So i have yet another car - Volvo s60
Discussion
Sadly my Ford Mondeo speakerbox on wheels died with electrical gremlins that left it in a pretty much unfixable state so for a week i was running my XJ as a daily
as lovely as the drive to work in a big Jag is the fuel was crippling so the Ford replace is..............
.........A Volvo
its the 185bhp euro 4 D5 engine (Yes i know the older euro3 engine is better but this was cheap as chips)
It is getting an aftermarket stereo system, ive already been considering a couple of options
Big spare wheel well to hold the batteries
[img]http://samuelellis.co.uk/gallery3/var/albums/Build/Ovlov/10526068_700038030061269_6457453700914083565_n.jpg?m=1406996317
Cavernous boot - i might get all my gear in the boot
A removable tablet holder where the OEM stereo is
Headunit fascia where the centre vents are located
And doorbuilds so i can fit my speakers, this kills 2birds with one stone as it means i can replace the damaged doorcard on the drivers door
as lovely as the drive to work in a big Jag is the fuel was crippling so the Ford replace is..............
.........A Volvo
its the 185bhp euro 4 D5 engine (Yes i know the older euro3 engine is better but this was cheap as chips)
It is getting an aftermarket stereo system, ive already been considering a couple of options
Big spare wheel well to hold the batteries
[img]http://samuelellis.co.uk/gallery3/var/albums/Build/Ovlov/10526068_700038030061269_6457453700914083565_n.jpg?m=1406996317
Cavernous boot - i might get all my gear in the boot
A removable tablet holder where the OEM stereo is
Headunit fascia where the centre vents are located
And doorbuilds so i can fit my speakers, this kills 2birds with one stone as it means i can replace the damaged doorcard on the drivers door
I'm not sure the earlier engine is "better" as such, it just doesn't have a DPF so people say that makes it better 
Make sure you disconnect the battery before taking the existing HU out as if you don't you'll get an airbag failure warning and will need a diagnostic tool to reset it. Also that entire centre console unit comes out in one great big sodding lump on the facelift cars like yours so ignore the guides for the earlier cars which show you taking out the pen holder, then the climate panel and finally the HU. Once you've got the whole console loose you can unplug the cables from the back and then work on it outside the car.
Will be watching with interest
Make sure you disconnect the battery before taking the existing HU out as if you don't you'll get an airbag failure warning and will need a diagnostic tool to reset it. Also that entire centre console unit comes out in one great big sodding lump on the facelift cars like yours so ignore the guides for the earlier cars which show you taking out the pen holder, then the climate panel and finally the HU. Once you've got the whole console loose you can unplug the cables from the back and then work on it outside the car.
Will be watching with interest
The DPF does not massivly worry me as i tend to do mostly motorway miles so it will have ample time and conditions to regen if needed.
Its going to be a while until i get to work on the stereo as i need to strip my old car, sell as much trim etc from my old car as i can before scrapping it
Its going to be a while until i get to work on the stereo as i need to strip my old car, sell as much trim etc from my old car as i can before scrapping it
Good luck with it, nothing is standard sizes speaker wise in the volvos.
If it has the dynaudio speakers already (if they work) changing the amp will make a big difference, it did in my C70.
The amp is under powered, usually causing the door speakers to fail.
Either way keep us updated.
If it has the dynaudio speakers already (if they work) changing the amp will make a big difference, it did in my C70.
The amp is under powered, usually causing the door speakers to fail.
Either way keep us updated.
I cant edit the thread to change the title as it wont allow me
In regards to the Ford sadly it seems that everything is giving up, firstly the abs system intermittently packed in, then while fixing that i found that the immobaliser started randomly killing the engine, then it started to sound like the engine was struggling to run (suspect the injectors could be on the way out) so i have to think what else is gonna go when so much starts going wrong at once
Its a shame but having had it for over 4 years and put a good 50-60k on it i decided that it was time to draw a line under it and simply say that ive had my moneys worth and fun out of it. Just have to strip it and weigh it in now. Will be sad to see it go, its only worth scrap and it is rubbish but when youve worked on something yourself you dont want to let it go
In regards to the Volvo, looking at the boot on the Volvo without removing trim it measures
height 17inch
Width 45inch
depth 38inch
Roughly
That gives me a total of 16.76 cubic foot, I only need 11 cube for for a box to hold my 4 15's. The woofers wont fit on a flat panel BUT if i was to build a zig-zagged panel they would just fit firing into the cabin behind the seat - then if i was to use 2 circulair ports ontop of the box firing through the OEM speaker holes they would only need to be 12 inch long. So it looks like i will get 4 15's and 6k in the boot with some work
In regards to the Ford sadly it seems that everything is giving up, firstly the abs system intermittently packed in, then while fixing that i found that the immobaliser started randomly killing the engine, then it started to sound like the engine was struggling to run (suspect the injectors could be on the way out) so i have to think what else is gonna go when so much starts going wrong at once
Its a shame but having had it for over 4 years and put a good 50-60k on it i decided that it was time to draw a line under it and simply say that ive had my moneys worth and fun out of it. Just have to strip it and weigh it in now. Will be sad to see it go, its only worth scrap and it is rubbish but when youve worked on something yourself you dont want to let it go
In regards to the Volvo, looking at the boot on the Volvo without removing trim it measures
height 17inch
Width 45inch
depth 38inch
Roughly
That gives me a total of 16.76 cubic foot, I only need 11 cube for for a box to hold my 4 15's. The woofers wont fit on a flat panel BUT if i was to build a zig-zagged panel they would just fit firing into the cabin behind the seat - then if i was to use 2 circulair ports ontop of the box firing through the OEM speaker holes they would only need to be 12 inch long. So it looks like i will get 4 15's and 6k in the boot with some work
So a quick update on the car
A few weeks ago it threw up a Engine System Service required warning up on the dash and lost performance - did not go into limp home mode, just not as quick as it should be, decided this was a good time to change the air, oil and fuel fulters. The fuel liter was quite black so i suspect it had not been done in a while, While i was under the bonnet i spotted this bar had popped off
This connects a stepper motor to a swirl flap control in the air intake so back on it went and all was well with the car....For a couple of days until it popped off agian
Looking at it the part is quite worn so i figured it would keep popping off, bit of thinking had me do this
basically just set them to be open all the time, if anything the car is more responsive now and ive only had the error once since but that was sorted by a bootful, suggests a dirty sensor someware so i have some MAF, EGR, DPF and CAT cleaners coming soon
One thing that has annoyed me about the car since i got it is how cloudy the headlights were
So i picked this up
And got pretty good results for 5mins of work, could do with another going over but it was just a quick job
Annoyingly when i had done both of the headlights i was so pleased with myself that when i reversed out of my garage i was not really looking and smacked my wing mirror on the door
Sadly since a previous owner appears to have done the same at some point and bodged the wing mirror case with superglue its not really fixible so will need a new wing mirror unit
A few weeks ago it threw up a Engine System Service required warning up on the dash and lost performance - did not go into limp home mode, just not as quick as it should be, decided this was a good time to change the air, oil and fuel fulters. The fuel liter was quite black so i suspect it had not been done in a while, While i was under the bonnet i spotted this bar had popped off
This connects a stepper motor to a swirl flap control in the air intake so back on it went and all was well with the car....For a couple of days until it popped off agian
Looking at it the part is quite worn so i figured it would keep popping off, bit of thinking had me do this
basically just set them to be open all the time, if anything the car is more responsive now and ive only had the error once since but that was sorted by a bootful, suggests a dirty sensor someware so i have some MAF, EGR, DPF and CAT cleaners coming soon
One thing that has annoyed me about the car since i got it is how cloudy the headlights were
So i picked this up
And got pretty good results for 5mins of work, could do with another going over but it was just a quick job
Annoyingly when i had done both of the headlights i was so pleased with myself that when i reversed out of my garage i was not really looking and smacked my wing mirror on the door
Sadly since a previous owner appears to have done the same at some point and bodged the wing mirror case with superglue its not really fixible so will need a new wing mirror unit
So ive not done much to the car since i bought it, just general maintenance and keeping my batteries topped up ready for when i start fitting the install
My 10 hawkers and an odessey pc1500 - lots of charging capacity for the stereo
Now i had a problem with the exhaust, from what i can gather the volvos have a bit of a common problem with the exhaust mounts, they rust off the exhaust.
Thankfully the aftermarket make a replacement bracket that bolts around the exhaust
Also the alloy wheels were corroded badly so kept loosing air so i got a set of OEM wheels off ebay that have been refurbished and powder coated anthracite
New on the front
it does look good with the Anthracite wheels
My 10 hawkers and an odessey pc1500 - lots of charging capacity for the stereo
Now i had a problem with the exhaust, from what i can gather the volvos have a bit of a common problem with the exhaust mounts, they rust off the exhaust.
Thankfully the aftermarket make a replacement bracket that bolts around the exhaust
Also the alloy wheels were corroded badly so kept loosing air so i got a set of OEM wheels off ebay that have been refurbished and powder coated anthracite
New on the front
it does look good with the Anthracite wheels
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