2003 XC70 Turbo Replacement

[rthorn401]

I have a 2003 XC70 which the turbo has been on it's way out for the past year or so. Two days ago it sounded like a jet engine taking off when I accelerated. Then all was quite the car has barley any power, and if I hit the gas hard a large cloud of smoke pours out of the exhaust. All signs point to a dead turbo.
I got a price of roughly $2400 to have a shop fix it. But considering a replacement runs between $600-$800 I am going to change it out myself. Has anyone done this in the past and can point me to a tutorial? I have a good toll set and do 90% of the work on the car myself, but there is always a trick or a tip I wish I had before I started.
Also whats the best new turbo to buy, or should I go re-manufactured? I can't seem to find much on the subject any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Rob

[turtlehead]

I haven't done this job on an AWD car, but I know that the position of the rear wheel drive shaft is going to cause you some trouble. In general, what's involved is you have to remove the heat shield covering the turbo, which on my car is held in place by several 12mm bolts, and you have to maneuver it a bit to get it out even after the bolts are free. Next you remove the air intake, which is located on the driver's side of the car. Its held on by a radiator-hose type clamp that you can unscrew with a long screwdriver. Pull it free and then look at the vacuum lines. There are three of these, make a note of how and where they go so you can reinstall them correctly later. I attached little labels made of masking tape, plus I took digital photos because my memory is kinda like a sieve on things like this.

Then, looking at the turbo from above, you disconnect the pipe that enters the top of the turbo and goes over the top of the engine. Like the intake, it is connected with a radiator-type clamp you can disconnect with a screwdriver. That leaves the following lines to remove- the oil intake and the coolant intake and out lines. All of these are connected by "banjo" bolts, which are 17mm, and all of them need to come off to remove the turbo. I found it helpful to loosen the other end of the oil line, which is a 19mm banjo bolt as well, located near the passenger side of the engine. With all of these lines, do your best to catch and hang on to the copper washers- there are two on each banjo bolt. I was able to clean (light sandpaper will do) and re-use mine, but that's up to you. Some buy new ones, I think its a personal choice.

Once the three lines are removed you then have to disconnect the turbo itself. The exhaust is three bolts, most likely 13mm- this is the rust-colored pipe that connects to the catalytic converter. The turbo is attached to the exhaust manifold with four 13mm nuts. For me, I found that the best tool to have is a ratcheting box wrench. The angle on some of the nuts is kinda hard to access but not impossible if you have enough patience and small hands.

Finally, the turbo oil return line is under the car. I lifted mine up, supported with jack stands of course, and removed the bracket that connects the oil intake to the oil return with a 10mm wrench. Once the bracket is off you may be able to pull the turbo free without removing the return line, and with some wrangling. You have to remove the oil return line at some point, so its up to you whether you do it before or after pulling the turbo.

There is a writeup at volvospeed that discusses replacing the oil return line and has photos showing you what's involved:

http://volvospeed.com/volvo_repairs_how ... _line.html

In all, this is not exactly a simple job but if you have the right tools it is definitely doable.

[zooklm]

It is not too hard. I recently did a change out on my 2002 V70XC. I actually found a good used turbo in a locat U-pull-it for about $40. The biggie is look for shaft play in the axial (in-out) direction. If there is not much play, then you should be good. Also, plan on replacing the turbo to exhauts pipe and exhaust manifold gaskets as these are very thin copper along with the water tube O-rings (2), oil drain flange gasket and tube to pan seal, too.
Good luck,
Lee

[686 Sport]

Did this on my 04 V70awd when upgrading to a bigger turbo. Very good writeup by turtlehead. From my experience, zookim must have small hands/arms if he didn't find turning the turbo nuts to be extremely tedious.
Some recommend dropping the angle gear assembly to get much easier access for the whole job: ymmv.
Plan on replacing _all_ seals and washers, and use RTV on the turbo oil return line fitting.
Good luck, 686 Sport
Ps, no I don't have the old turbo; it went as a core for the new one.