Herman and Operation 30MPG

[callahanoffroad]

Sunday funday update

New brake pads are finally installed. New hub is installed. New quick struts installed. Brake lines not installed. Nor the thermostat.

Oh and I finally installed my Snabb short shifter.

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Looks great but more importantly the car shifts like a manual should. Crisp and precise. No more vaguely hunting for gears. It stays in place too which is a big plus. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS MODIFICATION.

Another cool this is I found out first hand that Volvo really did prewire every car for every option. Here's the underside of my center console

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I looked under my seats and they are all wired up as well. I wonder if I could just pop in the switches and have front and rear heated seats...

[ZionXIX]

I wish my turbo was wired for a passenger power seat. I pulled carpet, opened the wiring loom....nothing. Thought about wiring it to the seat heater wires.

[callahanoffroad]

I wish my turbo was wired for a passenger power seat. I pulled carpet, opened the wiring loom....nothing. Thought about wiring it to the seat heater wires.

A power passenger seat would be really nice!

[callahanoffroad]

Few things have happened over the last month. New brakes, new radiator fan, and new brake lines.

Also with my new gig at Instacart there's been a lot of this happening:

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Thinking I might want to invest in some overload springs this fall!

My orders for groceries take up my entire car. I have to either get a larger car or figure out a better way to use the vertical space, like shelving.

I'll be servicing the PCV system again this fall, so I have that to look forward to.

[greg850r]

I also replaced the brake pads while I was in there and attempted to replace the brake lines but the brake lines are seized at the connection between the flexible hose and the hard line. Looks like I'll have to cut the hard lines and reflange them with some fresh nuts. I will be honest I hate making flanges. I failed a few times as a kid and they still make me nervous. Time to read up on this.

If you have not cut anything yet, don't. I've had this exact problem plenty of times and heat has never failed to solve it. I put the brass tip on my torch as the cutting tip is too much. Heat on the female part. It will melt the rubber line in short order, but if you have line wrenches it should come loose before the fittings ever glow. Your brake fluid will be trash of course, but a complete fluid replacement is never a bad idea on a car this old.

[callahanoffroad]

I also replaced the brake pads while I was in there and attempted to replace the brake lines but the brake lines are seized at the connection between the flexible hose and the hard line. Looks like I'll have to cut the hard lines and reflange them with some fresh nuts. I will be honest I hate making flanges. I failed a few times as a kid and they still make me nervous. Time to read up on this.

If you have not cut anything yet, don't. I've had this exact problem plenty of times and heat has never failed to solve it. I put the brass tip on my torch as the cutting tip is too much. Heat on the female part. It will melt the rubber line in short order, but if you have line wrenches it should come loose before the fittings ever glow. Your brake fluid will be trash of course, but a complete fluid replacement is never a bad idea on a car this old.

Thanks for the tip Greg!

And thanks again for the fan.

If you ever need to unload one of those sweet turbos let me know

[callahanoffroad]

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Had to share this picture. Ignore the water under the car. Had a delivery to an office on Monday, 5 flats of water, 2 cases of Dr pepper and more miscellaneous items. The spring compression from weight makes the car look lowered! Just... Only in the back. My wife, Jessie, turned on "low rider" while we ran this delivery and we laughed the whole time.

[abscate]

Let’s get you some IPD HD springs

[brunocerous]

What a great thread. I just found it this morning and spent most of it ignoring the kids while I caught up on The Herman Chronicles.

Abscate, have you tried the Lesjöfors HD springs? I put them on the Silver Bullet (‘00 V70 n/a MT) and absolutely love them. When I return the engine bar, we should swap rides to compare, though I do love that iPD blue.

[callahanoffroad]

Quick end of summer update. Aside from putting too much weight in Herman lately, he's been running great. Almost to 240,000 already. Oil consumption is staying at 1qt per 1000 miles. No blue smoke during startup yet.

Went ahead and replaced my vacuum lines again as the Fuel Pressure Regulator's vacuum line went wonky. That's a strange feeling when driving. It's like the fuel pump was going out during hard acceleration. You'd start accelerating and then the power would cut out suddenly, and then come back. It was a very jerky experience. But, after replacing the swollen hose, the acceleration is back to normal consistent acceleration. Fuel mileage was affected as well. Lost about 1-2 mpg. Luckily I have an extra FPR if the one on the car now goes bad.

But aside from that funny little hiccup everything is going smoothly. Hoping to see at least 50,000 more miles!