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Hi Bruce. After more careful study, I think we may both be wrong. I can see where you're coming from. Looks like we may be pitting the 1993 Volvo 940 owner manuals against the 1994-1995 manuals.
We need to realize that the Volvo cars of North America website often provides an abridged or common manual for a range of years and consequently does not always provide a true copy of what was in the glove box let alone the green manuals and service bulletins used by the dealers.
I'll start by pointing out the error of your ways (yeah, like I'm going to start by admitting mine). It's not just the B230FDs that have the 100,000 mile t-belt change interval. The later B230FTs also are 100,000 miles. My 1995 940 B230FT (EGR) has the round toothed belt (as does my B230FD). My original manuals (both the 1995 "Volvo 940" owners manual page 8:2 and the specifications in the 1995 "USA/CANADA Maintenance Records" manual page 16) indicate a 100,000 mile change interval for all 1995 4 cylinders "with EGR", with no mention of non-EGR nor B230FD or B230FT. For my B230FT, the dealer maintenance history from the PO also has the first t-belt change at 100,000 miles (160,000 km), so at least one dealer was following the 100,000 mile guide for a 1995 B230FT. Both the 1994 and 1995 on-line owners manuals (less credible than a glove box manual) agree with my 1995 owners manual. The 1993 and 1994 Maintenance Records manuals are not available on-line so I can't vouch for them.
The 1993 Volvo 940 Sedan owners manual (page 8:2) says both "Timing belt - B 230 F" and "Timing belt - B 230 FT" are 50,000 miles
"note 4) B 230 FD only: ... Replace belt at 100,000 miles (160,000 km)". This can't be the original 1993 manual as the B230FD wasn't introduced until 1994. I assume it's primarily based on this document, the keyword "only", and having no evidence to the contrary, that you've concluded that everything other than a B230FD is a 50,000 mile change, round toothed or otherwise.
There's yet another version of the story in the online 940 Maintenance document titled 1993,1994- 10,000 Mile Maintenance Service. The same document comes up for all 1993-1995 model years. It was never in the glove box. It says
50,000 miles: "TIMING GEAR BELT (B230F AND B230F Turbo WITHOUT EGR)"
100,000 miles: "TIMING GEAR BELT (B6304FD and B230F Turbo WITH EGR)"
Surprisingly, there's no actual mention here of a B230FD even though it covers 1994-1995. You could classify a B230FD as a B230F variant, but note that it does have EGR. Obviously (based on the 1994-1995 owners manuals) it should have been listed on the "WITH EGR" line and the 100,000 mile change interval. I got (incorrectly) hung up here on with/without EGR and the fact I didn't check the title to see that earlier years weren't covered (the lack of B234F mention should have been a clue).
Now my research included the 1995 glove box manuals, the 1993-1995 on-line maintenance manual and the 1994 on-line owners manual -everything but the 1993 glove box manual you were using. I was mentally constructing a table of variants. It only took a bit of tunnel vision and a fair few assumptions to start thinking that everything coming off the line with a round toothed belt was an improved engine with EGR (like my 1995s and presumably most/all 1994s). By applying that profound logic to the 1993 documentation and an expectation of what Volvo engineers might have done, I came up with my universal theory that EGR -> 100,000 mile thus round toothed -> 100,000 mile.
Unfortunately neither of us has access to the green manuals and the Volvo service bulletins for all those 940 years. I'll try to remember to ask what the current standard practice is.
Although not supported by any documentation, I'll keep my universal round toothed belt theory on the back burner. I wouldn't be surprised if Volvo started out with the round tooth t-belt and the traditional 50,000 mile change. Based on my random sample of one B230FD and one B230FT, I don't see why the timing belt setup would have changed from 1993-1995. The belts are the same, as presumably are the gears and tensioner idler. Why would there be a maintenance difference for a 1993 B230FT w/EGR vs. a 1994-1994 B230FT (w/EGR)? Given the same belts, service life would primarily be based on pulley teeth wear and torque sheer. None of the earlier 940's had any more torque than the 1994-1995 B230FT (and that includes the B234F). Perhaps it was only after further thought (and possibly some testing) that Volvo eased off to a 100,000 change interval, especially with the quality belts now being made by the likes of Gates. Whether Volvo later issued a service note for 1993, I don't know. Certainly one never got to the on-line manual authors.
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Dave -940's, prev 740/240/140/120 You'd think I'd have learned by now
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