I was about 100 miles from home in my 78 242 when I made a stop at a rest area. Car would not restart when I was ready to get back the road. It was the 10 year old timing belt. I had a spare belt and tools to fix it. Unfortunately, I forgot the B21 belt could be changed without loosening the pulley bolt. I used a breaker bar and loosened the bolt by bumping the starter. It was dark when
I got around to putting the spare belt on, but I had my free Harbor Freight
led flashlight. Put everything back on and tightened the pulley bolt. The
car ran well enough to get home but something was wrong. The next day I could
see the pulley was wobbling. The belt sprocket had not been in alignment with
the crank key when I tightened it. The sprocket was jammed and wouldn't come off. Had to wedge a long chisel behind the sprocket and keep hammering until it came off. Fortunately, the sprocket is fairly soft and didn't crack, but there was damage from the misalignment and hammering. Had to do a lot of filing to get the sprocket cleaned up. Put it back together right and it's still running. B21s can take a lot of abuse.

No, I doubt most people take any harm-joy through vicarious similitude or any method.

I feel an elemental quality of this brickboard is to mitigate any displeasure or miserable experience one Volvo owner-operator may encounter as mitigated by another Volvo owner-operator-caretaker.

So, no, I do not ever take joy in another's misfortune, be it of their own making, or imposed upon them.

I'd rather you have joy as a Volvo owner-operator-caretaker in perpetuity.

Though it would seem among the general populous, that schädenfreud is terrific motivation for other's profit through the overt and covert cultural artifacts and in-person harassment this nation serves up. (The one South of Canada.) Citizens predating on other citizens. History repeats itself in yet another nation on decline.

Though I'm sorry you suffered with the timing belt breaking like that.

I've had some odysseys, also. So, I am empathetic to your Volvo auto ownership issues, and when I do the core dump here, it is to help you with compassion as motivation. I like to help people.

Also, writing helps the horrible dyslexia I deal with daily. Amazing how people name you as stupid for reasons of dyslexia. There's some schädenfreud. How does that help? No need to answer that rhetorical (or dialectical?) question.

Next job, please.

cheers,

Mac Dud.
--
The Volvo 164: The Mightiest of All Volvo Automobiles in Perpetuity

Yes, I've changed a timing belt on a B21 at the side of the road. Just driving along and then no power. Luckily though it was a busy highway, it happened at a merge so I coasted to the end of the merge. It gave me plenty of space so I didn't have to worry about being nicked. Had the belt changed in less than 30 minutes. And no tow truck came by to hassle me.

Also did a timing belt change in a parking lot but had to get a ride home to pick up a timing belt. So have kept spares in my cars since.

I'll have to take a look at my sister's '89 B230 to see if a way could be found to slip on the T-belt as easily as on a B21. I know I don't like the harmonic balancer and wonder if anyone has bothered welding the two parts together.
--
1980 245 Canadian B21A with SU carb, M46 trans, 3:31 dif, in Brampton, Ont.

Last Sunday I had to do a roadside belt change on a friend's 89 245. The B230 pulley must be removed for a belt change. B230 owners will have to add a pulley
holder tool or some rope to their emergency tool kits.

"B230 owners will have to add a pulley holder tool or some rope to their emergency tool kits."
At the PickNPull, to grab the harmonic balancer and crank gear, I just reach for the washer hose instead of carrying rope.

--
1980 245 Canadian B21A with SU carb, M46 trans, 3:31 dif, in Brampton, Ont.

You AND your friend failed to change your timing belts before they broke on you and on the road.
A broken timing belt is at the bottom of my list of "emergency" roadside repairs.

Sorry man, but that's akin to driving around down 3 quarts of oil and wondering why you threw a rod when you redlined it, or getting a blowout bacause your tire pressure is 10lbs.

Is that the -- schadenfreude thing, you were looking for? :))))

Yes, I can sense the elements of a schadenfreude trip in your post.

I had bought a belt for my friend's car several years ago, but she would
not allow installation. She has no confidence in my work and feels the odds
of trouble go way up if I work on the car. She prefers to wait until it is
already broken to let me work on it.

I loved your story, and that you were smart enough to have what you needed to repair this on the road.

It reminded me of a non-Volvo story. I was driving my mom's 1972 Caddy with a huge V8, and the water pump belt broke. I had recently read about using stockings to replace a v-belt. I explained to my mom, and she reluctantly surrendered BOTH her "shorty" stockings. She was unhappy when I demanded the 2nd one, due to the length.

I tied them together, and wrapped as tightly as I could. Sure enough, we made it home (only 5 miles, but still it was a hot day and my mom was in her 70's).

Hadn't thought of that story in years... (:

That was a great story to add to memories and extract some of my own!

I still have the same '78 242 car as well!

I can't say I will ever forget that it has the split pulley though.

That is because, when I first got the car, it had the air conditioner installed but without that split pulley!

The "V" belt broke just after having the "Volvo dealership" do a 30k service on the car.
Needlessly to say, I was not happy when I had to put the next belt on. I had never heard of a split pulley belt adjustment on anything until I called the dealer up.

No belt on it meant there it was will no power steering to boot!
So, 35 miles off to that dealer I went, on my trusty motorcycle, to get one "free" from the dealer, but only on a trade it basis.
Sure, I don't trust them either, I thought! The last of the seventies was the beginning of my distrusting period.
If I go back to my "74 Ford truck, definetly the manufacturers.
I Went to Volvo's!

No Granada's for me, thank you! Ever seen one running today? Not me!

The service manger said they had installers put A/C in the cars as Sweden does not use A/C and bah, bah.
It looked like factory to me then and when I compare it to other later Volvo cars, it still does up to the '84s.

I just said to them, they had a gorilla put that on and it's the reason the belt failed!
Why didn't the service guy see the bad belt. Oh, I get it, maybe it was still under warranty.

Then it was like two years or 30,000 miles. The only reason I had it serviced.

By the way, that was the last time that car has seen service by a Volvo shop! Or any shop really I do my own work!

Later I had my '86 done under warranty later for rear muffler falling off, also an occasional miss and the rear tailgate failing to unlock occasionally. The rear tailgate was too intermittent to fix, bring it back when it gets worse. Warranty is close to over. Yeah right!
We all know that it is in the wiring harness of the hinges, don't we!

Next, was the missing. Their claim was it had one bad spark plug and wanted to change ONLY the one. They said it was the platinum plugs I was using. I was skeptical as they were not that old and I couldn't find the miss. My big mistake was, I said, "change them all if that's the case!"

I got a bill for a tune up, not cover under warranty of course, which included a "diagnosis."

They must have down graded to "gold" plugs.

The '86s 3 year or 36,000 mile "bumper to bumper" (buzz word) warranty, now cost me like a $145 and some change for TAX on parts of course!
That rotting off rear Muffler was a good business to them!

I have gotten a "thinner" skull from all the wear by now! Slow learner?
Three times, that is all took for me to discount or distrust warranties on cars forever!

The one other one was with that brand new '74 Ford truck. 12,000 mile warranty . At 19,000 miles I had to have valve guides knurled. Because of a loose head was leaking coolant and it steam cleaned them. My wiser brother-in-law, who knew engines, popped the bolts with a hand ratchet only.

A Year later my complaints were answered by a form letter from Ford. Saying, that they had issues with my particular engines. It only offered to replace my parts, if I showed receipts. No labor.

Knurling valve guides and some gaskets. Who keeps receipts for that.

Thanks to them, I have always bought used ever since. No Fords so far!
Got a '87 Chevy motorhome that sucks as well but it was given to me. Guess why? Only because there was Thicker spot on my head left!


The occasional engine missing on the '86 turned out to be a corroded injector clip on number four, that I found myself no less!
I wished later that I had asked, On which cylinder was that plug in? It would have saved me some effort! It's a rare thing but I take no chance with any of them anymore as they get sprayed ever few years like the fuse panel!

The cars PO live in Santa Barbara. He must have lived or parked it at the sea surf line or something?

I did fix a rusted drivers side rear floor pan well about 15 years ago.
I also have a rusting area at the base of the tailgate under the aluminum threshold plate. The round metal lip that makes up the rear wall.
This is inside the shallow trunk.
Still got to come up with a fix for that!


Here is a thin skulled and thin haired mans Phil-osophy!

If it's made by man it's going to fail eventually, as he is not perfect, so what else can you expect?
Plan on knowing how it works, as you may be the next human working on it!
:-)

You may have made a few small mistakes and had a little automotive bad
luck, but I have entered vehicle hell. My other car is a Renault
Alliance! I see more Granadas than Alliances.

You got me there.

Renaults are rare birds in this country along with the likes of the French Peugeots.
My uncle had a Renault that he loved to drive but as I remember it got to be too much for him or some reason. Probably wore it out.

He later on went and bought a pimp mobile. It was a 70's Chrysler New Yorker with those white side walls tires! All I needed was platforms and flares!

When I visited him, in my home state of Tennessee, I felt uncomfortable driving it around the neighborhoods to see friends.
Especially, if I park it in front of a pork barbecue stand run by certain locals, if you get my drift. I expected the spoked rims or caps to be gone from all the eyeballing!
But I had to have some of that great, hickory smoked, pork shoulder barbecue.

He was not to gifted in picking cars.
Earlier on he was so proud to buy the Motor Trend car of the year. Might have been a '67 or '87 Buick Skylark. The paint peeled right off! Warranty with GM in those years, Ha! I don't remember his fight, if he did one.

The Americans had the AMC cars with the spacious glass pheasant cage of the Pacers or the Camaro knockoffs called Javelins.

Seen any Chevy Vega's around.
Another brother-law bought one of those. He let it go to repo, it was so bad. He like to never got out from underneath that credit wrecker.

Sometimes I have wondered if the Checker cabs were not made from left over parts of all these American cars.
When I was a young man I heard they were made up from parts of everything.

Say what you want about the 1 & 2 series Volvo box look, back then, (don't look at some cube cars now) but they hung on, over the many years. Especially when compared to the domestic outrageous production numbers.

Phil

I slept on my memory banks to refresh over night.
I woke up remembering that the Buick Skylarks paint cracked on the top first.
He got it fixed but I don't know the particulars of how much hassle he had.

This was the days before the waterborne paints that GM used later that peeled off in layers or strips.

I Keep thinking it was closer to a '67 model as that was the year I graduated HS.

I wonder if Motor Trend magazine keeps records of their Cars of the years on-line and any retractions! :-)

Phil

Go that you got home. Sometimes the owner is the greatest threat. Done a few dumb things myself. Don't bother asking.