tools and other bits you could probably find on ipdusa's website. www.ipdusa.com

Matt

ps congratulations on buying a volvo - once you get that timing belt done she'll fly!

OK. Day 1 of repair over. I managed to break off the end of the exhaust camshaft with a rubber mallet! I have a head bolt that won't come out with my 12 point socket, so I need an impact socket to put on my impact driver.

Judging by the height of the tappets I have about 50% of the valves stuck open/bent, which is what I was expecting really.

Genius put the nut under the inlet manifold - took a while to get that loose from above, wish I had the car in the air a bit. I'm hoping to leave the exhaust manifold attached to the downpipes.

DOES ANYONE HAVE A SPARE EXHAUST CAMSHAFT? Better yet, a good used head that I could buy.

Cheers,
David

The 960 has the smallest turning radius of any car I've ever seen. Nothing today, in this regard, can compete.

The trick to owning a Volvo is to find a reliable mechanic!


:beer:

(IMG:http://www.terravali.com/testimonials/97volvo960wagonT.jpg)


:bwekk:

Its great having an awesome turning circle! having a big car, people are like you will never fit that in that gap ... then they see it happen and are like wow.

Not necessarily a reliable mechanic (reliable is always good) but a mechanic who has knowledge of pre 2000 volvo's

Matt

I went for the ebay rebuilt head. I've got to deal with a buggered thread in the block (Helicoil), then wait for everything to arrive. Hopefully she'll turn her own wheels again this coming weekend.

She's running! Well, I started her up for a second with the exhaust manifold detached.

Replacing the head is a pretty big job on these cars because of the number of difficult to access screws and nuts. My arms and hands are scratched to pieces, I've broken a couple of Torx bits and my back is killing me from all that bending.

Things to watch: nut under inlet manifold, torque required to undo screws on cam sensor and thermostat housing, scary tightening head bolts (lots of creaks and groans).

I didn't use any fancy tools, but did have to fashion a tool out of a PVC pipe fitting to install the rear cam seals. To clamp the upper head I used 4 c-clamps and watched carefully for unwanted cam rotation. I constantly checked the cam timing because the assembly marks are pretty close to interference on #4 cylinder.

Tomorrow I'll fix the exhaust and go for a drive.....

:banana: been following your posts. congrats on you 960 and getting her to run. now, admit it, did you run her down the block with the pipes off just to annoy your neighbors. :grin: man, if eveybody following all these posts hasn't figured out that i am either the favorite neighbor or public enemy number one, isn't reading them correctly. cheers and job well done. or soon to be done. :beer:

Thanks for the congrats!

It's all done and has about 50 miles on it with no issues. I did have some noise when I first started with the exhaust connected, but it was all cam timing related - I had to adjust the intake cam just a hair to get it running smoothly. Now she purrs like a kitten and pulls very well.

I hadn't driven the car before so I discovered that it really needs new rotors up front and the PNP switch is giving a fault that turns on the check engine light. Unfortunately my scan tool cannot read these codes or reset the light, so I'm going to clean her up and the proof will be when my shifter will move without the override button.

I'm pretty happy right now!

Cheers,
David