A tale of two Volvo estates...

[T5frankie]

Cheers chaps

Having a bit of an issues with them both as we speak. The red one which has been utterly reliable over the past year is sat without an Mot and I've just declared it sorn. That's my fault, too many things on the go so didn't sort what it needed for it's test in time. Just awaiting a lower arm to arrive (bloody jubilee!) and then hope cleaning the ABS rings and popping a new sensor one cures it's ABS fault. If so, Mot test then retax it. If not, more diagnostics/swearing needed.

The green one has been fine aside for the CV gaitor but it needs some attention this week. Brakes stripped, cleaned and adjusted and an oil flush and change before it's off to Northampton on Saturday then over to Birmingham and then back north. Wasn't my plan to take it but due to laziness/work commitments, the red one is out of service for the time being which I'm rather annoyed at myself about. According to the internetz, the trip will cost me an extra £55 over the diesel.

Not the end of the world, plus working aircon could be a bonus. Roadtrip!

not far from me

[Turbodave]

Indeed chap, in fact heading to sunny Wellingborough on Saturday, stopping overnight.

Anyways, back on the Volvo front. My bodged CV gaitor appears to be holding well, fingers crossed it survives the trip south and until the diesel is back on the road then I'll take the R off and administer some bufty spec TLC. Looks like it's leaked grease from the inner boot too so I'll whip the shaft out and do both. Just need to strip and clean the brakes and change the oil and then hope it capable of chewing big miles.

On the red front, ordered a lower arm via Euro then sulked as that's pushed my running total for repairs over the past 30,000 miles up to around £60. Bah! Went out to clean the driver's side ABS ring, popped the bottom arm out and took the shaft out and found what appears to be a component from the Titantic. Muchos rust which would in turn suggest the passenger's side shaft has been replaced at some stage as it's nigh on perfect. Anyways, the ring was beyong saving...



So cut it off, cleaned up the CV with a file and taped the new ring on. Didn't bother heating it, she was making macaroni in the oven and given I've already used her beauty supplies and her hairdryer for car related antics today, I figured I was already sailing close to the wind. So, new ring on and shaft back in, arm back on and fingers crossed it's ok.



Really need to roadtest it to see if the ABS issues are now resolved but that means putting the old arm back on the passenger's side and I cannie be bothered. Hopefully Euro Car Parts will be open tomorrow (sodding jubilee... again) and I can go pick up the new arm and get it on and it back on four wheels. I've got a spare couple of sensors and an ABS control unit but judging by the state of the corroded ring, I'm hoping that'll cure it.

Onwards!

[LiamT4]

Unless i'm getting mixed up, when on a dyno with a 4spd auto, you put it in winter mode (which only uses 3rd and 4th) then move into gear position 3 (which won't let the car go past 3rd), then that keeps it in 3rd....................................maybe.

[dalhousie2008]

Unless i'm getting mixed up, when on a dyno with a 4spd auto, you put it in winter mode (which only uses 3rd and 4th) then move into gear position 3 (which won't let the car go past 3rd), then that keeps it in 3rd....................................maybe.

sound far too complicated

[Turbodave]

Ahhh, now that makes sense. I had it in 3rd but not in winter... hence it was constantly trying to kick down which in turn was creating mayhem. Not to worry, wasn't really bothered about pub talk figures, more interested that it was fuelling well and the boost was nice and progressive.

On another note, went out and rebuilt the red one... stuck the old arm on for the time being and ran it up with the wheels clear of the ground. Good news is the ABS issues are sorted, bad news is I knackered the N/S/F driveshaft. Think I pulled the shaft too far out, thus dislodged the balls in the inner CV so removed it, spent 3hrs trying to rebuild it only to discover a hairline crack in the cage and in my frustration, I damaged the splines so new shaft needed.

Anybody know if the shafts are bespoke on a TDi or if other manual shafts will fit?

One step forward, two back...

[Turbodave]

Been a while...

Red TDi... has sat on the drive for weeks minus an MOT, surplus to requirements as I was running the old Cavalier for a couple of summer shows but today I've been out and fitted a new arm and in the process, hauled the inner CV joint apart (again!) but it's all rebuilt and now at the MOT station for a test first thing and will then be drafter back into daily service because the...

Green R... has been tentatively up for sale for the past few weeks and is set to be collected tomorrow morning and will be headed south.

Sad times but needs must.

[martybelfastt5]

im sure ive read the t5 and tdi share the same shafts

[Turbodave]

im sure ive read the t5 and tdi share the same shafts

The first shaft was ruined so after some exhaustive research I found that yup, the T5 and 2.5T share a coomon shaft. Thing is, I couldn't find one locally so figured a 2.4 N/A shaft would work... and it did, right up until the point I hauled the inner CV apart whilst dismantling it (again) to fit the new arm. On the bright side, it's now been put back together and working fine. Currenty awaiting a call from the MOT station whilst also just about to wave the R farewell... it was a short affair, but good fun non the less. Another car ticked off the bucket list. Next... M3 time I reckon.

[Turbodave]

Been a while...

The 850R... well it went up for sale as it was just too thirsty, too insane in the wet and required a banksman to reverse it into a space in Tesco plus it wasn't really being used and when I was, I was paranoid about stones chips and getting it dirty. The irony of that last comment will become all too clear shortly. Anyways, bunged it up for sale on Pistonheads and a couple of weeks later a nice Englishman rang "I'm in London etc etc" and "I'm buying it for somebody else" so alarm bells started ringing. Deatils were exchanged and it transpired it was the producer of Top Gear and Clarkson would be having the car for one of their forth coming challenges. How I laughed. A week later, I watched said 850R being driven off by two chaps from the Top Gear production team. All a bit rushed, seemingly it was booked onto a boat bound for Africa the following Thursday.

You couldn't make this §§§§ up...

Anyways, never heard anything after that and so I mourned the loss of my beloved R and then got annoyed at the daily phone calls from the man at the local Shell station asking if I'd perhaps died or something as his profits had taken a bit of a whack recently. I went back to running the TDi daily... got quite attached to it again, sourced some dent free doors in red, sourced heated leather, replaced the discs and pads, put new tyres on it... hell I even drove it through a puddle to get rid of some of the dirt. It then threw it's dummy out, the timing belt went slack, the doomsday boys feared the worse and started quoting figures in excess of £700 for a belt kit and labour. I laughed (again) and opted for tightening up the tensioner (ish) and deploying the "Ah, fack it... she'll be a'reet" option. That was 5,000 miles ago.

Lovely.

One car was beginning to create issues again (Cavalier has since been retired to the garage for winter) so I needed something cheap, small and reliable to get the three miles to work and back. Under no circumstances was the 'second car' to be anything stupid and no way was it to be a Volvo, let along one that did single figure MPG and required a police escort when trundling up the M8. I humoured her and looked at an Astra in a kinda of "Oh look, there it is" way and §§§§ed off to Gumtree to get something that my needs. Which were... "reliable, cheap, big enough for a mountain bike" but definitely not a Volvo. Estate. With a turbo. Divorce remember...



I'm enjoying staying at my Mums and eating microwave meals for one.

Gumtree and Cidre strike again. Enter stage left a slightly ruined T5 estate with 10,000,000 miles, it's own smoke screen system, Runway tyres, paint by Stevie Wonder, "I deal drugs" esque windows and about 25 minutes MoT. It also clunked, rattled and hauled itself over the road like an escaping shopping trolley and 4th gear... well it's clearly fed up with being a gear and has since departed, well, half of it has. However... it is massively funny thanks to zero grip and excess boost and it has an air of "Really? I mean... REALLY? Do I look like I give a §§§§?" about it which means it's unbelievably good at scaring children, pregnant wimen and Audi drivers. The duct tape front bumper (no, really) looks like it has seen many a battle.

On arrival I stuck it in for an Mot and it failed. Brakes, suspension mounts, drop links etc etc... nothing to see here etc etc... I then sourced a second gold T5 saloon and set about removing everything of use and swapped it all over. Headlights, boost pipes, airbox, top mounts, interior bits, brakes and then it passed. I did also remove my knee cap when one of said springs took a dislike to the clamps and made a bit for freedom. That'll also be another dent in the side of the TDi. A week later and with the swelling, bleeding and crying stemmed.... I set about replacing some of the dodgy colour coded bits and decided that I actually liek it's §§§§ness and I'm actually quite attached and even though there's a fair old 'to do' list, my bike fits in the back so all is well.

As for the 850R and it's Top Gear based antics...



New series starts next month. Purists... probably best sit this one out!

Cheers

[volvokid]

No way, so they never really told you what it was being used for? How much did u get for it then, I wonder if it will be the same price they mention on the show

[T5frankie]

brilliant

[V70 Graham]

Can I have your autograph.....