hey.. new here to the forum, just wondering if a couple of issues can be settled while on here. I am a technician and ASE certified in a number of areas. but im sure as you all know volvos are a completely different beast from all the other car manufacturers out there. anywho... my first volvo was a 1996 960. i paid 350 for the vehicle because that is what the junkyard would have given the owner for it if i hadnt found it first. it had 178000 on it, the timing belt maintenance had been neglected, and a guide pulley forced its way through the timing cover, and in doing so bending over half of the valves. so i purchased a junk yard engine with 45000 and now still driving the volvo with over 230000.. not bad to pay around 1100 bucks, put a good weekends worth of work in and still be going strong three years later..

so my wife and i were very pleased with quality of the volvo product.. and were looking for a newer one with which to fix up and drive for a good 5 years or so. she works at a dealership, and before you know it a 2000 s80 t6 came in on a trade. broken cup holders, destroyed window regulator, ball joints ready to fall out and sway bar links popping like crazy was first on the fix list. and so being a tech.. performed all the work and installed everything brand new from volvo. after that, an alignment and four tires later, we are extremely happy with the overall product and smooth, seamless ride and ridiculas acceleration..

but.. now the problems.. there seems to be a slight oil leak close to the front of the engine behind the alternator. from just glancing at it, it could be the oil pan gasket, or perhaps the dipstick tube o-ring. i have already changed the o-rings in the oil cooler housing on the back side of the oil pan. i was wondering if there was any type of pcv system on these 2.8 turbo engines that could be possibly clogged, causing my oil leak. or if there is just an item there that is frequent to leaking oil that i am unaware of. any help would be greatly appreciated.

now the other problem.. the car runs great, but at WOT right around 3500 to 4000 rpm there seems to be a slight hesitation, and then it gathers itself and continues on to whatever the next shift point is.. it almost feels like i am easing off the WOT, like the fuel supply is not there.. its nothing shocking or drastic, just a slight delay in the continuous climb to redline. the fuel filter was rusted, so i changed it but noticed no affects even though the filter was partially clogged. and there are no OBDII codes found, no check engine lights of any sort. does this sound familiar to anyone? i am also probably going to send the ecu off to ipd and have it upgraded to were the car will put out 310 bhp and 340 lbs. of torque. could this be a computer glitch that may be corrected with their upgrade?

any past experience in these areas or just a volvo tech that has seen these issues period and can shoot me in the right direction on them would be greatly appreciated, and whatever advice i recieve and put to use will be noted on further logs.

thanks alot

 

1. Have you checked the front seals? Yes they have a vent box that usually clogs up also all the small hoses off the vent box usually clog up. I would replace the vent box and make sure all hoses are clean.

2.Clean the throttle body first and make sure the vent system is working properly. Then if you still feel it have the Dealer run your Vin# and see if the throttle recall software has been done already. If not have it done before you sent the ECM to IPD. But also remember once IPD does it if you ever need an upgrade for the car for any reason in the future it will wipe the IPD program out.

 

oil trap box fixed oil leaks and the engine did lose some of its quirkyness, but it still doesnt pull completely strong all the way through the rpms sometimes... may have to take it to volvo. did clean the throttle body, do have to say its the cleanest throttle body with 100k on it that i have ever seen. valves had no residue or carbon build up on them as well.. i mean. scary clean..

 

thanks tech for all your info.. really appreciate it...
now is there anyway to do away with the 2nd to 3rd gear flare when shifting with out pulling off the side cover and removing that pressure solenoid that goes bad?

 

Do you have all the tranny software upgrades?

 

no i havent checked those yet.. besides it what are some other upgrades that there are gonna need to be taken care of that will have to do with drivabilty and such? and what do i say about the upgrade.. "can you check on the trans upgrade that will do this?"..

 

If you complain about a shifting problems they should check the software first. Have them check for recals also and see if the throttle recall software has been done.

 

Hey about those tranny recall's. This morning going up a hill my car no longer drove. Would it be in need of a tranny software upgrade? I put it in to1rst nothing 2nd nothing 3rd it jerks 4rth nothing. I had a problem with the tranny 1rst and 2nd didn't work so I put in to 3rd by coincedince and it drove. Then this morning going up a hill smoke came from under the car then no action. You think it's software or do I need a new tranny?

 

just checked and the throttle software update has been performed. but still after installing a new oil trap box all the leaks are gone but still the funny actions during WOT. what are some of the symtoms of a throttle body actually bad? under WOT, the only thing that could cause the symtoms i have are a glitchy, erratic throttle. or that i can think of. theres no codes. so the ecm doesnt see any faults at this point. no pending codes or freeze frame data... i guess ill just drop it off at the local dealer and eat the 86 bucks for a diag since i dont have access to a VADIS machine...

 

what side cover is he speaking of and what selonoid.. im trying to track down similar issue but mine just seems like lack of power/boost pressure.. i am also leaking oil but best i can see its from one of the turbos... there is a metal nipple (weep hole) and its running out of there and on to my fuel lines and then spreading on the bottom of the car.. its not a huge leak but its constant so the bottom of the car is wet.. qty is still in limits.. could my computer need to be re programmed? it just seems kinda doggy sometimes.. ill start a new thread about it..

 

the transmission has a housing/side cover.. when removed you can get to a number of components.. one is the solenoid that i have found in research is possibly causing the 2nd to 3rd flare when driving.. im assuming that the solenoid is energized and allows trans fluid with suitable pressure to enter a channel allowing for the shift change.. either the solenoid has high resistance and is not opening completely or allowing proper flow..or like tech mentioned.. it may be as simple as a reprogram...

 

okay.. reprogram fixed the trans issue. as far as the drivability concern, the tech said he found a sticking boost control valve and replaced it. he also said i need to use premium fuel to help. it could be pre det. and the comp retarding timing to help . so im using premium and might even use octane supplements.. so all is well.. just off top of my head, does anyone have any idea how much gains a k&n filter will do for this vehicle? is it noticable? .. i might just post another thread..

 

I wouldn't expect very much at all. Maybe a little better fuel milage.

 

okay..so the other day when i drove the car it was not in closed loop operation yet and so the engine was not going full bore. let the car warm up, and it did the same thing, surged and reved and surged again. so i installed a boost gauge to make sure i was getting proper boost, and therein laid the problem. boost on my car was peaking at 16psi, and i know that is well over what the factory set it at. talking with another and more knowledgeable technician(as well as the one who suggested the boost gauge as a tool in diagnosis) it was brought up that a lot of people try to modify the wastegate actuator rod,to shorten it so there is longer travel time. so when boost control is implemented due to high boost, the wastegate rod takes longer open, and also longer to dump the boost and hence the spike in boost at 16psi. so, someone has tampered with my wastegate, or i have a bad wastegate all together. also, at idle in park once the engine is warm, there is about 18 inches of vacuum noted, and i was told this should be closer to 20. so i could as well have a possible vacuum leak. once i get it up on a rack and dig a lil' deeper ill repost my findings.

 

Make sure the electronic boost control valve is good. Also make sure the bypass is working correctly.

 

Sorry forum messing up again. They would have had to have messed with both rods you have 2 wategates.

 

i went and adjusted my wastegate rods. they seemed to be about three turns out of adjustment. re-adjusted them both, and now no more surgeing. in first gear itll peak at 14psi, then when it changes gears it drops down to a steady 11psi in second gear and then in third and fourth is seems to stay at around 7 psi. tech, is this correct? im gonna try to recheck my adjustment tomorrow to make sure ive got it correct.

 

I haven't really driven one much with an aftermarket guage on it. But may seem a little high yet.

 

well, if the boost is higher than you think it should be, what should i do? re-adjust the rods? i dont have the surging issues anymore, so if boost is a bit high due to my wastegate actuator rods still being to short, is it possible that the ecu will still tolerate a certain level of excess boost? is this something that i could experiment with? i have to have an ecu that will tolerate excess boost though.. the spike in boost is just due to the fact that the rods are shortened and so travel time is lengthened... right?

 

I see you are proposing to 'up' the hp output of the engine. From what I have read, this might not be a good idea unless you first do something to 'beef up' the transmission. As I understand it, the GM transmission which came with the first generation S80 T6s is already at it's upper limit of capacity to handle the hp and torque of the 2.8l turbocharged engine.
I have been trying to find someone who can 'beef up' the transmission in the even that the one on our 1999 S80 starts to act up but have not found anyone who seems to be able to do it and guarantee that it would be an improvement....
If anyone here know of anyone who does upgrades, perhaps they can pipe right in here....