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

[abscate]

Heat. Take the rubber cap off and play 30 seconds of propane on them before the wrench.

its like magic.

Do not overtorque them, either. The threads dont seal, the sloped end of the bleeder seals the system

[Sveedy]

Decided to see what I could do with the roof trim. I found a set of remarkably good trim pieces for the V70, so I have a set to play with. But the 850's are beginning to crack. I read about Plastic Dip etc, but decided on just primer and paint to see how that might look. I just used a sharp chisel to shave away the old coating, sanded, cleaned, and painted. Once the paint is fully dry, I'll freshen up the rubber and stick the whole thing out in the sun and see how it fairs, but so far I'm good with it.

[scot850]

Nice job on those. Good to know that works and looks good. Can you tell us what paint and primer you used?

Thanks,

Neil.

[Sveedy]

Nothing special with the paint. Just what I had laying around the shop. I really just wanted to see how hard of a job this might be, but based on what I've seen, I think a good quality paint/primer would yield good results.

IMG_20250318_173718455_HDR.jpg

I touched up the rubber a bit with some 303.

IMG_20250318_173617769.jpg

This is a really bad piece of trim that I'm playing with as well. Even the rubber is missing in parts due to it being so dry.

[Sveedy]

Ok the pics didn't show up. Weird

[Sveedy]

[Goupil]

Finally got around to replacing the parking brake cable on the V70. Quickly figured out why the driver side wouldnt move, the mounting bracket near the suspension arm mounting point broke and it rubbed all the way through !
Only replaced this side because I dont trust new parts that much (and maybe a bit lazy ). Used an ATE cable (20ish €), they look fine but I didnt like the grommet so reused the OEM one


Feels a bit safer knowing that there's more than one wheel holding the car in place

Also replaced the sticky rear caliper with one I had in stock. Not ideal as I now have one 40mm and one 38mm, but that'll do until I get around rebuilding the sticky one

Earlier this week I took the V70 on its first proper long drive since the thermostat replacement, no issues. Still need to fix the sensor plug that's holding together with duct tape

[scot850]

I have found aftermarket parking brake cables are a lottery in terms of quality and fit. I have found that some are not even made correctly for the length between the mounting point and the rear hub. So check before fitting!! I used a Febi Bilstein one last time on an 850 sedan as the OE one was on back order. It worked ok.

Neil.

[scot850]

I'm living the dream! Spent yesterday trying to help my ex-Volvo mechanic buddy fit a replacement engine into his 2012 S60 T5. It is a nightmare to work on compared to a P80 and P2. It is so tight. Last week we pulled the motor out the top which was a big mistake. I said we should drop the whole engine and trans out the bottom. I suggested again we do that this week but he was determined to leave the trans in but remove the subframe. It went in just. But that is when we found the problem. The engine he had was from a 2008 S40. Same engine but different mounts for the accessories, and a few other differences. The one we did not catch was the flex ring is about 6mm smaller in diameter. So having got the engine in we could not finish bolting it in. So guess what, now the trans will come out and we will replace the S60 flex plate from the old engine and fit that. First I have to straighten that after the removal from the top last week bent it in a couple of points!

I was pro-active on the V70R I have ordered a new set of Continental 215/45/17" tires. Tires were on sale for 30% off normal price. Hardest point is the Pirelli tires they are replacing are 9 years old and have about 4000 miles maximum on them! I used to like Pirelli tires but these P7 tires were not great.

Hopefully the tires turn up next week and I can get them fitted.

With the weather being mild compared to normal this year, it may mean the R can get out earlier this year!

Neil.

[jsrnsis]

I did the rear wheel bearing on the V70XC after driving for too long with the bearing howling at me for help. Drained and filled the angle gear, and hunted down a single front end clunk that occasionally pops up while turning but then ran out of grease for the moog tie-rod ends.
Now that it's warmer out I want to do some cosmetic things such as the peeling top windshield trim, and figure out what to do about the peeling sections of the trim on both sides of the windshield. Also found a power steering leak on what I think is the flare nuts on the steering rack, and maneuvered a wrench to give them both a snugging-up. Also am now seeing a very slow leak from the transmission cooler hoses, which I'll want to source some spares to rebuild. And I need to find an AWD lower transmission mount or some way to replace the bushings without going to harsher polyurethane, but I doubt all my issues with the clunky transmission are because of some torn rubber.

The 850 GLT got new strut bearings and spring seats, and the odometer gear was fixed. Next project will be fixing the radio antenna.