Discussion
I can't take the credit for the air con fix - I adapted something I read on one of the Volvo forums. Pleased with how well it worked though!
Looks like a remap will get c.260bhp without any supporting mods which isn't too bad. I'd want to get the block mod done before going down this route though. We'll see!
Looks like a remap will get c.260bhp without any supporting mods which isn't too bad. I'd want to get the block mod done before going down this route though. We'll see!
I had a black V50 T5 after I fell in love with Volvo’s after driving V70 T5’s on a daily basis for work reasons. Couldn’t afford a V70 so settled for the V50, however I just couldn’t click with it, little things like the door pockets only being big enough for a pen or two and not a lot of interior storage bugged me. The final nail in the coffin was a faulty immobiliser/steering lock which caused it to not start on a few occasions meant it had to go. Chopped it in for my St220 Mondeo and haven’t looked back. Enjoy the whoosh of the turbo and it was a crackin car to drive. Seats are as per usual Volvo standards, lovely!
I'll research the block mod options before doing anything, but looks like Tim Williams is the place to go. Just gotta find a time to get the car to the Midlands.
The door pockets are indeed useless:
2018-08-28_07-14-13 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
Glovebox is pretty pokey too - not ideal when you have a 6CD changer and no-where to put CD cases! I can overlook these little flaws for now though
The door pockets are indeed useless:
2018-08-28_07-14-13 by CarlosV8, on FlickrGlovebox is pretty pokey too - not ideal when you have a 6CD changer and no-where to put CD cases! I can overlook these little flaws for now though
My wife has a V50 and I'm in complete agreement, no idea what's going on with the door bins nor the fact the gloves appears to extend back so far you'd assume it was the preferred route to change the NSF headlight bulb. But minor niggles aside, quite good cars and I did look at a couple of T5's... their absolute non-descipt styling and yet fairly significant tuning potential appealed. Will be following this with intetest.
CarlosV8 said:
I'll research the block mod options before doing anything, but looks like Tim Williams is the place to go. Just gotta find a time to get the car to the Midlands.
The door pockets are indeed useless:
2018-08-28_07-14-13 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
Glovebox is pretty pokey too - not ideal when you have a 6CD changer and no-where to put CD cases! I can overlook these little flaws for now though
Tim Williams is awesome, turned my old 850 T5 hearse from something that just sounded good to something that went bloody well tooThe door pockets are indeed useless:
2018-08-28_07-14-13 by CarlosV8, on FlickrGlovebox is pretty pokey too - not ideal when you have a 6CD changer and no-where to put CD cases! I can overlook these little flaws for now though
I don't have the T5 alas, but I do have the D5. After a bit of fiddling about, it's on about 220 horse, with immense torque. Unfortunately the DMF is currently on the floor, together with the gearbox. Dear god, that's a long time consuming job to get that out. Volvo reckon 6 hours, but I think it's going to be nearer 6 days by the time I've finished. Clutch was fine after nearly 200k miles. (Changed anyway)
Lovely tip on the A/C. I've been scratching my head on mine - I topped it up with gas the other day (well april), and it's been working poorly for a while. Pressure is still holding though, and is about 4 bar on a coldish day, so it have rejected that as an idea - but clutch would fit the bill.
Anyway, mine is all wood and leather, and lovely seats, and unusual interior. I really like it.
Yes, lot's of love for Volvo's slightly unloved child in this household.
Lovely tip on the A/C. I've been scratching my head on mine - I topped it up with gas the other day (well april), and it's been working poorly for a while. Pressure is still holding though, and is about 4 bar on a coldish day, so it have rejected that as an idea - but clutch would fit the bill.
Anyway, mine is all wood and leather, and lovely seats, and unusual interior. I really like it.
Yes, lot's of love for Volvo's slightly unloved child in this household.
I like it. I considered a 2.4 v6 example a few years back after a ride in a friends similarly powered C70 but ended up with a Mercedes instead. I knew that the 2.5T engine appeared in the C30 but didn't know it had made its way into the S40 and V50. Must catch people unawares at the traffic light grand prix.
CarlosV8 said:
The door pockets are indeed useless:
2018-08-28_07-14-13 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
Glovebox is pretty pokey too - not ideal when you have a 6CD changer and no-where to put CD cases! I can overlook these little flaws for now though
You must have an upgraded stereo or something, my door pockets are much bigger than those.2018-08-28_07-14-13 by CarlosV8, on FlickrGlovebox is pretty pokey too - not ideal when you have a 6CD changer and no-where to put CD cases! I can overlook these little flaws for now though
TheRainMaker said:
You must have an upgraded stereo or something, my door pockets are much bigger than those.
Apparently so:
2018-08-30_08-24-03 by CarlosV8, on FlickrWondered what "High Performance Sound" meant. I know I have an amp in the boot, but I guess you get uprated speakers too.
In other news, I finally picked the following up from the Post Office:
2018-08-30_08-24-53 by CarlosV8, on FlickrSo, I should now be able to removal the pulley off the alternator. Watch this space!
Jobs on the V50 have progressed a bit quicker than originally expected! A couple of weeks ago I set out to fix the annoying squeak on start up, which I originally thought to be the alternator pulley. Upon checking things a bit more carefully using a stethoscope I decided it wasn't actually the pulley, but still couldn't pinpoint the noise. But more worryingly, when I removed the cambelt cover I discovered the belt was looking a bit worse for wear. As mentioned previously I planned to get this changed later in the year but based on the condition of the belt I wanted it done straightaway.
So this week it went into a local garage to have the cambelt, tensioners, water pump and auxillary belts done, which came in at just under £400, not too bad! I was secretly hoping this would cure the annoying squeak, but it didn't. The squeak now didn't last as long, but was still just as loud on a cold startup for about 20-30s.
Today I attacked the car again and finally discovered the problem:
20180929_114312 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
The 4 left hand exhaust manifold nuts were loose. Loose enough to move a couple of them with my finger! Bit of a faff to get to them, but now all torqued up properly and the noise has gone. Finally!
Apparently this is a common problem with the T5, so something to keep an eye (or ear!) on.
Happy now all the major jobs are sorted, and in fact I'm really enjoying the Ovlov as a daily driver. No one gives it a second look, and most people wouldn't know it's got a howling 5 cylinder turbo under the bonnet, and I love that. I think it actually sounds better at lower revs, so it makes me smile every day on the way to work. And I'm averaging over 25mpg on normal unleaded, so it probably saving me £20 a month in fuel over the WRX. Not too shabby!
I'll leave you a very exciting car park shot:
2018-09-24_07-48-20 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
So this week it went into a local garage to have the cambelt, tensioners, water pump and auxillary belts done, which came in at just under £400, not too bad! I was secretly hoping this would cure the annoying squeak, but it didn't. The squeak now didn't last as long, but was still just as loud on a cold startup for about 20-30s.
Today I attacked the car again and finally discovered the problem:
20180929_114312 by CarlosV8, on FlickrThe 4 left hand exhaust manifold nuts were loose. Loose enough to move a couple of them with my finger! Bit of a faff to get to them, but now all torqued up properly and the noise has gone. Finally!
Apparently this is a common problem with the T5, so something to keep an eye (or ear!) on. Happy now all the major jobs are sorted, and in fact I'm really enjoying the Ovlov as a daily driver. No one gives it a second look, and most people wouldn't know it's got a howling 5 cylinder turbo under the bonnet, and I love that. I think it actually sounds better at lower revs, so it makes me smile every day on the way to work. And I'm averaging over 25mpg on normal unleaded, so it probably saving me £20 a month in fuel over the WRX. Not too shabby!
I'll leave you a very exciting car park shot:
2018-09-24_07-48-20 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
I wouldn't have been able to get the block mod done until after Christmas due to time constraints. Based on the condition of the cambelt I wasnt happy waiting that long so elected to get it done at a trusted local garage.
Will look into getting it done later next year if I decide to keep the car longer term (daily drivers normally last about a year before I get bored!).
Will look into getting it done later next year if I decide to keep the car longer term (daily drivers normally last about a year before I get bored!).
The V50 is still going strong and still putting a smile on my face! Gave the old girl a facelift today... before:
20181118_154422 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
After:
20181118_154631 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
Never really liked the plastic 'chrome' grille so when I spotted this version for sale I snapped it up. Much better in my eyes!
Something else that's been annoying me is the lack of phone connectivity. Not quite as easy as chucking in a new head unit these days, but I think I've decided on a Parrot mki9200 kit to solve the problem. This will give me bluetooth streaming and handsfree. So, I'm on the lookout for the kit, with the aim to fit it over Christmas.
20181118_154422 by CarlosV8, on FlickrAfter:
20181118_154631 by CarlosV8, on FlickrNever really liked the plastic 'chrome' grille so when I spotted this version for sale I snapped it up. Much better in my eyes!
Something else that's been annoying me is the lack of phone connectivity. Not quite as easy as chucking in a new head unit these days, but I think I've decided on a Parrot mki9200 kit to solve the problem. This will give me bluetooth streaming and handsfree. So, I'm on the lookout for the kit, with the aim to fit it over Christmas.
Haven't got round to sorting bluetooth connectivity out yet, but it's still on the list!
The V50 spends most of it's life doing my 9 mile journey to work, but after the wife's economical car got a puncture the Volvo was pulled into service for a longer trip over Christmas. Quite impressed with the MPG:
2018-12-16_10-17-06 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
It was well into the 36's on the way home. Saying that, the trip computer is a bit optimistic, so probably around 34mpg in reality, but still not too bad. Best of all though it was lovely and comfy - the seats really are great!
Also over Christmas I had my 205 GTi out, and I was fairly shocked to discover that dip beam on the 205 is as good, if not slightly better than dip beam on the V50
I knew it was bad, but didn't realise it was 30-year-old-Peugeot bad! I picked up some Osram Nightbreakers in a January sale and fitted them today. A before and after garage door test seems to show them being a bit better, but I guess all will be revealed (or not) on the commute tomorrow:
IMG_20190113_180114 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
The V50 spends most of it's life doing my 9 mile journey to work, but after the wife's economical car got a puncture the Volvo was pulled into service for a longer trip over Christmas. Quite impressed with the MPG:
2018-12-16_10-17-06 by CarlosV8, on FlickrIt was well into the 36's on the way home. Saying that, the trip computer is a bit optimistic, so probably around 34mpg in reality, but still not too bad. Best of all though it was lovely and comfy - the seats really are great!
Also over Christmas I had my 205 GTi out, and I was fairly shocked to discover that dip beam on the 205 is as good, if not slightly better than dip beam on the V50
I knew it was bad, but didn't realise it was 30-year-old-Peugeot bad! I picked up some Osram Nightbreakers in a January sale and fitted them today. A before and after garage door test seems to show them being a bit better, but I guess all will be revealed (or not) on the commute tomorrow:IMG_20190113_180114 by CarlosV8, on FlickrThe Volvo developed a bit of a leak over the last few months resulting in the passenger footwell turning into a swimming pool:
2019-01-24_01-35-45 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
I was using the blue roll to identify where the leak was coming from - was pretty obvious on this occasion as you can see where it's dripped down the sill anyway. Following the drips revealed that they were coming from the a-pillar area and it seemed to be the windscreen seal. Not what I would expect from a Volvo, even if it is 15 years old! The windscreen had a crack and needed replacing anyway, so that's now been sorted. It's been glorious sunshine since it was done, but hopefully the water ingress has been cured.
I've also finally sorted out connecting my phone to the car. I had intended to go for a Parrot kit, but with the amp in the boot it becomes a bit of a faff to fit. So, when I came across this for under £100 on EBay I though I'd give it a go:
2019-02-21_08-18-20 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
This gives me DAB and bluetooth, which is transmitted via an FM frequency to the standard stereo. You can also connect via an Aux input, but unfortunately my car doesn't have that. Pretty simple to fit... you have a DAB aerial and box of tricks which attaches to the windscreen. The microphone also connects to this box:
20190221_135125 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
The windscreen unit attaches to a USB socket for power, and then a battery powered wireless control unit can be placed wherever is convenient. For some reason the mount refused to stick to the Volvo's dash, so for now I've got it sat in the cupholder:
20190221_135040 by CarlosV8, on Flickr
Got it all setup and it seemed to work quite well on the driveway. The first drive out revealed some static when trying to stream music, which was annoying. I haven't had chance to have another play with it yet, but I'm hoping some fine tuning of the FM signal will give me a cleaner sound. I'll be slightly annoyed if not!!
2019-01-24_01-35-45 by CarlosV8, on FlickrI was using the blue roll to identify where the leak was coming from - was pretty obvious on this occasion as you can see where it's dripped down the sill anyway. Following the drips revealed that they were coming from the a-pillar area and it seemed to be the windscreen seal. Not what I would expect from a Volvo, even if it is 15 years old! The windscreen had a crack and needed replacing anyway, so that's now been sorted. It's been glorious sunshine since it was done, but hopefully the water ingress has been cured.
I've also finally sorted out connecting my phone to the car. I had intended to go for a Parrot kit, but with the amp in the boot it becomes a bit of a faff to fit. So, when I came across this for under £100 on EBay I though I'd give it a go:
2019-02-21_08-18-20 by CarlosV8, on FlickrThis gives me DAB and bluetooth, which is transmitted via an FM frequency to the standard stereo. You can also connect via an Aux input, but unfortunately my car doesn't have that. Pretty simple to fit... you have a DAB aerial and box of tricks which attaches to the windscreen. The microphone also connects to this box:
20190221_135125 by CarlosV8, on FlickrThe windscreen unit attaches to a USB socket for power, and then a battery powered wireless control unit can be placed wherever is convenient. For some reason the mount refused to stick to the Volvo's dash, so for now I've got it sat in the cupholder:
20190221_135040 by CarlosV8, on FlickrGot it all setup and it seemed to work quite well on the driveway. The first drive out revealed some static when trying to stream music, which was annoying. I haven't had chance to have another play with it yet, but I'm hoping some fine tuning of the FM signal will give me a cleaner sound. I'll be slightly annoyed if not!!
If it's leaked, you may want to check the CEM above the passengers footwell as they're prone for suffering poor connections which causes all manner of electrical issues and moisture in that area only makes things worse. Mine has had a bit of a moment twice this month but removal and cleaning all contacts with electrical cleaner, fine emery paper and cotton buds has, touch wood, cured it.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff