New addition

[EML]

I've fancied something a bit quicker than the 90hp 406 Hdi , a puch maxi would probably be quicker to be fair.

 

Spotted a Volvo locally, after a messages  and a phone call I agreed to go and kick the tyres. As my friend is running a T5r I took him along for an extra pair of eyes and see what it felt like in compared to his car, just as we pulled up to look at the car, the heavens opened. 

The rain did a sterling job of hiding the awful lacquer peel on the drivers side, but it was described along with a few other bits of paint that wants looking at.

The heater didnt work, as the resistor had gone, and the fan was running all the time, the seller has ordered a resistor for it, And pulled the fuse so not to run the motor hence flattening the battery. The miles weren't counting on the speedo TADTS and the drivers wiper wasn't hitting the screen very well.

Despite appearances it drove well enough, stopped in a straight line, no odd noises or anything bad, gear changes smooth enough, I made an offer and it was accepted.

Seller will put a new heater resistor in for me, a cam belt and a water pump at an agreed price, collect next weekend.

As the saying goes, Ive just bought a  Volvo 850 T5 Automatic

 

[EML]

As the car was around a mile from my house there was no cross country or even county 

The method of collection was the shopper,  see if it fits in the boot

 

Fitted like a glove, in the week of waiting i got a few insurance quotes that came in loads cheaper than the 406 it was going to replace. Happy days

So collect the car, the cam belt and water pump had been fitted. Heater resistor was the wrong type, so he will get the correct one ordered, Not a worry it wasn't too cold a month ago.

I drove it for a couple of days and it was ok, but buyers remorse had already set in, and wasn't really feeling the love for the car. I am the guy who gets remorse from buying shite bicycles so it shouldn't have come as a shock

I had ordered a repair kit for the speedo, manipulated the wiper arm with 2 big shifters and had got the wiper blade sitting flat on the windscreen now, just waiting on the heater resistor to arrive

My friend with the 850r offered me a mapped ecu for not much, Even a try before you buy it . Little did we know that the Volvos ecu was wearing a chastity belt to keep people out there from meddling with the maps.

 

After the electric lock pick did the business I gave it a try. By god it made a difference. Even off boost it felt quicker. On boost it was really blowing some, yet it was really smoothly delivered. Not a big bang of power as in a 2 stroke kind of way. A very linear boost. A great improvement

Feeling on a high after that improvement, and the new mileage cogs had arrived i studied youtube and other sources on how hard it would be to install the new cogs.

Whilst the dash was going to pulled apart i thought its time to get the resistor changed at the same time. Yet another wrong resistor had been sent to the seller again, so i decided to get one sorted as winter will be on its way, and my insurance renewal was getting ever closer.

The heating set up on this car is the Electric Climate Control , which makes this resistor unique to the ecc. ARSEHATS

But surely being a Volvo it wont be hard to get a replacement. Oh how wrong was I.

Nothing with the same part number on ebay, this part is unavailable from Volvo anymore. So i looked on forums etc and it seems to be a rare part, I phoned a Volvo breaker near Hull who had a part from a V70, he sent me the part number and i looked online, it looked identical to mine except different part numbers, He wanted £25 and £10 postage. I could send it back if it didnt work.

My madcapped reasoning came up with if its £20 for a part that might not work, and need a few days for it to arrive i may as well drive over and try it at his breakers.

So this is exactly what i did, when the v70 part was fitted the motor spun for a few seconds then stopped, that's when i  realised that the motor was also shagged. Rattling like a good un. The breaker had a motor, but the fans "hamster cage"  was well warped, as what was suspected on mine. So i didn't buy that either, but managed to bag a pair of clear side indicators and a replacement mirror glass for the passenger mirror. Not a totally wasted trip,

I remembered a person on here using a company called bba reman to fix electrical issues, quick look online says they can fix them . Excellent news at last. They sent out a courier to collect from me on the Friday, I waited in all day only for them not to come.  Splendid

So after a phone call on Monday I spoke with bba again, and i sent the parcel myself through parcelforce so i needed have to wait in again all day.

 

[EML]

Whilst waiting for the resistor rebuild I set about trying to fix the speedo mileometer 

Armed with torque keys and a good youtube how to i started the project with gusto.

Heater vents out, glove box removed, screws unscrewed it was going well.

 

Dash top removed and finally to free the clocks

Clocks stripped down, mileometer removed from the cluster and the offending cog replaced.

All this aggravation for this little bugger.

The odd thing is that the speedo is an all electronic affair,  not cable driven, so why does it have an analogue mileage when its an electric motor turning the cogs that keep the mileage. Funny old game eh!

[EML]

So the rebuilt clocks were fitted i thought its time to look at the heater fan, especially as it should be easier to remove now the glove box is out and dashtop is off. 

Heater motor was removed fairly easily, its just the wiring that gets in the way

Motor Hamster cage looked in good order and round, so i removed the cage from the motor to be met with this. 

 

I thought if I get the used motor from Hull, and use my cage from above then its job jobbed.

So I phone the breakers at Hull , only to be told that he has now sold that fan, (It was his last one) 

This car is really starting to test me now, if it was spring coming on summer i could go without the heater. But winter is on its way and i was going to use this as my daily drive.

 

[EML]

So after a while on the net and checking local scrapyards i throw the net a bit further afield, I go to Roger Windley's at Tattershall.

A great scrapyard like going back 20 yrs. Cars are all ground level, No climbing two and three high here, its a huge yard.

Pull the bits yourself type of yard, They have a 850 !

The excitement turned to disappointment when the heater motor and the elusive heater resistor was already missing.

So i checked a v70 motor and the shape was the same,  i also cut the wiring plug just in case, which was lucky as it was different with the 850, and the heater resistor to see if it would work with this motor. The pair was as cheap as the fan from the Volvo breaker so nothing lost.

Whilst at the scrap yard i got a bumper grill, which i was missing, a better condition switch and some other bits and pieces to make the journey worthwhile.

 

So its time to start putting the car back together,  Everything went back together smoothly fan back in, dash top back in, fan motor about to be installed when i spot 1 or 2 cm's of water in the  area the fan sits in. I drain it out and think to check the cabin filter.

Ar, the none filter

Ebay order and a few days later we have a Unipart filter installed, delivered for less than £5

So everything is in, fan motor installed, trying the new resistor and it spins for 1 second again. Least ive got the original unit being rebuilt. Been 2 Weeks since i sent it off.

Finally go to fit the glove box and it wont fit anymore, the v70 fan is a bit deeper and hits the inside of the glove box molding. WHY OH WHY is such a simple job fighting me so much