Hi:

I have owned several Volvo's over the years, but not a 960/6-cylinder. I am looking at one now with good mileage and condition seems solid for the vintage after a couple of test drives (one owner, about 100k miles). I plan to take it to a local mechanic for an overall check. Before I do that, I thought I would pose a question about a fan belt noise to see if this is something of concern.

At idle, the engine makes a bit of a higher pitched "sewing machine" whirr noise, and it gets higher pitched under load. The engine seems to run smoothly and acceleration is good without hesitation etc. Wondering if the belt is perhaps a bit out of adjustment and glazed, or if this might be a hint of some other trouble like steering or water pump noise or(?).

All mechanicals seem good, with the exception that current owner had air condition fixed a couple of times and it runs, but not cold. Not an issue in current Canadian climate but perhaps in the summer. My prior 1993 940 Turbo had A/C issues that were fixed once, but too expensive to rectify a second time (about $1,000). Wondering if the 960 has the same system, and possibly same issue.

Oh, timing belt was apparently done at 75k miles, so wondering when it might need to be done again, is it 50k intervals for this year of 960?

Any thoughts most appreciated from Board members as always!

Thanks very much,
SM