Project 2007 Volvo V70 D5 2.4 automatic - SOLD - New Owner Updates

[jonathan_dyane]

I’m so glad you’re nearly at the end, and I’m in the situation where I need to cut down on my petrol spend so I’ve been looking at diesel cars; you’ve helped me make a decision.

I’ve now booked my 9-5 in for LPG conversation next month...

[Tepper]

14 hours ago, paulplom said:

What are your plans for it when it's all done? Asking for a friend.

I built this as a keeper, fitting decent parts and doing stuff that made sense rather than just throwing it together to make a quick buck. As a result, I'll probably end up applying typical AS logic and selling it for a loss once I get bored. In reality the plan is to smoke around in it for a while to make sure it's right and enjoy the fruits of my labour - maybe it'll get under my skin, who knows. I'm also having nasty thoughts about a remap, delivering a caravan-haulin' 240 ponies which would probably make it blow up again. If your friend* is silly enough to want to buy it it'll be for sale sooner or later - if they're interested, it could be for sale in a month or so once I've had the chance to put some miles on it.

[Tepper]

Got the injectors all properly sealed this evening, ticking off one of the last jobs remaining on this. I have, in fact, done this job twice thanks to taking the advice of someone on YouTube and buying some cheaper injector washers. These washers were 1mm too big, which doesn't sound like a big deal but the cut area of the seat is exactly 15mm, meaning that these washers (16mm) sat on a lip around the edge. When I started the car up with these, clouds of exhaust were visibly coming up the sides of the injectors. Deep joy. The other pleasing* aspect of these cheaper washers was that many of them stuck in the head. I used the old screwdriver trick to get most of them out (learned from the same YouTube channel - gives with one hand and takes with the other eh), but the last one would not shift. Another high tech Volvo tool was deployed:

Luckily yanking on the wire pulled the washer out. I had horrible visions of having a washer, screw and wire also stuck in the head so I was plenty relieved when it came out.

Finally got the engine covers back on and everything appears to be alright. It sounds better with the covers on, they have a lot of noise dampening material on them.

The only thing left is the bonnet doesn't latch anymore, presumably from being left open for so long. According to VIDA the bumper and slam panel need to be removed for access. I've soaked them in penetrating oil, but if they haven't freed off by tomorrow evening I'll be stripping them down to get them sorted out. Then MOT on Friday if everything goes to plan!

[Mr_Bo11ox]

175/10

[Tepper]

In a shocking turn of events the penetrating fluid did not magically fix the bonnet catches. This happened earlier:

No bueno:

I basically doused everything in WD40 then wiggled the lever back and forth for ages until both catches freed off, which took a surprisingly long time. They were so bad at first that I didn't realise they were sprung, it was only after a fair amount of cleaning and jiggling that they started to return by themselves. Then applied a load of spray grease to try to keep things moving. Normal service has been resumed - MOT tomorrow.

[paulplom]

Fingers crossed!

[Peter C]

Wow. That was easy!

Wasn't it just under a year ago that we were standing on my brother in law's driveway looking at the smoothly running engine, wondering why it wouldn't rev past 2,400? Did you find out what could have caused the cracking to the cylinder head?

 

Good luck with the MoT.

[Tepper]

13 hours ago, Peter C said:

Wow. That was easy!

Wasn't it just under a year ago that we were standing on my brother in law's driveway looking at the smoothly running engine, wondering why it wouldn't rev past 2,400? Did you find out what could have caused the cracking to the cylinder head?

 

Good luck with the MoT.

Yeah, piece of piss mate - it just needed a fuel filter!

About 10 months ago - I remember it well, amazing really that it ran at all let alone sounded absolutely fine when you look at the state of the old cylinder head. No idea as to the cause, the only suggestion that I've heard is lack of oil changes but I think this car has been fairly well looked after so who knows!

Bish bash bosh:

Happy with that. I've swapped the insurance over from my pisshat and this will take over as my day to day conveyance. It's an auto so the handbrake can FRO, I might take a look when it's next on the ramp. Needs tracking and a transmission oil change then we're sorted. Impressions so far are good, it seems to be getting better as the miles get stuck on. It'll get a decent motorway run next weekend which will probably do it a world of good.

[paulplom]

The handbrakes are invariably shit on these. You need to check the shoes don't delaminate. If they do they can write the hub off. I'd check them sooner rather than later.

[rainagain]

The hand brake was shit on my S80 as well, it either didn’t hold or dragged depending on how you adjusted it. It being an auto as well it never bothered me until it failed the mot.

A hero on here suggested changing the return springs. I did this and it was like night and day. 

[Tepper]

Hmm, I should probably get that checked out then. It still wants a few service bits doing so I might take a look next weekend.

Having put some miles on the Volvo it seemed slightly incontinent. Here is some expensive Volvo coolant adorning my workshop floor:

Boooo coolant leaks:

At first it looked pretty bad but it turned out to be one of these jubilee clips needing to be nipped up:

Result. I also did a transmission fluid change using the Gibbons method yesterday, I didn't take any pictures because my brother was helping me and we were in a bit of a rush. The Gibbons method involves releasing a number of angry apes into the gearbag and hoping for the best draining whatever comes out of the drain plug then refilling with the same amount of fresh fluid, then disconnecting the oil cooler line and using the transmission's internal oil pump to empty fluid 2 litres at a time, refilling in between with fresh fluid. This is the process recommended in the manual as it ensures that almost all of the fluid is replaced, rather than just what's in the sump of the transmission. As a certified Volvo mechanic* I needed a few tools for the job. Off I went to the Range where I scored this:

Great for aquariums - I guess the back of the Volvo looks a bit like a fishtank? The reason I bought this is it came with clear hose that looked about right. Due to my high level of planning and engineering expertise, the hose fit nicely into this 59p funnel:

But more importantly onto this stub of transmission cooler line from the scrapyard which was duly inserted into the cooler. This allowed the old fluid to be shat out in a semi-controlled manner:

The fluid change was a success and I measured the final level with the transmission at 50 degrees as stated in VIDA. I also reset the fluid counter, adaptations etc. I'm glad I did this job as the box was definitely short on fluid after removing the cooler lines for the engine swap. The changes are smoother than before and are getting smoother as the TCM relearns the shifting. Another result.

Finally, this car arrived with one of the driveshaft bolts missing, which is apparently fairly common. They're single use bolts (well done you Swedish bastards), which can work their way out - particularly if they've been re-used. I bought new bolts, but they didn't seem to fit. I double-checked with the nice man at the parts counter but they were definitely right - turns out the thread in both the driveshafts was crispy ducked. Not looking forward to having to remove the driveshafts again, I decided to try running a tap down them in situ:

This is a pain in the arse, as you can't get a tap wrench on it and it's also difficult to keep it straight. More through luck than anything else, I managed to twizzle the tap with a pair of pliers on each driveshaft and somehow found the thread. Both threads sorted themselves out and driveshaft bolts are now installed. Silence from the drivetrain has been restored. Before you judge me for driving around with no driveshaft bolts and passing the MOT by putting one of the centre caps from the back onto the front to hide the missing bolt, it's actually fairly common on these and the shafts can't come out of the hub due to the suspension geometry. They just clonk a bit, but I'm glad to have it sorted for sure.

The car's performing well and I think is settling down now it's actually being driven. I pressed it into service doing practical estate things today by running about 2 years worth of oil and coolant down to the tip which it handled admirably. We're pretty much there now, I just need to look at the rear wiper and do the remaining service bits (air filter, cabin filter, brake fluid).

[outlaw118]

Re: Rear parking brake woes....TADTS.

My V40 was crap, as is my XC90.

My mechanic bloke recommended buying an adjuster kit off t'bay, if yours hasn't had that done already.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VOLVO-V70-2000-2007-HANDBRAKE-SHOE-EXPANDER-ADJUSTER-SPRING-FITTING-KIT-BEK0218C/264569861246?fits=Model%3AV70&hash=item3d9997b47e:g:T90AAOSwvd9d-MH5

Think this is it, don't quote me!

[Lankytim]

I'm still enjoying this thread, it's brill. I've had drive shaft bolt troubles on my 02 V70. They "ping" when you take up drive, which is apparently quite normal and not an issue at all. I decided to try and tighten them up and found the passenger one immediately gave way as soon as I applied 0000.1NM of force to it. Fortunately I unscrewed it by hand and found the separated section was hanging on by a splinter of steel so came out too. I found a used bolt, stuck that in and I was good to go, complete with "ping".  Lucky!

[RichL]

Looking good.

Fluid change on the box should see it fine for a bit.

Driveshaft bolts are crap they often work loose and fall out.

Definitely check out the handbrake shoes though the whole assembly can fall to bits and ruin the rear hubs 

 

[rainagain]

Re taps, an guy I worked with restored motorcycles, he gave me a good tip of picking up an old lathe chuck at an auto jumble and using that to hold the taps when you can’t get the proper handle in. 

[paulplom]

Bin those locking wheel nuts. They will let you down at the most inconvenient time. Volvo sell standard wheel bolts for not much. I had to get my hub nut tightened  once a year at mot time despite using thread lock etc.

[Tepper]

Thanks for the advice all, will get some handbrake shoes priced up and will get the handbrake suitably fettled. 

14 hours ago, paulplom said:

Bin those locking wheel nuts. They will let you down at the most inconvenient time. Volvo sell standard wheel bolts for not much. I had to get my hub nut tightened  once a year at mot time despite using thread lock etc.

I've got my eye on a pair of alloys from the same car the engine came from, complete with a decent pair of Yokohamas to replace the mismatched ditchfinders on the front and provide a fourth centre cap. Would've had them the other day when I was at the scrapyard but didn't have enough cash on me - would probably be wise to grab the bolts at the same time.

[Tepper]

Not much to report on this, I've done just over 1,000 miles and it's behaving itself nicely. I've done the rest of the service bits, so it's had all new filters and fluids. The old filters looked pretty clean which is always a good sign. I had a 4 wheel alignment done as well, I was going to just get the tracking done on a price match at F1 autocentre but the guy offered me a 4 wheel laser alignment for an extra £20, so I had the whole lot done - would definitely recommend for the price. After this it was still pulling to the left slightly, although much better than before. I went back to the scrapyard and picked up the alloys with good Yokohamas off the engine donor car, they have a bit of kerb damage but they're not too bad. After fitting these the car feels so much better and tracks perfectly straight, which is a bit of a result. I've also binned off the locking wheel nuts as recommended.

I also had a look at the handbrake situation, pleasingly it would seem someone has been there before me - note the fresh looking Delphi handbrake shoes:

I was expecting to see an adjuster in the drum but there isn't one fitted - the Volvo manual states the only adjustment is at the lever end, which is a bit crap. I adjusted it as best I could but it's still a bit feeble, so long as there's no danger of the shoes coming apart and wrecking the hub that'll do for now.

There's actually a fair amount of interest in this car, a few of my brother's mates have taken a shine to it so it may end up sold soon - I half-arsedly put my pisshat up for sale but it would seem this will go first. For now I'll just keep piling the miles on it. I've also ordered a bluetooth adapter that integrates with the (excellent) factory head unit, so it'll soon have music and handsfree that work with the steering wheel controls. Apart from that I'm pretty much there with this one, will carry on using it until someone waves enough cash in my face to persuade me to part ways. Or I could be interested in a swap for something equivalently wafty but veg-able!

[Tepper]

Been finishing off the last few bits needed on this, it's had a slight knock/creak from the front end since I've been driving it so have been chasing that for a while.

First step was this, top mount/upper spring seat on the right hand side:

The first time I did this job the noise actually got worse, despite using parts that seemed OK with a 5 year warranty. Second time round I stuck on parts from the local factors which simply got us back to where we started. Brill.

Next up were the lower arms. These had a split in the bushings which didn't look too bad and went through the MOT no problem but were certainly a candidate for producing a creak. I came up with a cunning plan and managed to blag a pair of knackered lower arms that I had previously removed from a friend's V70. This would allow me to press in new Meyle HD bushes at my leisure and swap them over without having to have the car off the road. Lower arms brought into work to use the press:

These were a bit of a pain in the arse to deal with because of the shape of the arms, it was a bit tricky to get everything fitted up in the press but we got there in the end. Arm with fresh bushes ready to go:

Spot the difference:

Fucksake. Turns out Volvo switched to steel lower arms for the last year or two of production during the Ford takeover. The steel and ally arms are not interchangeable. Balls. I managed to find a pair of steel arms off a breaker and was planning to fit fresh bushes to them, but when they arrived I was pleasantly surprised to find they looked fairly recent with bushes in good condition so I just chucked them on. I've already bought another set of Lemforder bushes so will probably get those fitted to the old arms at some point to keep on the shelf ready to go. At the same time as the lower arms, I also fitted some of these:

These are polyurethane inserts to fill the voids in the original subframe bushes. Subframe bushes are another common source of creaking apparently and at £25 I figured they were worth a shot. I am pleased to say that all creaking/knocking is now gone, which I'm dead happy with. Just need to get it aligned again and we're all set.

Finally I bought one of those 3M headlight polishing kits because the lights were starting to go a bit cloudy. Here goes:

The kit could've done with more of the coarse sanding discs but has generally done a good job, the lights look a lot better than they did before. The car is more or less where I want it now, I'm just waiting on a replacement bluetooth adapter for the head unit as the first one from China was faulty, once that's fitted I think that'll be job done on this.

[Tepper]

Final update: I'm currently driving my ropey Merc S430, so this was sat in the unit waiting for me to do something with it. One of my unit mates' mum was having trouble with her car and needed to make a trip up to Scotland, so I loaned her this. She liked it, and a deal was agreed. It's just flown through another MOT and I hope it serves its new owner well - I wouldn't be surprised if I end up regretting letting it go but that's life! I'm looking for something large and veg-able, at the moment keeping an eye out for a Merc 300td or maybe a Nissan Elgrand.

[Robson3022]

1 hour ago, Tepper said:

Final update: I'm currently driving my ropey Merc S430, so this was sat in the unit waiting for me to do something with it. One of my unit mates' mum was having trouble with her car and needed to make a trip up to Scotland, so I loaned her this. She liked it, and a deal was agreed. It's just flown through another MOT and I hope it serves its new owner well - I wouldn't be surprised if I end up regretting letting it go but that's life! I'm looking for something large and veg-able, at the moment keeping an eye out for a Merc 300td or maybe a Nissan Elgrand.

I may have a diesel Nissan elgrand available soon!!!

[Tepper]

If it's a 3.2 and ideally 4x4 with a towbar then consider my interest thoroughly piqued. So long as it's a 3.2 I'd be interested in details. Drop me a PM!