Bear's bangers: Boxing, clever? A Volvo XC is the perfect car for living in a Cross Country...

[hairnet]

@cms206 cooncil estate II or too posh?

[Bear]

1: Running rather nicely now, good smooth idle.

2: I wonder why the brake light failure is on...

[Dyslexic Viking]

1 hour ago, RichardK said:

No points, surely, on this?!

Doubt it has it. All Volvos at least here, after 1985, have electronic ignition.

[Bear]

So, yeah. Bulb failure was "it wasn't a stop tail bulb". Emissions is probably the duff plug lead as it's going like a beast now. And washer jets were £7.50 for a pair...

That garage owes me an MoT I reckon 😂

[Bear]

So... is the Volvo a keeper?

Lilith gets her way:

Someone gets some fresh air:

 

[danthecapriman]

That’d be a right result if the emissions problem was just that dodgy plug lead!

Those bulb fail warning lights can be very sensitive, I’ve had them come on before because of different branded light bulbs side - side before! Even damp and corrosion on the bulb holders etc can cause it to come on. There’s a relay for that system in the dash which works on the circuits being balanced on load. Hence if a bulb pops or you get corroded contacts on one light the relay sees the circuit as an imbalance and illuminates the warning light. I had this on my 740 because someone had ripped out the metal circuit tracks on one tail lamp and replaced them with bits of crappy wire and connections. There was obviously much more resistance in that light than the other side!

[Ghosty]

7 hours ago, RichardK said:

They are on the list but Bosch cap is expensive. No points, surely, on this?!

Redblocks are K-Jet, no points.

Just looked up the price of a cap, fucking hell. Bosch cap for the 300E is 'only' 80...

[Bear]

35 minutes ago, danthecapriman said:

That’d be a right result if the emissions problem was just that dodgy plug lead!

Those bulb fail warning lights can be very sensitive, I’ve had them come on before because of different branded light bulbs side - side before! Even damp and corrosion on the bulb holders etc can cause it to come on. There’s a relay for that system in the dash which works on the circuits being balanced on load. Hence if a bulb pops or you get corroded contacts on one light the relay sees the circuit as an imbalance and illuminates the warning light. I had this on my 740 because someone had ripped out the metal circuit tracks on one tail lamp and replaced them with bits of crappy wire and connections. There was obviously much more resistance in that light than the other side!

Well, that was my first thought because the NS was brighter than OS - but it got brighter with brakes on.

It was a single filament bulb in the holder. Stopped at garage after getting chips and bought the right bulb, and all lights on as they should be.

Obviously I can't tell if the emissions are better but it is definitely running better with new Bosch leads on. Suspect a cap and arm would improve it further... but the slight miss/offbeat tone was gone.

[Bear]

7 minutes ago, Ghosty said:

Redblocks are K-Jet, no points.

Just looked up the price of a cap, fucking hell. Bosch cap for the 300E is 'only' 80...

£116 came up for the Volvo. I am... shocked.

The coil looks like it's been there 30 years so I'll see about replacing it too, unless they are also

shocking

'cause spending too much could put my finances under

high tension

*runs*

[Bear]

Well, the ML has gone, the Volvo is now my practical car. Given what it cost, how easy it is to work on, and how much I like it, I see no reason to look for or consider any other practical cars.

(Expect a small fleet of bricks to appear)

[brownnova]

I do miss my 940, was such a nice car to drive and own.

This one looks brill. Well bought, and will follow the progress with interest! 

[stuboy]

23 hours ago, RichardK said:

the beast

[Zelandeth]

I wouldn't worry about the coil.  Old style ones like that tend to work absolutely fine or they don't - rarely in between.  The majority of failures on cars of this age are where the coil has been killed by other failures (such as an ignition amplifiers not switching it properly) or distributor caps that are left so long the whole system winds up basically open circuit until something somewhere breaks down.

They're probably one of the most often blamed but least often guilty parts under the bonnet.

The exception is if they have been subject to physical damage - such as the case getting squashed or actually rusting through.  Otherwise they really are pretty reliable.

[Bear]

New washer jets on. Aim is off but they're fitted, flush and correctly-handed.

Opportunity to check headlight wagglers.

Yep! Both working! Yeay!

New blades all round!

 

[Bear]

It is a very long time since I gave cared to give a car a bit of cleaning effort...

Clay bar suggests the car has lived near a railway - huge amount of rust fallout. The boot/D pillar paint is smooth again...

[Bear]

Now where's my liquid chrome pen and 3M tape...

 

[Bear]

Got m'car back:

And this:

Just need to cut the tape down to profile then it can be restored with no risk of losing the H.

(I am guessing it's obvious how much I like this car)

[Bear]

Clay and tidying is improving things, but... the light is an eyesore and should have failed MOT on visible white technically...

The  badge isn't straight - I lined it up with marks left by the old one, will remove and straighten but making a 3M foam backing to fit was a nightmare! Horrid stuff to cut to detail.

I hate finding hidden rust:

So I'm glad there was none.

Depo. Translation: a copy yet somehow, worse. But it fits okay - the bulb holders are prevented from fitting by the contact strips. The trick is to fit them before fitting the light.

Good enough though.

This side next.

And then, as soon as the V5 arrives plate assigned, then MOT. Bumper needs a realign, pushed it a bit at the top, and I'm waiting for an obscenely expensive replacement antenna because it isn't electric, it's fixed flagpole and the base is a very weird angle that I couldn't find a replacement for.

Anyone need a replacement electric antenna insert?

Needed: wiper washer hoses (on the way), proper mirror glass for driver's side. And some plastic/rubber caps for the wiper parking position.

[danthecapriman]

I’ve got a complete brand new electric mirror that’d fit this if you want it?

I bought it for my 740 but the early cars have a different mounting plinth thing so it won’t fit. You can have it if you want?

[Bear]

5 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

I’ve got a complete brand new electric mirror that’d fit this if you want it?

I bought it for my 740 but the early cars have a different mounting plinth thing so it won’t fit. You can have it if you want?

I would love that - but my car has manual mirrors! 

it'd still be a significant improvement over my broken one. I braved removing the tape - the inner mechanism has been trashed and a mirror glued onto a backplate.

And yes, people have posted things saying a Highlander should have electric mirrors - mine are both manual and unheated and there's no switch, and no picture of a heated mirror on my HRW switch...

[danthecapriman]

1 minute ago, RichardK said:

I would love that - but my car has manual mirrors! 

it'd still be a significant improvement over my broken one. I braved removing the tape - the inner mechanism has been trashed and a mirror glued onto a backplate.

And yes, people have posted things saying a Highlander should have electric mirrors - mine are both manual and unheated and there's no switch, and no picture of a heated mirror on my HRW switch...

I’d have thought yours would’ve had electric, oh well.

If you want it regardless, it’s up to you. I don’t know if you could make a good one from the two?

Some Volvo’s do have the wiring installed for certain options even if the actual option wasn’t installed at the factory… be a nice factory upgrade!

[Bear]

On 5/31/2023 at 6:44 PM, danthecapriman said:

I’d have thought yours would’ve had electric, oh well.

If you want it regardless, it’s up to you. I don’t know if you could make a good one from the two?

Some Volvo’s do have the wiring installed for certain options even if the actual option wasn’t installed at the factory… be a nice factory upgrade!

I would genuinely appreciate it - but an electric mirror is an expensive spare and would be wasted on this (they're £130ish for genuine and not that much less pattern).

Even the brochure suggests manual is right and I have a (cheap) spare on the way with some other parts I need. But really, thankyou!

This car was £16,725 new.

When a house was £45,000

Adjusted for inflation it's £34,000

But relative to a house it's more like £65,000

In fairness, though, a Corolla Touring Sports is £31K and hybrid/sophisticated.

[Bear]

Worth the wait!

(Yes, it is A4 RTK now - logbook and insurance, but now I need that MOT!)

[Bear]

Surely the screen jets should be more than a dribble?

*removes and replaces everything in frustration*

Still. Needed to waxoil here anyway.

[danthecapriman]

7 hours ago, RichardK said:

Surely the screen jets should be more than a dribble?

*removes and replaces everything in frustration*

Still. Needed to waxoil here anyway.

Give the battery tray a wax-ing too while you’re at it! They rot around the edge against the inner wheel bowl/wing.

[Bear]

18 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

Give the battery tray a wax-ing too while you’re at it! They rot around the edge against the inner wheel bowl/wing.

Already done (in both senses of the word)

Got them a present

Matching plate surrounds...

It's not looking bad is it...

[danthecapriman]

Looks great! You can even see the reflection of stuff down the side. 👍

[Bear]

Look what arrived!

So straight to MOT place...

They commented on the mileage - yes, Volvo speedometers are fun.

Had a proper sulk about emissions but was holding idle at 1100-1200rpm. When I got back in and drove home, it idled at 750. Bloody thing! I wonder if something needed to recalibrate as this is the first proper drive since having new leads and filters and it's got Cataclean lurking in the tank too.

Comments: "very clean, it's only offering 2.3 on the menu, and there may be a slight leak from the rear crank seal".

It's very woooshy so I'm wondering if the fan has a VC coupling that has failed. That'd chew through fuel, too.

But. MacLeod lives to fight another year, and will only get stronger!

[danthecapriman]

🥳 a well deserved pass that is too!

Dare I say, I think you got a right bargain with that car.

[Bear]

16 hours ago, danthecapriman said:

🥳 a well deserved pass that is too!

Dare I say, I think you got a right bargain with that car.

I think so, I've not been shy spending some money on it:

Actually I hadn't kept tabs. Let's see. I'll bold what it needed to pass MOT and the rest is me being an arse.

Replacement parts:
£25 on washer parts, including a motor I didn't need. The problem was a blocked short hose...
£30 for a mirror. The taped-on glass wasn't cutting it for me!
£96 for new (Depo *sigh*) rear lights. MOT just needed a bulb but I didn't like the cracked light, or mismatched.
£40 for some good D-pillar plastics because I broke one trying to check out the aerial. I'm an idiot and tried thumping it when a clip was misaligned.
£8 for a stick on FM aerial and £19 *blink* for a new volume knob on the radio (but the radio is a nice Blaupunkt so worth fixing).
£50 (resented because time to actually supply parts is taking the piss) from a Volvo specialist for a headlight washer valve, rear washer jet and tailgate trim repair kit...
Coming up £100 on alloy wheel, boot light, boot liner, undamaged ashtray, seatbelt button, replacement full toolkit.

Consumables:
£25 for plug leads. (And £15 for Cataclean, but that's like petrol right?)
£10 air filter.
£20 on wipers front and rear.
Coming up: £200-300 on a full set of tyres, maybe even all five.

But that's all fine, because the starting point was low – just chucked another £100 at some spares but that's including a replacement wheel for the manky looking one and a genuine boot liner, as I found I can get four Toyos for £200 and new tyres + a set of really nice clean alloys will look great.

When asked if I'd sell it I said I'd want £2250 with new tyres (and they would be a top brand, I don't cut corners on tyres particularly when the saving is so low), and I'm not 100% sure it'd carry that being such a low spec. But I wanted a Volvo estate. I really like driving them. So this isn't a resale thing and I reckon what I've spent is still excellent value for what I'll have when I'm finished.