Ok so here is the sob story. A week ago I was driving home after work and all the light came on my dash and I had no power, had my foot to the floor and I was coasting. Called AAA and they towed my car to my trusted mechanic.

The car is in good shape cosmetically, I replaced the tires 5 months ago so the master plan is to give this car to my 16 yr old daughter and I will get a new one. Therefore I want it to be safe & reliable.

My mechanic called on Monday advising I needed to replace the alternator = $663 (parts & labor) for a rebuilt with a 2 yr warranty. I said OK I need it to be functional again.


I shared the master plan and said the front end is feeling kind of loose and it makes a stuttering noise when I turn right and accelerate from a stop, please check.

He took it for a drive and advised I needed 2 new struts and mounts, I was not surprised so said OK = $894 (parts, labor and alignment) then he said the 2 CV axles were almost done and it would be more cost effective to replace them when he had the front end apart = $230 (parts).

I said as long as I am paying to get the car back to right please also do a Tune-Up = 180

i picked up the car on Tuesday night and drove it the 4 miles home and found the front end felt like it should but then when i drove it the next morning I heard the stuttering again (maybe it is an earlier morning thing?) and I had a CEL!

I drove to the garage at lunch and took my mechanic for a ride and he got to hear the noise though it was not as pronounced as 1st thing in the morning. he checked the CEL and it was a Lean Code.

THANKS FOR READING SO FAR!

Here is my questions -

1) He could not advise what would make the front end noise when turning right and accelerating nor could he advise why the Lean Code as he said all hoses are fine. I said I would check here for ideas.

2) Then today all of a sudden it seems like I no longer have a turbo? I have very slow response from a stop and the engines revs stay very high until the gear changes. Yesterday I treated the car to 92 octane at WAWA, I have been using regular for the past year - could that have any influence?

Thanks for reading and hopefully your assistance.

Dave

2005 S40 T5 Passion Red

 

Seems quite high for an alternator......

I would start with your MAF and see if it needs attention, cleaning, replacing for your lean code.

Did this lean code become relevant after they did the tune-up?

 

I bet someone left a hose loose after the tune up.

The main upper motor mount is on the right side. It can split causing a knocking sound as the rubber wears away. If you have replaced all those parts and noise remains.....

 

Thanks Random & Hudini.

The price on the rebuilt alternator with 24 month warranty was competitive for SO VA.

It was a disconnected hose and an important one, not sure of the name or what it feeds into but it was once I reattached all was good again for acceleration. It runs from the bottom of the engine straight up on the left of center side oat the front and is about 4 inches across.

I will be sharing a number of motor mount posts with my mechanic

 

Just got my S40 back, had the passenger side motor mount replaced and it is riding like a new car after that and the other front end work I had done.

I saw the mount and the rubber was cracked and made a clicking noise when my mechanic shook it for me.

He was also able to clear a CEL that had been on for the past month after checking all the hoses.

I am happy to be driving it again but it figures it is just before I pass it on to my daughter .

Thanks for all the direction and support!

 

I'm going to assume you got your prices swapped around. $900 for 2 struts and an alignment, but only $230 for 2 drive axles??!!

I just had my drive axles done. And even with a 10 minute argument with the idiot service manager, i reluctantly approved their use of OES parts.

NEVER NEVER NEVER do that on a vehicle like the S40. And I'm looking at another several days without my car because these OES axles vibrate so bad it's offensive. And could be doing more damage to my car.

Always DEMAND Volvo parts. I'm a ten year veteran of S40 ownership and I can count the number of mechanics to whom this car has taught a few lessons.

Don't buy the bs argument that OES/OER parts are the same as factory parts. They just aren't. And it doesn't matter who makes the part. It's the specs to which the part is made.

OES/OER parts are up to 20% outside manufacturer-specific specs on any given day.
OES/OER parts are far cheaper than factory parts - because they are a far lesser part by any measure.

And it's becoming more and more difficult to find honest mechanics - that is, mechanics who charge you for OEM parts, purchase OEM parts, and actually install them on your vehicle.

I've found the best way to deal with them is to buy the OEM parts yourself. Then at the garage, have pictures taken of the removed parts and pictures taken of the new parts. Installed. I also always ask for my old parts back. I've been screwed by different mechanics at every step in this process. So it's no BS.

And yes, 93 octane is not a guideline. You could alternate between 89 and 93, so long as 93 holds the higher average of occupancy.

 

I'd weigh in on the axles and the octane.... rebuilt axles are easy to find (and are OEM to start) and run 100-120 per side). With that said, usually they fail because a boot got torn and the CV ran without grease for a while. I don't think there's a huge upside to going with Genuine Volvo axles at $400 per. Doing struts runs about $200 per in parts but you can now buy prebuilts for about $300. I agree 900 seems steep for replacing struts - and an alignment should be 100 or less. As to the octane, modern engines have knock sensors which adjust the timing and mixture to cool off the burn as needed. 93 premium brands do have the benefit of more detergents but it only takes 1-2 tankfuls to gain the cleaning benefits. If you run regular 87, the only difference is at full throttle or when pulling heavy loads (or going up a steep hill) where you car will make something less than its listed 200 HP. For most of us, you'd never notice the different and you are certainly not harming the engine. If you are getting misfire codes its more likely you need new plugs or perhaps new coil packs not higher octane fuel.

 

I've seen plenty of cheap axles start vibrating within short time of being replaced.

Front struts on that car could certainly come to about $900 parts and labor if you include mounts and bearings.

And 93 octane is not required. As stated above, 87 will do just fine and will not damage anything.

 

Thanks to all for your comments. My S40 is running well on 87 O and my daughter just received her Learner's Permit.

Now that the mechanical issues have been addressed I worked on a cosmetic issue that had been bothering me for some time - rotted black rubber window trim!

I used black Plasti Dip and I am very happy with the results. I had extra so did the emblems as well. Bought more and did the grill. bumpers, rocker panels, exhaust tips, wheels and pinstriping My daughter asked why I stopped as sh is fine with a Black car but my wife felt otherwise