* Some images might not be mine, as i forgot to take some.
Its been a while, the old barge has been good to me, although there`s been a few things along the way.
A few days after christmas, i had the pleasure of giving my sister a ride home. For me it was a 120 km trip back and forth. And to my luck it started snowing when we started driving.
20 minutes into the trip, and we are at the freeway in a full on blizzard. The engine light comes on and we can barely do 60 km/h due to the rear end slipping.
But the trusty old barge made it there and all the way back !
The next day, when i tried to take it for a run, it stalled 50 meters after i started driving it, so it really did fight to get me home safe!
The fault finding let me down a rabbit hole, i would rather have avoided. i misdiagnosed a MAF sensor. Why? i must have read an error code wrong, or slept while diagnosing. But when i unplugged the MAF i could drive the car, although it ran lumpy.
With the MAF i couldnt drive, so in my head it was faulty.
I ordered a new online, then i ran in to the world of volvo fault codes and sensors incompatible with the cars computer.
Apparently most MAF sensors, will give an 3-2-2 error code, saying the MAF unit cant burn the wire clean. They really like running with the original Bosch units!
After alot of back and forth with the seller i got a refund for the parts. Later on i got a new Lambda sensor and with that, i got the car running good again and no more error codes.
Turns out, unplugging the MAF makes the car run in some default program, and that also ignored the faulty lambda.
all this time, the volvo was quite exciting to drive, it stalled when crossing a double lane high speed road, but to my luck, it once again saved me, by just making it over in a crawl, stuck on 1000 rpm.
well, at least i learned some more about cars
After that, i found out it wasn't slipping on the freeway in the snow, the engine was loosing power, which felt like losing traction.
I also learned i have a very cheap rear end, and i am now hunting for a rear end with a g80 differential, which will give me traction on both rear wheels when its slipping !
On a more positive note, i have improved the idle, apparently there is an idle control valve, wich controls the idle, cleaning the old one did something but not enough, so i ordered a new, and it now mostly idles great
I learned that there was a thermostat in the air filter box, which controls a flap, directing heated air from the exhaust shield to the air intake, its for pre heating. Mine was stuck, so i have been running on warm air. Not anymore though !
I then proceeded to swap in new spark plugs, the car had been running way too rich for almost a month and i could see there's been a lot of black stuff caking everything up. Somehow one of the ignition cables broke, i have never seen that before. But because I'm a bit of a hoarder, i had one of the old ones lying around, so it was an easy fix.
Now, the car has been on the road for a couple of years, its time for a new syn or MOT. I probed around underneath, deciding to swap a ball joint and a couple of bushes, while taking the opportunity to refresh the undercoating where it had wore a bit thin.
As is the norm with this old Swedish barge, this was done in the driveway and in the snow
A bit to my surprise, it passed with no advisories, i am now good to go for a couple of years again!
While at the synshal, one of the nice people working there, pointed out that i might have a broken fan clutch. I looked into it, and since it did not behave, in any way, like the internet said it should (even if it was broken). I decided it was time for a new:
This was a great decision, the car feels a little bit more lively, more quiet, more refined, a noticeable comfort improvement!
And on a side note, a random guy from the Volvo group on Facebook, mentioned that when installing the driveshaft, it should be rotated a few times, to let it center itself. So one day, while crawling underneath, i loosened its center bearing and rotated it a bit. then tightened it back up.
And it had an effect!
It eliminated the last little vibrations i had when doing around 70 km/h.
With this, and all of the above, its actually becoming a pretty nice ride. don't get me wrong, there is still a ton of stuff to do, and it feels like i wont ever be finished. but its a great daily driver and really rewarding to wrench on too!
I'm quite happy i bought this old beat up nugget
Its been a while, the old barge has been good to me, although there`s been a few things along the way.
A few days after christmas, i had the pleasure of giving my sister a ride home. For me it was a 120 km trip back and forth. And to my luck it started snowing when we started driving.
20 minutes into the trip, and we are at the freeway in a full on blizzard. The engine light comes on and we can barely do 60 km/h due to the rear end slipping.
But the trusty old barge made it there and all the way back !
The next day, when i tried to take it for a run, it stalled 50 meters after i started driving it, so it really did fight to get me home safe!
The fault finding let me down a rabbit hole, i would rather have avoided. i misdiagnosed a MAF sensor. Why? i must have read an error code wrong, or slept while diagnosing. But when i unplugged the MAF i could drive the car, although it ran lumpy.
With the MAF i couldnt drive, so in my head it was faulty.
I ordered a new online, then i ran in to the world of volvo fault codes and sensors incompatible with the cars computer.
Apparently most MAF sensors, will give an 3-2-2 error code, saying the MAF unit cant burn the wire clean. They really like running with the original Bosch units!
After alot of back and forth with the seller i got a refund for the parts. Later on i got a new Lambda sensor and with that, i got the car running good again and no more error codes.
Turns out, unplugging the MAF makes the car run in some default program, and that also ignored the faulty lambda.
all this time, the volvo was quite exciting to drive, it stalled when crossing a double lane high speed road, but to my luck, it once again saved me, by just making it over in a crawl, stuck on 1000 rpm.
well, at least i learned some more about cars
After that, i found out it wasn't slipping on the freeway in the snow, the engine was loosing power, which felt like losing traction.
I also learned i have a very cheap rear end, and i am now hunting for a rear end with a g80 differential, which will give me traction on both rear wheels when its slipping !
On a more positive note, i have improved the idle, apparently there is an idle control valve, wich controls the idle, cleaning the old one did something but not enough, so i ordered a new, and it now mostly idles great
I learned that there was a thermostat in the air filter box, which controls a flap, directing heated air from the exhaust shield to the air intake, its for pre heating. Mine was stuck, so i have been running on warm air. Not anymore though !
I then proceeded to swap in new spark plugs, the car had been running way too rich for almost a month and i could see there's been a lot of black stuff caking everything up. Somehow one of the ignition cables broke, i have never seen that before. But because I'm a bit of a hoarder, i had one of the old ones lying around, so it was an easy fix.
Now, the car has been on the road for a couple of years, its time for a new syn or MOT. I probed around underneath, deciding to swap a ball joint and a couple of bushes, while taking the opportunity to refresh the undercoating where it had wore a bit thin.
As is the norm with this old Swedish barge, this was done in the driveway and in the snow
A bit to my surprise, it passed with no advisories, i am now good to go for a couple of years again!
While at the synshal, one of the nice people working there, pointed out that i might have a broken fan clutch. I looked into it, and since it did not behave, in any way, like the internet said it should (even if it was broken). I decided it was time for a new:
This was a great decision, the car feels a little bit more lively, more quiet, more refined, a noticeable comfort improvement!
And on a side note, a random guy from the Volvo group on Facebook, mentioned that when installing the driveshaft, it should be rotated a few times, to let it center itself. So one day, while crawling underneath, i loosened its center bearing and rotated it a bit. then tightened it back up.
And it had an effect!
It eliminated the last little vibrations i had when doing around 70 km/h.
With this, and all of the above, its actually becoming a pretty nice ride. don't get me wrong, there is still a ton of stuff to do, and it feels like i wont ever be finished. but its a great daily driver and really rewarding to wrench on too!
I'm quite happy i bought this old beat up nugget