Timing belt 244 GLE Auto

Hi, I've been trying to change the timing belt on my 1983 car and I can't get it off the bottom pulley so it looks like I will have to remove the pulley. Is there a way to lock it so it doesn't turn all the time? Thanks in anticipation.

The bolt is very tight. There are various methods to loosen it - the easiest if you can get it is an impact gun. Assuming this is not available you come down to needing a decent length breaker bar to undo it. There are several ways to stop it turning. Put the car in gear and the handbrake firmly on and ideally someone putting the brakes on very hard. Another route is to wedge a jemmy bar into the pulley against say the water pump. Last resort is to remove starter motor and jam the flywheel. It can pay to hit the breaker bar whilst under pressure rather than just pulling on it. The shock helps it to undo. Mike

Thanks Mike, sounds like a bit of brute force is needed.

timing belt 

I've just done the belt on my GLT and had to resort to taking the starter motor out and locking the drive plate (auto) putting it in gear in an Automatic doesn't work as the torque converter isn't locked, think Mike missed the fact that it was an Auto. still needed the brute force through. Bob

I've had a 240 before my 940Auto. I was on my own one day and got really P****d off with not being able to get the bottom pulley off. In the end I got a socket in its bar and put a length of 1inch steel tube over the bar and wedged it against the (in)side of the car. I then turned the starter, there was a bit of a bang and the nut had undone a bit! I'm NOT recommending this but when you are stuck and desperate a mans gota do what a mans gota do. I also found that I don't need to take the starter motor off to jam the flywheel teeth as there is a hole in the botom of the flywheel cover. It is covered by a plastic grill that comes off and you can jam it there if you have an assistant.

Guilty as charged of only skimming through posts - limited time! Thanks for the additional input. I am lucky having a Snap-On cordless impact wrench which solves a lot of difficult problems although in the past I have had to cope on more diy eqipment. Mike

Are we sure the engine's a B21? I thought the B21/23 family all had 6 10mm bolts holding the crankshaft pulley in place while the B230/B200 had the big centre bolt? Or did Volvo change things while I wasn't looking? That said, it's good to know there's a plug to help wedge the flywheel, since the Hustle Muscle is about 1500miles from a belt change........