On a side note, has anyone else switched to Valvoline MaxLife Synthetic ATF and noticed a louder 1st gear and reverse? Seems like I’m getting a bit better gas mileage but after a gibbons method exchange from the Mobil 1 3309 a few months back I’ve noticed this on an AW42-AWD.

Over time, the actual motor in the actuator (think of a small motor from a toy, or very similar) has a thermal fuse inside to prevent it from running all the time and starting your wiring on fire in the door harness in a failure event. What actually happens is due to heat and cold, that thermal fuse...

I had a similar symptom of a flashing PNP arrow when the battery cables in my 850 (the six small ones that come from the fuse box) were not connected correctly. However I also had a no start condition. I would check your cables going to the battery terminals, which can go bad on these cars with time.

If air is getting into that intake past the MAF that would definitely cause an issue!! Good find. Still not a bad idea to see if you have an updated throttle body that does not have the issues of earlier units. I believe they will have a yellow or white sticker on the side of the IIRC. Could be seen...

Hi Caesium, can you please explain what a sweep test is and how its performed? Yes; it’s a test of the electronic throttle body module (ETM). It “sweeps” the butterfly valve inside the throttle body all the way open to all the way closed to see if it can move as it is suppposed to. Some of the “chu...

As you mentioned the throttle pedal not being responsive during one of the times it was acting up, I'd get a sweep test done of the electronic throttle body if that hasn't already been serviced or replaced with an updated unit.

Thank you! If I drop the rear trailing arm mount a bit to allow for access, will that require an alignment? Not planning on removing that bolt the whole way.

I've been looking for more information on parking brake cable replacements for AWD P80s. One of mine is for sure broken and needs replaced. I have the parts on hand, but all I see are FWD P80 tutorials and I believe the routing for the cables may be a bit different. Has anyone replaced theirs and ca...

302mm are some of the best improvements you can make to a P80. Your list is just fine as it is, better to stop there and have enough time and money leftover for the rest of the car! You shouldn't need to touch the 4 bolts for the hub unless you are intent on replacing them just to have new ones. Not...

To answer why your engine is having a lifter tick issue, I'd bet it's the oil pickup tube seals and the oil pan seals. They go hard and suck in partially and cause a loss of oil pressure. Additives really won't cure this in my experience. To drop the pan is pretty simple, it took me about 6 hours to...