Catalytic converter removal, '99 V70XC

Kev · Post by **Kev** » 05 Mar 2007, 22:00

Hello all,

I have a '99 V70 XC with about 140K miles that is now so loud I cannot hear my $9000.00 multimedia system. Please help.

The weld on the downpipe mounting flange to the turbo has let go. It is a real clean break so I would like to try to weld it back together. I spent the better part of today trying to remove the cat but was always just in inch away. I do not have a lift just a floor jack and stands - so I lifted the front end as high as I could. What is the "trick" to removing the catalytic converter - do I need a lift to get the right angle or should I drop the driveshaft out of the way...? If the latter, what other issues will that lead to?

Any advice is appreciated.

Thank you

CarVolvo · Post by **CarVolvo** » 05 Mar 2007, 22:03

on 850's there is a cross piece in the tunnel where the cat runs.

Once you remove this then you should be able to get it out without much difficulty. The cats on 850's are are attached with 5 bolts to the manifold.

On the other side its connected to the muffler with a clamp.

Sorry i am assuming that the undercarriage is the same on these cars.. so maybe someone else can comment on it too.

Post by **billofdurham** » 06 Mar 2007, 11:53

This is from VADIS. I have posted the 'special tools' so you can see what they are. The O2 sensor does not really need a special tool and the other one appears to be to balance the cat on the jack so it doesn't come down hard and break the insides.

Bill.

Kev · Post by **Kev** » 07 Mar 2007, 16:19

Thanks Bill for the information. I thought for sure I would be able to get this done but this car does not want to cooperate. I can't get the "SIPS member" out of the way. I removed the 4 bolts that mount it to the frame, and removed the 2 bolts that attatch it to the vertical rods in the wheel well area (sorry, I don't know the name of that part). I can get it to slide about 4" - 5" either way but that's it. The lower O2 sensor is off, the upper can stay for now.

It still seems as though the pipe is getting caught up on the drive shaft more than the SIPS member. Any way, I'll continue to work on it tonight but after that this puupy will go to a muffler shop and I'll stick to installing beautiful sounding stereos.

Thanks again for the info.

Kev

mygoatboy · Post by **mygoatboy** » 12 Feb 2010, 05:46

Bring up an old issue but I need to replace the cat on my '98 XC and I am trying to figure out how to do it. I am using the a 1 year old cat from my other '98 that was in an accident so no repair shop will install it for me. Does any one know if you have to drop the front of the rear driveshaft or even the maybe the bevel gear? Any help would be great.

Post by **holler1** » 12 Feb 2010, 07:46

The center bearing of the driveshaft is fastened to the "SIPS" member by two bolts from the top. If you take out those bolts, the SIPS will drop along with the exhaust pipes. If you remove the front of the driveshaft, or both ends, mark where each bolt comes out and put them back in the same way to keep the shaft balanced, some bolts are longer than others. To take out the entire driveshaft, take both ends loose (mark bolts), take out the bolts in the center bearing, loosen the SIPS, lower one side and slide the shaft out past one side of the lowered SIPS member. Removing the driveshaft bolts is not trivial; you have to jack up a front and a rear wheel and turn the shaft to get to the bolts at the top.

mygoatboy · Post by **mygoatboy** » 14 Feb 2010, 17:52

For everyone interested in replacing the catalytic converter on a V70 XC (mine is a '98) here are the basic steps:

1. Drive vehicle onto a flat slab of concrete
2. Place front and rear of car on jack stands
3. Remove front right wheel
4. Remove the 36mm nut holding the right front axle on (in the center of the disc), this bolt is under very high torque and required the use of the power brakes, with a helper, to lock the rotor in place and a 4 foot breaker bar
5. Remove front right brake caliper and wire up and out of the way
6. Remove tie rod from the knuckle and slide out of the way
7. Remove the ABS sensor cable from the hub (sensor can stay)
8. Remove the two strut mounting bolts at the knuckle.
9. The rotor/control arm assembly can now pivot down allowing the front right axle to be removed (inspect and replace if necessary
10. Remove heat shields from above the turbo being careful not to break the bolts off
11. Spray the three bolts holding the catalytic converter pipe to the turbo with something like PB Blaster
12. Now go under the vehicle and remove the clamp between the muffler and the catalytic pipe
13. Take rubber hangers off old cat
14. Separate the cat from the muffler
15. Mark the driveshaft so it can be reassembled in the proper orientation
16. Using a hex socket (and vise grips at the same time if the hex sockets are rusted) remove the 6 bolts from the front flange of the rear driveshaft, mark which bolt went were for proper reassembly
17. Now the fun part, removing the bevel gear...
18. There are 5 bolts that hold the bevel gear to the transmission, 4 are easy to see and access from below, one can only be seen when looking from above between the two halves of the turbo. Remove the 5 bolts.
19. Support the bevel gear with a floor jack
20. Work the bevel gear towards the passenger side of the vehicle
21. After pulling it about 2 inches away the transmission it will be separated and the you can remove it by hand (it weighs about 45 lbs)
22. Disconnect both O2 sensors plugs (these are hard to find and disconnect, I had to remove the driver side wheel to get the clips undo). The red part of the clip gets pryed away with a screwdriver and then they will come apart
23. After soaking for all this time the bolts should loosen up easily on the pipe/turbo flange. Remove the 3 bolts and snake the catalytic converter out.
24. If a stud breaks or strips (as it did with me) you are best off spending another hour and removing the turbo to properly replace it.

This is a pretty involved job best done with 2 people. If no studs or other problems are encountered it could be done in about 8 hours but with a few tough fasteners and other problems count on more like 16 hours. This is would be a 4/5 job because it is moderately hard but has many steps. I hope this will help people out. And yes the bevel gear has to come out to remove the cat on the '98 XC and probably '99 and '00.

mygoatboy · Post by **mygoatboy** » 14 Feb 2010, 18:09

I forgot to mention these other things:

1. It is necessary to rotate a rear wheel so you can remove the driveshaft bolts one by one. Putting the car into park after each time makes it much easier to remove the bolts
2. Extensions and universals get used a lot in this job so have a wide assortment available
3. This is a good time to drain the oil out of the bevel gear and replace any seals that are going
4. Turbo seals need replacing? The turbo is much easier to remove now, consider doing them now
5. Also a good time to examine and replace motor mounts as need be
6. And finally, you can do this job yourself, just watch that you don't break stubborn bolts