2007 XC90 "Read Assembly" ... $2,450 to fix it?

[matthew1]

Good info. Thanks Scott.

[cuhfs]

Great to know. Thanks!

[jimmy57]

Comment on READ unit and why it is there. There was a time when to play in the league Volvo wanted to play in you had to meet the buyer's wants for a 6 cylinder engine. The problem was the existing 6 was too long and the problem of large turning circle could only be fixed by giving more degrees of wheel turn. You can only get more wheel turn with wider track requiring wider bodywork or narrower engine allowing frame to be more narrow. The READ unit takes belt and cam drive away from end of crankshaft and allows the engine to be no longer than the shorter version of the Volvo 5 cylinder. The crank stops at the front main bearing, there is no damper or anything past that bearing.

Read solution is not the craziest thing a car maker has done. If you google Audi v6 and v8 engines you will find their timing chains, oil pump chain, and for some versions a accessory shaft drive chain. SOme of the chains run in a guide set that forms a C shape and the chain never has a straight run. Oh and the chains are on the transmission end of engine. The bill for chain, tensioner, and guides is easily double that of READ overhaul.

[cuhfs]

Wow. Intertesting

[sdfolley]

I know this is a fairly old post, but in case someone comes here looking for info on the Volvo READ unit as this thread is still ranking pretty high on Google, I thought I would share with you a new site I created https://www.volvoread.com lots of information, videos, and resources all related to the Volvo READ unit. I've been rebuilding them and selling them since 2015, so I have picked up quite a bit of knowledge, and share it on the site.

Scott