I have a 1999 C70 convertible. I got it at 133K and it now has about 160K.

I love this car, but wonder about the timing belt... Since I do not have complete service records, I don't know if the belt was replaced or not.

I have no problems, but am thinking that for prudence sake, I might replace the belt and then know that it will not be an issue.

How difficult is it to do this myself? I was nervous about the struts, but I replaced them (and the upper spring mounts) last week, and it was much easier than I thought it would be...

Any advice would be welcome...
--
Each road should be a bit better for having had you pass.

You will need to replace the timing belt, tensioner and tensioner roller, the serpentine belt. Inspect the water pump shaft for loosness/weeping, and all the other rollers.

What makes this procedure difficult is the lack of room. After removing the Sbelt, jack the car up and put it on jack stands. Remove the wheel and flip out the inner fender panel. Then take a look at the room left to work with.

You have VVT, so the only different procedure from the 1995-1998 cars is to rotate the engine 90 degrees past TDC and then rotate it back to TDC, before removing the Tbelt tensioner.

Klaus
--
The more I learn, the more I forget. So why learn?

Thanks for the advice. Sorry for the delay, as I got distracted...

You said that I had the VVT. What is that?

I also need to get the appropriate manual. I bought one from a guy on Craigs list, but it does not work. I think it must have been a boot leg DC copy...

I want a paper manual, if I can find one. I don't keep my computer in the garage.

Again, thanks. I am starting to think one of my winter projects just became clear... Luckily, I don't think the water pump is a problem, as I park it in a garage, and I feel I would see the dripping. Still, while in there, it does make sense to check it...
--
Each road should be a bit better for having had you pass.

Variable Valve Timing, all of the newer engines have this. This also includes a manual tensioner, instead of the black hydraulic tensioner.
Your timing belt and tensioner are good for 105K miles. But in 1999 cars, the belt was usually changed early due to tensioner problems (since fixed). So if your tbelt was changed at 90K, your belt is still good until 195K.
Check for a sticker on the Tbelt cover or computer box on the fender. It should have the date/mileage of when the belt was changed.

There are no paper manuals for 1998+ cars. In order to install the CD, the computer date must first be changed to 1998. Then install the CD and change the date back to 2009.

Klaus
--
I am not a mechanic, so can you trust what I type?

Klaus, while you've got your t-belt hat on, perhaps you could consider a question I had about this procedure?

I did my t-belt a number of weeks ago, but I never did find a way to get the tensioner puller off. (I've got the old style auto tensioner, but I suspect the pulley setup on the newer manual style tensioner is the same or simialr...)

There was a small inset torx bolt holding the pulley on, and I couldn't get a wrench in there to get it off - there's literally 1 inch of room there between the bolt head and the body frame rail that runs along the inside of the wheel well.

Eventually I gave up and moved past it, as I was already looking at spending the whole day at the job and I didn't want to destroy it getting that bolt out...

I later on thought of loosening the engine mount on that side and lifting the engine up a bit to try to get more room to fit my socket and ratchet in there...


Any advice on how to do this job?

Also, I suspect it's got the original roller in there. I replaced the other idler wheel, but the tensioner pulley stayed as I described above, and it's probably as old as the car. After 10+ years and nearly 200k miles should I be worried about it and go after replacing it, or should I leave it on there until my next t-belt job in ~65k miles?
--
1998 V70 AWD Turbo 195k+

A couple of places on these cars where Torx screws are not welcome. Even my 1/4 inch driver was too big by a hair. Someone suggested using a pair of vice grips on the end of the Torx bit, which makes a lot of sense.

I suggest experimenting with it, the rollers don't last forever.

Klaus
--
The more I learn, the more I forget. So why learn?