The I Worked on My Car Today Thread

[matthew1]

Mark, short answer: no.

Long answer: grouped with plugs? Maybe. Grouped with wires, filter, and all the others, absolutely.

I was thinking about this very question and how I'd approach it on the way home Castle Rock -> Denver today. I get ~26 mpg on the way there and ~32 mpg on the way back, almost every week for around 2 years. It gives me time to think, and a standard benchmark.

Did it jump today? No. But if I did 3, 4 or 5 things at once on that list it would, I promise you it would, even if it was too small to be measured within a week.

I'm sorry your coil question is not a black/white answer, but it's impossible to say "yep" unless the original coil was bad/very bad.

We can either measure gains by one owner doing one thing to a hundred Volvos, or a hundred owners doing that same thing to their Volvos. The problem is that the former scenario just does not exist. And the latter scenario has almost no scientific value, which is basically what you want to know, and what we are limited to on any Volvo forum.

Maybe with time I'll be able to feel a difference, whether it's with engine revolutions to catch, or with mpg, or with power. I've had this 850 for 13 years now, and I know the second it gets a sneeze. Maybe I'll be able to get a feel for the new coil.

(TBH, and please take this with a grain of salt, the new spark plugs seemed to make more of a difference a week ago, but the old ones had ~25k on them. And they're far cheaper.)

[abscate]

Matthew, did replacing the coil make an obvious difference?

Mark

It did. It made Matthew happy.

Luke

Love of a Volvo is not jealous

-Paul

I don't know you guys

-John

I have a Toyota..will you guts help me fix it in the Volvo Forum?

-Judas

[whoa]

Thanks, Matthew! Yes, I've noticed definite improvements in smoothness with new plugs, wires, cap and rotor. In fact I have all but the wires ready to swap in soon. Haven't tried a new coil yet on my car, so I was wondering how much bang for the buck...for instance if it might improve my woeful city mileage. You can get that coil for under $50 elsewhere, by the way, but then you'd still need a coil wire ($12+) and you'd have to figure out how to mount it.

And, Luke is right. I myself tend to be satisfied that my car is running better when I change the wiper blades.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke have chimed in---where's John?

[abscate]

My bad - it was Peter who posted he didnt know this thread - he was adamant about it - three times he denied posting

[taupehat]

Replaced 2 out of the 3 vacuum hoses to the TCV. The third one appears to need someone under the car to replace. Argh.

[matthew1]

It either goes to the turbo itself, or turbo's wastegate, if it's a HPT.

[whoa]

Plugs. Old ones look pretty good, with a bit of ash deposit on one. Definite disappearance of stutter.

[cjbmustang]

I pulled the dash out to fix the squeaks and replace the evaporator but can't seem to get the HVAC box out

[abscate]

After you take the three or four bolts out at the top, you have to lift the unit and then pull it to the rear...there is a plastic catch in the frame member that hangs up.

I didn't find this documented anywhere btw

Quote from the 1999 v70 heater core and evap thread below:

Much slower day today. I have so much coolant in the car I spent the morning removing seats, draining coolant from foam and being hot, sticky, smelly and irritable .

AllData has given me a couple of curve balls in the procedures ..I spent 15 minutes looking for the cruise vacuum control...before I figured out this ETB car doesn't have it.

The gas pedal and position sensor bolts to the heater through bulkhead connection on this car so I had to figure that too.

After removing the ECC bolts, it won't budge from the dash. After you draw it back , and LIFT, it comes away easily !

[cjbmustang]

i shall try that in the morning sir. i will undo the heater lines where they connect at the core, also.

appreciate the tip. now i see why they want $x,xxx to do the job