New to Volvos, questions about parts compatibility and desirable parts.

[abscate]

1999 on seats with SIPS fired by SRS have to be careful to disconnect battery before disconnecting the airbag electrics or else you will need a dealer reset.

[335i]

Thank you all for your replies.

Volvo's are designed to use the AC system to rapidly defrog the windows, so that will need to be working.

I believe that the stereo system is superior to most. It's well designed and balanced. Get a OEM SC-816 and all 8 speaker and you should be very happy.

Being a 335i guy I think you will be much happier with a T5 model. I suggest that you flip this one and apply the sale cash towards a T5. They come loaded.

The "trim" is base. Lol There are basically 5 trims for those cars,
- Base
- GLT Which has a low pressure turbo.
- T5 Which has a high pressure turbo and usually lots of standard features.
- AWD

Check the post purchase video. If the heater core is bad it will cause the front windows to fog up.

Don't get me wrong, I know these cars run very well. That is why I do my best to save so many of them. But let's keep it real, they are needy and if you don't turn your own wrenches, you'll experience a lot of frustration.

Here's what I have to say about that. I will be looking for the radio. Not looking to flip this one because I actually like to take out my tools and play around with it. Also everything seems to be so simple coming from my BMW to this. So it will be a fun project. Not really looking for more power, I had an 115hp VW Golf for the past 2 years and that did the job. 168hp will do the job in this one aswell. Heater core has a very very small leak. I found out what the problem about the foggy windows is. I can't change where the air comes out of. It's always out of the front vents no matter the position that I choose.

Today I didn't have time to do much on the car. First I took her to the exhaust shop... And that's when I found out the gas filter was leaking. So back at the garage I got a new bosch gas filter in there. I also got to change a lot of bulbs on the back and also found out that the tail light(trunk) on the passenger side was cracked and had water inside. It corroded the plug and the whole assembly so I swapped that out, luckly my mechanic had one laying around. Now I just have to change the cables over to the new plug that I also got. Will do this later tonight.

Is it possible to manually change the position of where the air comes out of until I can figure out how to fix it or possibly get the parts ? I won't be able to get to the garage until Monday. Would be nice for it to have fixed(temporarily) for the week-end. ( no I don't want to drive the damn golf )

Is it hard to swap the leather off the seats instead of changing the whole seat ?

Does the SC 816 actually sound better than the one I have now if I keep the stock speakers ? Will I be able to continue to use the CD changer if I get that one ?

[335i]

Daylight pics

[abscate]

Short of manually positioning the dampers by removing the dash I don't think you can get your AC into defrost mode easily unless it has manual climate control. That uses cables to move the dampers, not motors

[335i]

Short of manually positioning the dampers by removing the dash I don't think you can get your AC into defrost mode easily unless it has manual climate control. That uses cables to move the dampers, not motors

I took it out yesterday, I do have the manual one. It doesn't use a cable. It only has electrical connection at the back. Can someone let me know where exactly the flaps for this are so that I can move it manually ?

[335i]

Today I finally had the time to clean the car. I couldn't believe what I found. I think the guy didn't vacuum the car in years. Took me like 3 hours to clean the inside and the trunk. Get this. I was shooting the drivers side floor mat with a 2000psi pressure washer and it took me like 10 minutes of constant shooting to finally get rid of all the nasty mud salt and you name it that was inside it.

[mecheng]

Congrats on the car, you living with Quebec salt will love the rust resistance of the Volvo. Just wax once a year and apply rust inhibitor. The NA is a very simple car.

You may want to remove the seats, sounds like my car. There was decaying candy under the seats I couldn't see until I removed them to clean the carpet. Got rid of some weird smells.

Regarding your title, there was a thread that listed the desirable parts for these cars. They do like certain parts, especially for tune ups: stick with Bosch/oem mainly. Engine mounts, suspension there is quite a bit of good brands to choose from

[erikv11]

To add to macheng's good post: the ignition wires are Bougicord, people have actually reported trouble with Bosch wires although I have never tried them. Cap and rotor is Bosch.

[E Showell]

It is certainly possible to swap seat covers as opposed to replacing entire seats, but here's the thing -- the seats are going to have to come out either way, so if you find a good set of used seats, the more time efficient fix is a straight seat swap. Four bolts, a release of the seatbelt tab, a couple under seat wiring connectors and you're done. For simplicity's sake it is best to swap power for power and manual for manual. Not saying you can't mix and match, but there are various other associated headaches so if you can just keep it like for like, you're better off in the end. A lot of people will tell you that the cars all came pre-wired for power seats on both sides, but that was certainly not the case with my '98 wagon -- power driver's seat and manual passenger seat with no associated wiring for a power passenger seat (check your car before you head to the junkyard, you could get lucky and find power wiring under the carpet if your passenger seat is manual and the yard seat is power).

If you don't mind dropping the coin -- and it is going to set you back probably $400+ a seat, you can get a new bottom cover and seat back cover from Elwood Industries. Search under my forum name for a post about leather seat refreshing. Bob Elwood is a Volvo enthusiast who makes seat covers to order. His work is very high quality, he uses good materials, and his prices reflect both of those things. He is located in Florida so I don't know what customs duty, shipping to Canada and the relative values of the U.S. and Canadian dollars would do to pricing for someone in the great white north. I'm guessing better than $500 Canadian a side by the time your're done for bottom and back covers (and that doesn't count you paying to have someone else install them-- if that's what you're inclined to do).

I have recovered two seats now (one with new covers and one replacing worn original covers with original covers in better shape from a junkyard) and when I originally said it was no more difficult than an oil change, I got a scoff or two on the forum. I was probably overstating the ease with which it can be done, but it is no more challenging than a PCV system overhaul. If I had to, I could probably strip and recover a seat in two hours assuming it was already out of the car and I didn't misfire on more than a handful of hog rings.

A new leather seat cover from Elwood Industries is really a luxurious touch and makes an already comfortable seat that much nicer. It could be worth doing on a car you intend to keep for five years or more.

There are some OE Volvo seats I've seen that are faux leather, but they seemed to be fairly high quality for fake leather. If you've located nice seats at the yard, GO GET THEM. Used seats in very good condition can be a tough find. Bonus would be if they matched yours like-for-like, i.e., power for power, manual for manual. Straight seat replacement of the entire unit is not difficult, just a little awkward. The power seats are a tad heavy, but not unmanageable. The manual seats are significantly lighter. Provided the yard seats are reasonably priced, that is going to be your most cost-effective, and probably most time efficient option.

[335i]

Thank you all for the information it has been great help. Unfortunately, it's already the end. Someone decided to do an u-turn at the last second in front of me... Me and my girlfriend are fine.