I need to change the turbo on my sons car. Volvo's procedure says in short to undo passenger side ball joint, remove axle, remove heat shield, undo all turbo lines and to remove the turbo and exhaust manifold as a unit. My question, to someone that has actually done the job is can you remove the turbo on a FWD without removing the drive shaft or exhaust manifold? I would have thought you could remove the 4 nuts for the turbo to exhaust manifold and remove it without the exhaust manifold being disturbed from the head. Thank you in advance for any help or confirmation of this procedure.

 

I've removed the turbo on the older S60s and they came out from the top. There are several disconnects to do in a particular order based upon how the cooling feed and return lines run as well as the oil feed and return.

It sounds like Volvo is recommending pulling the turbo out from the bottom which is why you remove the driveshaft. You can go that route and it is not that hard of a job.

There is a lot more to this than the four nuts on the turbo.

I'm curious as to why you're changing the turbo on a vehicle of this age?

 

Yes, I realize more than 4 nuts hold on a turbo. I was referring to the separation of the turbo from the exhaust manifold. I have oil in the boost hose and the car is consuming oil but not smoking yet is the reason for the turbo replacement. I have a new complete turbo to install on the shelf already.

 

Well, that's a sign of a plugged crankcase system too. I'll be happy to give you any help that I can but I'd suggest checking if the crankcase system is backing up in the intake. How many miles on your vehicle?

 

The car has 160K miles on it and I have performed a glove test and it never inflates and it sucks down at idle and at reving it up to 2-3K. Thank you for your help.

 

Well, that rules out the crankcase system. I just wanted to help avoid an unnecessary repair.

You will find that the turbo swap is not necessarily difficult, just a lot of steps. You can PM me as I did one not long ago because I had to change a head gasket.

 

The car has never had the PCV system serviced but as long as I passed the glove test I thought I was OK. I have changed the turbo out on a 1998 Saab 900SE turbo 2.0 that was located in the front of the motor. I know the basics including priming the new turbo with oil. If the car was yours and you have not serviced the PCV system at 160K but passed the glove test would you service it? Thank you again for all of your help.

 

I am not sure. The jobs are not directly related, one is on one side of the engine and the other is on the other. If I had to remove the breather system to service the turbo I would definitely change it. However, if you are keeping your maintenance current then it is probably not plugged since it passed the test.

 

Thank you. We purchased the car at 120K. No service records but it was very well kept. We use Castrol 0-40w Syntec oil ever 4K miles with a new Mann filter. I have researched the procedure for the PCV but never pulled the trigger on parts due to it passing the glove test. We perform the glove test at every oil change. I do this because I do not want blown seals. I am tying to get the car ready before my son goes off to college. I purchased a Dorman new turbo kit that has seals and all with it sometime ago before Dorman issued a minimum pricing guide. At that time I got the kit, that has a lifetime warranty, for just slightly over $400 delivered. I thought I could reduce the oil consumption to change out the turbo. I figured I had it so I might as well install it. I will be exploring it this weekend. I really want to focus on examining the air entry pipe to the turbo to see if it has oil in it or could have oil from the pcv system. I know the pressure side of the turbo pipe has some noticeable oil in it. I know if I want to be certain with the miles I will service the PCV and change the turbo and then the oil usage is up to the internals of the motor due to changing out all other factors. The engine has absolutely no oil leaks.

 

I checked on Volvo's specs for the 2008 model year S60 with the 2.5 T. Using 0W40 is fine. Volvo didn't specify a synthetic oil for that model year but it certainly didn't hurt.

It sounds like you are rebuilding the turbo rather than replacing it. If so, you just have to make sure that everything is very clean and that the housing isn't worn out. If the kit is a rebuilt turbo, then that point is moot since it is already assembled.

 

This turbo is a complete turbo from waste gate to built in bypass valve. This is not a kit. It is 100% all of the turbo. https://www.dormanproducts.com/p-83832-667-207.aspx for reference. The turbo is new and not re manufactured.

 

That should be a very straight forward in and out job. Feel free to PM me if you need any help.

 

I appreciate all of you help and offers. I hope it goes well and straight forward and most of all no broke bolts. I will be coating all down with 50/50 acetone/ATF fluid since that is rated very good as a penetrate oil.

 

I wanted to post a follow up to my original post. First off the turbo is changed and the PCV system has been replaced. Time will tell how oil consumption goes. Turbo has a lot of shaft play and some discolor to the aluminum housing at the intake air impeller where it was brushing it from play in the shaft bearing. Contrary to Volvo's official procedure to remove the turbo on this 2.5 FWD 2008 S60 the turbo will come off without removing it as a unit with the exhaust manifold. You also do not have to remove the passenger side axle as Volvo says do. I did have to remove from the block and turbo the oil feeder line but I would have done that anyway to carb cleaner flush that pipe out to insure it had full oil flow for the new turbo. I will warn you that the Banjo bolt copper washers are larger for the block banjo bolt on the oil supply line than they are on the turbo fittings. I also did not like the fit of the banjo bolt washers that came with the turbo so I went with Volvo parts for this. They were too loose on the bolt and too thin. I pre-soaked all exhaust and turbo bolts down with 50/50 ATF and acetone and all bolts came undone with no problem. I did replace those "golden" turbo nuts that Volvo wants $10 each for with Volvo "golden valued" nuts.

I am also happy to report, with 160K on the clock, that the PVC system was not clogged at all. I replaced the box with OEM and hoses from the box to the valve cover and box to block. I also put in part number 30731007 to replace the PCV nipple at the banjo bolt under the corner of the intake on the passenger side (starting that bolt back was noooooo fun. My plastic tube on that part snapped in two places the minute I touched it. It sounded like a twig snapping. The rest of the "monster" PCV/coolant hose was in great shape and clearly passed compressed air as did the oil pan drain from the catch box to the block out of the oil fill when testing. I used the Volvo style crimp clamps on all connections and it turned out looking very professionally done. I also replaced wiring loom covers on knock sensors that were literally all to pieces from heat while I was in there and cleaned the throttle body and installed a new gasket. All and all this was a big job to tackle but very satisfying to do the work yourself and know you covered all the bases. Now I just hope for another 160K out of the car. Time will tell. Thank you again for everyone's help.

 

You are quite welcome.

That banjo bolt under the intake is a pain. I've started removing the alternator to get better access. Yes, it adds about an hour to the job but it makes the whole process a lot easier.

You must have kept up with your oil changes. Very few Volvos that we buy need the PCV system replaced and I believe that there is a direct correlation of how often the oil gets changed.

 

Yes, Mann Filter and Castrol 0-40 Syntec every 4,000 miles since we bought it at 118K. I have no idea how it was cared for before but the car was well kept, interior and exterior, but that does not always mean the engine maintained to the same level.

Also that intake bolt under the thermostat housing is a pain. I used a flapper wheel on a grinder to custom cut down both sides of a 1/4" drive 10mm socket and put is on a wobble extension secured with taping it to the extension to keep it from falling off. Cutting down the 1/4" side of the socket allow for maximum pivot on the wobble extension plus I shortened the socket side to the depth of the bolt hex. Now if only I could grind, holding the socket with a pair of vice grips and the grinder sitting on the ground straight I could have a professional looking tool. A machinist I will never be.

I put it back exactly like it was with insulation around the plastic tube to the coolant line but I had to wonder if this was just for controlling Icing from the PCV to keep it heated and here in the south I wondered if the survival rate of the plastic tub would be better not against that hot coolant line. Again I did put it back just like it was but I did wonder.

 

The idea behind the insulated coolant line is that it keeps the vapor line warm so that any oils flow better. I like to flush that line out with brake clean when we go this far into one.