And my 1st post here.... I wanted a safe, simple car for my 16 YO daughter to drive, so went with this 14 YO Volvo.

This '01 has 170K miles on it. Didn't pay too much for it, and I can handle lots of the mechanical stuff. Need to buy me a shop manual. Amazon just has the 1 from Haynes. It is really the only one I saw. Is there a better choice?

Also my 1st turbo equipped car. I thought most turbo set ups had a gauge or a light to tell you when the turbo kicked in. Or is that just for show on a muscle car? How do you know if it is working on the volvo?

I got tons of questions, but I'll wait for my manual & do some forum searching, then try to figure some things on my own.

Maybe one more ??? What is the damn deal with the headlight wipers. they don't really seem to work, yet they are in a different position every time I look at them. Short of pulling them off, what makes them go to rest position?

Thanks in advance for all the help, I am sure to receive. I love forums and YouTube... they make me a great mechanic.

Clark

 

welcome aboard! Personally i don't see much value in the Haynes manual (outside of specs). A simple search of "Volvo S40 service manuals" will give you PDFs on almost anything you need. Also there are good sites like volvowiringdiagrams.com (no kidding) and volvopartswarehouse.com (good for diagrams). If you really want a manual, the best way to go is to eBay and buy a VIDA/ VADIS CD for the car. Its the whole shop manual in CD format.

In terms of the lack of a boost gauge - You can add one if you like (shop eBay) - I own 3 turbos (S40, 850T and VW CC) and only the 850 has a boost gauge. Mostly if your turbo was having issues, you'd notice the lack of power.

For your wipers - the electronic control does control the final sweep to park the wipers. If your car does note return to home, it could be something in the motor housing, wiring (contact etc) or the switch stalk (again, contacts typically). I'd probably start by looking at the wiring contacts going to the headlight wiper motors to make sure you have a good contact and ground. Its also possible the motor gears are getting wonky (ie water finding its way, plastic gears break etc) and you need to replace the motor/gears (9/10 times its the plastic gears not the motor).

 

Yes. Get an alldatadiy subscription. Then you'll have access to the (mostly) accurate maintenance info the pros use. $12.95 for three years with a coupon. Awesome deal.

Having recently brought an '00 V40 back from the land of minimal maintenance, here are the potentially car-killing items you should address:

1. Timing belt system. I replaced the water pump also though it was in great shape. The resident experts think the water pump lasts a long time and can be left alone unless obviously in need of replacement.
2. Serpentine belt tensioner pulley. Plastic pulley can fail with no warning and derail your timing belt.
3. Radiator top hose. Prone to failure.
4. Radiator bottom hose clamp. Can fail due to rust and cause coolant loss.
5. The CVVT pulley can leak at the plunger o-ring and cause timing belt failure. At a minimum keep an eye on it, it's best to replace the o-ring.
6. Remove and inspect the upper turbo oil supply banjo bolt. In cars with a poor maintenance history, the banjo bolt can become blocked with crud and starve the turbo of oil.
7. Read up on the PCV problems these cars are prone to. If you have pressure at the oil filler cap, not suction, there's a problem.

Last, I recommend using Pennzoil Ultra oil in your engine. This is a high quality synthetic oil with high detergency. It will help keep your VVT system operating correctly.

 

Thanks for the checklist...

Interesting about the oil. I see where the manual seems to recommend Dino oil, but makes a BOLDED comment about synthetic changes at a different interval. That is all I saw. On most car boards if you mention oil you get folks coming out of the wood-work.

I have ordered a couple Mahle filters and plan on changing the oil to the manual recommended product. I currently have a leak from an unknown source and figure big $ on oil will end up in my driveway. Maybe if I am really lucky the oil leak will stop when I go back to Dino. On the Internet, I read that that happens!

The PO said his pulley was failing and he had the pulley and timing belt changed very recently, less than 1000 miles ago. No mention of the water pump.

I am not up on the lingo yet... CVVT... variable valve timing?

 

Turbo oil return pipe.

 

Now we're talking...

Would that be high on the engine and on the firewall side (back)? the front is clean, but from under the car, I can tell it is coming from the back and must be high.

I could see what looked to be an aluminum pipe running across the back of the engine, right to left. It had a couple nice drips of oil on it. Is that it?

How tuff a fix?

 

I was just preparing to do this job and ordered the oil return line and seals. Is it easier to fit this flex style set up?

 

The turbo oil return pipe o-ring can fail and cause a leak down low on the oil pan, not up on top of the engine. To check the top side pull the plastic beauty covers and timing belt cover. Do you have oil on top of the engine? On the timing belt? Just on the side? Different problems give different leaks. The absolute worst is the failed o-ring on the cvvt gear on the exhaust cam. This one caused a slipped timing belt and 8 bent exhaust valves for me. Symptoms were a sudden increase in oil leaking out onto the ground and an oil soaked timing belt. The other leaks at the cam seals were mainly due to a clogged PCV system allowing pressure to build inside the engine. These leaked down the side of the engine but did not get onto the belt.

 

malcolm2, regarding the dino vs synthetic and oil leaks, the S40s owners manual does make reference to running either. Many of the leak problems on synthetic are based on the older models (ie 850s) developing rear main seal leaks (= expensive fix). On the S40s the typical oil leaks are VVT/cam seals and turbo returns. Given the VVTs also tend to gum up their oil ports, my suggestion would be to fix the leaks first, then switch over to synthetic as a way of keeping the VVT clean for the long term. I need to look at my cam seal this weekend so I may need to post on that. May need to do a plunger o-ring myself... My leak is slow (silver dollar sized spot) - when the turbo return line seal went on my 850 it made a mess!

 

looks like the exhaust cam sensor has left a pool of oil. That was all I saw on the very top. May need a new oil cap gasket too. Not leaking enough to spill over, just filled a cavity. I dried it up on Wednesday. I'll check it and see how long to fillup again. Does the sensor leak, or maybe that GREEN gasket?

I hate to just start taking things off and maybe screw up the gasket.

The timing belt and inside of the TB cover were dry. So I assume the cam seals are OK for now. Oil leak that I see under the car seems to be coming from the middle rear around the turbo, or maybe the around the drivers side where I can't see for all the hoses, etc...




The top of the turbo is dirty but dry. Is there a hose underneath?

 

That's the VVT solenoid, not the exhaust cam sensor. Put a socket on the bolt heads and see if they're loose. The VVT solenoid's easy to remove, btw, there's nothing you can screw up.

Common problem. Gasket is Volvo P/N 1275379.

99% guarantee it's the turbo oil return pipe leaking at the block. From under the car it looks fairly high up in the center of the firewall side of the block. Hard to see from topside.

It's a metal pipe, not a hose.

No urgency but one thing you should do is carefully remove the top turbo oil supply banjo bolt - it's the hex in the right center of your pic - and check it for crud.

One more thing - when you're lying on the engine working in this area, first remove the engine oil dipstick or you'll break the top off it sooner or later.

 

Thanks #2... I will start digging deeper this weekend. Can anyone direct me to or post a picture of this "mysterious" oil return tube. I need that manual...

What is it made of? sounds like it is NOT metal. That is what I was looking for. But it leaks at the block connection? does it need replacing or a seal or o-ring?

Thanks again, I'll update with progress.

 

The oil feed is the top metal pipe and oil return is the bottom metal pipe. The pipes/hoses on the sides of the center section are for the engine coolant. (aka water cooled turbo) The oil return pipe goes from the bottom of the turbo center section to the block just above the oil pan. It has a wide, flat o-ring that needs replacing where the pipe enters the block. There is also a gasket on the top part of the pipe where it bolts to the turbo. I bought a kit from IPD that had both items. It's a bit tight getting your hand up there to loosen the two small star bolts connecting the top portion to the turbo.

Turbo Drain Pipe Seal Kit VOLVO OE 111015 31251439 7775K

 

thanks #3. even has a link to download installation instructions. How awesome is that?

 

WOW, 2 hours of twisting and turning to get the turbo return oil pipe out and new o-ring and gasket in and I have only removed the clamp. The instructions say the tube is attached with 2 5mm allens. Well mine is a T27. I have a star pack, but not a t27 star socket, so I quit for the night. Tool store trip tomorrow.

The instructions also have pictures that are clear and easy to see. I had a hard time seeing the star bolts and the clamp.

It looks like if the axle was out and the motor mount plate was out, I could take a picture like they did. And reach the hardware with a tool in my hand.

Is there a trick I am missing, or should I consider removing some other parts to get to the turbo oil return bracket?

 

I told you it was a bit tight! I removed the mount but not the axle. Still was a pain. If I remember correctly you need a long extension to reach those star bolts. It's been years but I still remember sore hands after it was over. If I had to do it again I'd remove everything in the way, axle and all. I'm too old to finesse it.

 

I have had the same experience. I ended up removing the cross member and lower mount. Access was still not great but I go it after a couple of hours. I would tend to agree. Removing axle would be part of my plan next time. See link to guide below.
http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=217804

That ipd guide makes this sound waaaay too easy.

 

I wish I had dug deeper into the job last week, cause I need a new axle anyway....

gonna take 2 stones to kill these two birds.... or just leave the car on jacks for a week longer. My daughter will love that.

Does this leak in the return tube just drip or does it spray?

I wiped a lot of oil off the back of the engine and the under carraige last week. Last night it was pretty much all over again. I am guessing I have more leaks to find.

 

Maybe, maybe not.

I attempted the turbo oil return pipe job a couple of years ago and had the same difficulty with access. This is actually the only job I can remember ever giving up on. What I did instead was degrease the pipe and block with spray brake cleaner and then seal the o-ring with flowable silicone. This job is on my list to do correctly but I'm going to do it by removing the crossmember and engine mount next time.

 

Another WOW. Remove the braces and two minutes later IT IS OUT. Hate to say it but the DAPO. Had his Volvo mech do a 1/2 assed job. This tube had NO O-RING and silicone or RTV on both ends. Why do people do that?

EDIT>>> I take some of the above back. The o-ring was still in the block. Once I used a mirror I could see it. And I suppose some extra sealant doesn't hurt.