XVTer's 2004 XC90 T6 AWD

[Tonyx]

Excellent thread. I hope you continue posting.

[XVTer]

This past weekend I took some time while at my parent's place for Christmas to install the rear shocks on our XC90. For anyone interested, this is how I got to the top nuts on the shocks, note ours is a 5-seat version without the 3rd row of seats:
- Remove larger of two cargo covers behind rear seat
- Remove Cargo Tray from car
- Note where there is a line in the insulation and cut around this with a utility knife (there is probably a way of getting to this without cutting. I don't have that much paitence, especially if it's below freezing outside).
- Remove hard rubber insulation (glued to body)
- Remove plastic cap in body by rotating counter-clockwise
Now you have access to the top bolts.

Reference Pictures:

I went with the Bilstein Heavy-Duty ones from IPD.

SEE THEM HERE

The install wasn't terrible, but I had some issues getting the old rear shocks out. The top bolts/nuts were a little rusted and even though I was generous with the PB Blaster for a few days leading up to the install, they wouldn't come off easily with my 1/2" impact gun. I ended up having to rig up a tool which included:
-A multi-bit screwdriver with an allen-wrench bit
-Channel Locks
-Vise Grips
-18MM socket.

here's a Picture:

The driver side shock was totally blown and the passenger side was starting to leak, so it was on it's last leg as well. Here's a comparison shot:

XC90 Rear Shock Comparison

The Bilsteins went in without issue and the ride is much firmer and smoother. I definitely recommend these for anyone looking for replacements for their car. Tools needed for the shocks are an 18MM socket for the top (unless you have issues like I did) and a 17MM socket for the bottom. Note that the bilsteins use a 19MM socket for the top nut which is a Ny-Lock style. Remember to put red locktite on the lower bolts prior to reinstallation. This will keep them from backing out.

[Tonyx]

I wanted to add to your resource list. I found Tascaparts.com(http://www.tascaparts.com/partlocator/i ... eid=213668) has best price on parts that needs to be OEM. I bought driver side mirror assembly from them as my dad's XC90 mirror broke. It had the memory, heat and power fold functions and I did not want to take risk with salvage parts.

[XVTer]

I haven't updated this thread in a little while, so I figured I would give you guys a little update.

In early January, my wife was in a rush leaving the house in the morning (it was only around 5F outside) and didn't let the car warm up. She said that the 'Alarm Triggered - Check Car' warning was on when she started it. She got a little ways down the road and the instrument cluster went black and the check engine came on (also, the SRS service required). She pulled to the side of the road, shut the car off, and then started it again. Everything from then on was fine, though, as expected the warning lights stayed on.

I pulled the codes with my SCANGAUGE II and came up with the following:
P0504 (ABS Communication Error - Brakeswitch A+B)
P0863 (TCM Communications Circuit)
P0073 (Ambient Air Temperature Sensor Circuit High Input)
P0000 (General Error Warning)

This got me thinking about the cause of the issue. Last time we had the 'Alarm Triggered - Check Car' warning, it was due to a low battery voltage. I opened it up and noticed that the level was a little low, so I topped it off with distilled water and put my float charger on it overnight.

So far, I haven't had any more issues. It's amazing how much low voltage can affect the electronics on the car. If I see problems again, I'm probably going to look at replacing the battery with the larger Group 49 (instead of the Group 48 which is in there) or maybe an optima or two. I have always had good luck with the Yellow Tops.

[XVTer]

Pictures from Saturday

[boosted5cyl]

WOW!

[MixEngineer]

XVTer, thanks so much for these great posts! Wondering if when you replaced the rear shocks you had to unload the rear springs as well. Is this a stupid question? Are there standard springs on the rear? I do a lot of work on my car but honestly have not noticed the rear springs, as I'm sitting at work right now.

Thanks again!

[XVTer]

I didn't unload the rear springs, though it would probably be easier to re-install the shocks if I had. I simply had the rear tires up on jack stands and after reinstalling the top of the new shocks, went underneath with a wood block on my jack and jacked up the shock until I could get the bottom bolt through. It was the easiest way I could think to do it. Having it up on the jack stands allowed me to slip the shock up through the bottom of the rear springs pretty easily.

Hope that makes sense. Here is a photo from underneath with the car back on the ground for your reference.

[XVTer]

I just wanted to do a quick update to this thread.

The VOLVO battery finally gave out and I went ahead and replaced it with a group 49 battery which is slightly larger than the original. The group 49 is found in the V8 from what I understand. The best part is that it bolted right in as there are two mounting holes for the battery hold-down bracket.

I made the decision to go with a Wal-Mart EverStart MAXX-H8 battery. You may wonder if this is a great idea given that it was bought from Wal-Mart, but I read pretty good reviews on this particular battery and it was only about 60% of the cost of other brands in this size. The best part is that the Wal-Mart battery has a better warranty than any other brand I looked at. Time will tell....

One thing to note about changing the battery in your XC90 is that, since it's in the passenger cabin, be sure to re-install the battery vent which goes to the outside of the vehicle. This will keep it from off-gassing inside your car.

Two Mounting Holes For Battery Hold-Down (Note corrosion from old battery):

Two Battery Mounting Holes

MAXX-H8 Group 49 Battery:

Wal-Mart MAXX-H8 Specs: (900CCA!)

Difference in Size:

Group 49 VS Stock Size

[XVTer]

... Well, i finally got the dreaded "TRANSMISSION SERVICE URGENT" warning. Seems to be slipping a little in the 3-4 gear change. I inspected the fluid and it's already black (changed fluid/filter last fall). Did two drain/fills with SeaFoam Trans Tune and it seems like it's better, but I am not taking any chances. Having a guy look at it to see what the problem is. My ScanGauge gave me a general P0700 code - just states a problem with the transmission.

I'll let you know how it plays out: