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Dangerous Dave
Saturday 28th February 2015, 01:47
So I thought it was time I posted something up about this. The car has been sat on the driveway for 3 years now (and still starts first time on the old fuel).

It had a headgasket problem so I ripped it apart and fitte a new HG but alas a week later it went again. So instead of messing about I purchased another engine off ebay and set about stripping it to renew the gaskets and seals to save doing it in the future.

The engine as it was when I retrieved it from Leicester. Unfortunately I got within 50 yards of home and the trailer hit a bump and bounced the engine, which cracked the sump. So I'm going to have to either get another sump or take the one off the engine in the car.
https://i.imgur.com/efW1HOLl.jpg

PCV was a bit blocked.....
https://i.imgur.com/PNnLBrGl.jpg

Hardly any buildup in the inlet ports
https://i.imgur.com/FkIjg8Ul.jpg

So the whole thing was stripped down and then my daughter arrived so the engine build was put aside.

Then in August last year I decided to get on with it.

Had the block sections cleaned and I sprayed them with black engine enamel (no real reason for this, just fancied doing it)
Please excuse the crappy pictures, seems my phone lens needed cleaning (also spot the A series cylinder head...).
https://i.imgur.com/aKehSI7l.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/f3jnymnl.jpg

Crank going in...
https://i.imgur.com/3LTTdfkl.jpg

Bought these rods a while ago, thought it only fair to use them..
https://i.imgur.com/yzcgcLMl.jpg

A bag of goodies turned up from FRF Swansea (thanks Rufe :D ) some shiny new rod bearings
https://i.imgur.com/1x5Uqqel.jpg

New intermediate section bolts too. Pistons in and everything tightened up.
https://i.imgur.com/LrmkNtBl.jpg

That's it for now, more to come :)

Santa
Saturday 28th February 2015, 08:40
About time you posted ?!?!?! About time you finished it :P

Dangerous Dave
Saturday 28th February 2015, 15:54
Yeah, like a lot of other things in my life that should be completed by now.....

Dangerous Dave
Monday 27th April 2015, 20:53
Bit of an update....

Big thanks to Molet5-r for supplying me with a sump pan to replace my broken one. All cleaned up, sprayed and fitted.

https://i.imgur.com/z4nsMGBl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/NQlqpBzl.jpg


And fitted shims between the liners (as it is the 2.5 engine)

https://i.imgur.com/rt8r0Eul.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/gwpPRu8l.jpg


The head is being skimmed today. Looking forward to putting it back together and fitting it.

claymore
Monday 27th April 2015, 21:02
Looks like it will be a nice engine.

Dangerous Dave
Monday 27th April 2015, 21:04
Thanks Colin, getting there with it slowly.

The paint probably won't last long, but hey ho I did my best with it.

Biff
Monday 27th April 2015, 22:34
Project rally eh? I'm a big rally fan & ex codriver/passenger.
Any plans for uprated awd? Looks like the engine is going to be a good spec.
Good to see you back mate.

MoleT-5R
Tuesday 28th April 2015, 00:17
wow nice build mate and that sump looks way better than the last time I saw it, bet you cleaned a good pile of cr#p out of it, plus I did spot the 'A' series head in blue and a turbo casting as they would say in those sort of circles if I am not mistaken.

Wobbly Dave
Tuesday 28th April 2015, 00:38
Did you balance the rods, crank and other internals?

Dangerous Dave
Tuesday 28th April 2015, 23:16
Project rally eh? I'm a big rally fan & ex codriver/passenger.
Any plans for uprated awd? Looks like the engine is going to be a good spec.
Good to see you back mate.
No plans to do anything with the AWD as yet, will be a daily driver. Can't wait to get back to some better grip.


wow nice build mate and that sump looks way better than the last time I saw it, bet you cleaned a good pile of cr#p out of it, plus I did spot the 'A' series head in blue and a turbo casting as they would say in those sort of circles if I am not mistaken.
It wasn't too bad to be honest, the broken one I've got has a shed load of crap in it, thank god I didn't have to clean that out :D
I can't remember what A series head it is, it's been sat there that long....


Did you balance the rods, crank and other internals?
I'm afraid I didn't get that done, it did cross my mind when you mentioned it at the Two Henry's last year, but I decided against it in the end.

Head came back today from it's skim, £20 and a cracking job. Now setting to work grinding the valves and putting it all back together.
https://i.imgur.com/SjTqJUUl.jpg

Have had a problem with some of the upper spring washers. Three of them have got what seems like stress fractures
https://i.imgur.com/07Dm46wl.jpg

So I'm gonna speak to FRF tomorrow and see if I can get some replacements.

MoleT-5R
Wednesday 29th April 2015, 10:55
No plans to do anything with the AWD as yet, will be a daily driver. Can't wait to get back to some better grip.


It wasn't too bad to be honest, the broken one I've got has a shed load of crap in it, thank god I didn't have to clean that out :D
I can't remember what A series head it is, it's been sat there that long....


I'm afraid I didn't get that done, it did cross my mind when you mentioned it at the Two Henry's last year, but I decided against it in the end.

Head came back today from it's skim, £20 and a cracking job. Now setting to work grinding the valves and putting it all back together.
http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s101/bomb192uk/Rebuild/20150428_172813.jpg

Have had a problem with some of the upper spring washers. Three of them have got what seems like stress fractures
http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s101/bomb192uk/IMAG1550.jpg

So I'm gonna speak to FRF tomorrow and see if I can get some replacements.



just re-read the post and noticed it's the spring caps that have fractured so will you replace all of them just in case or just the fractured ones

Dangerous Dave
Wednesday 29th April 2015, 17:21
just re-read the post and noticed it's the spring caps that have fractured so will you replace all of them just in case or just the fractured ones
Well, a couple that are cracked were off my dad's engine from when I replaced the head gasket, I just swapped them for the ones on my engine. It seems the later engine ones are slightly thicker (not by much, one of them is starting to fracture)

I ran them all under the wire wheel to remove the crap and show up any issues.

Anyway, I have some new ones coming from Sweden (via FRF) so should have some in a week or so (bloody bank holidays)

Santa
Wednesday 29th April 2015, 19:13
Looking good Marty

Dangerous Dave
Monday 11th May 2015, 22:42
Little update, the washers arrived from Sweden :)

Valves all fitted, head painted and fitted to the block.

https://i.imgur.com/YWRbPRvl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/onbHDs0l.jpg

Now having trouble with the tappets. Because they have been sat for the best part of 3 years they have dried up and some have corroded. So I've binned the corroded ones and I'm currently taking apart the ones that are left to clean the crud out of the pistons. Involves a bit of force to get the pistons out but they eventually pop out.

MoleT-5R
Tuesday 12th May 2015, 08:02
Little update, the washers arrived from Sweden :)

Valves all fitted, head painted and fitted to the block.

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s101/bomb192uk/Rebuild/20150508_153641.jpg

Now having trouble with the tappets. Because they have been sat for the best part of 3 years they have dried up and some have corroded. So I've binned the corroded ones and I'm currently taking apart the ones that are left to clean the crud out of the pistons. Involves a bit of force to get the pistons out but they eventually pop out.

so worth dropping into a pot of oil when stripping the head down to keep them nice, whilst awaiting rebuild as mine will be this weekend, cheers for the heads up about them drying out and corroding

Dangerous Dave
Tuesday 12th May 2015, 21:41
Yup, deffo a preventative measure needed.

Dangerous Dave
Monday 18th May 2015, 00:31
More done.

Cams in, cover on, sprayed some stuff silver, cam belt on, turned the crank a few times all good.
https://i.imgur.com/qjyuWzel.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/hnXs3fVl.jpg

One piece exhaust gasket modified to fit the older engine (extra studs at each end)

https://i.imgur.com/yk6Ghvyl.jpg

Japanifold on

https://i.imgur.com/56ixcAtl.jpg

PCV, inlet manifold and some other bits on.

https://i.imgur.com/lVrnXEAl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/waRPEYGl.jpg

Not much left to do, some bits I need to remove off the engine in the car to put on the new one.

Santa
Monday 18th May 2015, 07:31
More done.

Cams in, cover on, sprayed some stuff silver, cam belt on, turned the crank a few times all good.

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s101/bomb192uk/Rebuild/20150514_215631.jpg

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s101/bomb192uk/Rebuild/20150517_134803.jpg

One piece exhaust gasket

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s101/bomb192uk/Rebuild/20150517_173528.jpg

Japanifold on

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s101/bomb192uk/Rebuild/20150517_184352.jpg

PCV, inlet manifold and some other bits on.

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s101/bomb192uk/Rebuild/20150517_184502.jpg

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s101/bomb192uk/Rebuild/20150517_184515.jpg

Not much left to do, some bits I need to remove off the engine in the car to put on the new one.

Looking smart mate :)

Dangerous Dave
Tuesday 23rd June 2015, 00:08
Have finally got the old engine out the car. Started stripping the AWD components and gearbox off. I've forgotten how heavy the gearbox is (the real reason is I'm not a fit as I was a few years ago).

https://i.imgur.com/m6EGgPGl.jpg

Whilst draining the oil out the engine I noticed some machining on the intermediate section of the block. Seems this is to accommodate the angle gear (not even a fingers width clearance when in situ), so looks like I've got to get Pedro down with his angle grinder to attack the block :D

Looks like they've taken a lot off the bolt hole (compared to the other one on the right and on the new engine)
https://i.imgur.com/80L86uil.jpg

MoleT-5R
Tuesday 23rd June 2015, 00:39
Have finally got the old engine out the car. Started stripping the AWD components and gearbox off. I've forgotten how heavy the gearbox is (the real reason is I'm not a fit as I was a few years ago).

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s101/bomb192uk/Rebuild/20150618_165515.jpg

Whilst draining the oil out the engine I noticed some machining on the intermediate section of the block. Seems this is to accommodate the angle gear (not even a fingers width clearance when in situ), so looks like I've got to get Pedro down with his angle grinder to attack the block :D

Looks like they've taken a lot off the bolt hole (compared to the other one on the right and on the new engine)
http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s101/bomb192uk/Rebuild/20150618_182149.jpg

amazing these small changes that you would not normally even think about, these awd's really are a different breed...!!

Dangerous Dave
Thursday 25th June 2015, 22:59
amazing these small changes that you would not normally even think about, these awd's really are a different breed...!!
Indeed!

I have another to add to the list. Whilst browsing the Volvo tech manual I found an article on torque steer. Apparently you have to measure the gap between the engine subframe and each driveshaft. If the difference between sides is any bigger than a 5mm (I think) then the gearbox mount on the N/S can be adjusted to eliminate/reduce the torque steer.

Trying to find the procedure again.

Found it:

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s101/bomb192uk/M58%20torque%20steer.png

MoleT-5R
Friday 26th June 2015, 07:33
Indeed!

I have another to add to the list. Whilst browsing the Volvo tech manual I found an article on torque steer. Apparently you have to measure the gap between the engine subframe and each driveshaft. If the difference between sides is any bigger than a 5mm (I think) then the gearbox mount on the N/S can be adjusted to eliminate/reduce the torque steer.

Trying to find the procedure again.

Found it:

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s101/bomb192uk/M58%20torque%20steer.png

yet another very useful bit of info, will be checking Olive's clearence's when her engine comes out this weekend.........hopefully

Dangerous Dave
Saturday 27th June 2015, 23:44
So now I'm cleaning up the subframe, gearbox and angle gear.

Decided to crack open the angle gear as I have some new oil to go in it (and I'll be replacing all the seals in it, might as well). Inside I found 2-3mm of baked on and sludgy oil, bearings are clogged up but still move. Must be as a result of the heat from the engine and exhaust which are in close proximity to it. Trying to find a chemical which can remove the baked on oil, have some products but need something to get inside the bearings...

Having some trouble cracking the output shaft nut, gonna have to break out the big bar and a bigger vice. The manual says it's torqued to 180nm :(

Piccies of the sludge
https://i.imgur.com/yhHH9rxl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/G1Kc02Fl.jpg

MoleT-5R
Sunday 28th June 2015, 11:50
how many mile had this angle gear unit done and do they recommend regular oil changes or is this item another filled for life by Volvo job...??

Dangerous Dave
Sunday 28th June 2015, 20:52
It has done around 160k, think it is on the service schedule, I'll have to look it up in a bit.

It's pretty much cleaned up now, though I had to scrub hard, that dried on stuff is a b*tch to move.

Managed to crack the pinion nut, had to make up a bar with some pins to hold it.

Santa
Monday 29th June 2015, 18:54
Coming along :)

Dangerous Dave
Saturday 4th July 2015, 23:46
Angle gear is all cleaned up and has new seals and oil :)

Now to do the gearbox...

https://i.imgur.com/Sw55m8gl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/H0QZH5El.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/497NS7Cl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/GEjHpCml.jpg

Dangerous Dave
Thursday 9th July 2015, 23:44
Gearbox is finished....

Took longer than planned as some fool forgot to put the magnet back in the bottom :slap: so had to split it again, clean off and reapply the sealant.

https://i.imgur.com/yxg8hwZl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/QQdN5XQl.jpg

Now to crack on with the engine subframe :)

Dangerous Dave
Monday 20th July 2015, 23:48
Little update, had to cut the back of the engine to make sure the angle gear doesn't foul on the block (see pic some posts further up)

https://i.imgur.com/PeMTKgFl.jpg

Not bad considering I only used an angle grinder (Pedro would be proud :) )

MoleT-5R
Tuesday 21st July 2015, 11:19
Angle gear is all cleaned up and has new seals and oil :)

Now to do the gearbox...

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s101/bomb192uk/Rebuild/20150704_195544.jpg

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s101/bomb192uk/Rebuild/20150704_220127.jpg nice to be able to see the internals as the Haynes book of lies would never entertain showing us important stuff like this

Dangerous Dave
Saturday 1st August 2015, 00:01
Got some more done...

Engine subframe cleaned off and painted
https://i.imgur.com/RnkEOdRl.jpg

bits added
https://i.imgur.com/iKrejnNl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/mXAblPBl.jpg

Swapped out the 19T on the V70 for its original 16T, only took 2 hours to swap the turbos over. I forgot how quick the 16T spools.

Fitted 19T to the engine. For some reason FRF sent me 4 turbo oil return bottom seals and 4 upper gaskets (two the same and two different)
https://i.imgur.com/Cc8h8gtl.jpg

Also fitted the VXR injectors.

Apart from fitting the flywheel and new clutch (can't whilst it is on the engine stand), it's all ready to back together and in the car, which should happen sometime next week (hopefully). Then I'll move onto sorting out some issues created by leaving the car standing for so long (some interior bits need attention, I've got an S80 steering wheel to fit and I think I'll flush/check the fuel system).

More to come...

Dangerous Dave
Friday 9th October 2015, 11:28
Has been some time since the last update, have had a crappy couple of months unfortunately.

Anyway, I finally got an engine hoist and had our Overlord build it for me (thanks Santa).

Fitted the new clutch, quite a difference to the old one, the friction plate is thicker plus about 5mm wider. Should last a bit longer :)
https://i.imgur.com/5p1QLqWl.jpg

Fitted the rest of the components to the subframe and put it on the dolly I made to move it around.
https://i.imgur.com/vM5F116l.jpg

Engine on
https://i.imgur.com/v9bq8kBl.jpg

Lifted the car up
https://i.imgur.com/S9OtZ8Ll.jpg

Engine is now in, just need to connect everything, fit the new radiator, put the driveshafts in and fill the gearbox with oil. Have got a wideband lambda sensor to fit too, getting the existing sensor out was a nightmare as it was really stuck in there (plus I forgot to remove it before I put the engine in :( ).

Santa
Friday 9th October 2015, 11:59
Anyway, I finally got an engine hoist and had our Overlord build it for me (thanks Santa).



I hung myself off it as well so we know it's good for 2 tonnes ;)

claymore
Friday 9th October 2015, 16:42
Have got a wideband lambda sensor to fit too, getting the existing sensor out was a nightmare as it was really stuck in there (plus I forgot to remove it before I put the engine in :( ).

Are you replacing your original Lambda sensor with a wide band sensor? this confuses me?

jamesy12345
Friday 9th October 2015, 17:15
Are you replacing your original Lambda sensor with a wide band sensor? this confuses me?

what colin said^^

wouldn't you need a narrow-band output for the ECU....

this piece of kit can take a wideband input & turn it into a narrowband output http://www.efi-parts.co.uk/index.php?productID=173

A bit pricey though

oblark
Friday 9th October 2015, 18:26
what colin said^^

wouldn't you need a narrow-band output for the ECU....

this piece of kit can take a wideband input & turn it into a narrowband output http://www.efi-parts.co.uk/index.php?productID=173

A bit pricey though

Or purchase the software from Maarten which uses a wideband sensor to control the ecu.

Dangerous Dave
Saturday 10th October 2015, 12:35
Are you replacing your original Lambda sensor with a wide band sensor? this confuses me?
Yep. Saves me having another hole added.


what colin said^^

wouldn't you need a narrow-band output for the ECU....

this piece of kit can take a wideband input & turn it into a narrowband output http://www.efi-parts.co.uk/index.php?productID=173

A bit pricey though
Yes, very pricey.....

I bought a DIY wideband controller from the USA which does all the narrowband conversion/heater control and is a very cheap alternative:
http://www.14point7.com/products/slc-free

The Bosch LSU4.9 lambda sensor arrived this morning :)

I got the DIY kit some months ago, it's built and just needs the wiring adding to it.

Dangerous Dave
Saturday 10th October 2015, 12:58
Also had a problem with the starter motor. Managed to break the connector off the solenoid, must have been brittle. Upon opening the starter motor it seems all the grease has dried up so it is getting an overhaul.

Fortunately I think I have a spare solenoid.

https://i.imgur.com/pRssh0Bl.jpg

Tee5alive
Sunday 13th December 2015, 05:38
very nice! Hmmm the thought of an AWD is appealing. Sadly my days of having a huge workshop are now over and all work is down in the road under a brolly :(
My experience of engine paint (from my days of restoring/tuning REAL Minis - not the fake rubbish imitation things) is that it BAKES on after a few days!!
One pic looks like you've fitted a mountain bike wheel to the crank pulley!!

craigoodwood
Sunday 13th December 2015, 11:33
Have finally got the old engine out the car. Started stripping the AWD components and gearbox off. I've forgotten how heavy the gearbox is (the real reason is I'm not a fit as I was a few years ago).

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s101/bomb192uk/Rebuild/20150618_165515.jpg

Whilst draining the oil out the engine I noticed some machining on the intermediate section of the block. Seems this is to accommodate the angle gear (not even a fingers width clearance when in situ), so looks like I've got to get Pedro down with his angle grinder to attack the block :D

Looks like they've taken a lot off the bolt hole (compared to the other one on the right and on the new engine)
http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s101/bomb192uk/Rebuild/20150618_182149.jpg

so this is the 2.5 lpt engine?? youve not still got it kicking bout hve you?? :)

Dangerous Dave
Sunday 13th December 2015, 12:50
so this is the 2.5 lpt engine?? youve not still got it kicking bout hve you?? :)
I have mate, but there is a problem with it. I did the head gasket and a week later it went again, possibly cracked liner, I have yet to autopsy it.

martybelfastt5
Sunday 13th December 2015, 17:32
another enjoyable thread great stuff:B_thumb:

craigoodwood
Sunday 13th December 2015, 17:35
I have mate, but there is a problem with it. I did the head gasket and a week later it went again, possibly cracked liner, I have yet to autopsy it.

i could be interested in it in the future if youve no other plans for it :B_thumb:

Dangerous Dave
Friday 18th December 2015, 23:52
i could be interested in it in the future if youve no other plans for it :B_thumb:
I'll let you know mate :)

Dangerous Dave
Friday 18th December 2015, 23:59
Look what turned up today :D

3.25" ID MAF from a BMW, double the flow capacity of the standard Volvo MAF. Think Oblark has one too.

https://i.imgur.com/56CZmYul.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/6SWygtSl.jpg

Markyb
Saturday 19th December 2015, 15:06
Looks interesting

Dangerous Dave
Sunday 14th February 2016, 22:00
So the weather has been crap and various other things have got in the way of progress.

Over the last few weeks I've fitted all the intake piping, cabling and ancillaries in the engine bay along with making up and fitting the cable for the wideband.

Today I filled the cooling system up, with then showed a couple of leaks. One was just a weak clamp but the other is at the firewall where the heater hoses go through. Looks like the one of the plastic connectors that pass through the firewall has cracked.

So another item which needs sorting. I'll probably rip the connectors out and replace them with some hose as the standard setup is too complicated for just a quick release system (too many o-rings).

Also have set the map up for the larger injectors that are fitted.

Dangerous Dave
Sunday 21st February 2016, 23:58
It lives!!!!! :D

Fixed the coolant issue and filled the system, no leaks, yay. Put some petrol in it, stuck a battery on and it was ready.

Turned it over a for a bit with the plugs out and the injectors disconnected to get some oil around it and then......

61bx0Mj5cnA

Sorry for the faffing about I do in the video.

So a bit noisy at first as the lifters were dry, but once oil pressure had come up then the noise died away. Left it idling a while, then stopped it, topped up the oil, water and steering fluids and restarted it.

Left it to run for an hour whilst messing around with bits and bobs. All seems fine, drove it forward so even the clutch works :)

Now to start on cleaning up the interior and getting all the unused parts out of the boot lol

Oh and currently running the stock MAF.

Dangerous Dave
Wednesday 23rd March 2016, 12:56
It was MOT time today :-S

https://i.imgur.com/IEbvuVwl.jpg

It passed!!!

Now to give it a good clean inside and take it for a run :D

MoleT-5R
Wednesday 23rd March 2016, 23:07
It was MOT time today :-S

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s101/bomb192uk/Polly/20160323_094908.jpg

It passed!!!

Now to give it a good clean inside and take it for a run :D

you'll be around for a cuppa soon then mate...:)

Dangerous Dave
Thursday 24th March 2016, 02:07
you'll be around for a cuppa soon then mate...:)

Funny you should say that as I'm heading your way next week :D

I'll be packing my chip kit :)

MoleT-5R
Thursday 24th March 2016, 02:37
Funny you should say that as I'm heading your way next week :D

I'll be packing my chip kit :)

we'll I'm off for 2 weeks and going no where, so if you wish to play volvo be my guest..:)

Dangerous Dave
Wednesday 30th March 2016, 22:54
Had a little issue with the battery dying. Turns out the nut was missing off the back of the alternator which holds the power cable on (possibly because I forgot to put it on or it fell off because I didn't tighten it). For some reason the alternator was red hot and smoking :S

Fortunately I had the alternator off the other engine and fitted that (a right PITA as the AC pump was in the way). No battery issues since :)

And I fitted the propshaft with its new cv boot and fresh grease (as it was a bit skittish in 2wd mode)

MoleT-5R
Thursday 31st March 2016, 11:15
Had a little issue with the battery dying. Turns out the nut was missing off the back of the alternator which holds the power cable on (possibly because I forgot to put it on or it fell off because I didn't tighten it). For some reason the alternator was red hot and smoking :S

Fortunately I had the alternator off the other engine and fitted that (a right PITA as the AC pump was in the way). No battery issues since :)

And I fitted the propshaft with its new cv boot and fresh grease (as it was a bit skittish in 2wd mode)

I had a similar issue on the olive after the engine was last out, didn't tighten the power connection nut on the alternator, which then in turn vibrated off and then found the car had no power left in it to continue the journey to shakey by the time we got to Telford, limped off the motorway and found the fault, so I pinched a nut from one of the strut top mounts to fix it, then a bump start and off she went again....I do love simple fixes..:)

Dangerous Dave
Friday 23rd June 2017, 21:47
Wow, been over a year since I updated this!

As it turns out the alternator of the other engine was completely goosed, the com on the back was worn down to nothing so wasn't charging the battery. This I didn't find out until I bought a new battery which was very quickly drained and lit up the dash like a Christmas tree.

Then in March it failed the MOT on a couple of minor things. I didn't get round to sorting these until the end of May but all is well now.

Then with the recent heatwave I realised the air con was not working. A trip down to a local air con company sorted it. The guy said it was holding the pressure perfectly considering it's age. So now the weather has gone cooler I have my aircon working lol.

Anyway these arrived in the post on Monday :D

https://i.imgur.com/bhlTarD.jpg

More to come

M-R-P
Saturday 24th June 2017, 10:39
Oooh an update :)

Will there be supporting mods to go with the ostrich?

Dangerous Dave
Saturday 24th June 2017, 16:02
Cheers mate :)

I've got a wideband sensor to fit too.

Dangerous Dave
Saturday 24th June 2017, 20:42
So I soldered all the wires onto the ecu and hot glued them to keep the vibrations from damaging them.

The I tried to mount the ostrich but it just wouldn't fit in properly without fouling on the cable and I didn't like how it was just sitting inside the case without any anchorage.

So I decided to remove the pcb from it's enclosure and sourced some standoffs and stainless countersunk screws to mount it inside the ecu case (needed to be countersunk to avoid fouling on the ecu locking mechanism). Also got some slightly longer to mount the pressure sensor too.

All mounted, just need to wire up the sensor and put some thread lock on the screws to stop them coming apart.
https://i.imgur.com/KEJwQCi.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/dLHBx5E.jpg

Dangerous Dave
Tuesday 5th September 2017, 22:57
The latest toy to bodge onto the 850.... an exhaust actuator from a 2017 Focus RS :D

The tailpipe fell off the old exhaust (don't ask) and some tips off an RS just happened to be on ebay.

So now I should be able to control the noise out the back using my arduino and a remote control.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9kHawXveQY

The technical bit for those that are interested. The actuator is controlled by a 100hz PWM signal and can be opened/closed by sending different duty cycles from about 10% to 90% and also any in between. The Arduino is connected to a MOSFET to control the 12V signal to the actuator.

More to come :D

MoleT-5R
Tuesday 5th September 2017, 23:29
The latest toy to bodge onto the 850.... an exhaust actuator from a 2017 Focus RS :D

The tailpipe fell off the old exhaust (don't ask) and some tips off an RS just happened to be on ebay.

So now I should be able to control the noise out the back using my arduino and a remote control.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9kHawXveQY

The technical bit for those that are interested. The actuator is controlled by a 100hz PWM signal and can be opened/closed by sending different duty cycles from about 10% to 90% and also any in between. The Arduino is connected to a MOSFET to control the 12V signal to the actuator.

More to come :D

Very interesting. ..come on spill the beans I'm intrigued

Dangerous Dave
Tuesday 5th September 2017, 23:41
Very interesting. ..come on spill the beans I'm intrigued
All will be revealed.....as soon as the weather gets better and I can fit the exhaust and get some pics and a vid :)

Dangerous Dave
Thursday 14th September 2017, 22:34
Another update, having to dodge the showers. Really need to get a garage :)

Chopped the nearside box in half to add a branch from the main exhaust path
https://i.imgur.com/pQDSvP7.jpg

Added a pipe to go straight out the box
https://i.imgur.com/5pCtEGM.jpg

Chopped the offside box to make the outlet central
https://i.imgur.com/snMjdpL.jpg

And here's one I made earlier :) Added the RS tips with the valve and sprayed it all black
https://i.imgur.com/ukHjTil.jpg

And fitted to the car. Maybe the only/first Volvo 850 with Focus RS tailpipes in the UK?
https://i.imgur.com/EdPFlLZ.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/GQlchAq.jpg

Now to make the actuator control box. Got a cheapo Arduino Nano off ebay for £3, some stripboard, a remote control receiver, a transistor, some wires and a plastic box to put it all in. Mixed it all together, left it to bake for 30 minutes and this is what it came out like
https://i.imgur.com/SC96uRE.jpg

Luckily the power supply for the tailgate wiper is switched by the ignition and is routed through an easily accessible connector on the D pillar. So the power is connected, just got to route the actuator wiring through the boot floor somewhere and then test it :)

MoleT-5R
Saturday 16th September 2017, 08:38
Another update, having to dodge the showers. Really need to get a garage :)

Chopped the nearside box in half to add a branch from the main exhaust path
https://i.imgur.com/pQDSvP7.jpg

Added a pipe to go straight out the box
https://i.imgur.com/5pCtEGM.jpg

Chopped the offside box to make the outlet central
https://i.imgur.com/snMjdpL.jpg

And here's one I made earlier :) Added the RS tips with the valve and sprayed it all black
https://i.imgur.com/ukHjTil.jpg

And fitted to the car. Maybe the only/first Volvo 850 with Focus RS tailpipes in the UK?
https://i.imgur.com/EdPFlLZ.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/GQlchAq.jpg

Now to make the actuator control box. Got a cheapo Arduino Nano off ebay for £3, some stripboard, a remote control receiver, a transistor, some wires and a plastic box to put it all in. Mixed it all together, left it to bake for 30 minutes and this is what it came out like
https://i.imgur.com/SC96uRE.jpg

Luckily the power supply for the tailgate wiper is switched by the ignition and is routed through an easily accessible connector on the D pillar. So the power is connected, just got to route the actuator wiring through the boot floor somewhere and then test it :)

I'm looking forward to the demo video of this mod Dave, and the exhaust looks lovely with it's new tips, at least there is some good uses in the world for RS Focus bits.....lol

Dangerous Dave
Saturday 16th September 2017, 15:55
I'm looking forward to the demo video of this mod Dave, and the exhaust looks lovely with it's new tips, at least there is some good uses in the world for RS Focus bits.....lol
Thanks bud, it's looks ok, maybe sticks out a bit but i think i just wanted to see the shiny lol.

Got it all working now. Can't get a video just yet as it's raining again.

Exhaust note is quite deep when the valve is open and when closed it's great for cruising without the droning exhaust in the background.

Eventually i want to integrate it into my data display project so i can set it to open at a certain throttle position.

oblark
Sunday 17th September 2017, 20:26
https://i.imgur.com/pQDSvP7.jpg


Won't the exhaust just come out of the near side silencer ?

As it has further to travel to come out of the off side.

Dangerous Dave
Monday 18th September 2017, 09:18
Won't the exhaust just come out of the near side silencer ?

As it has further to travel to come out of the off side.
There is a valve in the nearside tailpipe to divert the flow through offside silencing route.

The only drawback is when cold the steam coming out the back only comes from one tailpipe when the valve is open/closed.

oblark
Monday 18th September 2017, 19:50
The only drawback is when cold the steam coming out the back only comes from one tailpipe when the valve is open/closed.

I have the same problem, mine when cold only comes out of the off side pipe.

Dangerous Dave
Saturday 7th October 2017, 21:23
Finally managed to get a video done :)

Use headphones for the best sound experience, as the difference is really in the lower frequencies :D


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z92exSNUlg

Dangerous Dave
Sunday 29th July 2018, 23:11
What a week! Went out for a drive on Thursday and on the way back a noise appeared from the NS front wheel. This noise got louder which I reckoned was the wheel bearing. The next day I took the front assembly apart to find that the hub nut had come loose which meant the wheel bearing had separated and dried up.

This was because the locking mechanism on the hub nut was defective (what happens when you buy cheap parts, I know). Fortunately I had a spare bearing.

Then yesterday the car developed a loud whooshing from the intake system which turned out to be a split hose on the top of the turbo. Easily rectified though.

Ok so moved on a bit with the exhaust control system.

I had enough of using the remote to control the exhaust flap so added some code to the arduino that allows the flap to be opened automatically. I wanted to have different modes of control; constantly open, active (open at certain throttle angle or rpm) and closed.

To switch between the modes I dug out an spare dash 'Info' switch, got a pinout for it and wrote some code for it to interface correctly. It also keeps the dash looking 'factory' and neat, just need to change the 'info' text on it somehow.

Next was to link the arduino box and the exhaust control box in the boot. I ran a length of ethernet cable from the obd connector down the conduit on the passenger side and got some female ethernet sockets to add to the obd port and the exhaust control box.

https://i.imgur.com/QBEp8z2l.jpg

Then added some pins to the obd port so I didn't have wires running all over the place. The exhaust flap control utilises the second serial port on the arduino

So now I have a sort of CAN network rigged up which I can add to if needed.

The only thing left was to add switched power to the obd port (as the obd power is always on) so another pin was added which gets power once the ignition is on. Fortunately the obd port had some space to add these extra pins.

Vid of the working system:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR4bwH2QORA

Like the exhaust graphic? :)

So the rotary switch changes the modes, a short press of the button changes screens and a long press/hold starts the data logging.....that is something I'll look into next :D :D Also may look at partial opening of the flap at various throttle angles or rpm, it wouldn't be hard to do.

MoleT-5R
Monday 30th July 2018, 09:58
Nice work Dave and very smart graphics, are you about at all soon for a demo???

Dangerous Dave
Monday 30th July 2018, 17:02
Nice work Dave and very smart graphics, are you about at all soon for a demo???
Graphic shamelessly stolen from a VAG button which has a twin tailpipe graphic which I edited to a single. May add some lines to it to show the valve as open.

Have PMed you

Dangerous Dave
Friday 3rd August 2018, 21:50
Look what the Parcelforce guy dropped at my door today :)

Managed to get them cheap.

Now to clean them up and make some brackets

https://i.imgur.com/TJLBmSwl.jpg

MoleT-5R
Saturday 4th August 2018, 13:52
Look what the Parcelforce guy dropped at my door today :)

Managed to get them cheap.

Now to clean them up and make some brackets

https://i.imgur.com/TJLBmSwl.jpg

I see no image......guessing brakes. .?

MoleT-5R
Saturday 4th August 2018, 13:53
Lol just as I posted that the image appears....pmsl

Dangerous Dave
Saturday 4th August 2018, 15:11
LOL mate you need faster internet.

Yeah, calipers from a V50 for the 320mm disc conversion. Thought I'd go for it as the current 280mm standard setup needs new discs and pads and one of the calipers needs a rebuild too. That and the total crappiness of the 280 setup from the start.

MoleT-5R
Saturday 4th August 2018, 19:31
Just had a full set of drilled and grooved discs for gul, 302's for the front instead of the standard 280s she currently has. Olive will be next and will move up fron her current 302's, but to what I'm not sure, I'll be watching your upgrade with keen interest, you can be sure of that.

Dangerous Dave
Sunday 5th August 2018, 23:18
The 320mm calipers look a better design too, more metal for strength and heat dissipation (I guess)

Also got a larger MAF to fit but need to work out if I'm going to adapt the standard airbox or make something up.

MoleT-5R
Monday 6th August 2018, 09:51
The 320mm calipers look a better design too, more metal for strength and heat dissipation (I guess)

Also got a larger MAF to fit but need to work out if I'm going to adapt the standard airbox or make something up.

How bigger MAF did you get..?

Dangerous Dave
Monday 6th August 2018, 14:47
How bigger MAF did you get..?
It's a 3.5" ID MAF from a BMW 740i. Should allow up to approx. 1800kg/h flow instead of the 826kg/h of the standard MAF which apparently can be easily reached by a 15G.

MoleT-5R
Monday 6th August 2018, 22:30
It's a 3.5" ID MAF from a BMW 740i. Should allow up to approx. 1800kg/h flow instead of the 826kg/h of the standard MAF which apparently can be easily reached by a 15G.

Something I should be considering really, as the standard one must be maxed out pulling 301.2hp on the dyno with the lowly 15g, I do have a 3" here to play with, but it may be easier just to go up to the bigger bmw jobbie now, than change again later.

Dangerous Dave
Monday 6th August 2018, 23:03
You can pick the cheapo ones up off ebay as you only need the housing so you can swap in the sensor from the standard maf.

MoleT-5R
Tuesday 7th August 2018, 01:49
You can pick the cheapo ones up off ebay as you only need the housing so you can swap in the sensor from the standard maf.

won't the 850's maf surface area be under size for the housing then, or do you then adjust the scaling to allow for the smaller surface area of the 850's sensor to the diameter of the maf housing, else I could see some massive leaning out is due to happen as the throttle gets opened.. ??

Dangerous Dave
Tuesday 7th August 2018, 10:31
There is a program (available on the M4.4 wikia site) that adjusts the scaling in the ecu to account for the increase in housing size. Basically the stock values are multiplied by 2.24 for the 3.5" MAF

Dangerous Dave
Thursday 7th March 2019, 22:19
Oooh, it's been a while :)

So I haven't been happy with the fuelling settings of the ecu. After some research it turns out the VXR 470cc injectors aren't 470cc they actually flow the same as the 'big greens' at approx 440cc. The only difference between the two injectors is the greens are 12ohms impedance and the vxr blues are 14.5ohms impedance.

Not that much of a big deal though as they were cheap enough and they flow the same as greens.

Just need to change some settings and hopefully that will sort things out.

Next project is getting the 3.25" MAF to fit (unfortunately it's not a 3.5" like I first thought but still better than standard)

MoleT-5R
Friday 8th March 2019, 13:00
Nice to see an update Dave and I look forward to hearing how you get on with the new MAF.

Dangerous Dave
Friday 15th March 2019, 13:29
Also been getting on with the epic that is the 320mm brake conversion.

The calipers and brackets are a bit rusty so I made my own blasting cabinet out of a huge IKEA storage box.

Got one bracket done and sprayed up, now to do the rest...
https://imgur.com/a/o70NKBchttps://i.imgur.com/p4k0iWEl.jpg

kmb
Saturday 16th March 2019, 11:30
Looks good, sand blasted?

Dangerous Dave
Saturday 16th March 2019, 23:15
Looks good, sand blasted?
I'm using a 20/40 grit Garnet media. Not a perfect finish but gets all the rust off.

Here's my bodged blast cabinet :)
https://i.imgur.com/zR8XBK7l.jpg

MoleT-5R
Sunday 17th March 2019, 18:31
Fair do's Dave, looks ok and is a fully functional bit of home made kit, can't be classed as botched in my book, nice work Sir.

Dangerous Dave
Monday 18th March 2019, 22:21
Fair do's Dave, looks ok and is a fully functional bit of home made kit, can't be classed as botched in my book, nice work Sir.
Thank you :)

But now my air compressor is dying (making funny noises and slowing down) :(

There's a local shotblasting company so may see how much they charge just to get it done as I've got to move onto the next stage of the brakes, brackets :)

Dangerous Dave
Tuesday 7th May 2019, 23:22
This project is all over the place at the moment, need to make a list and start doing one job at a time.

So far I've got one of the brake calipers/bracket ready and have managed to get a set of 320mm discs dirt cheap so I can fabricate an adapter (as I like to do it the hard way). The discs are from a V70 P2 with the 68mm centre bore. This means that they fit without needing to be machined but the offset is 2mm different to the V50 320mm discs which then means an 8mm adapter plate won't work so I have an idea......watch this space.

Also got a pair of XC90 calipers dirt,dirt cheap so may have a look at what I can do with those on my spare hub.

Anyway, on to other bits I've got sorted.

Finally I made the 3.25" MAF adapter with my 3D printer (5.5 hours of printing later) :D :D


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hiKmSwwCMI

And after some cutting of a spare airbox lid, some superglue and 'hot snot', fettling a 90 degree silicone reducer and some aluminium tubing I have this:
https://i.imgur.com/eGdnjAKl.jpg

I modified the ecu binary to account for the increase in size and all is working great :)

Dangerous Dave
Monday 20th May 2019, 23:09
So it was time to make the brackets for the 320mm conversion.

Made some templates with different offsets to see which would work the best
https://i.imgur.com/k8h6GsAl.jpg

Chose a 13mm offset and transferred to the 6mm steel plate.
https://i.imgur.com/Wbb5pbwl.jpg

Some drilling, tapping and grinding later
https://i.imgur.com/NvfQpAsl.jpg

The plate is a bit thin so made an outer support with some 8mm steel and a spacer
https://i.imgur.com/RYfFVhNl.jpg

Just need to weld up the spacers and spray the brackets.

In the meantime the spare parts for the compressor have arrived so I can get on with blasting the other caliper to get ready for painting.

simonc
Thursday 30th May 2019, 08:39
Just read through your thread. I like how you’ve made all your bespoke fittings yourself. Very interesting read.

Dangerous Dave
Saturday 1st June 2019, 23:06
Just read through your thread. I like how you’ve made all your bespoke fittings yourself. Very interesting read.
Thank you, kind of a necessity as they aren't available to buy anywhere. But also part of the fun of having a project

Dangerous Dave
Friday 14th June 2019, 21:03
The kit is all ready to go on, just waiting for the weather to get better :(

https://i.imgur.com/1QKi7Gbh.jpg

Dangerous Dave
Tuesday 2nd July 2019, 22:16
Finally got some good weather :D

All fitted with new hose (old one too short)
https://i.imgur.com/Ugdk2X4l.jpg

Old vs New
https://i.imgur.com/gbdmavIm.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/HalwMoam.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/JGjGkD8m.jpghttps://i.imgur.com/qgvxv8mm.jpg

Braking is a whole world better :)

Now to move onto the rear brakes.....

kmb
Wednesday 3rd July 2019, 09:28
Excellent improvement, 320mm disc fills the wheel a whole lot better too!

What's the plan at the rear?

Dangerous Dave
Wednesday 3rd July 2019, 14:12
Excellent improvement, 320mm disc fills the wheel a whole lot better too!

What's the plan at the rear?
Yeah it did look a bit chavvy before with tiny looking discs inside big rims.

The good thing about them is I can use the 320mm disc off the V70 so I don't have to machine the centre of the disc like when using the 320mm V50 disc.

Also managed to get some brembo pads for £35, though they are not performance pads. Performance pads are quite expensive unfortunately.

The rear discs are solid on mine, so I'm looking at fitting the vented discs and calipers off the XC90 which are also a bit bigger (and fill the wheel better :)).

LeeT5
Thursday 4th July 2019, 07:07
I take it you couldn't use 330mm discs and calipers from a V70R/S60R?

Dangerous Dave
Thursday 4th July 2019, 09:23
I take it you couldn't use 330mm discs and calipers from a V70R/S60R?
Unfortunately not, my budget doesn't allow for that kind of spend. Plus the calipers seem quite rare, a quick ebay search found none.

I thought about using the 330mm discs but they are too wide for the calipers at 30mm vs the 25mm of the V50. The V70 ones I'm using are 28mm and fit but I had to shave 1mm off the caliper bracket as I got the offset wrong. .

This was a budget build too, the old calipers were in need of a refurb so I thought I'd 'upgrade' (as it were).

Total costs (for anyone interested): calipers £80, discs £40, pads £35. Brackets and bolts cost around £30 plus the time fabricating them, brake hoses £14. Sandblasting and paint were extra but not 'essential'.

Dangerous Dave
Sunday 26th April 2020, 23:38
Time for an update.

Sometime in January we were on our way back from a meal late at night, when all of a sudden the exhaust came apart and the car started sounding loud (it was pretty awesome). So we limped home as quietly as possible :) Next morning I made a trip to my mom's (where I keep my ramps), oh the noise was brilliant, pops and burbles hahaha (though it would drive you nuts on cruise). Turns out the clamp bolt had snapped (original bolt) on the joint above the rear axle and the two pipes had worked apart. So an new bolt was found and repair effected.

Then coronavirus happened and I got furloughed from work. This meant lots of time to spend doing things around the house....nah.

Got some good weather so changed the track rod end and the wishbone on the front N/S.

Finally got round to sorting the petrol flap lock motor (got sick of having to go in the boot and pull the little lever to open it as it would lock but not open). It just needed some lubrication, fortunately it is screwed together so easy to fix (compared to the glued together ones).

The rear N/S caliper had seized (found out on the motorway when the carr started to vibrate like mad). Closer inspection found the dust boot had been worn away (by the disc I think, bit of a design flaw or badly sized pattern part discs, the other side had wear in the same place). A new seal kit arrived and I eventually got the piston out due to all the crap that had gathered inside, got it all cleaned up and it's working great now.

Then I needed to replace the bushes on the gear linkage on the gearbox. After looking around for something to fit I opted to make my own. I measured up the linkage, designed a bush on Sketchup and printed some out using some polyurethane 3D printing filament:

https://i.imgur.com/yDXgbdGl.jpg

I used the brass centre out of the old rubber bushes. They fit nice and snugly:

https://i.imgur.com/JACXp0Wl.jpg

Currently I am relocating the data display so will post that once it's done.

kmb
Monday 27th April 2020, 19:55
I remember fitting new metal skateboard bearings and some washers to my MR2 Turbo linkages some years back, made a nice difference to the directness of the gearchange, I imagine this has done similar.

Not sure if all gear linkages are of similar dimensions so that such bearings would fit in our cars? Visually the parts look the same, but no idea how the sizes match up.

Dangerous Dave
Monday 27th April 2020, 22:08
Oddly enough the MR2 bushes are the same size as the Volvo ones. I remember a mod was to use the solid brass bushes for an MR2. You can get the polyurethane bush for the MR2 as well (after a quick google search) but I made mine for a hell of a lot less than you can buy them for and I enjoyed doing it :)

Don't know about the difference yet as I haven't driven it (mainly due to the lockdown) but it feels better just operating with the engine off.

You been watching Mighty Car Mods with Marty's turbo MR2?

kmb
Friday 1st May 2020, 09:41
Oddly enough the MR2 bushes are the same size as the Volvo ones. I remember a mod was to use the solid brass bushes for an MR2. You can get the polyurethane bush for the MR2 as well (after a quick google search) but I made mine for a hell of a lot less than you can buy them for and I enjoyed doing it :)

Don't know about the difference yet as I haven't driven it (mainly due to the lockdown) but it feels better just operating with the engine off.

You been watching Mighty Car Mods with Marty's turbo MR2?

That's handy, I may have a spare pair of the MR2 roller bearing bushes, maybe I will fit to my C30 T5 (assuming they're the same) at some point!

I haven't been watching Mighty Car Mods MR2 Turbo, But I will now! Mine was a 96 Rev 2 in a very nice metallic blue, sold for only 3.5k 12 years back and only had 60k miles... DOH!

Dangerous Dave
Tuesday 5th May 2020, 23:49
Another item off the list today.

The throttle cable (being original) was falling to bits and getting a bit stiff. Apparently you can no longer get a throttle cable for our cars (despite being used on different models over so many years), most suppliers I've looked at state it is discontinued (though I didn't try a Volvo dealer).

After seeing Al on the Skid Factory do a throttle cable how to I thought I'd have a go myself.

So I bought a universal throttle cable (teflon lined) kit off ebay.

Ripped out the old cable leaving the base in the bulkhead (as it can get damaged if you try to remove it meaning it can't be refitted).

https://i.imgur.com/Wlq7PpJl.jpg

The old cable was a bit knackered, the outer sheath was falling off and the teflon liner had been worn through in several places meaning eventually the inner cable would have broken. The cable snapped on my cousin's V70 a few years ago. To get home he taped the outer cable to what was left of the inner cable and drove with the improvised cable coming out of the bonnet and through the drivers window :S

https://i.imgur.com/dPg3kB0l.jpg?1

The new cable outer was just a bit smaller than the original which meant it slipped into the base snugly

https://i.imgur.com/WLQFTwel.jpg

The kit comes with a few different end ferrules (if that is the correct term) one of which matched the throttle body end (which was nice) and another round one which fitted the pedal end (also a bonus).

I cut the outer cable to length, pushed the new cable through and added the original cable adjuster.

https://i.imgur.com/wcOf2pcl.jpg

Then soldered on the end ferrule

https://i.imgur.com/ZZ1mBM6l.jpg

And the job was complete :)

https://i.imgur.com/xcXhHp2l.jpg

kmb
Wednesday 6th May 2020, 18:51
Nicely done, might be worth sticking up the cable dimensions should anyone else wish to follow suit.

Dangerous Dave
Wednesday 6th May 2020, 20:22
Sure, it was a 1.35m Venhill Throttle cable kit. Had to chop 14cm off the end of the outer cable to make it the same-ish length as the original and trim the inner cable to the right length with it all in place.

Dangerous Dave
Friday 29th May 2020, 00:52
The Lockdown projects continue....

The position of the data display was bugging me. Being stuck in the vent it looked bodged and the white cable hanging down also looked terrible.
https://i.imgur.com/IyABvZgl.jpg

I tested the display in different positions around the dash finally settling on just in front of the clocks.

So I did some measuring of the LCD and designed a case.

https://i.imgur.com/mv5cjODl.png


I 3D printed the case and added the display and wiring (and some hot glue :) ). It has a cutout for use with an SD card (when I get around to coding the datalogging part). It still has the white cable though as I hadn't got any black cable.

https://i.imgur.com/pfapmfJl.jpg


Then added a couple of sticky pads to hold it down and pressed it into place. Routed the cable into the dash. The position is a compromise unfortunately as there really isn't anywhere that it fits without interfering with something (switches, clocks, vents, etc.). But it doesn't look too bad and doesn't block anything vital whilst still being visible.

https://i.imgur.com/MJkhS8Vl.jpg

Dangerous Dave
Friday 29th May 2020, 00:53
Then I got hungry for something bigger.......

Browsing eBay I came across a guy breaking a V70. So I fired off a quick message to him and 2 days later these were delivered.

https://i.imgur.com/6kzaxn0l.jpg


Yup, 5 coils, associated wiring and bolts.

The locking tab had snapped off one of the connectors. I browsed through the RS components website and found a replacement connector. Next day it turned up and I swapped it over.

https://i.imgur.com/FkC4hmal.jpg


Next on the list was to get some wire and pins for the ecu connector. So I bought five lots of 5m wire in various colours (to match the actual Volvo colour coding) and another 5m of heavier gauge wire for the power supply to the coils. I also bought several of the two types of pin used in the ecu connector.

The cylinder head already had the holes drilled and tapped for the coils to bolt down (the cam cover is from a later car so maybe got lucky). I cleaned the paint from around the holes so the coils could ground properly.

https://i.imgur.com/UODVgyCl.jpg


To get the power to the coils I pulled out the fuse box and disconnected the supply wire that goes to the old coil (after checking the wiring diagrams) and checked it with a multimeter to make sure I had the right one. The added in the heavy gauge wire.

This is where it got a little crazy as I decided to add it into the factory wiring loom which runs down to the ecu. I took apart the plastic conduit and removed the old insulation tape as it had gone brittle or unravelled over the years, routed the wire through taping it all back up. Whilst I was in there I added in the wires for the wideband sensor and the usb for the ecu as they were hanging loose coming from the passenger compartment and added some plastic conduit to protect them.

https://i.imgur.com/FzxTuHil.jpg


The wiring loom splits just by the ecu box (not easy to see), this also had some crumbling insulation tape on it so it was all removed. Whilst it was apart I removed the acceleration sensor wiring which was hanging loose behind the headlight (I was using this for the wideband input ground so was a mess of wires too).

The wideband wires were shortened and terminated with the proper ecu pin and added to the ground bunch (purple and blue).

https://i.imgur.com/qTcRUbdl.jpg


Once all taped up with new tape and screwed down with the cable gland it looked a lot better and neater.

https://i.imgur.com/aDCjHKtl.jpg


But that was only the first couple of feet of just the power supply and some tidying of wires. The next bit was to get the 5 signal wires and the power wire to the top of the engine.

So after a lot of twisting and pulling the entire engine wiring loom came out (bloody horrible job due to the various pipes down the front of the engine).

https://i.imgur.com/Q3aLiGSl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/oqT0Amel.jpg


I went along the whole loom picking all the old tape off, adding in the new wires and taping it all back up.

Eventually I got the wires to the point where I wanted them to exit the loom (by the injector wires) and I bundled it all back into the engine bay (again it took quite a long time).

I was going to join the signal wires to the wires on the coil pack loom using some crimp connectors but the signal wires in the coil pack loom were a bit brittle so I chose to run the signal wires all the way to the coils. The coil loom was dismantled (also removed the VVT wiring as it wasn't needed). The power wire was joined to the point where the 5 power wires merge in the factory coil loom.

Then all the wires were laid out so it could all be cut to length and taped up.

https://i.imgur.com/8PN6CJNl.jpg


New pins were crimped onto the signal wires (fortunately the same as the large ecu pins). The conduit was added and taped up and then everything was connected and the earths bolted down. I cut down the rubber bung that holds the wiring at the end of the head and zip tied it into position.

https://i.imgur.com/T87PvHhl.jpg


But what to do with the gaping hole left by removing the distributor cap?

Well, scan the bottom distributor cap into a computer, add the image into CAD, measure the angles of each mounting hole from a reference point, create a cover based on the angles and measurements of the distributor cap and you end up with this

https://i.imgur.com/GesE4T8l.png


Send it to the printer

https://i.imgur.com/VjG5q6ml.jpg


Add some 20mm M5 allen bolts and you get a lovely (and very accurate) camshaft cover

https://i.imgur.com/Epr6Herl.jpg


That was the hardware pretty much complete.

Next was to add some resistors to the ecu board (as the ecu already has the circuitry for extra coils) and change the mapping to use the extra coils (did this by comparing a 960 ecu map with the V70 map along with information from the Volvospeed threads)

I plugged the ecu in, connected the battery and turned the key :S

It worked first bloody time! :D :D It hasn't been started for a few weeks (maybe longer, I've lost track of time) but it still fired up straight away.

Not bad considering I haven't left the house to get parts (or just left the house at all).

Anyway onto the next project....not sure what that will be though

kmb
Friday 29th May 2020, 16:56
Very nice conversion!

pepinosport
Sunday 31st May 2020, 09:58
wow you went from distributor to single coil and worked without modifying the ECU? nice!

Dangerous Dave
Sunday 31st May 2020, 12:55
wow you went from distributor to single coil and worked without modifying the ECU? nice!
Not quite unfortunately...

The Motronic 4.4 ecu was also used on a 960/V/S90 which had 6 coil packs, so the circuitry is already on most M4.4 PCBs to control 6 coils, just some resistors are needed to add in the extra outputs (this was worked out by some people over on Volvospeed).

The software on the 960 coil version it loops through outputs 1,2,3,4,5,6 (coils 1,5,3,6,2,4 for correct firing order).

The distributor software version pulses only output 1 whenever spark is needed, then distributor sends it to the right cylinder.

So the distributor software version just needed modifying to loop through outputs 1 to 5 and connect each coil in the correct firing order (1,2,4,5,3)

I was really surprised it worked especially after dragging the entire engine loom out and ripping it apart.

MoleT-5R
Sunday 5th July 2020, 18:01
wow....not been about for a while on here (not sure why really) but I'm impressed with your progress Dave, they are some superb modifictions, loving the cops mod. 3d printing really is a great step forward and so useful, I've been meaning to get into it for a while now.

Dangerous Dave
Sunday 5th July 2020, 18:46
wow....not been about for a while on here (not sure why really) but I'm impressed with your progress Dave, they are some superb modifictions, loving the cops mod. 3d printing really is a great step forward and so useful, I've been meaning to get into it for a while now.
Life gets in the way bud, then all of a sudden it's 12 months later and you wonder where that time went. It's good to hear from you.

Cheers mate :) It's kept me from going insane during these weird times.

Got a couple of things to add to it then maybe look at tuning it properly.

I managed to pick my 3d printer kit up for £80 and bought some upgrade parts for it which cost no more than £20. Looking on ebay, etc. I can't find it for that price any more (or anything like it), looks like I got it at the right time. You know where I am if you have any questions on getting started :D

MoleT-5R
Tuesday 7th July 2020, 22:59
Life gets in the way bud, then all of a sudden it's 12 months later and you wonder where that time went. It's good to hear from you.

Cheers mate :) It's kept me from going insane during these weird times.

Got a couple of things to add to it then maybe look at tuning it properly.

I managed to pick my 3d printer kit up for £80 and bought some upgrade parts for it which cost no more than £20. Looking on ebay, etc. I can't find it for that price any more (or anything like it), looks like I got it at the right time. You know where I am if you have any questions on getting started :D

Luckily it's not been that long but, some how furlough has kept me away from here, with gardening, landscaping or building projects mainly. Although Gul got some much needed attention and a post will be up soon, but not sure on the best way to get photo's into the thread now photof#cket and flickr have gone tits up on there users, got more project stuff underway but need access to larger machinery at work to progress so realistically months away at present till the madness settles down, hope you are all keeping well your end and look forward to a possible meet up when your able to travel this way in the near future, it could be and interesting time for possible small car meets with like minded volvo enthusiasts, see we hope to see you soon.

Dangerous Dave
Wednesday 8th July 2020, 16:40
The photo upload on here is better now, had a play with it and it should be working (was already working but not easy to figure out)

We should be coming your way soon! I'll let you know mate :)

And yes some small meets would be awesome

MoleT-5R
Saturday 11th July 2020, 12:14
The photo upload on here is better now, had a play with it and it should be working (was already working but not easy to figure out)

We should be coming your way soon! I'll let you know mate :)

And yes some small meets would be awesome

Let me know when you would be heading this way and we'll see what we can arrange

Dangerous Dave
Thursday 20th August 2020, 17:08
Just a little update.

Since I've been running the wideband control and the COP mod I haven't had very good fuel mileage (it wasn't great before but it's got worse). I just want happy with using the 608 binary which is meant for the 2.3 engine. There are too many different maps between the 2.3 and the 2.5 to ignore.

So I set about converting the 305 binary which is what the 850 awd had from the factory and is setup for the 2.5 engine.

First thing was to convert the 305 binary to run coil on plug as otherwise the engine wouldn't run. The code is quite simple and it worked first time without issue.

Then I extracted the code for just the data logging from the 608 binary which is very short once the map switching and xram streaming is removed.

I then applied it to the 305 binary, my goal was to get it working without having to remove any of the factory routines. It worked great and just needed a little tweak.

Next was to add the wideband control. This again is quite simple, just the addresses are different and need to be worked out.

Then I just copied the ignition and fuelling maps from my 608 binary and it's working.

Now for the best bit, I've gone from 26mpg on motorway cruise to 38mpg (using exactly the same fuelling/ignition map as I was in the 608).

Have yet to get a town driving comparison but it's got to be better than the 17mpg I was getting.

oblark
Friday 21st August 2020, 20:53
I get about 25mpg on short runs with the D5 gearbox, AWD and using the 2.3ltr 608 bin set up for 2.5ltr.

Dangerous Dave
Saturday 22nd August 2020, 12:27
That was the problem. Going to the wideband control and having leaner cruise fuelling I thought my mpg would increase but it just didn't.

Still got a lot of testing to do but so far it's looking good. I'm getting 34-35mpg on country roads with the occasional boot down for overtakes.

RollingThunder
Sunday 23rd August 2020, 11:27
Stunning job that DD, thanks for the write up - love your plastic printing work too :)

oblark
Thursday 27th August 2020, 13:06
That was the problem. Going to the wideband control and having leaner cruise fueling I thought my mpg would increase but it just didn't.

Still got a lot of testing to do but so far it's looking good. I'm getting 34-35mpg on country roads with the occasional boot down for overtakes.

I wouldn't mind try this bin file when you have finished testing it just see how it compares to mine 608 bin file.

Dangerous Dave
Thursday 27th August 2020, 13:56
I wouldn't mind try this bin file when you have finished testing it just see how it compares to mine 608 bin file.
I've just got one issue at the moment which is sometimes it won't start first time, it always starts second time. Though I think I know why, I've just got to change the setting and test it.

No probs I'll send it over once I've worked that last issue out, it will be good to get another tester to see if it's just a fluke.

I was also looking at modifying the later model awd/2.5 ecu binary to see if any improvements can be made as the ecu in my car was from a V70 AWD and originally was the 609 binary.

attila
Sunday 30th August 2020, 08:39
DD i’ve been reading this thread with interest, very impressive! I love the the little motronic 4.4 display that you have, can it rear boost pressure and air inlet temperature?

I’m after something similar as I have an m4.4 ecu. You don’t remember what its called or where to find one do you? Was it complicated to install and program?

Dangerous Dave
Sunday 30th August 2020, 22:28
Thank you mate, I love doing these little projects, keeps me busy.

Motronic 4.4 doesn't have a pressure sensor as standard, you have to add one to the ecu and modify the software to log the boost pressure.

There is an intake air temp sensor on the x70 range but it takes the temperature from the front of the car so outside the intake system.

Unfortunately the display is home made using an arduino prototyping board and a generic TFT display. It plugs in to the OBD port so not had to install. The code is all my own work, using the simple arduino language.

Dangerous Dave
Friday 30th December 2022, 19:38
Wow, can't believe it's been over 2 years since the last update on this thread.

Unfortunately not a lot has been done to it. I still need to remove the entire rear suspension and fuel tank to refurb them. I did change some bushes on the rear but they are so awkward to do it's best done with the unit outside the car I guess. Will have to wait for the warmer weather :)

Some time ago I purchased an S60R exhaust manifold so I decided it was time to upgrade and change the turbo turbine housing to an angled outlet. I managed to get a cheap used turbo with a 3 inch angled outlet.

Problem was I needed to change the downpipe and 3 inch flanges are expensive and not readily available so I purchased some 10mm stainless plate and made my own.
https://i.imgur.com/c11f004l.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/VcLp10tl.jpg

Then I bought some 3 inch stainless bends and started mocking up the route around the angle gear.
https://i.imgur.com/Uob7SIJl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/5F0uPLxl.jpg

I've only got a MIG welder so purchased some stainless MIG wire and ended up with this. Not too bad I guess, the flange warped a bit due to being stainless so learned a bit from that but I flattened it the best I could and purchased the 3 inch downpipe seal used on the later cars.
https://i.imgur.com/OACgGsFl.jpg

Did a bit of porting on the turbine housing
https://i.imgur.com/szmOk0xl.jpg

Added a 3 inch 200 cell cat and fitted it to the car.

Engine/turbo now runs/spools so much better.

Only issue now is the turbine housing has a crack in it :( So the next upgrade will be a TD04HLX housing and 9 blade wheel :D :D:
33239
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fshop.mambatek.com%2FTurbine-Housing-Wheel-VOLVO-850-7cm-Straight-TD04HLX-48-53-040-0028.htm&psig=AOvVaw0aGE78NEoi-Ufuso6n7Lc4&ust=1672511979352000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CA4QjRxqFwoTCPD28Of-ofwCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE

Recently changed the handbrake shoes only to find the O/S handbrake cable was stuck. The AWD cables have a flaw in the anchor point to the wishbone, the the outer cable wears on the cable clip and lets in all the dirt. Really badly designed unfortunately.

MoleT-5R
Saturday 31st December 2022, 11:34
Nice job Dave, that downpipe looks awesome, not the easiest of jobs to do with the added issue of the angle gear being in the way.

JT
Saturday 31st December 2022, 12:18
Nice work!

So jealous of you guys that can fabricate things :B_thumb:

Dangerous Dave
Saturday 31st December 2022, 19:49
Nice job Dave, that downpipe looks awesome, not the easiest of jobs to do with the added issue of the angle gear being in the way.
I was quite impressed with it myself, I even made that support bracket, looks exactly like the original (just a bit longer).

The other side of the flange doesn't look the best unfortunately, hard to weld with MIG neatly in such tight spaces (that and I'm an amateur).


Nice work!
So jealous of you guys that can fabricate things :B_thumb:
I've only got basic tools; a 30 year old Clarke MIG welder, an angle grinder, a bench drill with step bit, a die grinder with carbide bit and cellotape. That's all I used.

MoleT-5R
Sunday 1st January 2023, 15:03
The other side of the flange doesn't look the best unfortunately, hard to weld with MIG neatly in such tight spaces (that and I'm an amateur).

Looks good to me and as long as it functions as it should, then it is a job well done in my book.

JT
Monday 2nd January 2023, 13:59
I was quite impressed with it myself, I even made that support bracket, looks exactly like the original (just a bit longer).

The other side of the flange doesn't look the best unfortunately, hard to weld with MIG neatly in such tight spaces (that and I'm an amateur).


I've only got basic tools; a 30 year old Clarke MIG welder, an angle grinder, a bench drill with step bit, a die grinder with carbide bit and cellotape. That's all I used.

CELLOTAPE :jaw:

Dangerous Dave
Monday 2nd January 2023, 18:23
CELLOTAPE
Sorry, I mean "sticky backed plastic" no brand names here :P

Yeah just for mocking it up instead of tack welding it :D you can see it in the 3rd and 4th pics ;)