Bills Pre-Brexit stage zero....

[uqj83l]

Hi
In the last few thousand miles I’ve been plugging away trying to get my cars back to showroom condition (or better). I’m running a 2005 Volvo XC70 Ocean Race D5 as my daily, and a 2004 volvo V70R as my weekend car. (Some may recall my modification thread a while back, however this thread is purely focused on maintenance)
With the uncertainty of Brexit looming and not knowing how parts supply and delivery would be impacted, I decided to order everything in advance and aim to complete by end of March 2019.
Below are the pics of my cars with the maintenance works. (Yes I’m fortunate enough to have my own 2 post ramp in my garage at home which makes things a hundred times easier)
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V70R @160k miles:
New spark plugs
New TCV
New angle gear oil seals to Gearbox
New angle gear oil seals to drive shaft
New clutch and SMF
New timing belt and water pump
New auxiliary drive belt
New rear main seal
New oil pump
New VVT gaskets
New engine oil and filter (Fuchs Titan Race Pro S 10W50)
New radiator
New fuel filter
New pollen filter
New Jetex air filter
New manual transmission oil (Redline 75w140NS)
New OEM Haldex oil and filter
New angle gear oil (Redline 75w90NS)
New rear differential oil (Redline 75w90NS)
New brake discs ad pads all round (Brembo/OEM)
New Monroe front shocks including bump stops, HD top mounts, bearing plates, bellows.
New Monroe rear shocks
New fuel filler cap
New lifetime engine oil filler cap seal (IPD)
New OEM thermostat
New PCV
New front subframe bushings (Delrin)
New Power Steering fluid
New Coolant
New R600 brake fluid
New wiper blades all round
All hinges and window runners lubricated (white grease/silicone spray)
MAF and TCV cleaned.
New Air Quality Sensor
Entire car treated with underbody seal
(Only remaining job is to refurbish front calipers)

XC70 @ 85k miles:

New brake fluid
New engine oil and filter (Fuchs Titan race pro S 5w30)
New automatic transmission oil (Fuchs 4400 (jws3309 compatible) total flush Gibbons method)
EGR clean and delete
MAF TCV cleaned and lubed
New Pipercross Lifetime air filter
New pollen filter
New power steering fluid (CHF202)
New wiper blades all round
Entire car treated with underbody seal
All hinges and window runners lubricated
New upper and lower engine mounts, including transmission mounts.
New Air quality sensor and re-circ damper motor
(Only remaining job is to fit an auxiliary transmission cooler in series)

Both cars are 99% there now. Have run them both through VIDA and have no logged faults either - touch wood.
BIG THANKS TO LEET5 for his advice, recommendations, and his own maintenance thread which helped a newbie like me!

[Timo.]

That must have been some parts bill!!!

[uqj83l]

The parts bill is a fraction of what I’ve saved in labour costs :duck:

[Ric@rdo]

Nice.
Are you sure your R is from 2004?

[uqj83l]

Just checked my documents, it was first registered in September 2003! Many years ago I was told it was a 2004, which is why I refer to it as an 04. I think VIDA has it as an 04, but I’m doubting that now too!
I’ll plug in soon and find out for sure this weekend. Thanks for the prompt.

[uqj83l]

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Yep, VIDA has it as a 2004.

[Ric@rdo]

It's weird because the rear lights are from >2005 model and the same for the rear wiper.
Is the R center console the same as your XC70?

[uqj83l]

The rear lights are an upgrade, the rear wiper and the 05 centre console have also been upgraded with spares from an 05.
The unpainted bumper trim shows the car truly is a pre-facelift.
It looks younger than it’s true age, unlike me! However both motors are parked in garages which helps with UV damage, and have been polished to get the swirls removed from the paint.

[kmb]

I like the team car consistency :eclipsee_

[Ric@rdo]

The rear lights are an upgrade, the rear wiper and the 05 centre console have also been upgraded with spares from an 05.
The unpainted bumper trim shows the car truly is a pre-facelift.
It looks younger than it’s true age, unlike me! However both motors are parked in garages which helps with UV damage, and have been polished to get the swirls removed from the paint.

Got it!
The unpainted bumper trim could have been a downgrade LOL

[LeeT5]

Nice.
Are you sure your R is from 2004?

Mine is the same. Registered 2003 but Volvo class it as a 2004.

[jellison]

Are you and Lee not the same person! :)

[LeeT5]

Are you and Lee not the same person! :)
Lol, No. I'm much more handsome than Bill is :rotfl:

[uqj83l]

Completed my transmission cooler project today on the XC70. Had a power steering cooler off a V70R and I bought a heavy duty plate and fin cooler off eBay. (From Canada not China!)
Also scooped up a 3/8 transmission oil filter from amazon, and a spare oil hose from eBay so I didn’t have to cut the hoses which belong to the car (So the mod is reversible). Both lower and upper coolers are connected in series with a hose coming out of the lower one and straight into the upper one.
I also had a load of OEM power steering hose and fuel line clamps.
The filter is located down by the lower radiator hose for ease of changing out. See pics below.
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[uqj83l]

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[Moleyb]

Very nice and neat, po-fesh job.

[uqj83l]

The XC70 has almost reached 100,000 miles (95k), so I gave it a fluid service today. Did both front and rear diffs, the Haldex (AOC) and filter, engine oil and filter (with a flush using a bit of cheap oil). The transmission oil, power steering and brake fluid have been done already very recently. It only leaves a coolant change which is still on my list of things to do. Hopefully this’ll give me trouble free motoring moving forward into the next 100k.

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[kmb]

Very well looked after cars.

[uqj83l]

Finally got round to installing the 20mm PU lift kit on the XC.
Ride height before
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Ride height after
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Rear nivomats taken out. Note if you have nivomats you don’t need to use the spring spacer on the rear. You just need to spacer the top of the nivomat by 20mm.
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Getting the rears back in was easy with a transmission lift, car jack out of tailgate, and ratchet strap
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Fronts
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Fronts
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Whilst I was there I did my final outstanding 100k fluid maintenance which was to flush the coolant system and refill.
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So all good now on both cars, not phased if we crash out with no deal now. Phew....as long as fuel is available!

[uqj83l]

Bit the bullet and bought some powerflex LCA bushes (front and rear) for the XC70. Also bought a pair of used control arms so my car wasn’t off the road for 3 days. Also bought some trailing arm bushes which should be the last bushes I need for this car.
A pair of XC LCAs off ebay...
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Cleaned up...
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Polished clean...
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Pressed front bushes out...
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Pressed rear bushes out...
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All done...
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Primed with aluminium etch primer...
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See next post as I have too many images for one post!

[uqj83l]

Bushes arrived...
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Rear fitted...
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Fronts...
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Fronts pressed in...tried different techniques
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Had to sand the insides a fraction...
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Bush pressing kit worked best...
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Popped the centre bar back in as it had to be removed to push bush in...
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Done...
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[uqj83l]

Today I’m ready to fit, the old bushes were beginning to tear...
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Jack up transmission and undo bolts...
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Use a large ratchet strap to pull arms down to help release ball joint...
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Old Vs New...
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Fitted one side...
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Both sides done...
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Went for a test drive and they feel great! Next job is the trailing arms....

[uqj83l]

Watched a video on this which over complicates the job. When fitting powerflex bushes it’s really easy. It took me 24 mins to do each side including removal and refitting the wheel, only 3 bolts had to be removed apart from the 5 wheel bolts...
Trailing arm on the XC70. These are pressed steel, but on the R they are cast iron...
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2 bolts to remove...
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A demo saw is VERY handy to remove the old bushing. First remove the 10mm brake line bracket bolt. You have to bend the blade to cut the bushing out straight without nicking the subframe. Go slow and you will be rewarded. Make 2 cuts...
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Here you can see the 2 cuts, upper and lower...
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Use grips to pull out the cut...
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Knock bushing out from behind. This is easy now...
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Out...
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[uqj83l]

Grease up the powerflex bushes, these are really easy as they come in 2 halves...
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The back one took a little force to push in, the front drops in flush...
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Refit the 10mm bracket bolt, the 15mm front trailing arm bolt, then jack up the hub until the holes line up and refit the remaining 15mm bolt. Pinch tight when under compression with the jack...
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Refit wheel and do the same on the other side. A surprisingly easy job, and it makes a difference to handling too.
Next I will get a 4 wheel laser alignment.
Front LCA bushes were £176.
Trailing arm bushes were £50.
If anyone is considering this and wants a pair of genuine volvo LCAs so they can do all the work without taking their car apart then PM me.

[kmb]

Good info and pics, thanks for sharing!

[uqj83l]

Finally picked up a set of SPORT instrument cluster dials and swapped them into the XC70
Current dials
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New dials
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Undo screws on rears
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Remove circuit boards and swap over
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Re-fit the needles. Hint- use masking tape to Mark their position before any dismantling
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Polish the scratches out of the screen
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All changed over and put back together
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[uqj83l]

Here is where the front LED lighting cables need to be soldered to so that the lights dim with the dimmer switch
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Here they are in the car during daytime
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Here they are illuminated at night
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[LeeT5]

Here is where the front LED lighting cables need to be soldered to so that the lights dim with the dimmer switch
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Here they are in the car during daytime
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Here they are illuminated at night
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Great work Bill!

I take it your Ocean Race does have a light sensor on the dash and therefore, when you enter a tunnel from broad daylight, the LED ring around the dials, automatically light up, as they do in the R?
At night, I can also control the brightness of the 4 LED + LED ring via the dimmer scroll wheel. Is the Ocean Race operation the same?

(Only highlighting this for clarification for forum members, incase they have a V70/S60 (not an R model) and want to do the same mod.)

[uqj83l]

Thanks Lee.
I’d have to switch the DRLs off to know whether the dials illuminate in the conditions you describe?
Or I’ll keep my eyes peeled the next time I drive through the Dartford tunnel. Not 100% sure TBH.

[LeeT5]

Thanks Lee.
I’d have to switch the DRLs off to know whether the dials illuminate in the conditions you describe?
Or I’ll keep my eyes peeled the next time I drive through the Dartford tunnel. Not 100% sure TBH.

DRL's wont affect the dash leds. It should just work.

[uqj83l]

Finally got round to buying some new boots for the R. I had a horrible vibration at high speed, I checked my whole drivetrain and found nothing so it could only have been the wheels (which have been balanced) or the tyres which are old and tired. I went to the only place in my region which offered RoadForce wheel balancing coupled with 4 new Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres.
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The roadforce balance job sheet
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[LeeT5]

Finally got round to buying some new boots for the R. I had a horrible vibration at high speed, I checked my whole drivetrain and found nothing so it could only have been the wheels (which have been balanced) or the tyres which are old and tired. I went to the only place in my region which offered RoadForce wheel balancing coupled with 4 new Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres.
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The roadforce balance job sheet
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Where at Bill? Was it Elite?

[uqj83l]

Hi Lee.
Elite have closed down and gone into liquidation I’m afraid. It was at the Tyre Shop in North London. It’s £24 per wheel for road force balancing, so not worth the cost on tyres which are close to the legal limit. The total cost was just shy of £600, but I had no choice as this was the only company that has the Hunter RoadForce balancing machine. I would recommend them, they are meticulous and know how to treat custom or cherished cars.

[uqj83l]

3 weeks ago I inherited a crunch as second gear engages on my R. The M66 (C) is 17 years old now and I suspected a worn synchroniser ring. So I pulled the transmission out, picked up a doner M66 (E) from a contact and dropped them off at Hardy Engineering in a Surrey to transplant and make good my box. Here’s a few pics of the process and parts....
Gearbox out
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Motor left hanging
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Collection day (the doner box came back in bits)
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My worn 2nd gear synchro
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What it’s meant to look like...
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I used this opportunity to detail my gearbox, engine block, angle gear, brackets, and front subframe as they were mucky and oily after years of use
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I also fitted the collar sleeve with Loctite 660 quick metal and strapped it until cured. This took away a small amount of play inbetween the collar and transmission splines.
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[uqj83l]

Then came the refit....

Engine supported
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Subframe degreased and resprayed
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Engine block cleaned and sprayed
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Gearbox refitted
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Steering rack degreased and painted
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In!
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Underside now....
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Recharged battery and refitted all the upper bits
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Filled the new box with redline MTL, and I also picked up new shifter cables from the dealer and the shifter bracket which goes on the gearbox.

Drives and shifts like new again. A big job, but it was worth it as I got a lot of bits done that were long overdue.

[LeeT5]

As always, great work Bill.

I like the idea of the Loctite 660 on the splines.