I recently purchased a beautiful 2003 V70 2.4t car. Had a lot of suspension work done and quite a few new parts but unfortunately the owner had no idea when the timing belt was last done....He owned it for 50k of the total 170k on the clock.
I took a gamble and bought the car anyways...drove it home and have started to to the things that will need to be done if I'm going to drive the car...Like timing belt and the works in there regardless what I find when I open the timing belt cover to do a visual inspection...I found the belt was a Continental so I was happy to see that...At least I know its been done before...just don't know when..Doesn't matter, I'm changing it.
Anyways, what I found when I took that cover piece off was some oil pooled up on the top of the head....you know when you remove the two t30 screws to get the timing belt cover off you expose a small portion of the head there. It looks like its coming from either the oil filler cap area or the pcv tube right there but I haven't taken the big cover off yet due to having to remove the intake tube and all but what should i be looking for preliminarily? I would guess there could be a chance the pcv system hasn't been serviced yet but I don't know...I will do the job but not sure how difficult it is to get to the oil trap? Looks buried under the intake...

The engine seems to run quite smooth so if its a clogged pcv system I would assume it would run rough but not realy sure on these white block engines...They are totally new to me (redblock guy).

Any tips you can give me? I need all the help I can get understanding this new to me engine..

There have been problems regarding the large PVC line that connects to the top of the engine. You can replace that without removing the intake, just by reaching through from behind the throttle body.

First, remove the plastic cover over the spark plugs. That will show you if the oil can from spilled oil, oil cap seal, or the PCV line. Use lots of paper towels to clean up the mess.

When changing the timing belt, be careful of the VVTs as they are spring loaded and will throw off the timing marks. The crank timing mark is a bear to find!! Read up on it to find pictures.
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Keeping it running is better than buying new

What do you mean by VVT? Thanks for the response. This is the deal, I do all my own work on my Volvo's and have done about everything that can be done on RWD Volvo's short of rebuiling the tranny... But damn, I'm freaked out by doing a simple timing belt job on these newer 5cyl engines...lol. I think for me not having the space I'm used to working with is throwing me a curve....Plus the fact these marks have to be exact or I'm screwed..Ugggh!

If you have no reason to remove the sprockets/hubs from the cam shafts, like no leaking cam seals, then the T-belt job becomes much simpler in terms of maintaining proper valve timing. Watch this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IK_zH8g8Fow

Having done the job a couple times now, the main thing I did differently, the second time, is that I didn't remove the crank pulley. Instead, I removed the plastic cover that runs under the lower side of the crank which allows you to R/R the belt in and out of the opening. The main reason is that I don't own an impact gun. Maybe you do though. Once you get it back together just make sure you can rotate the engine through several revolutions without feeling any internal interference. If you remove the spark plugs it will be easier to hand crank and you'll be much more sensitive to any piston/valve contact.

That is the one thing I don't like about this video...The removal of the crank pulley. I don't have impact tools but have access to them. I'd rather not remove the crank and instead the little cover if possible.

A couple of 10mm hex heads hold that plastic cover in place.

Another thing that I find makes it easier (because the crank sprocket timing mark is so vague) - before you remove the old belt, rotate the crank around clockwise to where the cam sprockets are aligned with their index marks, then use a Sharpie or paint or whatever and mark the crank sprocket and engine casing in a way that YOU will understand where it belongs when installing the new belt. A lot of people yank it all apart and then they're unsure of where the crank sprocket mark is when they're try to get it back together.
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Current rides: 2005 Volvo S80 2.5T, 2003 Volvo V70 2.4NA, 1973 Volvo 1800ES (getting ever closer to road worthiness)

Thats A GREAT IDEA, that crank mark is a bear to locate, its there but in an alternative dimension that can only be seen by one eye.

VVT = variable valve timing.

The easiest way that I found is to make up a roughly pentagon shaped piece of 1/8 steel plate that locks the two cams in position while the belt is replaced. There is a guide plate under the crank shaft that does not need to be removed.

Haynes printed a manual ISBN 978 1 84425 263 3 for these cars. They may be hard to find.

Greg

You can remove the oil filler cap and stretch a rubber glove over the filler neck - start the car and the glove should deflate if the PCV system is working properly. If the hose from the top of the breather box to the top of the engine ruptured, it may be a blessing in disguise, although if that happened the glove test may now be inconclusive. Very possibly you're looking at doing a PCV service. And yes, you will need to remove the intake manifold in order to get at everything. There are plenty of online discussions covering the procedure.