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Old 09-15-2021, 09:20 PM
RedArrow RedArrow is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: New York
Vehicle: 1986 Volvo 745 TD
Posts: 900
Default A thought about these units in retro Europe

Quote:
Originally Posted by ngoma View Post
So the "(in-)famous TB" reputation is caused by weak belts?
Not by missed maintenance schedule replacements? Not by improper torquing of the crank pulley? Not by improper tensioning?
I don`t know, Ngoma if the belts were weak at all. Instead it was often probably way too aged/worn (or simply not properly assembled).

For example, many of these cars often sat unmoved for years due to dirty or chemically bad fuel, leaky IP etc. Then when put back on the road, the tb was too `tired` from sitting in the same position for too long. (In Europe these cars were often parked due to bad fuel actually. For over many years the fuel was so acidic that all kinds of diesel cars got ruined internally relatively quickly)
If there was bad reputation that probably formed by those who did not set the engine properly and by those whose d24s suffered a catastrophic failure
as a consequence.
Had the belts been just a little stronger, maybe the things would have happened only a bit later or less often

I would probably expect a little longer life out of a `stronger` belt so I found Turbogreasel`s post very interesting.
If, in theory, a better belt actually helped a safer accumulation of those extra `unsafe` miles that were over the suggested 60000miles/100000kilometers than the better belt could be worth it.
According to what I keep reading everywhere about these engines, a high percent of the sudden death scenarios of these engines were somehow related to the timing belt.

Exactly as you pointed out, bad ownership and lack of proper maintenance killed many d24 cars (Volvo, VW LT), slowly or quickly, but, also it was the postponed maintenance not just unskilled tinkering around the timing belt. Very often in higher mile d24 vehicles the timing belt would be The one that was installed in the factory. And the TB service was postponed/ignored in so many cases. There were tens of thousands of LT vehicles in Europe used for long hauling, construction and heavy duty stuff that they were not designed to do... it added some to their bad reputation. I even met one diesel volvo dude who was convinced the engine has timing chain like a w123 benz does. Imagine how often he worked on his car and the oil he used. Then these owners spread/circulated stories

In some ways, "the situation of the tb service postponement" is even worse nowadays for most of the folks who own a d24, as the d-24 specific tools are not exactly readily available , and, it is getting really hard to find one who 1, is willing to work on it, 2, one that`s responsible and aware of how to properly do it. Also it is much much easier to rack up 60k in the USA quickly.

Luckily these cars are getting very old so whoever is brave enough to buy one has some kind of experience or at least a full toolbox of enthusiasm involved.

After reading Turbogreasel`s post I thought IF the belt didn`t have to be serviced `so often`, in theory, maybe at least half of those `overaged` belts that had snapped would only have snapped a few or many thousands of miles later. That can mean extra miles and extra years for the owner to find the proper tools, a trusted mechanic, or both.

Yes, this is all just philosophy and it is best to do the belt on a regular basis. AND, the other TB components age as well (WP gasket, waterpump, idler bearing etc. So... the 60-75k or 4-8yrs sounds like a good plan.
(In fact I heard people had good success with reusing their good quality cast impeller waterpumps, with new gaskets obviously, for a second round of the 60k miles.)

About the crank nut, you are right. It deserves to be called infamous more than the TB does.

Last edited by RedArrow; 09-15-2021 at 09:26 PM.
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