Crankshaft Won't Turn Clockwise After Inadvertent Counter Clockwise Turn- It Feels Locked.

[bwebber]

Good day everyone,

First time poster here. I have a 2001 C70 2.3 HPT and I was in the process of removing my timing belt. I had marked my cam pulleys and crank and applied the cam locking tool. I left tension on the timing belt. I then proceeded to take off the crank pulley or at least that was the idea. I removed the 4 10mm bolts and the tried to remove the crank pulley with a 3/8 wrench and socket (i know, extremely inadequate). I thought the cam locking tool would keep everything in place and i went to loosen the crank bolt counter clockwise. when i did so, the crank moved counter clockwise twice and made some clicking sound. The crank pulley marking didn't match the cam pulleys at that point. I removed the cam locking tool to see if I could get the timing lined back up again but now I can't turn the crank bolt clockwise anymore. It seems to be locked up. I really hope I didn't mess things up. Any help or assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! Barry

[Keaton85]

Are you in gear?

If the cams are lined up on the CORRECT marks, then the crank can move anywhere you want to move it to get the mark on the crank correct.

also that cam lock does NOTHING.

[bwebber]

Thanks for the response. I'm in park. My problem now is I can't turn the crank clockwise to reset the timing. It's almost like it's in a bind now after it turned counter clockwise where it was turning normally before the counter clockwise turn.

[Ihatespeedbumps]

Are you in gear?

If the cams are lined up on the CORRECT marks, then the crank can move anywhere you want to move it to get the mark on the crank correct.

also that cam lock does NOTHING.

Negative. If that were the case this wouldn't be an interference engine. Your cam locking tool comment also has me baffled, as I'm not sure how else one would remove the cam gear or CVVT hub without it. Perhaps they don't need those tools for boats?

OP: How far counter clockwise did you turn the crankshaft? You can in fact move the crankshaft a few degrees in either direction, but at some point one of the pistons will hit the valves, which sounds like what has happened. If you were trying to remove the 30MM nut your going to need a 1/2" impact to get that nut off, or break it loose while cranking the engine, but too late for that.

[bwebber]

I turned it counter clockwise twice, moving an inch or two each time, followed by clicking sounds (when I realized something was amiss). I was expecting the crank to resist so I could attempt to break it loose. It also moved a little bit when I removed the 4 10mm pullies.

So the question now is what are my options, if any? Is there anything I can do to readjust the timing to finish my job or have I really messed up?

Thanks.

[sjmcarz]

There's a chance that you've bent a valve or a few at this point. The only way that I safely know of to turn the crank back to the correct spot without hitting the valves is to remove the valve/cam cover causing the cams to pop up and effectively releasing pressure on the valves so that they retract back into their seats. You'll need a rear cam locking tool for this and a tube of anerobic sealant to re-install the cam cover,and torque wrench. If you're not comfortable doing this, find a shop or someone that is. There is also the possibility of slightly turning one or both of the camshafts to retract the extended valve(s) and then carefully moving the crank to the correct position, but can be difficult to determine which valve or valves is causing the bind and not knowing which way etc to slightly turn the cams. and there is the possibility of causing more damage if not done right, if at all possible. The cams and crank must be put back to their correct position before installing the timing belt.

By the way, the timing belt can be removed from the crank without taking off the crank pulley, not quite as easy but not hard, you just have to carefully twist and snake the belt a little, that's how I do mine. There is a small plastic cover under the crank pulley held on with two 8 or 10mm bolts, this must be removed before snaking out the belt.

Where are you located?

[bwebber]

I definitely appreciate the thorough breakdown. I'm in the Washington DC area.

Man, it sounds like I may have really botched this job. If I could go back in time and not even touch the crank pully. I'm so mad at myself. Have you heard of this happening before?

If I attempted Option 1 (not very confident at this point), would that require a complete valve job if any are bent?

Thanks again!

[Keaton85]

Negative. If that were the case this wouldn't be an interference engine. Your cam locking tool comment also has me baffled, as I'm not sure how else one would remove the cam gear or CVVT hub without it. Perhaps they don't need those tools for boats?

Then 99+ they changed that ability. Since 98 and prior, you can turn the crank 360 without touching a valve if the cams are set on the marks.

As for the cam lock, sure if you want to take off the sprocket to replace the seal. Although most don't do that every belt change. Your better off just using a old timing timing belt as a strap wrench to hold the sprocket as the cam locks sometimes are not up to the task. You can change a talking belt without a cam lock.

No need to be a wiseass with the boat comment.

[Keaton85]

OP: put your car in neutral and try again

[bwebber]

My bad...I guess I forgot to mention in my original post that I was taking the timing belt off to replace the leaky cam seals.

I'm just curious why being in neutral as opposed to park would change anything. Please explain. Thank you.

[Keaton85]

I can't remember if the tranny locks the TC or not, so it's worth a shot to see if it will rotate in neural.

[sjmcarz]

This question may be obvious but I have to ask, you're not trying to turn the crank back into position with the belt still on and the cam front lock tool still on are you? I know, dumb question, please don't be insulted, I've done dumb stuff before when I was stressed working on something that was pissing me off!

[bwebber]

Not insulted at all! When you say "cam front lock", you're talking about the cam locking tool placed in the rear, right? The belt is still on, and yes I did remove the rear cam locking tool if that's what you're referring to.

What i found interesting and disheartening at the same time, when i tryed to break the crank bolt originally (turn counter clockwise), the cam pulleys turned (counter clockwise with the crank) even when they were supposed to be locked. I'm pretty sure I had the tool installed and tightened correctly. If they moved that easy then, they seemingly would have moved when I got to the step of removing the cam pulley bolts.

But I'm still at my original problem of not being rotate the crank clockwise to correct the timing. Since I have my car torn apart, I may have to look for a mobile volvo mechanic to see if they can come out and get me back on course.

[sjmcarz]

Oh, I thought that you had the front cam locking/alignment tool, which doesn't work very well. The rear locking tool is the one to use for this job, but some cheaper versions of them can bend, maybe that's what happened here or maybe it wasn't installed correctly. So, was the timing belt still on and tensioned when you tried to remove the crank pulley bolt and the crank and cams moved together, or was it off and the crank went off time? As noted in an earlier post, an impact gun/wrench is needed to remove the pulley bolt, and/or there is a special tool to hold the pulley that bolts to a few of the 4 bolts, but as I mentioned, it can be done without removing it.

[bwebber]

I used the cam (rear) locking tool from IPD. The tool was in the rear cam slots correctly and the allen bolt tightened in the middle at least i thought it was. The timing belt was still on and tensioned when I tried to remove the crank pulley bolt, and the crank and cams moved together (counter clockwise) because the cam teeth didn't allign with the timing belt cover after the counter clockwise turn. Everything appeared intact with the rear cam locking tool upon inspection after all this happened, meaning it appeared to do it's job but the cam pulleys still turned.