The other day my 1989 Volvo 240 auto trans left me stranded. It suddenly died while driving. It would crank but not turn over. Looking through the oil filler cap I could see that the camshaft was not moving, tow truck time. I just recently did an oil change with wal-mart brand oil and oil filter (Yeah I know). For the past couple of days it has been a bone chilling 40 degrees here, so I just now got to work on it today.

Upon inspection the timing belt was shredded and torn in half. The cam and sprocket would not budge until I took a wrench to it. Even then it was very stiff.

So I am thinking new camshaft, camshaft bearings, timing belt, tensioner, water pump, various seals and I might as well replace the head gasket while I am at it. I guess I should have read my Bentley a little better. There are no cam bearings. The first bearing/cap (behind cam sprocket) is a bit scoured and the rest show a little bit of wear. So what do I need to do to prepare these caps for a new camshaft? Scotch Brite, extra fine steel wool, or some super fine sand paper? Do I need to have the machine shop line hone the head? I'm planning for a valve job anyway but line honing is expensive. Should I just go to the salvage yard and get another head?

Another question how fast do I need to spin the intermediate shaft to get oil to the top of the head? On Chevy and Mopar V8 I can just spin the crank by hand and get oil.


Some pictures

camshaft, cam bearing caps, torn timing belt



camshaft and caps



#1 cam bearing cap (behind cam sprocket) see the shiney spots



cylinder head cam saddles (look kinda burnt)




cylinder head cam saddles (look likda burnt)