2004 XC70 remove steering rack - help with final steps

[enotslim]

Any suggestions for upgrading "rust proofing" of the new hydraulic lines in the photo? The originals lasted 18 years in New England. Hopefully, these replacements will outlive the rest of the car as they are. However, it would be so easy now. I just don't want to do something dumb, like make things worse with the wrong treatment/paint/etc. They already appear to be coated, not just bare metal.

Looked at POR-15, rubberized undercoatings, and simple rust-resistant primer and paint (Rust-Oleum and the like). They don't seem right for this (except maybe simple primer/paint).

[abscate]

I would just hit them with rustoleum or hammerite. Can you share where you sourced those lines? I’ve searched for those for P80s, unsuccessfully

On edit, found your other post

you still need info about this ... on my 2004 XC70 removing the hard lines was surprisingly easy once virtually all obstacles were removed (rear and passenger side engine mounts, sway bar links and brackets, rack connections to tie rods, ball joints to control arms, two exhaust brackets/hangers) and the rear portion of the front subframe was lowered sufficiently by loosening the four main bolts (with separate subframe and engine bar support). I believe that replacing the hard lines in place (part #30776291) would also have been pretty easy. ~$120 through Volvo dealer. Much cheaper if you order online to be delivered to the dealer or directly to you. ~$190 from the very same dealer if you purchase directly from them. Strange.

I ended up removing the rack because I'm also replacing the steering coupler and once the coupler was off, removing the rack was almost as easy as picking it up off the ground.

The main issue is that part #30776291 apparently fits only ZF racks that were used until ~2004-2005. Hard lines do not appear to be available for the SMI racks that were used thereafter. But ask a dealer for the right part for your VIN, assuming you still have the original rack. Fabrication would probably be easy for a competent brake shop or DIYer.

[enotslim]

I would just hit them with rustoleum or hammerite. Can you share where you sourced those lines? I’ve searched for those for P80s, unsuccessfully

On edit, found your other post

you still need info about this ... on my 2004 XC70 removing the hard lines was surprisingly easy once virtually all obstacles were removed (rear and passenger side engine mounts, sway bar links and brackets, rack connections to tie rods, ball joints to control arms, two exhaust brackets/hangers) and the rear portion of the front subframe was lowered sufficiently by loosening the four main bolts (with separate subframe and engine bar support). I believe that replacing the hard lines in place (part #30776291) would also have been pretty easy. ~$120 through Volvo dealer. Much cheaper if you order online to be delivered to the dealer or directly to you. ~$190 from the very same dealer if you purchase directly from them. Strange.

I ended up removing the rack because I'm also replacing the steering coupler and once the coupler was off, removing the rack was almost as easy as picking it up off the ground.

The main issue is that part #30776291 apparently fits only ZF racks that were used until ~2004-2005. Hard lines do not appear to be available for the SMI racks that were used thereafter. But ask a dealer for the right part for your VIN, assuming you still have the original rack. Fabrication would probably be easy for a competent brake shop or DIYer.

Thanks for the rust treatment advice.

Sourcing: I called Boston Volvo Village in Allston. MA. They identified the part starting with the VIN and suggested that I order and pay for it on the web site for $120 (https://www.volvopartswebstore.com/prod ... 76291.html) instead of getting it through Boston Volvo Village for $190. In either case I could pick it up at their parts department without a shipping fee (which I did since it's close and I could verify it was the correct part) or have it shipped directly to me (for a fee).

Some online sources show a drawing of what is clearly a differenly shaped part for this part number 30776291 (https://www.volvowholesalepartsdirect.c ... 76291.html). That's partly why I wanted to confirm in person and I thought the dealer would at least know if a different shape had superceded the original. and might actually work.

[enotslim]

I have an issue aligning the engine and subframe when installing the repaired rack. The rack with new hydraulic lines is in position and loosely bolted to the subframe, the power steering pump supply/return lines are reattached, and the rear engine mount is in place with the top threaded fitting loosely bolted to the engine bracket and the bottom of the mount dangling over its nest in the rack without the bolt in place.

However, the passenger side engine mount cannot align with both the engine and subframe fittings as in the attached photo. (Old mount used for photo - I have new replacement.) The engine is at least 1/2 inch too far rearward with respect to the subframe.

How can I align the engine and subframe?

The subframe is still lowered ~2 inches at the rear but seems to be correctly positioned. The front subframe bolts are in place but loose. The rear subframe bolts are removed but the fittings for these bolts align pretty accurately with their target bushings. Raising the subframe and loosely bolting its final position might improve alignment, but I'm skeptical this is the entire answer.

After supporting the engine with a support bar and lowering the subframe as far as possible, I ended up lowering the engine significantly to allow the subframe to drop further in order to remove the rack. Might this have damaged something (like the support bar in front of the firewall, that remained in place throughout) that is now preventing alignment?

Any suggestions would be great before I go further. It's cold out there, which limits my time to just try things.

Thanks.

[firstv70volvo]

I have an issue aligning the engine and subframe when installing the repaired rack. The rack with new hydraulic lines is in position and loosely bolted to the subframe, the power steering pump supply/return lines are reattached, and the rear engine mount is in place with the top threaded fitting loosely bolted to the engine bracket and the bottom of the mount dangling over its nest in the rack without the bolt in place.

However, the passenger side engine mount cannot align with both the engine and subframe fittings as in the attached photo. (Old mount used for photo - I have new replacement.) The engine is at least 1/2 inch too far rearward with respect to the subframe.

How can I align the engine and subframe?

The subframe is still lowered ~2 inches at the rear but seems to be correctly positioned. The front subframe bolts are in place but loose. The rear subframe bolts are removed but the fittings for these bolts align pretty accurately with their target bushings. Raising the subframe and loosely bolting its final position might improve alignment, but I'm skeptical this is the entire answer.

After supporting the engine with a support bar and lowering the subframe as far as possible, I ended up lowering the engine significantly to allow the subframe to drop further in order to remove the rack. Might this have damaged something (like the support bar in front of the firewall, that remained in place throughout) that is now preventing alignment?

Any suggestions would be great before I go further. It's cold out there, which limits my time to just try things.

Thanks.

I had a similar problem like this when I replace the transmission in my car and what had happened is the engine rotated while it was hanging from the top engine support bar. The engine support bar chain and hooks were not directly over both support engine brackets, which cause the engine to rotate when hanging from the support bar. I don't know how your support bar is setup but I was able to manually rotate the engine enough to get the engine mounts to line up and cut a couple of pieces of 2X4s to length to hold the engine in place and keep it from rotating back.
If you can't manually rotate the engine you could try to use a floor jack and a block wood to support the front of engine (right side) from underneath and disconnect or loosen the engine from the support bar right side support. Then use the car jack to move the engine enough to line up the right side engine support. The upper support bar left support chain/hook would still be connected and taking the weight the engine/transmission on the left side and the floor jack with a block would be support the right side oil pan underneath so you should be able to move engine forward to align the mount holes. A helper with a long pry bar or long 2x4 can also help move and hold the engine in alignment
First though, try to manually (pry) rotate the engine as it hangs from the support bar, you might be able to do it this way with a helper.

Here was my support bar setup and you can see I didn't get the left, driver's side support chain and hook directly over the engine support bracket so the engine rotated when hanging from the support bar. I had to line up the winch for the transmission removal and install and with the single support bar I couldn't get it all to line up. I did add the channel pieces to get directly over the right side passenger engine bracket. The single support bar works well if you're just supporting one side of the engine/transmission but it gets tricky when hanging the engine/trans with the subframe dropped.

Trans in car, winch and cable attached for removal II.jpg (395.07 KiB) Viewed 1196 times

[abscate]

Put the big 17 mm head bolts into the right engine mount and install hand loose so there is some play

The top torque mount should be out or at least loose, same as the bottom , loose is good.

You wil l need to pry the engine forward to get that last 13 mm forward to get the two M10 bolts in, lots of lube on those bolts, they like to freeze and snap

The hydraulic mounts have a lot of give in them. Once you have pinned the right/ front engine mount in and torqued the 17mm hex and the 12mm hex Bolts and got those tight, go back and tighten the torque mounts, upper and lower.

[enotslim]

Put the big 17 mm head bolts into the right engine mount and install hand loose so there is some play

The top torque mount should be out or at least loose, same as the bottom , loose is good.

You wil l need to pry the engine forward to get that last 13 mm forward to get the two M10 bolts in, lots of lube on those bolts, they like to freeze and snap

The hydraulic mounts have a lot of give in them. Once you have pinned the right/ front engine mount in and torqued the 17mm hex and the 12mm hex Bolts and got those tight, go back and tighten the torque mounts, upper and lower.

Looks like that will work. Once reassembled will the engine mounts be under stresses, different from those that are intended/engineered, by forcing them into position in this way? Is there some way to relieve this stress? I think everything remained aligned when I originally loosened bolts to the right engine mount.

[abscate]

Put the big 17 mm head bolts into the right engine mount and install hand loose so there is some play

The top torque mount should be out or at least loose, same as the bottom , loose is good.

You wil l need to pry the engine forward to get that last 13 mm forward to get the two M10 bolts in, lots of lube on those bolts, they like to freeze and snap

The hydraulic mounts have a lot of give in them. Once you have pinned the right/ front engine mount in and torqued the 17mm hex and the 12mm hex Bolts and got those tight, go back and tighten the torque mounts, upper and lower.

Looks like that will work. Once reassembled will the engine mounts be under stresses, different from those that are intended/engineered, by forcing them into position in this way? Is there some way to relieve this stress? I think everything remained aligned when I originally loosened bolts to the right engine mount.

I’ve got time Wednesday morning after an MIT visit at 0700 if you want me to pop,in and look?

[enotslim]

A pry bar adjusted by a ratchet clamp (for fore/aft movement) plus a floor jack under the engine (for up/down) (photo attached) allowed the engine mount to be aligned with the subframe. After reassembling everything and a driveway test drive the steering rack no longer leaks. Amazing. Can't do a real test drive until the car passes inspection.

Thank you, everyone, for your help. I learned a lot.

[enotslim]

(Perhaps this should be a new topic?)

Spoke too soon regarding inspection. The distal exhaust flex pipe now leaks just as it connects to the hard pipe on the cat converter side. It was noisy before dropping the engine to access the steering rack but is louder now. I tried to protect the exhaust by freeing brackets, etc., but … The photos show the damaged flex portion with an adjacent area of blackened heat shield - guilty as charged. I can also feel a small amount of gas exiting at this point. The flex connection on the manifold side looks OK and doesn’t appear to leak.

Is it likely possible to repair this damage at least sufficiently to pass inspection? Moldable exhaust putty/JB Weld Extreme/flexible exhaust repair tape/something else plus an exhaust clamp? The exhaust is moderately (not severely) noisier than stock, which is the criteria that triggers a failed inspection here. I would be happy to do a real repair, meaning either replace just the flex portion (might need a real muffler shop to do this) or replace the entire part that includes both the cat and the flex (if I correctly understand the parts involved). But I would like to drive the thing at least a bit before properly addressing the exhaust.

I also wonder if an inspection station might pass it as is since it isn’t extremely loud. But it does need some sort of repair to prevent worsening, which could easily become undriveable.