I have a 1995 Volvo 850 Turbo with 69,600 miles.

First off- Thanks again to the outstanding illustrated instructions at Bay 13 a challenging job was made easy !

That said - do not attempt this job unless you comprehend the importance of lining up the crankshaft and camshaft sprockets and have the confidence to do the task. There is no half way - if you mess up on the alignments you will lose your engine!

Couple of suggestions :
1) Line up ALL the tools suggested by the Bay 13 instruction BEFORE you start
2) Have access to a lift or floor jack and 2 jackstand
3) Cold beer for when you have successfully completed the task

Spend some time locating the crankshaft mark and camshaft sproket marks. On my car, these marks were extremely hard to see. Once you are certain you've found them, mark them better.


When I was installing the new T-Belt the exhaust cam sprocket rotated several teeth clockwise. The mark I had applied smudged off and I spent some time with a bright light relocating the factory marks and then rotating the cam sprocket back in line. Word to the wise - DO NOT ASSUME the sprockets will stay in perfect alignment !! Pressure from the valve springs on a cam lobe can be sufficient to cause some rotation of the cam. A mistake here WILL cost you big time.


In hindsight, I should have used a tool to make a more pronounced mark on the barely visible factory etching just to be safe.

Incidently, getting the old belt off was no problem. I mention this because some previous posted suggested cutting the old one off. I believe it's better to have the old one intact to compare to the new one. The 1995 model 850 had two versions of the t-belt depending on the engine number( date of manuf.).

All in all a fairly easy job. However, do not attempt it just to save $300-$400 bucks because if you mess up, a new 850 engine will set you back around $7,500. I work on my cars because I enjoy it - the cost savings is a mere dividend. If you like working on you car and are meticulous the job is easy.

Hope this help someone contemplating replacing their T-Belt.