Fuel Pressure Regulator for S40

[SouthernHoo]

I have been enduring a "hard to start" condition on my 2000 S40 for a while and putting off the repair since money is a little tight these days. With the help of this forum, I figured out that I probably needed to replace my Fuel Pressure Regulator. It seemed simple enough as a DIY project so this became my weekend project for last weekend.

The OEM part # is 8658092. My local Volvo dealer quoted $265 for the part, so I started looking for a better price online. FCP had the best price I could find at $178 (after their current 15% discount/free shipping promo). Then I happened to speak to a friend who manages a local NAPA store. He advised me that NAPA will SOMETIMES source their parts (especially for European autos) from the OEM manufacturer and sell it under the NAPA/Echlin label. He offered to order the part (NAPA part # CRB 219874) from his warehouse and let me look at it. I was skeptical and let him know that I was not going to buy it if I could not easily determine that it was indeed made by Weber (the OEM mfg).

The part arrived the next day and to my surprise when I opened the box it contained an obviously VOLVO OEM fuel pressure regulator. (It had the Weber DPR04 regulator (the metal part) inside a VOLVO embossed black/grey plastic "holder".) The only difference that I could find when I compared it to the FPR I removed from my S40 was my original part had the VOLVO p/n laser printed on the side. The best part is the price was $119. It took me 15 minutes to install and the car starts right up now. (My old FPR was definitely shot. The diaphragm was in pieces.)

So in the future, I will check with my buddy at NAPA to see if I get as lucky on future parts needs. (Again, I would probably only purchase if I can confirm that it is OEM.) Hope this helps someone else save some money while still getting OEM parts. Thanks for being a great resource for novice DIY mechanics like me.

[gbeauvin]

Cool! i had a similar experience with the Fuel filter for my 2000 S40... I was expecting a no-name brand, but what I got was a Mann. Color me happy!

-GB (who's S40 has a host of other problems, but that's a different post to follow shortly)