I have read over all the techniques for removing the front pulley and have some additional questions: Is jamming the teeth on the flywheel an ok procedure or is there a risk of damaging a tooth? I see conflicting information on the importance of observing the timing of the intermediary shaft. Is is geared to distributor rotor and if so why would it not be important?
The camshaft mark. There is a relatively small notch in the backcover at about the 12;00 position; I guess this must be it. There is no mark on the valve cover or block that I can see.

I have 114000 mile on the car, and the belt and tensioner all appeared to be in excellant shape. They have never been changed. I am changing the belt though, because the tensioner is appears to be at the end of its stroke.

Before taking off the pulley, it would appear that it can be lined up at TDC in the 12:00 position by the marks in the lower case. In this position is the crankshaft timing pulley lined up with its marks?

Just changed the belt on our 88 240 (155k). Had to get into the engine compartment and stand on the breaker bar to get the crank bolt moving, so I doubt a strap wrench or something stuck on the flywheel teeth would work. I've heard the holding tool works well, but I prefer putting the transmission in fifth gear and blocking the wheels.

I just did this repair on my '93 945T. For peace of mind and lack of complication, you can't beat just buying the tool that holds the crankshaft pulley stationary. The way I figure it, I am saving a few hundred dollars doing it myself, and I don't want to be jamming anything into the flywheel or potentially damaging anything that will cost lots of $s and downtime to fix.

With the tool, the job proceeds very cleanly with no surprises. It is well worth it in my opinion.

For a side mounted distributor you have to watch the mark on the camshaft. Most 700 series cars are rear-mount distributors, so it is likely that whoever wrote that part was unaware that some of the 900 series have side mount distributors (having perhaps never seen one because they aren't as common).

The little extruded notch on the rear timing cover for the camshaft, is the timing mark. There is one on the inside of the timing cover for the intermediate shaft as well.

With respect to the crankshaft pulley, you can align the mark on the crank gear with the tab that sticks out on the block. When you line up the crankshaft pulley, you should see the dot on the crank pulley sprocket for the timing belt, line up with the little tab on the engine itself. It is not at 12:00, more like 11:00 or 1:00, but which one it is, I don't remember. It is very noticeable once you know what to look at, and aids in timing the engine. Particularly important when the crankshaft pulley has slipped (common). Also good in identifying THAT the crank pulley has slipped.

--
Chris Herbst, near Chicago.

If your distributor is mounted on the side of the engine, which I guess some of the 940's are, then the timing of the I-shaft IS important. If the distributor is driven off the rear end of the cam (like most of the late 740's), then I-shaft timing is NOT important.

As for the cam timing: Be careful you aren't looking at a little semi-circular mark on the outer (forward) edge of the rear cover. Drop your head down and look back into the rear cover and you will see the mark just above the top of the spocket.

Here's some good reading from the 700/900 FAQ's, if you haven't found it already:

http://www.brickboard.com/FAQ/700-900/EngineSealsBeltsVent.htm#Timing_Belt_Seals_Tensioner_PM

you should be careful on the flywheel because the ring on the outer edge is used for the rpm sensor. usually you can find a place where a balance weight has ben welded on the torque convertor and be careful to hold it while someone breaks loose the crank bolt. the distributor is directly attached to the cam so the intermediate shaft is not as important but its too easy to intall it with all three gears properly lined up so do it the proper way.i would recommen you change the tensioner and check the front seals for leaks while you have it out and look closely at your water pump for leaks too. good luck and have fun.

Thanks to all who offered advice. My advice to future users is to read up on all the tips before starting the job. There are a lot of subtle differences between different Volvo models, and some of the tips are very specific to just one model. I successfully changed out the water pump and timing belt on my 94 940, but it took a lot of time and false starts. Now I could probably do it in 2-3 hours. Here are some of the pitfalls:
1) Just finding the timing marks for the pulleys on the case is confusing without being shown exactly where they are. They could easily be mistaken for something else. Of course, if these are lined up properly, then the timing belt can go on without lining its marks up. However, if you do line these marks up with the easy to see marks on the pulley, then you know you've got it right. I don't think anyone mentioned, however, that these marks will not line up for every revolution of the timing belt. It would take several revolutions before they again line up.
2) I wasn't prepared for the problems of blocking the crankshaft while removing the pulley. Its not possible to jam the teeth on the 940 through the inspection port as they do not come close enough. Also I wonder if you could not break a tooth this way. I think jamming a counterweight on the torque converter sounds good, but I never got around to it. I ended up finding a way to thread a steel strap through the pulley and anchoring it to the alternator frame.
3) Two problems on reinstalling the water pump. First of all you really need to lever it up a bit to reallign the last 3 bolts; you just can't do this by hand. Second, the seal on the tube going to the heater got "sliced" by the tube not going in straight. The problem is that you can't tell this is happening when you reassemble. You find out when the water pump leaks and then you get to do it all over again. Whoever offered the advice of putting a rag in the timing belt cover to avoid dropping one of the nuts from flling into the case, congratulation; that is exactly what happened!

Thanks for the advice. I just looked removed the snap in plastic vent (Inspection plate?) and see what you mean. There is no direct access to the geared flywheel and removing the starter motor is a big hassle.
Are you suggesting a means of jamming a counterweight that is welded to the torque converter?
I am getting tempted to try the rope trick of jamming the piston with a short piece of rope. Wonder how this will work. I really don't want to spend $50 on a special tool that I will rarely use.
I am replacing the water pump although it, too, appears in good shape. How difficult is it to replace the crank seal?

yes, what i do is i find a good spot where a weight is easy to get a large screwdriver wedged against it and the slowly have someone turn the crank bolt till your wedged against the opening and then you hold it from turning with the screwdriver while the other person breaks loose the crank bolt.the crank seal is not too hard, there is a special tool to reinstall it, but if your careful you can tap it into place with smooth round punch slowly working your way around in cirles and tapping it in slowly and evenly. watch the edge of the crank because it could cut the seal while you start to push it on so be gentle when you push it over the lip of the crank.use the volvo seals they are excellent quality and not too expensive.

Greetings... as most of us know. It is not always convenient to have someone to help hold something while we do a procedure...wife is little to no help... children are too busy or too distracted most of the time... so we end up going solo... I purchased a craftsman strap wrench for a similar procedure.. to hold the crank pulley while loosening the crank bolt should be quite easy with one of these...also you will find numerous uses for the strap wrench... is quite a useful tool... good luck!

'96 964 138k wifemobile, amsoil synthentics all the way!

Walt, I also the Craftsman strap wrench, the plastic one, right? This will not be strong enough to keep the crankshaft from moving as you work with that bolt. The torque spec IIRC is over 100 lb-ft. I doubt it would be strong enough to remove the bolt from the camshaft, either.

For the crank bolt, I use the rope trick that rmagoo was referring to, I recommend it, it works beautifully. For the cam and intermediate shaft bolts, I take the old timing belt, wrap it around the pulley, and the grip the belt with vise-grips. This also works very well, and is much stronger than the Craftsman strap wrench. And the teeth on the old belt mesh right in with the pulley.

For lighter uses, yeah the Sears strap wrench has been great, it's saved me a few times!

Greg
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http://home.earthlink.net/~greg.wong/