The I Worked on My Car Today Thread

zhenya · Post by **zhenya** » 12 Jul 2011, 14:53

Wow, big improvements! That's a lot of good work!

Post by **Juan62** » 27 Jul 2011, 07:21

This morning, drained/changed manual transmission fluid. I used a manual tranny pump kit from Habor Freights, and a 24mm open/closed wrench for the drain/refill bolts. I had to remove the driver-side tire for more room. I used Volvo Gear Oil #1161745 (2 liters). Next, the dreaded TB/Water/Cam seals.

Post by **Xilikon** » 27 Jul 2011, 07:45

Nothing to do this week, my car is still in the garage (rebuilt starter and new AC compressor, order delays are the cause). As soon as I get my car back :

1- Let a AC shop inspect my whole system, replace the orifice tube and receiver/drier before recharging it properly.
2- Replace the MAF sensor with a new OE one.
3- Replace the sunroof glass panel with another one (mine was unglued from the frame and currently held with silicon without a way to open it).
4- Replace broken interior parts like center console wooden panel, parking brake boot assembly and cup holder.

whoa · Post by **whoa** » 08 Sep 2011, 00:07

Today: wiper chatter. Turned out the key was to get the blade-to-windshield angle to be 90 degrees (easily tweaked by twisting the thin, hooked arm with electrical tape-coated pliers).

Recently:
- Stained all trim, including door handles, roof rack bars, side mirrors, bumpers, etc., with "Forever Black". It really works, and definitely makes it blacker than OEM. I like the look and it is much more permanent than the other product I'd tried ("Black Again" or something like that). Worth doing it carefully and taping off painted areas.
- Peeled off the peeling black tape-like trim on the sides of the windshield and spray-painted the aluminum strips underneath black. Looks good. Mask well before spraying.
- Put in an inexpensive aftermarket Sony head unit with bluetooth (awesome having bluetooth phone and audio streaming; I Slacker on my daily commute). To be honest, it sounds very good, but the premium OEM (Alpine?) system was better equalized; to get great sound I'd want to put in an equalizer and power amp. Still, more than good enough for me, and I'm not totally un-picky. Pro-tip: be sure to connect the "antenna power" wire: the stock antenna (on my 850 wagon, anyhow) only brings in AM when powered.
- Replaced panel lights in the climate control unit (again).
- Did all brake pads and front rotors (Akebono pads for much less of that awful dust).
- Traced a coolant leak---just a recently replaced hose whose clamp needed tightening.
- Replaced a headlight bulb and ordered a Sharp HID kit in a decision I am now rethinking after reading some harsh stuff about HID conversions. http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech ... sions.html
- Secured the hatch trim again (sigh).
- Replaced the battery when I finally determined that what was responding to wiggling wasn't the battery cable but some contact inside the battery itself. Not before I'd savaged the cable to figure out how it could possibly be doing that.
- Plugs, cap, rotor.
- Put in a cabin air filter & housing. Made a big difference in allergy season.

So basically, not much. The car seems to have been grateful for the onerous valve stem seal replacement I did 23K miles ago (the best improvement ever: from stinky polluter to fresh-n-clean).

Still to do:
- Reglue sunroof panel fabric (again)
- HID conversion (maybe)
- Rear main seal (leaking JUST slowly enough to make me think that, despite having all the parts and having built an engine hoist for the job, I might just let it slide for a while longer

)

zhenya · Post by **zhenya** » 08 Sep 2011, 09:15

Yes, please re-think the HID conversion. There are plenty of posts here explaining why it's a bad idea, and what you can do to improve your stock lighting (which can be exceptionally good when everything is in good shape). Glad to see you found Mr. Stern's website before installing.

Post by **vjaneczko** » 08 Sep 2011, 10:54

Not really 'today', but since the new year:
Complete PCV job
Silicone hoses all over the place
Shim'd the AC compressor
Cabin filter & bracket
Replaced the wiper bracket & motor
Swapped the 15" Cetus with 17" Cratos
Swapped the '97 instument cluster with a '96 - for the working odo & turbo needle

New heater core, radiator hoses & Xerex fluid

Next up: the dreaded timing belt!

VolvoMonkey · Post by **VolvoMonkey** » 09 Sep 2011, 01:40

whoa: nice write-up for the valve-stem replacement.

Post by **Matty Moo** » 09 Sep 2011, 04:41

I bought a bottle of Leather Honey for my "New" leather seats, they looked great..they were just stiff.

The shit really has the consistency of honey too. My hand was sore after putting it on, which took about 30 minutes for All the seats. I put the stuff on last night, and will be wiping the excess off today when I get home.

Post by **Xilikon** » 09 Sep 2011, 06:27

Received the package for a new IPD HD coil to replace the defective #3 coil along with a new IPD HD TCV to fix the P1237 code. If time permit, I'll change the endlinks and front brake hoses today after I buy some Dot4 blue brake fluid.

whoa · Post by **whoa** » 11 Sep 2011, 19:03

Thanks, VolvoMonkey. My car is still smoke-free 23K miles later.

Today, PNP reconditioning. My reverse lights had not been working, so I pulled the PNP switch (see this thread: https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... =1&t=29930) and scrubbed up all the copper with sandpaper.