Could you summarize what worked and what didn't work transmission wise? Was the first replacement the wrong part or a bad transmission? What year was the working donor? I wish I knew what didn't work the first time! My theory is that it was either a gummed up internal filter on the first one or els...

Just to conclude here--the second used transmission is in the car and working perfectly. I spent a long time making sure the fluid was fully flushed and at exactly the correct level while the fluid was at 40 degrees C. Though I didn't take the plunge and remove the bellhousing side case, I'm confide...

So a buddy of mine bought a 2009 XC90 with the 3.2 engine with only 29k miles. It basically looks brand new. Drove it from Colorado to Ohio...and snapped the passenger side drive shaft 25 miles from home. Putting a new one in this weekend. I've done all the maintenance on his Volvos because I have o...

It's fixed! I'm a bit of an idiot. Either I set the new timing belt off one tooth on the crank or it was like that when I got it...not sure. I did a leakdown test and got under 4% leakage on the first two cylinders, after only 130psi compression. That told me it was almost surely timing. So I dug it...

Yup...I ordered an SSD hard drive with it all loaded to put into my laptop. Waiting to get that all loaded and then we'll see how it all rolls. I already have the DICE. We'll hope I don't need to get a used engine in there...that's a lot of work.

Well, the plot thickens. So the hesitation upon acceleration is largely gone and the idle is smoothed out mostly. I really thought I had it all going. But it doesn't always start. Kinda grumbles and feels like it might not start, but only sometimes. Usually on a cold engine, but not always. Still no...

Well, well, well. It was the fuel pump. Or fuel filter or anti-flowback valve. Or some combination of the three. I have a metal tank--the whole process was actually quite simple. So now I have an entirely new fuel system! The idle has smoothed out just like every other whiteblock car I've owned. It ...

Ugh, thanks for the tips. I went through all of that (twice now) and it simply stopped loading VIDA--it will say "Starting" indefinitely. Not sure what I did, because it loaded fine before this but just wouldn't log in. If I was smarter on the tech side of things I'm sure I could figure it...

Spent the morning trying to get my VIDA/DICE to work...old computers and sketchy software=no go. I had it working a few years ago but hadn't needed it since and the computer takes 10 minutes to load on a good day... However: I'm now almost positive it is the fuel pump/anti-flowback valve. Finally go...

Nope! Only thing left in the fuel system is the pump...possibly it is slightly weak? Other than that, I'm just not sure what's left to look at!