Cherry Red XC90 D5 with 364,000kms Topic is solved

[precopster]

Found a one owner Cherry Red 2010 R Design D5 with country usage and heaps of promise. Nice paint and one small ding on a rear door. No back pressure from the oil cap when running and returned 7.2L/100kms (almost 33mpg) on the return journey home.......mind you I was nursing it all the way home due to the overdue timing belt.


Previous owner lowered the price to 4K due to believing it needed a full set of bushes when it was just the infamous bad spring seat on the kerb side causing a huge thump.

Going to replace all fluids and do a Haldex service (Gen 4) so I can feel confident.

Well overdue for all belts and tensioners also. Swirl flaps under the rocker cover may need to be done also as I had a code for that on first inspection.

Going to post some pics and any unusual hiccups I encounter as I refurbish the different areas.

[ggleavitt]

Sweet looking ride. The headlights look a little rough, ABL is really stellar for light throw when the assemblies are working correctly. Good news is you can fix the fronts for the oxidation and make them look like new. Bad news is after 14 years of use, the bulb reflectors are probably burnt. Guy in the Netherlands used to sell the reflectors but that necessitated opening up the sealed assemblies and replacing the reflector followed by resealing with a new clear cover. Other than that, the only easy option is to buy new and they're expensive (. The assemblies are manufactured by Valeo (PNs 46968 and 46969) and can be purchased for a little less than the same Volvo marked part (PNs 31446876 and 31446877).

If you're not sure if the ABL assemblies are working well or not, put a piece of paper in front of the lens. Decent write-up on the overall issue here: https://www.swedespeed.com/threads/hid- ... se.600051/

Old burnt lens (see brown spot)

New assembly with Osram Nightbreaker 5k bulb

[precopster]

Thanks so much for the links. Have to polish them up to be able to see if the reflectors are ok. I have heaps of good quality UV resistant clear in a can I've used on other assemblies.

Car wasn't garaged all its life so it would be a small miracle if the reflectors are ok. At the moment it drives in the dark it's blind.

[ggleavitt]

On a completely disassociated note (to take advantage of any local eyeballs), I have that "working" set of reflector burnt ABLs and I'm willing to give them away free to anyone who wants to come pick them up. I'm in the WA State I5 North exit 212 area, message me if interested and we can figure something out. They're crap for light throw and they don't include the ballasts (Valeo 6G, same as VW) but I think that the assemblies could serve as great candidates for someone wanting to try putting LEDs in an ABL assembly.

All the best precopster, the vehicle looks really nice and I'm sure that you'll enjoy the R/D variant.

[precopster]

Started with 400 grit wet and dry then went to 600 then 800 then 1200. Sanded them wet of course.

Then applied a scratch and swirl remover, then applied Meguiar's Carnauba wax then removed the wax with Shellite then applied UV resistant clear coat.

Now to deal with handbrake adjustment, new timing belt and tensioner, new serpentine belt and tensioner and new swirl flaps......yes you read that right

[precopster]

Just received a SAS (steering angle sensor) from Tasca. They have a special going at the moment for these and at far less dollars than FCP or IPD.

Replaced the accessory belt tensioner which took around 45 minutes but kept the old belt on until the timing kit is fitted.

I'm usually pretty confident with DIY but time has been tight with a landscaping job here at home as long as my arm and no time to complete it, so it's off to a repairer on Monday to have a timing belt, water pump and swirl flap kit (including timing cover gasket) fitted.

My jobs are to fit the SAS and brake pedal rubber and do a parkbrake adjustment, then source tyres and windscreen wipers.

[ggleavitt]

Very cool !

Out of pure curiosity, could you get the alphanumeric number set in the lower left corner of the label on the back of the (probably) right side B-pillar? It's the big label that has your VIN on top. The lower left will look something like this (my V8 Sport): 33AEZ5448D52, if you could post your string, I'm interested in seeing how the vehicle was set up. Bottom of the label also includes your interior code plus the paint/shade number.

The R-Design (aka Sport) is a slightly modified vehicle with different suspension components, higher bolster seats, and a "sport" tuned speed sensitive steering module amongst other more cosmetic changes.

[precopster]

Got all the kits fitted. Paid AUD $880

It went in for a RWC which is something the Victorian state authorities here want done before they will give you a transfer of ownership. It failed on front control arms and the passenger side shock was leaking.

It also failed on rear bushings on the lower control arm which were slightly cracked. The arm isn't about to knock over bumps let alone fall off, however the RWC testers have the loss of their license to contend with if a vehicle they pass ends up seriously injuring or indeed killing someone as a result of their neglect (not to mention any civil lawsuits the families conjure up)

I ordered some new bushings. These rear lower control arms have no inbuilt bushings so you rebuild them by attaching the bushings with bolts however it's not that simple apparently according to the mechanic doing the work.

Anybody who has handled this please chime in.

[precopster]

Another diesel related issue but getting there......

Car is registered and safe to be on the road but entered limp mode yesterday with a supposedly blocked DPF (this is diesel-speak for catalytic converter).

Put DPF cleaner in the fuel system and did a burn-off through Vida. Temperature at the DPF was over 600degC!! Finally after over 40 minutes the regeneration was successful.

Ran it all the way to work this morning in 4th gear for 35 minutes at 65mph so just over 3,000rpm to ensure even more particulate burn-off can occur. Got 9l/100kms or 26mpg average on a 400 metre elevation over 50kms to work.

Started with about 9 grams of soot and over 300hPa of pressure at the DPF sensor (this is a symptom of a blocked DPF)

Interestingly the economy on the return trip was better than ever at just over 6.5l/100kms or 36 mpg on the return run.

With a new CV shaft, front control arms, rear control arm bushings and passenger side shock absorber it feels more secure and is a rock on the road.

[precopster]

The DPF sensor reading quickly shot back up to over 65000 which suggests to me it's time for a new sensor. Car has remained in limp mode. Even after a code reset it still believes the DPF is full of soot and blocked which I doubt because after the burn-off it obtained some of the best fuel consumption figures I'd ever seen from the car; as low as 6.5l/100kms or about 36mpg.

The Ford DPF sensor can be found as a non-genuine part so ordered one; hopefully arriving Monday and will update this thread.