My first Ovlov
Discussion
So the time came to get something a little more sensible. Due to moving house I now commute ~ 30 miles instead of a half mile walk (I know, I'm an idiot)
Neither the Monaro or the GTV were suitable for this task. After borrowing my step Dad's C1 for a couple of months whilst they were in Spain, the GTV stepped up to the job and it was clear that something else was going to be needed...
Part of the house move included the acquisition of an Old English Sheepdog, so naturally this instantly means an estate car is justified
There's a PH thread for every occasion, and this time was no different, OP was asking for a reliable, economical and comfortable commuter on the cheap, and the suggestions of Euro III D5 Ovlovs came thick and fast.
Research was done and the hunt was on. I'd set a budget of £2,000, but given the likely shedness and 'bullet proof' nature of the old wagons I was hoping to spend less than that. Not many nearby, first one at an independent dealer had a service light on and wayward feeling steering. Apparently they get lots of these models through and they all do that sir...
Second one was at an even more independent 'dealer'. Think mobile number and 'OK, I'll meet you at the lockup in 15 minutes'. This was in silver (not ideal) and was just £999. We arrived at the lockup, phoned back, 'I'll be over in 10 minutes'. 10 minutes later, phoned back to explain we had another to go and view and not to bother.
Third one seemed good in the pics, black (not first choice, but ho hum) and low mileage ( for these cars... 128,000 ). Not a great deal of history on it, was apparently originally from Germany (with an invoice, but was RHD?) and in KM, which was then 'adjusted' back, seemed to have MOT printouts that had been corrected going back a few years, so looked legitimate, but was lacking heated seats (I quite quickly became picky on spec despite initially not caring!) and had some quite bad key scratches across the bonnet and sides and a dent/scuff on the rear corner.
So things weren't looking great, those were the nearest options available (within 60 miles of home) at the time, and the poor Alfa was still being bounced around over horrendously surfaced B roads.
Some ebay searching turned up what looked like a very tidy example, 123,000 miles, full service history with the last service at 120,000, 3 owners from new (original dealer, apparently the dealer manager
and then the same owner since 2009) and call me a fool but it looked great on the 18" Nebula wheels, in dark blue (ideal) with light part leather interior (ideal) and no black plastic trim on the outside. It was unfortunately with an independent up in York and there wasn't time before it ended to view...
So long story short, basically I'd started out looking for a comfy workhorse for under £2k and ended up buying the prettiest one unseen from eBay for £350 over budget... What could possibly go wrong?
Met the chap at a services in Grantham off the A1, it was of course dark so not ideal, pootled around a bit and all seemed in order (as much as you can tell in that situation) and to be honest it seemed to be in excellent condition and even had half a tank of diesel which made a change. He said he'd noticed on the drive down that the tracking needed doing so £50 was knocked off to get that sorted out, we shall see if it's anything more serious shortly!
It also turns out it has the Four-C fancy suspension. This may prove to be a ticking time bomb as certainly OEM replacement dampers are eye watering, although rumour has it there are less crippling replacements available. Apparently one does not simply replace them with stock dampers...
So the deal was done, and what should have been a simple waft home became a 2 hour schlep thanks to a road closure and ludicrous diversion. Either way, the car performed faultlessly, the better half seemed impressed with it after a perusal on the drive, and all seemed well, except the fuel needle dropping a bit quicker than expected...
As this has been a bit wordy, here are some pics (from the eBay ad)
All was going well until the first time taking the OH out in it a few days later. Heading down the M1 the fuel light comes on as expected, and about 2 miles later ENGINE SERVICE REQUIRED IMMEDIATELY and a limp mode limiting us to 2,000 rpm. Oh joy!
We pull off at the next services and fill up. No warning lights, car seems fine, but the confidence is shaken... Returning towards the M1, we're notified by a friendly BMW driver that the front left is a bit low. Shame on me for not spotting this, very un PH
So back to the services for some air and new tyres are being fitted on Saturday (went for PS4s, add tyre snob alongside the idiot label from earlier
)
Some Googling quickly turns up this as being a common fault caused by the fuel filter, so my suspicions on the quality of that service 3,000 miles ago are raised. Cue new air/oil/fuel filter from ECP and 8 litres of Castrol's finest 0w30. Very glad there was 20% off...
So the service was done last night, and Ovlov is hopefully now fighting fit. Looks like the cambelt was changed at 78,000 miles too, so that was a comfort, although by all accounts it's one of the simplest swaps around, the whole job allocated 54 minutes in the Volvo Service Manual.
I have an ebay watch list with just under £400 of suspension parts that I may work through over the summer months, although the MOT history makes it look like there's been some bits and bobs replaced over the last few years, so I may wait until November and see what's what.
Replacing bushes seems like a bit of a chore by all accounts, so I may just opt to replace the lower wishbones, drop links, tie rods, track rods etc. with new items as the parts aren't expensive really. Food for thought anyway.
To my surprise, the 5 pot actually sounds quite nice over 2,500, and pulls nicely from about 2,000 to the redline at 4,500 rpm. Of course I have already researched and decided on the remap I'd like, which would be ~190bhp and ~310lb ft
Economy wise I've not used up the 70 litre tank yet, the onboard estimate seems optimistic with an average of 51.7MPG, we're on course for nearly 800 miles from a tank apparently I'm aiming for 700, although that'll mean venturing into reserve territory again, will be interesting to see if the warning messages pop back up 
Will keep an eye on things over the next month and see if anything scary develops. I've already grown fond of the old beast and everything seems very easy to work on. Oh, and the stereo is really rather good
Neither the Monaro or the GTV were suitable for this task. After borrowing my step Dad's C1 for a couple of months whilst they were in Spain, the GTV stepped up to the job and it was clear that something else was going to be needed...
Part of the house move included the acquisition of an Old English Sheepdog, so naturally this instantly means an estate car is justified
There's a PH thread for every occasion, and this time was no different, OP was asking for a reliable, economical and comfortable commuter on the cheap, and the suggestions of Euro III D5 Ovlovs came thick and fast.
Research was done and the hunt was on. I'd set a budget of £2,000, but given the likely shedness and 'bullet proof' nature of the old wagons I was hoping to spend less than that. Not many nearby, first one at an independent dealer had a service light on and wayward feeling steering. Apparently they get lots of these models through and they all do that sir...
Second one was at an even more independent 'dealer'. Think mobile number and 'OK, I'll meet you at the lockup in 15 minutes'. This was in silver (not ideal) and was just £999. We arrived at the lockup, phoned back, 'I'll be over in 10 minutes'. 10 minutes later, phoned back to explain we had another to go and view and not to bother.
Third one seemed good in the pics, black (not first choice, but ho hum) and low mileage ( for these cars... 128,000
). Not a great deal of history on it, was apparently originally from Germany (with an invoice, but was RHD?) and in KM, which was then 'adjusted' back, seemed to have MOT printouts that had been corrected going back a few years, so looked legitimate, but was lacking heated seats (I quite quickly became picky on spec despite initially not caring!) and had some quite bad key scratches across the bonnet and sides and a dent/scuff on the rear corner.So things weren't looking great, those were the nearest options available (within 60 miles of home) at the time, and the poor Alfa was still being bounced around over horrendously surfaced B roads.
Some ebay searching turned up what looked like a very tidy example, 123,000 miles, full service history with the last service at 120,000, 3 owners from new (original dealer, apparently the dealer manager
and then the same owner since 2009) and call me a fool but it looked great on the 18" Nebula wheels, in dark blue (ideal) with light part leather interior (ideal) and no black plastic trim on the outside. It was unfortunately with an independent up in York and there wasn't time before it ended to view...So long story short, basically I'd started out looking for a comfy workhorse for under £2k and ended up buying the prettiest one unseen from eBay for £350 over budget... What could possibly go wrong?
Met the chap at a services in Grantham off the A1, it was of course dark so not ideal, pootled around a bit and all seemed in order (as much as you can tell in that situation) and to be honest it seemed to be in excellent condition and even had half a tank of diesel which made a change. He said he'd noticed on the drive down that the tracking needed doing so £50 was knocked off to get that sorted out, we shall see if it's anything more serious shortly!
It also turns out it has the Four-C fancy suspension. This may prove to be a ticking time bomb as certainly OEM replacement dampers are eye watering, although rumour has it there are less crippling replacements available. Apparently one does not simply replace them with stock dampers...
So the deal was done, and what should have been a simple waft home became a 2 hour schlep thanks to a road closure and ludicrous diversion. Either way, the car performed faultlessly, the better half seemed impressed with it after a perusal on the drive, and all seemed well, except the fuel needle dropping a bit quicker than expected...
As this has been a bit wordy, here are some pics (from the eBay ad)
All was going well until the first time taking the OH out in it a few days later. Heading down the M1 the fuel light comes on as expected, and about 2 miles later ENGINE SERVICE REQUIRED IMMEDIATELY and a limp mode limiting us to 2,000 rpm. Oh joy!
We pull off at the next services and fill up. No warning lights, car seems fine, but the confidence is shaken... Returning towards the M1, we're notified by a friendly BMW driver that the front left is a bit low. Shame on me for not spotting this, very un PH
So back to the services for some air and new tyres are being fitted on Saturday (went for PS4s, add tyre snob alongside the idiot label from earlier
)Some Googling quickly turns up this as being a common fault caused by the fuel filter, so my suspicions on the quality of that service 3,000 miles ago are raised. Cue new air/oil/fuel filter from ECP and 8 litres of Castrol's finest 0w30. Very glad there was 20% off...
So the service was done last night, and Ovlov is hopefully now fighting fit. Looks like the cambelt was changed at 78,000 miles too, so that was a comfort, although by all accounts it's one of the simplest swaps around, the whole job allocated 54 minutes in the Volvo Service Manual.
I have an ebay watch list with just under £400 of suspension parts that I may work through over the summer months, although the MOT history makes it look like there's been some bits and bobs replaced over the last few years, so I may wait until November and see what's what.
Replacing bushes seems like a bit of a chore by all accounts, so I may just opt to replace the lower wishbones, drop links, tie rods, track rods etc. with new items as the parts aren't expensive really. Food for thought anyway.
To my surprise, the 5 pot actually sounds quite nice over 2,500, and pulls nicely from about 2,000 to the redline at 4,500 rpm. Of course I have already researched and decided on the remap I'd like, which would be ~190bhp and ~310lb ft
Economy wise I've not used up the 70 litre tank yet, the onboard estimate seems optimistic with an average of 51.7MPG, we're on course for nearly 800 miles from a tank apparently
I'm aiming for 700, although that'll mean venturing into reserve territory again, will be interesting to see if the warning messages pop back up Will keep an eye on things over the next month and see if anything scary develops. I've already grown fond of the old beast and everything seems very easy to work on. Oh, and the stereo is really rather good
I've had an S60 D5 for 5 years now and doubled its mileage, currently its on 185,000 but its not increasing as much as it used to, my daily commute has dropped from 60 miles to 20 miles.
Great work horses, I keep thinking of getting rid but really its worth very little and I know where I am with this car having replaced lots of bits along the way. I'll echo the comments on suspension components, do not buy cheap if you intend to keep the car it will eat cheap bushes, ball joints and drop links.
I'd be wary of the remap, intercoolers aren't up to the increased boost pressure (they are barely up to the standard boost pressure!).
The 'My Garage' section of my profile details a few more of the expenses along the way.
Great work horses, I keep thinking of getting rid but really its worth very little and I know where I am with this car having replaced lots of bits along the way. I'll echo the comments on suspension components, do not buy cheap if you intend to keep the car it will eat cheap bushes, ball joints and drop links.
I'd be wary of the remap, intercoolers aren't up to the increased boost pressure (they are barely up to the standard boost pressure!).
The 'My Garage' section of my profile details a few more of the expenses along the way.
Thanks for the replies
My watch list is all Meyle parts, so good to hear they're well regarded!
I was aware the intercoolers are a bit of a risk even when standard, so I'll look into that first before going down the remap route.
Thursday evening was the first chance to take the hound out, young Eleanor certainly liked the extra space, and particularly enjoyed watching the rear wiper in action, clearly as pleased as I was that it worked given their reputation.
Saturday saw my first tip run, oh the joy of a huge flat load area as this lot just slid in without a second thought
It was also nice not to have to saw wardrobe doors into thirds prior to putting them in the car
Saturday also saw another schlep up the M1 with the good lady, and another ENGINE SERVICE URGENT message, although this time, with a dead engine to accompany it
No warning lights at all upon a coasting induced restart, so assumed it was nothing catastrophic, but once resting on the hard shoulder, there was no rousing the old girl. We'd just dropped below 1/4 tank, so my previous forum readings after the last incident made me think fuel pump... It was very wet, windy, and the M1, so I wasn't going to do any self diagnostics.
Friendly AA man got to us within 45 minutes, decided it was the fuel pump and got us back home. Thanks to the bank holiday, I have a Bosch replacement arriving today (didn't fancy going the refurbed route as it's a keeper, so stung to the tune of £200!).
Get a Volvo they said, bullet proof they said...
Will investigate tonight, hopefully it'll just be a dodgy connection or some such and I'll be able to return the pump unopened to ECP, but I'm assuming the worst...
Finally, apologies for the 'selfie' camera, the forward facing camera on my phone has decided to die, so poorly angled shots are all you're getting until I post that off for repair too!
My watch list is all Meyle parts, so good to hear they're well regarded!
I was aware the intercoolers are a bit of a risk even when standard, so I'll look into that first before going down the remap route.
Thursday evening was the first chance to take the hound out, young Eleanor certainly liked the extra space, and particularly enjoyed watching the rear wiper in action, clearly as pleased as I was that it worked given their reputation.
Saturday saw my first tip run, oh the joy of a huge flat load area as this lot just slid in without a second thought
It was also nice not to have to saw wardrobe doors into thirds prior to putting them in the car Saturday also saw another schlep up the M1 with the good lady, and another ENGINE SERVICE URGENT message, although this time, with a dead engine to accompany it
No warning lights at all upon a coasting induced restart, so assumed it was nothing catastrophic, but once resting on the hard shoulder, there was no rousing the old girl. We'd just dropped below 1/4 tank, so my previous forum readings after the last incident made me think fuel pump... It was very wet, windy, and the M1, so I wasn't going to do any self diagnostics.
Friendly AA man got to us within 45 minutes, decided it was the fuel pump and got us back home. Thanks to the bank holiday, I have a Bosch replacement arriving today (didn't fancy going the refurbed route as it's a keeper, so stung to the tune of £200!).
Get a Volvo they said, bullet proof they said...
Will investigate tonight, hopefully it'll just be a dodgy connection or some such and I'll be able to return the pump unopened to ECP, but I'm assuming the worst...
Finally, apologies for the 'selfie' camera, the forward facing camera on my phone has decided to die, so poorly angled shots are all you're getting until I post that off for repair too!
I really like these Volvos. They were designed at time when it was acceptable to have a huge square boot. My Saab 9-5 Aero Estate is very similar.
More V70s have heated seats too. Maybe the option was cheaper than their equivalent German rivals.
I quite fancy a Volvo to eventually replace my Saab. Same load capacity, but will hopefully be considerably better on fuel. The Saab currently returns 25mpg I really should remove the roof bars as I'm sure that's not helping
More V70s have heated seats too. Maybe the option was cheaper than their equivalent German rivals.
I quite fancy a Volvo to eventually replace my Saab. Same load capacity, but will hopefully be considerably better on fuel. The Saab currently returns 25mpg
I really should remove the roof bars as I'm sure that's not helping Well you need a special tool to loosen the preposterously tight lock ring holding the fuel pump in place, so that's arrived today and round 2 of the fuel pump saga shall take place when time allows.
In the mean time, popped a jerry can's worth of fuel in there, hooked the battery up to a supply to keep it topped up, primed the pump over and over and the Ovlov came back to life long enough to get to the nearest fuel station and brim the tank. Car runs fine once again, so presumably one of the pickups for the pump has had it (there's two as it's a 'saddle' shaped tank) or some such treachery.
Went to the garage for a bit of a health check on a ramp and a 4 wheel alignment. Alas the track rod ends are properly seized on, so no alignment yet as they'll apparently need cutting off Other than that, all looks pretty tidy underneath, although there's a bend in the rear ARB somehow...
I'm going to have a look at the track rod ends and see if several applications of WD40 over a week or so can help loosen them...
Have a flat tyre again despite them being replaced, so I'm suspecting it's the wheel that's the issue, it's clearly square from all the kerbing
In the mean time, popped a jerry can's worth of fuel in there, hooked the battery up to a supply to keep it topped up, primed the pump over and over and the Ovlov came back to life long enough to get to the nearest fuel station and brim the tank. Car runs fine once again, so presumably one of the pickups for the pump has had it (there's two as it's a 'saddle' shaped tank) or some such treachery.
Went to the garage for a bit of a health check on a ramp and a 4 wheel alignment. Alas the track rod ends are properly seized on, so no alignment yet as they'll apparently need cutting off
Other than that, all looks pretty tidy underneath, although there's a bend in the rear ARB somehow...I'm going to have a look at the track rod ends and see if several applications of WD40 over a week or so can help loosen them...
Have a flat tyre again despite them being replaced, so I'm suspecting it's the wheel that's the issue, it's clearly square from all the kerbing
Krikkit said:
Sounds like you've had a bit of hard luck, looks good on those wheels though!
Not so much hard luck as comeuppance for buying unseen over ebay based on it being the prettiest? Easier to spend the money when you actually like the car though, I can't help but feel if I'd bought a sheddy one on 16s with plastic body trim and cloth seats I'd have been less chirpy about fixing things!
It would be nice if it doesn't turn into Trigger's broom though...
Well the other tyre was flat yesterday, so it seems both the front wheels aren't holding the air in.
Will get them all refurbed, naturally this will be more expensive than usual as they're split rims
Now listening to every single clonk and expecting to see suspension parts on the road behind me, at least the engines are good, right?
Perhaps it's like Alfa GTVs, the argument being that every GTV is a £5,000 GTV, it's just a case of whether you pay it up front to purchase a really good one, or you get a cheap one for £2,500 and have to spend £2,500 to fix it...
I do really like the engine note though. Bit like the GTV in that respect
I think a remap would really make this thing just about perfect, but would want to replace (upgrade?) the intercooler before doing that, and they don't seem cheap to buy...
Will get them all refurbed, naturally this will be more expensive than usual as they're split rims
Now listening to every single clonk and expecting to see suspension parts on the road behind me, at least the engines are good, right?
Perhaps it's like Alfa GTVs, the argument being that every GTV is a £5,000 GTV, it's just a case of whether you pay it up front to purchase a really good one, or you get a cheap one for £2,500 and have to spend £2,500 to fix it...
I do really like the engine note though. Bit like the GTV in that respect
I think a remap would really make this thing just about perfect, but would want to replace (upgrade?) the intercooler before doing that, and they don't seem cheap to buy...
kapiteinlangzaam said:
I *think* from memory they are a saddle tank with two pumps and one of them being defective can cause the problems you have (might be mixing that up with my XC90 though!).... good luck sorting it anyhoo.
If you want an iPOD solution, look at GROM.
They are a saddle tank but only one pump which draws from both sides. If you remove it make 101% sure you attach something to the end of the feed from the otherside to pull the new feed through as otherwise you'll never get it back again. There is a remote level sensor integrated.If you want an iPOD solution, look at GROM.
The fuel pump doesn't actually do much on these and only really comes in when low on fuel or for priming. Before replacing it is also worth checking the relay.
kapiteinlangzaam said:
Fellow 916 owner here (and ex V70 D5 of the same vintage).
Stick with it, they are worth it.
If you remap, you will blow the interboiler sooner rather than later - they all go pop eventually.
Stick to good stuff on the suspension, crappy lower arms can lunch themselves in <1000miles!
You should also do an EGR clean (Google and Volvo forums for help) the results will disgust and delight you in equal measure.
700 mile tanks are easy - 1000miles is not unheard of.
I *think* from memory they are a saddle tank with two pumps and one of them being defective can cause the problems you have (might be mixing that up with my XC90 though!).... good luck sorting it anyhoo.
If you want an iPOD solution, look at GROM.
Thanks for the encouragement, I've been looking into the intercooler just for future reference, and it looks like 'Coolpartsuk' on ebay are part of Advanced Radiators and supply a Nissen branded IC that numerous people on the D5 forums have used without issue. They're only £58.50 now so much better than the horror prices of the past!Stick with it, they are worth it.
If you remap, you will blow the interboiler sooner rather than later - they all go pop eventually.
Stick to good stuff on the suspension, crappy lower arms can lunch themselves in <1000miles!
You should also do an EGR clean (Google and Volvo forums for help) the results will disgust and delight you in equal measure.
700 mile tanks are easy - 1000miles is not unheard of.
I *think* from memory they are a saddle tank with two pumps and one of them being defective can cause the problems you have (might be mixing that up with my XC90 though!).... good luck sorting it anyhoo.
If you want an iPOD solution, look at GROM.
I shall hold off on the remap until the IC is replaced definitely, and at this rate there'll be enough other bits to keep me busy!
I'll be sticking the meyle suspension parts which have a good reputation it seems, so hopefully no worries there when the time comes. I shall look into the EGR clean, I've seen enough about them on BMWs to already have an image in mind!
I think it is a saddle tank too, but there's only one pump with 2 pickups, a short and a long one.
I've had a look at the GROM and it's also on my watch list. There's another brand that's ~ £40 cheaper but the GROM has a good reputation so will probably just go that route when the time comes.
This will all have to be further down the line though once everything is fixed!
Going to fill the tank up later on and see what sort of MPG I'm getting, I think it was around 45mpg last time but with putting in an extra gallon and replacing fuel filter etc. wasn't that accurate. Need to keep the tank topped up at the moment until I replace the pump
Onboard thinks 50mpg, so I'm expecting about 45
confused_buyer said:
If you remove it make 101% sure you attach something to the end of the feed from the otherside to pull the new feed through as otherwise you'll never get it back again.
Could you elaborate on this a little or shall I just give it a Google? Sounds like it's probably for the best that I couldn't get the lock ring off 
bakerstreet said:
I really like these Volvos. They were designed at time when it was acceptable to have a huge square boot. My Saab 9-5 Aero Estate is very similar.
More V70s have heated seats too. Maybe the option was cheaper than their equivalent German rivals.
I quite fancy a Volvo to eventually replace my Saab. Same load capacity, but will hopefully be considerably better on fuel. The Saab currently returns 25mpg I really should remove the roof bars as I'm sure that's not helping
I think it's a Scandi thing - having rented a basic Toyota something or other many years ago I noted the wind up windows and heated seats. More V70s have heated seats too. Maybe the option was cheaper than their equivalent German rivals.
I quite fancy a Volvo to eventually replace my Saab. Same load capacity, but will hopefully be considerably better on fuel. The Saab currently returns 25mpg
I really should remove the roof bars as I'm sure that's not helping My Saab currently gets 25 on a motorway run
into the teens around town.But then again it's a 2.8 with a JZW Stage 1 tune so I wouldn't expect high MPG
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