What did you do to your Volvo today? Topic is solved

Post by **abscate** » 16 Apr 2026, 03:32

I’ve found the thermostat bolts respond well to a fluted extractor which grips the outside of the Torx bolt head. The access is better on my 1999s though, here’s a mess I made on a 1998 earlier this year.

jsrnsis · Post by **jsrnsis** » 16 Apr 2026, 07:42

abscate wrote: 16 Apr 2026, 03:32 I’ve found the thermostat bolts respond well to a fluted extractor which grips the outside of the Torx bolt head. The access is better on my 1999s though, here’s a mess I made on a 1998 earlier this year.

Rocket sockets are the ones I use, just saved the day on broken off radiator weldnuts that just spun and spun in a pair of vice grips.
Previously I used the overcomplicated solution of a pair of Knipex twingrips (amazingly sharp and hard teeth) with the handles squeezed tight by vice grips but hammering on the extractor and using a breaker bar to hold it worked really well.

Uh oh found my friends power steering leak! Not sure those external pipes are something I could easily find or even replace with the rack in the car, just a pinhole leak on each one.

Post by **abscate** » 16 Apr 2026, 08:24

Definitely can be replaced, probably make them up with NiCopp and fittings.

I do not ***think *** these carry high pressure - I think they just shuttle fluid back from the low pressure side to the other as the rack turns. That might mean you could cut, flare, and then use PS hose with double oetiker clamps to repair - maybe?

jsrnsis · Post by **jsrnsis** » 16 Apr 2026, 15:52

abscate wrote: 16 Apr 2026, 08:24 Definitely can be replaced, probably make them up with NiCopp and fittings.

I do not ***think *** these carry high pressure - I think they just shuttle fluid back from the low pressure side to the other as the rack turns. That might mean you could cut, flare, and then use PS hose with double oetiker clamps to repair - maybe?

Whatever they were, it sprayed out violently without the wheel being turned at all, I didn't even think of the "roll your own method", they do look just like brake lines. I have another rack that has one of those lines damaged too, maybe I'll try that first and have a good spare.

Today the mystery with the 2000 grows, yellow label etm came off, yellow label etm off a mystery engine went on, all I know it had a turbo. Car now starts and idles and drives but throws all these codes.

All started when he cut rear the O2 sensor off while the car was running because it was dragging.

RedBrickCollector · Post by **RedBrickCollector** » 18 Apr 2026, 02:08

Now that I (probably) have everything in the coolant system alright I'm getting paranoid about my reservoir cap.

It's a green OE but not Volvo badged cap, and I can hear it hissing after I kill the engine. A bit too soon to say if I'm losing coolant or not.

Another thing is I don't think the coolant warning light was working, as when the thermostat cover ruptured and I lost a bunch of coolant, the light didn't come on. Is there an easy way to test the sensor or known common issues?

Post by **scot850** » 18 Apr 2026, 07:04

Is the sensor connected? There is a connector under the header tank. The sensors at this age can fail. Unclip the header and you can raise it up to see the connector. If it is connected, disconnect the sensor and do a continuity test. No reading and it has died.

Neil.

Post by **abscate** » 19 Apr 2026, 02:53

Drove mine to Brooklyn and had pizza with daughter Friday night. 0400, up to park at EWR

Now 0300 Sunday in Ny, and I’m still in the air over the Pacific

I will seek Volvos in Singapore

Chieber · Post by **Chieber** » 19 Apr 2026, 17:01

Had a bit of time to do the load cover repair.
Was also a bit stupid when working on it.

I saw some white plastic cord sticking out and pulled it all out. Never thought anything of it until I put everything together and pulled out the cover. All of it. Apparently the cord is a back stop to keep the cover in place of the rolling tube.

Disassembled everything again and pushed the cord in all the way to the end.
But now it rolls out and in a very choppy motion. So gotta disassemble it again.

When were the laid covers out of production? There was a sticker there with the a date from 2015.

Post by **scot850** » 19 Apr 2026, 17:18

How did you fix the spring loading on the cover? There are kits an line but they are only any good if only one end is broken. I have had one one my spare covers in bits for a long time as the repair instructions were wrong in the best way to repair the unit with the kit. Doing it they way they told you only works for the one end as it damages the spring return.

Good luck!

Neil.

Chieber · Post by **Chieber** » 19 Apr 2026, 20:18

Spring return as in rolling the cover back?

The spring tension for the rolling cover is on left side when viewing from the boot.
I turned the tension plate on that side, till the cover is rolled up from the tension. Turning the plate clockwise rolls up the cover.

Then I put the other plate on, followed by the end caps back together. The cover rolls in and out with proper tension. But somehow rolling it back is choppier now. Like the cover is rolled up with creases or something.

One thing that doesn’t worked compared to oem is that the end caps aren’t bouncing back and forth anymore. Not sure if I installed the kit correctly. I’ll have to recheck once again.

Also, other kits have extra plugs to fixate the new tension plate so that when the end caps fall off the assembly, the tension plate doesn’t fling out. My kit doesn’t have that, I’ll need to be careful when I take out the load cover.

This is the other kit on eBay and has a yt video of how to install it. Was the instructions with your kit like this?