Timing belt broke while on freeway, is my engine toast?

Thanks,
Kim

The timing belt broke while my wife was driving the wagon years ago. Had just bought the car with 199,000 miles and was planning to get it replaced. Of course, it broke while she was driving and I was out of town. Towed to shop, no damage to engine. Replaced belt, water pump and other obvious things. I think it cost me $350 way back then but remember that was lots of other parts too. Had it replaced again at 250k and no problems since then. Getting ready to hit 300k later this year so will be doing another timing belt then. I believe my mechanic spends 1 1/2 hours but does other things at the same time too.

Ed
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'90 245DL, 5 speed, 290,xxx miles Looking to meet other brickers in Oregon. I travel up and down I-5 often and enjoy meeting for a beer in different towns.

nmi

Only thing is that the V6 doesn't have a timing belt.

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alex

'89 765T, 175,1xx mi

Your engine is fine. No damage as it's non-interference. Replace front seals if they're leaking oil as oil weakens/softens timing belt.

I suggest you post your location so that someone can recommend a competent mechanic in your area.
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1980 245 Canadian B21A with SU carb and M46 trans

On the engine in your 79 there is no internal engine damage when the T-belt breaks - it just stops. The manual trans bit?...I think the guy is assuming that there WOULD be damage with a broken belt, and with a manual, the engine will spin over many, many times before you can disengage the clutch. On your engine that's not an issue. Your mechanic is showing very little, if any, knowledge of these Volvo engines. Recommend you find someone with Volvo know-how. They'll do the job faster, cheaper, and RIGHT.

One of your posts said the car has "no compression". Not sure what this means. If someone tries a compression test with a broken timing belt, well of course there's no compression - the valves aren't operating. This does NOT mean there is anything damaged internally. New timing belt, properly installed - lotsa compression.

When the belt replacement is done check for any signs of oil leaks in the belt area. Oil there means replace the front seals - very simple when doing the T-belt. With the belt off/broken, spin the tensioner roller and listen for noise. It should spin freely, smoothly, quietly. If not, replace that, too - you have already done 99.9% of the labor.

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Bob (son's 81-244GL B21F, dtr's 83-244DL B23F, "my" 94-944 B230FD; plus wifemobile Dodge minivan, hobbycar MGB, and numerous old motorcycles)

How many miles did you have on that TB ?
Just curious... I have over 70K miles on mine, and am contemplating replacing all belts, wondering if I am pushing it a bit. I know the ngine is non-interference, so at most I may end up with a tow bill.
Owner's manual calls for 50K miles. Well I bought all the parts from FCP including the tensioner, I need to be courageous and do it now.

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'89 244DL M47 161K miles

Philly, I was there visiting my brother this past weekend. I would have brought the tools and walked you through it. Anything would have been better then going to the 1st birthday of my niece. The drive back through the bronx to get out on Long Island was more fun.
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'75 Jeep CJ5 345Hp ChevyPwrd, two motorcycles, '85 Pickup: The '89 Volvo is the newest vehicle I own. it wasn't Volvos safety , it was Longevity that sold me

At 70k, yes, you're pushing it a bit. Personally, I do all belts at 45k, with the tensioner and water pump every 90k. The parts are cheap ... it's better on my schedule than the car's.

-- Kane
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Blossom II - '91 745Ti/M46 ... Bubbles - '74 144GL/BW35 ... Buttercup - '86 245GL/AW70 ... The Wayback Machine - '64 P220/M40

I presume it's the B21 ... it ought to be fine. These engines are non-interference in design.

Get that fixed, along with other questionable items.

-- Kane
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Blossom II - '91 745Ti/M46 ... Bubbles - '74 144GL/BW35 ... Buttercup - '86 245GL/AW70 ... The Wayback Machine - '64 P220/M40

I don't know how many miles were on the belt. The car has about 135,000 on it, bought it at 120,000. My mechanic swears it's an interferance engine and there is a good chance there was damage because it's a manual transmission and it was traveling at 65MPH. Do I risk the $350 to find out if the engine is toast, or scrap it?

BS. Find a new mechanic, or if you have the space and the gumption, take the money to buy parts/tools and DIY. These are easy cars to work on beause you have a lot of extra space in front of the engine.

$350 is too expensive for just a timing belt replacement on these cars - $10 part, perhaps $40 with mechanic's markup, but IIRC, even by the book, the labor is only 1.2 hours. An experienced one with a quick hand can do it in less than half that time.

And $350 is too cheap for a replacement engine and labor. Sounds like they're just trying to screw you over.

-- Kane
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Blossom II - '91 745Ti/M46 ... Bubbles - '74 144GL/BW35 ... Buttercup - '86 245GL/AW70 ... The Wayback Machine - '64 P220/M40

I can't see why it would cost $350 to evaluate the engine. If the timing belt did damage to the engine, it would be to the valves, which should be easy to check with a compression check.

A belated word of advice: always change a timing belt on a high milage used car before you dribe far. The labor and belt would have been under $300.

The $350 was to replace the belt. There is no compression on the engine.

No there wouldn't be compression. The timing belt opens and closes the valves. $350 is a little high but not outrageous. It's about 2.5 book hours. I just had one done for under $200.

What did you get for 200 dollars?
Parts and labor?
TB + all accesory belts + tensioner + 3 seals?
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'89 244DL M47 161K miles

Labor and belt. My trusted mechanic didn't think the other things were worth changing. 'Course my 740 has 242,000 on it and he know I don't want to spend a lot

The B-21 is NOT an interference engine. I'm not sure what the connection with the speed you were traveling and what kind of transmission you have is. If your mechanic insists, find a new one. While you are in the neighborhood, when you do the belt, change the 3 seals, tensioner and accessory belts. There sould be minimal additional labor and fairly inexpensive parts charges.

Skip
'93 850GLT
'83 242TI Flathood