Hiello from the Isle of Man (again)

[1996 850 T5]

Hi lads

I registered on here about a year or 2 ago when I bought a 'Mint' Metallic Grey 1996 850 T5 from a bloke down in Oxford off ebay.

(Was originally reg'd under the name Motorlands, but I think there was a problem with the server or something so had to re-reg'd)

Anyway, as Im in the Isle of Man, after much re-assurance from the ebay seller it was a pukker car, I flew over to pick it up etc

When I collected the car (in a dodgy Tesco car park) this 'Mint' example had:

a rather tired/clickety (and leaking) 140K engine manual
knackered turbo
no heater hoses going into the cabin
warped discs/worn from hubs
abs/tracs light on dash
milky rear light clusters
windscreen washer jets didnt work
headlight wipers were missing/broken
missing tow hook
boot lock had been drilled out
had been hot wired
and...2 slow punctures

it did however have all the necessary docs, mot certs etc, and the body was in 'ok' nick

I weighed up the cost of flying back home and losing out on £350 worth of ferry ticket I wouldnt be able to recover, and thought I may as well just buy the sodding thing, and try and get it home.

Managed to knock his price down to £650 too...

On the way back to the ferry in liverpool, on the A6 at about 100mph it decided to piss all itsoil out of the turbo return and the engine ran dry on the spot (Cam rattle bigtime!!) Luckily I was within walking distance of service station, so filled her up, and limped her back home, on the way the big ends started to knock and barely made it home before the engine grenaded itself outside my house haha)


Anyway things can only get better from here on!

As Im keeping the vehicle here on the IOM, it needs to be re-registered here, and got through a test similar to the MOT, so decided rather than cutting my loss's ill get stuck in and get her tip top

Straight away I sourced a replacement 40K auto engine and recond turbo, rented a ramp off a mate and got it all installed, replacing all the pcv hoses, crank seal, all gaskets etc, gave it a 'Stage zero' service etc.

Went for a spin, only to find that the exhaust gasket was still blowing (oh joy), musnt have torqued all the nuts up enough...

Depressingly, at this point, this being well over a year ago, I had other cars that I was restoring to finish off, so prioritised, the upshot being the car was pushed into the field at the back, and has been sat...

In the mean time, whilst trolling around in my old mans 2000 V70 AWD, some young girl thought it would be funny to plow into the back of me at about 60 mph (I had stopped as the gent in front was turning right, but he couldnt go as there were cars coming the other way, she was daydreaming looking out to sea...bang)

That was subsequently written off (rear end had folded down over the rear doors, one popped open never to shut again,the other was wedged shut permanently

But... silver lining and all that, has helped supply alot of spares for the T5, still a shame though as i really loved that motor..


Anyhow in the last week I have got the T5 bug again, I pulled it out of the field, and got stuck in

Fixed the exhaust manifold gaskets (horrible job) torqued them to 25 lb/ft for sure this time!)
fitted the V70 rear light clusters
poly top engine mount
fitted the old mans detachable tow bar and wired up new trailer sockets
repalced all wiper motors/blades with good ones from the V70
replaced both front hubs/discs/pads also installed goodrich brake lines
fitted the trac/abs bran off the V70
fitted all new vac hoses
boost gauge
wideband lambda in the spare exhaust bung

took her for a spin last night, all was going well, no dash lights, boosting to 9/10psi ish, then as i was coming back to the garage, the headlights started to dim, and the battery light on the dash came on (alternator at a guess), then to my horror, simultaneously the coolant, washer/wiper, abs/tracs, engine, and service lights light up!!

Im gonna replace the alt today, Im hoping that the sensors were having a prob with the low voltage and a good 14V should sort it out!

Whilst Im there Ill whack the V70 rad/intercooler in there as its in much better nick than mine

One thing that is puzzling me about the car is that it does not have the service nodules next ot the washer wiper filler under the bonnet, yet it also doesnt have the OBD2 port in front of the gearstick, so not 100% sure what to do if they stay on!!!

Either way, apologies on the mammoth 'first' post, searching on here has revealled many, many answers to my infinite amount of questions, so thanks for that guys

Will report bag on progress tonight

Wish me luck

Joe

[Wobbly Dave]

Welcome back.

[Niles]

sounds like a bit of a nightmare. Sadly, thats ebay for you sometimes. I had a similar situation last year with my Mrs car. Its taken nearly a year & £1000+ to get her car running right.
Im glad to hear that a T5 has an owner who cares & can be bothered to make the effort to save it, well done.

[1996 850 T5]

Yeah, imo theyre almost the perfect tow car, i do alot of motorcross, sea fishing and rallying, so its ideal for lugging stuff about in

Good news, got the alternator changed today and voila, all the lights are out!!

had to fashion a special tool out of an old 1/2" to 3/4" drive adapter, to release the tension in the serpent belt, should come in handy in the future

oh yeah, one word of advice, after havng the rad assembly out, make sure the oil cooler fittings are fully home and clicked behind the neck of the rad outlets

on the startup i heard a gurgling, killed it immediately, to find a shetland style oil slick on my garage floor...groan...

once fully warm went for a kick blast up a hill near me, and for some reason it didnt make as much boost under full chat as before, only about 5psi? and it certainly didnt feel as ballistic as normal, another thing to investgate i guess, but at least ill be able to get it manx reg'd the way it is now.

once through its test, the plan is to get a new bonnet and front wings as they are a bit out of shape, and get it resprayed

a few quick q's about hose fittings (I think theyre right but will double check with you guys if thats ok):

1) I have the pipe coming out of the left hand side of the plenum, going to the ptc in the airpipe

2) the wastegate is plumbed to the vac tree

3) BCS red hose is to turbo

4) BCS blue to airpipe behind the maf sensor

5) BCS green to actuator

Hopefully theyre all in their right place? Vadis can be a bit mysterious sometimes!

Im just keeping it stock at the mo, but will fit an MBC once i have it running tip top and put a few miles on it

When you plumb the MBC in, do you make the BCS completely redundant, or do you plumb it in aswel as (I guess inline in the green pipe?)

I think last time I asked someone said if you remove the BCS from the system it can make it run funny? Maybe I dreamt it though haha

Cheers all

Joe

[y2blade]

welcome i go to the isle of man every year for the TT

those alternators are a pain in the arse to change arent they!!!

sorry i cant help with the BCS questions

[Dangerous Dave]

Welcome back mate, wish I could do that kind of restoration, haven't got any room here. Nice one with the T5 project though.

[CheekyMonkey]

Welcome back and good luck with the rest of the project

[1996 850 T5]

cheers guys/gals, ill take a few snaps and stick them up (dont expect anything flash!)

y2blade, drop me a line this summer, im a learner at the mo haha, got my bike test on the 23rd of Feb so fingers crossed!

unsure what to get as a first bike, a few people are recommending the honda vrf400, so keeping an eye about for one local

bomb - i know what you mean, ive got a double garage, but its literally crammed full to the brim!

[y2blade]

cheers guys/gals, ill take a few snaps and stick them up (dont expect anything flash!)

y2blade, drop me a line this summer, im a learner at the mo haha, got my bike test on the 23rd of Feb so fingers crossed!

unsure what to get as a first bike, a few people are recommending the honda vrf400, so keeping an eye about for one local

bomb - i know what you mean, ive got a double garage, but its literally crammed full to the brim!

will do mate

VFR400 will be superb across the mountain, the sound of that little V4 is one of the best sounds in the motorbike world

[Pliskin]

Welcome back,
You live in a lovely part of the world, I used to visit my cousins live in Ballasalla, the White House pub has got a lot to answer for.
.

[irf]

this may help

[1996 850 T5]

Im just on the harbour in Castletown (2 mins from Ballasalla), tis a small world!

Thanks IRF, seen that diagram alot on here when searching, so it confirms the BCS is plumbed in right.

As standard did the wastegate plumb direct to the vac tree? Thats how I have it now so hope its ok, Vadis doesnt show it all on the same pic, so fingers crossed thats correct!!

[1996 850 T5]

Well.....the saga continues...groan....

Went for a long blast last Thursday, all was going well (very well, until about 5 mins into the drive i heard a small flutter, which grew louder and loauder...

After faffing around furiously for 30mins with the heat sheild, i checked the manifold nuts, and they all cracked off at 25 pounds....?

Restarted the car, and no flutter?

Took it out again, and as soon as the car was fully hot it fluttered!!

Tonight I whipped off the downpipe to check the flexi joint out (the braiding is long gone) but the corrugated steel joint seem in tip top nick, and no soot to be seen at all...and its a good job as the spare downpipe off the old mans V70 AWD I was planning on using to replace it with is different...



Im thinking it might be a cracked exhaust manifold now (has anyone ever known this?) so ordered a new gasket kit from pfvo, will remove the turbo etc again this week and give the manifold a good look over (i have a known good spare anyhow)

Some (rather poor) pics as promised:







My digi cam doesnt work too well in the dark, will whack up some better pics when i get chance

you can see how packed my garage is in this pic:



...need a clear out haha

Cheers all

Joe

[Dangerous Dave]

Yeah bud, the AWD DP has to manoeuvre around the angle gear and propshaft, so is different as you found out. Interestingly it also looks about 1/2 inch bigger in diameter.

And I see you have a mini in there too. I'm helping my brother do his up, and at the moment, its full of holes we made with a plasma cutter (cool tool!!!!) as its as rotten as a pear, will post up some pics eventually.

[1996 850 T5]

Yeah it is noticibly larger dia than the T5 dp, maybe volvo thought the extra 0.2l justified a bigger system? that or the added bends/constrictions?

also interesting is the dual lambda sensors, do you know what was the theory behnd this?

either way, so frustrated its still blowing, if i take the manifold off and its ok, i honestly dont know where to go from there?? the pub probably...

yes, minis...the bane of my life!! just restored one to pretty much standard spec as a daily drive, next mission is to get the rally car rebuilt, then the hillclimber finished...never ends!

[Dangerous Dave]

I think the larger diameter was only used on the AWDs.

Don't quote me on this, but I think the second O2 sensor was an addition of the Motronic 4.4 ecu in the V70s (and the 850 AWD) I guess its just to get a more accurate reading so the ecu can finely control the fuel/air mix.

When I took the cylinder head off to replace the head gasket, I found my exhaust manifold nuts were loose. Probably something to check.

[1996 850 T5]

well after refitting the downpipe with a smear of firegum cement around the flange, i started it up again, got the engine nice and toasty etc

no flutter, hoorah!

dropped it back on the floor, went to reverse out of the garage and as soon as the clutch was let out, and it was put under load, the flutter returned

how angry was i!!

got the stethoscope out.....again, whilst john (the old man) put it in gear pulling against the handbrake, no exhaust leaks from the flexi, any of the ports, stuck it on the "reconned" ebay turbo and my worse fears were confirmed, its crunted.

the exhaust turbine is rattling so much, its shaking the wastegate open, sounds horrendous through the mic...

At least I know what it is now and can go about getting it sorted....groan, my question now is to stick with the 15G or not...hmmm

I have a 13G (off my old mans V70 AWD) I can put on as a temp measure, but that can be the last resort

Anyone know what boost the 13G would be good for btw (boost wise)?



Got some slightly better pics too:





(the old man looking smug before the flutter returned...)




If i did decide to plunge for a 16T or similar, I would obviously need a new downpipe etc, but can i run one with the std ecu? or is an upgrade absolutley necessary to keep the fuelling right?

Cheers all

Joe

[1996 850 T5]

right, wrestled the turbo off and sat looking at it

had a good feel for play in/out and side to side, but it feels really nice, and spins ultra smooth....hmmm?

then whilst farting about scrathing my head i noticed the wastegate was just flopping about, on closer inspection, this is resting wide open!!

it looks like to some point the turbo's been dropped/crushed, and this has bent the actuator toward the wastegate, causing the wastegate to remain constantly open, no wonder it wasnt boosting right!





whipped the actuator off the old mans 13G and bolted her on, and after an few grunts, and a few swear words later she was back purring away with no flutter!

Took her out and shes gettng constant 4psi boost, so tomorrow Ill go down and put some more preload on her (couldnt be arsed hanging about waiting for the turbo to cool down tonight!) and get her back up to 10psi.

Im angry that i had to take the turbo off to notice such a simple thing, but so releved the turbo isnt fludged.

re-bled the brakes too and they are nice and solid now, the service light has gone out too must be my lucky night!!

some better pics too



the minis haha

[walter leever]

Sounds like a job well done,you've got quite a collection in there.

[1996 850 T5]

Cheers, I hope so, although just had a worrying thought

Does anyone know if the 13G actuator differs from the 15G?

i.e will i struggle to get it to crack open @ 10psi?

As Im using the 13G's actuator off a V70 AWD which i think only boosts to 4psi?

i guess ill find out tomorrow! can always put the mbc back on to get it spot on.

Joe