The Safrane.Info Forum!

Anyone done one on the 2.5?

Anything challenging or any special tools needed?

Urgh.... lol

Yes I've done the 2.5 regrettably. It's not as bad as it sounds or as bad as some mechanics will claim however being brutally honest i buggered mine up following someone elses advice which then turned out to be completely wrong. I had the engine out... did all sorts, had all sorts of problems... you'll understand i have a spare engine and box on a pallet With the engine in place it isn't actually too bad.

There is a timing tool needed which will include the tool for moving the aux belt tensioner out of the way:

Timing Tool on ebay

You'll need to move the aux tensioner out of the way using the handle with the square bit and then put a pin through it to lock it out of the way. Remove the aux belt, top engine mount, fuel lines / injector rail (easier than the pipe that goes into it), spark plugs, drivers side front wheel, arch liner (possibly - can't remember), timing cover, second timing cover (has 6 or 7mm bold in it thats hidden and awkward), lower timing cover..

Then on the other side of the engine, distributor, cam sensor, warm air pipe thing, starter motor bolts, starter motor..

There are two fittings with arms that bolt onto the cams. The slots in the cams are slotted off centre so you can't get them muddled. Put in and bolt into place, rotate the engine either direction so the arms meet, bolt together so they're locked. Now undo the cover / bolt behind the starter motor so you have a hole in the engine case, insert the locking pin so the crank can't move.

Next up, remove the timing belt. Depending on your version, you'll either have a hydraullic tensioner or a mechanical automatic one. Remove this and the belt is yours. Now putting on the new belt is a skill.. If you can get it on without loosening the cam pulley wheels then you're the man. Otherwise you need to loosen the 3 bolts on each and let them dangle. New belt on, new tensioner, new pulley and water pump while you're at it, tighten up and then set the tensioner. IF you've loosened the cam pulleys they'll now have adjusted to where they want to be so you can tighten those bolts back up. Engine locking pin out, cam locks off, rotate the engine a few times to be sure it's not hitting the valves, cam locks back on, make sure it all lines up again. Back off with the locks and put it all back together.

Jod T5 did a very good article about it here: Volvo Forums

You'll have to wing it a bit with my description and his to get you there - his is better than mine but i think mine covers the differences between the volvo engine and the renault-volvo engine. Oh yes, DO NOT USE THE TIMING MARKS on the cam wheels - Renault switched the wheels over and the timing marks are now opposites so you cannot use them (not that you could anyway as the timing cover is different to the one in Jods article).

There is an autodata CD that has a very good description and diagrams on how to do the job - far superior to the renault destructions.

Thanks for the advice. Doesn't sound too challenging in the grand scheme of things but easier when you have the benefit of previous experience.