I have a xc 07, that im trying to do most maintainence work myself when i have the time and I don't have 'reliable' auto shops. The nearest Volvo dealership is 90+ miles. I was wondering if there was any air filter vids on the site that I can easily see how its done, and may be the cabin air filter to as well. Also Im needing to get into my air vents and fix the center right vent due to a Glade air freshner pull out (never use those evil things). Lastly I have seen this posted many times before but I just see no results and I've done my homework so what is a good site to buy projection headlights and/or HID lights for a halogen set-up.

Any help is appreciated! Thanks in advance.

 

Ttt for advice

 

Check out youtube and see how the professional do it. You can learn to do the smaller things. Leave the timing belt stuff, or harder things to the pros.

 

agree on checking youtube. I believe you can find how to change xc90 air filter, cabin filter and oil on there.

 

thanks for the advice. im in need of new struts, springs, and/or more front end suspensions. my front end is shaking when im driving or at take off. any suggestions of what might it be.

 

i doubt you need all that stuff on an 07 unless you have insane mileage. it sounds like it could be bad motor mount, or a suspension bushing/tie rod end/ball joint. it is unlikely the struts and springs are worn out. i wouldn't start throwing money at major parts and siginifcant DIY work to replace parts that are probably good for another several years, and get it professionally diagnosed.

 

You might need to make friends with somebody who is really great at fixing cars. You need somebody who will tell you the truth. A mechanic has a conflict of interest. One thing is for sure: You don't need new springs. Springs are suppposed to be bouncy.

Shaking is usually caused by a tire, I will say 95% of the time.

 

ok will check into that. but my mileage is somewhat high almost to 150k, thats kind of high to me.

 

Thats for damn sure. I do need new tires for that back but the shaking part is in the front. Thanks for the input firebird.

 

Ours wandered all over the road and we had the lower control arm rear bushings replaced on warranty. After a wheel alignment it drove good.

If a tire is out of balance you could try to isolate it by swapping the fronts with the rears.

 

check them for roundness too. You can jack up the car and spin them and just see if the tread surface is round or not visually. If the car wants to shake at low speed you may have one or more not round.

 

Ive done that already and seems like it became worse gradually. So with that advice its the suspension.

 

I don't think so. Because of the weight of the vehicle, the looseness and wear in the suspension is always taken up. The suspension has no rotating parts, so it has no way to generate any cyclical forces. So really, it's not ever the source of shaking.

Steering is another matter. When you have lost motion in the steering, it can oscillate from side to side. Suspension wear can contribute to this, because the forces from the tires are enough to move worn suspension parts around. People traditionally call that a shimmy. It's very easy to diagnose, in my opinion, because it's side to side.

If you have a shock or strut that has a complete damper failure, then you can have a situation where the spring is undamped. In that case, when something shakes it, that one spring wants to bounce forever at its natural frequency. But it doesn't sound like that is what you are dealing with. Really, though, you didn't give us much info.

 

At 150,000 on a truck like that you may have a few suspension issues, especially if you drive in an area where roads are bad and climate is poor (cold).

Tires are #1, especially if you don't have them balanced every 5,000 miles. You'd be surprised. If you can, only buy tires from a place that gives lifetime balance & rotation.

If you take your truck somewhere for an alignment, for $30 or $60 they will tell you what suspension parts are worn. There is nothing real special about the suspension on these trucks or most other vehicles, just parts quality. If you have them do the work, just insist that they use parts that you approve of or walk away.

 

 

Balancing tires every 5000 miles is total overkill.

 

thanks all for the info. its was indeed the tires. got them changed and balanced, the vibration and driving shake is damn near gone. Another question what type of oil is used ive read the manaul and said use castrol oil in which i havent heard anything wrong with it but need more of your all advice. Thanks for that vid rspi!

 

the brand of oil you use is pretty unimportant. just use the correct weight and SFI spec per the manual. If it's on sale I get Mobil 1 0w-40 which is excellent and on sale it is not significantly more than dino oil. it is often on sale for 5 quarts and filter for $35 or something like that, I usually get 2. they don't have the xc90 filter so I just get one for another car I own.

 

Changing cabin filter is easy and cost effective. On ebay you can find the filter for around USD$10 and it is a 5 minutes job. A little mirror and a flash will be very helpful. Auto shop can easily charge $50 for that.

My recommendation for DIY is this: remove the A-pillar trim to do a preventive check on the sunroof drain pipe. Make sure that it is not clogged. If the L-shape turn connector is deteriorating, find the right pipe and extend it to the drain hole. That will save you lots of trouble down the road.

 

I recommend full synthetic oil, especially if it's turbo.