What Did you do to your XC this week .

[9dawgs]

Complete 4 wheel brake disc change, washed, vacuumed interior, treated leather with conditioner. Basic stuff. Discovered I need to replace the lower control arms when doing the brakes. That'll be next along with upper shock mount bushings.

[spammy]

Ah, yes. Possibly the most satisfying part I ever bought from IPD.

[Dubya]

It had been 5,000 miles again already, so I took the XC in for service today. It didn’t need much besides a helping of fresh 5w30, but I also had them do a transmission flush (using the Gibbons method) while I was there anyway. The fluid that came out was nice and dark, but didn’t smell burned, thankfully. Definitely feels like it’s shifting smoother now, so I think that was a good thing to do.

While on the lift, they also discovered an exhaust hanger that had rusted through (much like youropeen’s above), so they fabricated/welded a new bracket together and also took care of another hanger that was about to go. Finally, they put my snow tires, so now the car is all ready for winter.

[pelagikos]

A few weeks ago, while doing the rear discs/pads/shoes job, noticed that outer sheathing on the hoses was cracking and peeling. Upon inspection, the front hoses turned out to be in even worse shape.

The car was due for new brake fluid anyway, so figured I'd replace the hoses while at it. Got the new hoses cheap at eEuroParts ($7 bucks a pop, or so), installed them yesterday.

Not a difficult job, if one already knows how to bleed the system, and does not mind spilling a few trickles of brake fluid (a sheet of cardboard on the floor took care of it).
Fronts are actually a piece-of-cake (easy access).

1. Wheels off.
2. Spray all 8 hose connections with PB Blaster and let sit for a couple hours.
3. 13mm flare wrench to loosen the connection between the hose and the rigid line, using a 14mm open-end as a counter hold - all 4 hoses.
4. 14mm open-end to loosen the connection between the caliper and the hose.
5. 13mm open-end to finish undoing the the nut on the rigid line side. For rears, that's the tedious part. An open-end ratchet might've helped, but I do not possess a metric one.
6. Quickly finish unscrewing the hose from the caliper. (The fluid is dripping from the rigid line. On the first hose, I tried to stop the drip with saran wrap, it worked, but is hardly worth doing, as it takes nearly as much time to wrap saran as to thread in a new hose)
7. Screw in the new hose into the caliper finger-tight.
8. Screw in the flare nut connecting the rigid line.
9. Tighten the hose in the caliper and the flare nut with 13 and 14mm open end wrenches. (wrist-tight)
10. Repeat 4-9 for the other 3 hoses.
11. Bleed the system.

[2002V70XC]

11. Bleed the system.

Thanks for the guide! I just have a question about the size of the hose/tube for bleeding the brakes. I'm thinking to get the right size hose/tube and a clear bottle to make one for bleeding the system. Thanks in advance!

[pelagikos]

I am using a Motive bleeder.
I believe, this model: http://motiveproducts.3dcartstores.c...der_p_115.html
They differ in the shape of the reservoir cap fitting.
Bleeder comes with instructions. Also there are instructions for bleeding the brakes in the resource section of this site. I am sure there are videos on the YouTube too.

There is a contradiction between the two regarding the required pressure. Volvo says 0.2-0.3 MPa, bleeder says not to exceed 0.15 or something like that.
The max on the bleeder's gauge is 0.2 MPa.

I found I need to pump it all the way to 0.2, so there is more than just a puny trickle coming from the rear lines.

Motive also sells catch bottles, but I just use a piece of clear hose from Home Depot and the container which just had been emptied into the bleeder.

No idea how much fluid is really needed, as I cannot for the life of me see the difference between the old and the new fluid without using fluids of alternating colors, which are no longer readily available in the USA due to regulations. I just get a 1L can and run through it hoping it is more than enough...


P.S. DIY Bleeder. Looks legit.
http://faculty.ccp.edu/faculty/dreed...atech/bleeder/

[MacNoob]

Mobil 1 5w-30 and Mann filter.

New gas door hinge.

About the door hinge: I walked into the dealer and asked the parts guy for a gas door hinge for a 2007 XC70. He reached below the counter and grabbed a part from a box without even looking it up. I guess they sell a few of those... I should have bought one of whatever else was in the other three boxes under the counter.

[pelagikos]

In my experience, the replacement ones are just as bad as the original one. I kept on replacing them until one broke in a way that that the hinging portion was left intact, and the side where the spring rests broke of.

So the door is hinged fine, just not spring-loaded. And there is no tension from the spring now to break the hinging side. I decided to leave it like this, and not risk loosing the door.

[guyeye]

Brembo Rotors/Akebono Euros- All 4 corners. About to go bed them in!

Helpful tip 'o the day: Brake cleaner and a torch to free a stuck rotor do not mix. On the plus side, I got to test my fire extinguisher. -moron.

[ifnt420]

Rebuilt a 2007 S60 T5 high pressure turbo B5244T5 engine with cylinder sleeves, forged rods.
Then swapped into my XC, and got a custom tune by MTE.

Now the car is ready when IPD/MTE release the Stage 3 upgrade turbo kit for S60R/V70R.