Tuner4life's 1998 Saffron V70R

[tuner4life]

Yeah, I'm definitely going to put together a small kit of spare common failure parts to keep in the car. And an identical kit to keep in each of the Volvos.

 

Late last night I also diagnosed the cruise control. The pedal switch is just out of adjustment. If I pull up hard on the brake pedal with my left foot, the cruise will work. I was going to attempt to adjust it this morning before work, but The car was not inside of the shop and it's "God doesn't love you anymore" cold outside so it will have to wait..

[Burn-E]

3 hours ago, tuner4life said:

Yeah, I'm definitely going to put together a small kit of spare common failure parts to keep in the car. And an identical kit to keep in each of the Volvos.

I was going to attempt to adjust it this morning before work, but The car was not inside of the shop and it's "God doesn't love you anymore" cold outside so it will have to wait..

I think this is what we all do with these older cars.  I have half a car sitting in my basement from parts I've accumulated over the years including a handful of sensors, electronic climate controls, power stages and fans.

  Had to laugh at your characterization our current Midwest freeze.  Waiting for it to thaw a little so I can do some work on the S70.

[Boxman]

On 1/12/2016 at 9:46 PM, DDM said:

I had the dreaded drone from my obx exhaust so when I built the wagon I did this to it over the entire floor front to back

it helped quite a bit, particularly the spare tire area. I tried it there first and that quiets things down noticeably. Used Peal N seal from Lowes. About $75 for the entire wagon floor. 

How much weight in total did this add to your car, would you estimate? I'd like a more silent car too but I also like it being as fast as possible at all times.

[tuner4life]

While I can't answer about the weight added, there is an excellent wealth of information on http://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com/.  I've been working with Don from there on some solutions to the droning exhaust. According to him that style of sound deadening will dampen panel vibration and resonance but actually do very little to block sound. Not sure if it applies to all materials, but for their style of vibration deadening (comes in tiles), you only need around 25% coverage on a panel to get all the most out of the vibration dampening. I'm going to add in some mass loaded vinyl and closed cell foam as well to block the sound. I'm optimistic, I'm not looking for silence, just to bring the noise level down in the cabin a bit.  I've got a decibel meter so I will get a before and after reading once the supplies show up and are installed..

Also, since putting this thing back together, the gas pedal has been kind of floppy. Never really worried about it because I had other things to fix.. Well last night I tightened the throttle cable up.. Holy crap, evidently the car was not hitting full throttle before. It most certainly is now! Definitely feels right. 

On a slightly different note. AWD is freakin cool!!  This being my first AWD car I was definitely impressed with how it handles the snow and ice. Very confidence inspiring. It is truly turning out to be a nice car for the weather.. The heat works now, the heated seats work now, wipers/washers work, defrosters work, heats up very quickly, and as of yesterday the cruise control works too.. It's all finally coming together!  

 

 

A/C is getting charged tomorrow night. Not really the most ideal time of the year, but I need to make sure that there is no moisture in the system. The list is certainly getting shorter of the things that need to be done:

-Charge A/C

-Sound deadening project

-Find and install (or fabricate) a splash shield/skid plate up front

-Diag/repair key fobs not working. (Looks like it will end up being a dealer thing)

-Remove and have new tint installed

-Stereo Project.

-Spoiler

-(in a year or 2) Refresh/rebuild rear subframe including all bushings, shocks, springs, etc.. Also replace all fuel tank components at this time. 

 

Seems to be a solid driver for now though!

Edited January 20, 2016 by tuner4life

[Burn-E]

Your key fob issue may be as simple as replacing the cracked up plastic case and ensuring that you get proper contact between the plastic/rubber buttons and the actuator on the silicon plate as well as the battery getting properly compressed.

[tuner4life]

I've got 2 key fobs and neither one of them work. I've replaced the batteries in both and according to the little checker box at the parts store there is no output from either. So there is that, but there is also nothing coming from the red light on the dash once the doors are locked using the key.. 

I tried the ignition on/off 5 times method to see if I could get it to go into set mode, but nothing.

Edited January 20, 2016 by tuner4life

[Burn-E]

That's why I'm wondering whether the battery is making full contact and actually powering the fob.  Before I replaced my case I've previously had to put some folded paper in between the battery and the case in order to secure the battery in against the contacts.

Also, as for the flashing light, that only turns on if the car has the alarm installed.  I'm assuming yours does, I don't know that all of them did from the factory.  Also, it may still be that one of the sensors in the doors is not telling the car is locked and all doors shut. I've had that happen such that the alarm would not arm.  Though usually you have the courtesy lights in the doors staying on if that's the situation.

[tuner4life]

I'm going to take another look at the fobs tonight and see if I can tinker with them enough to work. 

As for the car, the locks/latches all work properly, but I saw online somewhere that there might be a sensor on the hood latches as well? I'll take a look later. I wonder if that might be the issue.

[tuner4life]

I got everything for the sound deadening project installed over the weekend. It is still a touch loud on the inside at times, but it is very obvious that is quieter then before. I'm satisfied with it. Considering how loud the exhaust really is, I can't complain at all. My wife however may still force me to add another muffler, or change the rear 2 mufflers to something better quality. Oh well lol.

I bought everything from http://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com/. Don is great to work with and was very helpful throughout the process. I added 3  of the CLD vibration dampening tiles (similar to dynamat) to the inner skin of the hatch, and one (cut up) to the inner structure of the hatch.

 

 

 

Then I cut out the "Mass loaded vinyl"  and "Closed cell foam" to the shape of the interior hatch panel and glued them together. Installing that was a little bit sketchy because it had to be installed upside-down over my head, but the Velcro worked well and held the weight of the materials even when the hatch was slammed. I added a couple extra screws to the interior cover just for peace of mind and to keep things from moving. The clips that hold the interior cover on are absolutely garbage (even when using the tab repair kit) I plan on redoing that entire mounting system with some decent looking hardware in the future. 

 

 

Next I applied the other 5 tiles around the perimeter walls of the spare tire well. Fairly simple. Looks sparse, but evidently you only need 25% coverage or so on a panel to get the full effectiveness with these.

 

 

There is a fabric piece that goes over the spare tire well, but underneath the actual floor lids. I traced that onto the MLV and Foam. Then I glued all 3 pieces together and installed. Then I cut the MLV pieces for under the floor panels on each side.

 

 

Lastly, I had a bit of MLV left, so I cut a piece to fit under the carpet underneath the back seat. Materials seemed to be good quality and were easy to work with using scissors and a box knife.

Before adding sound proofing I downloaded a decibel meter app for my phone. It may not be accurate, but it should at least be consistent for measuring before/after levels. Both tests were done with the phone in the front center cup holder. 

Before treatment: On acceleration I maxed around 77db in the "drone zone" (2000-3000 rpm). And averaged 68db with the cruise on at 55mph

After treatment: On acceleration it dropped to 69db at the loudest point, and averaged 64db at 55mph.

Those numbers didn't seem that different, but upon further research, there is a big difference in just 10 db. I can say that there is a lot less cabin noise now, although it still drones in the 2k-3k rpm range upon acceleration overall it is much better!

 

I'm now driving this semi-daily and trying to work out any remaining issues. 

-I noticed that there is an oil leak at the right side. I can't tell for sure, but it looks like it's coming from the rectangle shaped seal for the oil cooler line housing. Could be the lines themselves, but it didn't really look like it. I already changed that seal but it was a pita getting it to stay put so certainly possible it didn't seat correctly.  Very small chance that it is the crank seal, but I replaced that with new OEM, so I'm doubtful it's the issue. I'm going to change the oil again soon and I'll replace that seal and the cooler line o-rings and see what happens. Maybe I'll get lucky.

-The radio quit this morning. Still comes on like normal, but puts out no sound all of a sudden.. Might just use it as an excuse to grab another Kenwood unit like I have in the C70.

-etc, etc, etc.. lol. 

[mojojo]

11 hours ago, tuner4life said:

I'm now driving this semi-daily and trying to work out any remaining issues. 

-I noticed that there is an oil leak at the right side. I can't tell for sure, but it looks like it's coming from the rectangle shaped seal for the oil cooler line housing. Could be the lines themselves, but it didn't really look like it. I already changed that seal but it was a pita getting it to stay put so certainly possible it didn't seat correctly.  Very small chance that it is the crank seal, but I replaced that with new OEM, so I'm doubtful it's the issue. I'm going to change the oil again soon and I'll replace that seal and the cooler line o-rings and see what happens. Maybe I'll get lucky.

This is my life right now.

When I had the pan off to replace the sump o-rings in my car, I pinched the o-ring for the oil thermostat ever so slightly.  This wasn't enough of a leak to drip, but it did wet the bottom of the pan.  Like you, I also replaced the front crank seal, and the oil wasn't that high up, so I went back to the thermostat.  I did notice when removing one of the two fasteners for the thermostat, there was oil on the threads of the bolt.  Because the fasteners are placed outside the o-ring, the presence of oil there confirmed the oil leak's location.

Initially, I coated the o-ring in grease, but it must have shifted slightly during installation.  On the next attempt, I let the car sit overnight with the thermostat off the car - allowing any oil to drain.  Then I cleaned the area thoroughly and coated the o-ring in a tacky layer of RTV sealant... thinking this would better hold it in place.  So far so good... with the oil leak anyways.  LOL!

[tuner4life]

Yeah, I just don't understand why that seal fits so poorly in the thermostat housing. Even the OEM one. I'm probably going to do the rectangle gasket, and the o-rings as well as rebuild the hoses because I'm sure they are getting ready to fail like everything else on this car.. And the only thing I hate more than doing things twice is doing them 3 times.. 

Edited September 11, 2017 by tuner4life

[kampman]

That seal is the worst. When I replaced the oil cooler hoses in my XC I had to R&R the thermostat several times to try and get it lined up correctly, and I never really got it in there well enough that it didn't leak. I eventually replaced the thermostat with one from a junkyard car because the original was making noise at startup. When I pulled the JY unit, the seal stayed stuck to it so I left it alone, installed it as-is, and it hasn't leaked since. Kinda hokey, but it worked. :D

It does seem like the replacements for that seal are oversized, even from the dealer.

[tuner4life]

I played with the fobs last night. I pulled both fobs apart and made one good one. According to the "remote tester" at the local Oreilly's my "good" remote is at least functioning now, but still doesn't work on the car. The red light on the sun sensor on the dash does flash when the locks are locked manually, so I think the alarm works. For some reason though I can't seem to set the fob to the car. I tried the ignition on/off 5 times procedure that I found on MVS, but nothing is happening.. I have the red light on the dash, so I should be able to set the fobs myself as opposed to having a dealer do it right?

 

The seals for the oil thermostat and oil cooler hoses will be here by the end of the week, Also going to rebuild the hoses. I am going to work on that this weekend.

[Blockpartie]

Not possible to program remotes on X70 cars on your own. Red light on the dash is there because the assembly contains part of the A/C system (sun position sensor).

How much weight have you added to the tailgate? Does it affect how the tailgate opens/closes or how it feels when opening/closing the tailgate?

[tuner4life]

Ah.. I thought the red light was the difference.. Guess I'll pay the dealer to do it sometime

 

I didn't have have a scale at the time, but based on what they say the materials weigh per sqft I would estimate around 8 extra pounds of material went into the hatch. It still opens and shuts fine, just a little heavier when opening the first few degrees before the shocks take over. I just replaced the hatch shocks this fall though so they still work well. The hatch still stays up even with the extra weight in single digit temperatures we are have had. There is now a more satisfying sound when closing the hatch instead of the hollow rattly noise before. I did have to add some extra screws to the interior panel because it would pop of when closing the hatch. Not sure if that is related to the sound deadening, or because the way Volvo decided to attach the panel is crap. I'm going to eventually rework the mounting on a nicer panel so that it bolts on.