C30 belts

[dbsea]

My mechanic is cursing me up and down about changing the belts. Is there a specific methodology or tools to do this? He gave up on the compressor belt, and was able to do some of the others. Help!

 

[bob daily]

Dave, you might want to seek out a different mechanic that is knowledgeable about your engine and has a larger vocabulary. Also I would look on YouTube for a videos of how to change the belts so you know when your being taken advantage of or being told something that is far fetched. That said I'm not familiar with your engine but when someone gripes about a job, and walks off without completing it is unprofessional and a indication that they don't know what there doing.
Bob's thoughts!

 

[dbsea]

Thanks Bob. He’s a good friend and is a very well respected mechanic in the community that’s had his own business for 30+ years. I use the “cursing” sentiment somewhat in jest. The engine is pushed so far up against the bulkhead that there’s very little room to get at the belts from the cockpit, so I can understand his pain. For reference, I have the D6 engine in a 2016 c30-cb. The issue isn’t so much how to change them, it’s more how to access them in a reasonable manner in this boat. 🙂

 

[HawaiianFish]

Aloha Dave, did you ever find a better way. One of my belts recently shredded, but it wasn’t the main serpentine belt. My marina was able to get a certified Volvo Penta mechanic and he verified engine is under warranty, so that gives me somewhat of a piece of mind. I’m more curious if I ever need to do it.

 

[dbsea]

Aloha Dave, did you ever find a better way. One of my belts recently shredded, but it wasn’t the main serpentine belt. My marina was able to get a certified Volvo Penta mechanic and he verified engine is under warranty, so that gives me somewhat of a piece of mind. I’m more curious if I ever need to do it.

Still waiting on him to do the final one, he had to get a special tool and then summer came (and went). He's supposed to flush my fresh and raw water system and change the engine anodes at the same time. I'll let you know!

 

[Gwkessel]

DB
I have yet to get a reasonable explanation on how to change belts on our like vessel. Nightmare access. Some believe
Better to create an access panel from other side of bulkhead to have access to belts. Lots of issues there.
Good luck and keep us posted, soon it will be my turn.
G

 

[dbsea]

DB
I have yet to get a reasonable explanation on how to change belts on our like vessel. Nightmare access. Some believe
Better to create an access panel from other side of bulkhead to have access to belts. Lots of issues there.
Good luck and keep us posted, soon it will be my turn.
G

Thanks G! As far as I know, there is an access panel to the front side of the engine from inside the cabin, where the water pump is, as well as access to the fuel tank / webasto parts. In my boat, you have to remove the webasto box from the panel, and the material to get into the front side, but I have my doubts on if it would actually help with changing those belts...

Dave

 

[Gwkessel]

Agreed,even with removing all the parts I don’t think there is an access panel lined up to help. Think about the alternator
as well. I have a 3 gal accumulator in there to deal with also. My tech was willing to give it a go but not very confident or how long it might take to R&R the belts.

 

[JDubya]

Although dated, this thread is related to a recent post of mine regarding belt management in conjunction with an impeller change out. I'm resurrecting this one instead of creating something new.

Basically, being able to change the belt myself is a skill I'd like to gain but haven't yet worked up the nerve to just dive in and take the belt off. As mentioned elsewhere in these forums, being away from the dock and having a belt issue could be a pretty bad day of boating, so I feel it's a good skill to have.

The directions in the owner's manual seem pretty straightforward. Page 107 for those following along :lol:

1) Loosen locking screws (13mm head IIRC)
2) Tension belt by torquing tensioner square fitting (looks to be a 1/2 inch drive) to 52 ft-lbs, then lock the roller with the locking screws; torque locking screws to 37 ft-lbs
3) Repeat when engine is warm

Again, access seems to be the main issue on the C-30. An old salt in my marina looked at it with me a few months ago and thinks that access to the tensioner shouldn't be too bad, but he did admit that you'd have to do it largely by feel with maybe a tad bit of help from an inspection mirror. I'm pretty sure you need both hands for step 2, to be able to lock down the tension plate while applying the torque. As Dave mentions, I think you could gain some amount of additional access by removing the panel that the Webasto furnace fuel filter is mounted on. That might help in getting the belt threaded around some of the rollers on that side of the engine, but I don't think it would provide any better access to the tensioner plate. (I wonder why Volvo Penta didn't make this a spring loaded tensioner...)

I guess I'm still looking for anyone with a bit more familiarity on this topic that might have some advice based on their experience, or other tips and tricks for how to manage belt removal, replacement, tension check, etc on the C-30. I'm kind of at the point where I'm considering hiring a mechanic to teach me to do this. (Anyone know a good Volvo mechanic on the west side of Puget Sound?)