Volvo 850 turbo wagon diversion

[Joe Dirt]

This is seriously like a good novel to me. I'm enjoying reading the updates...

 

[sport97]

This is seriously like a good novel to me. I'm enjoying reading the updates...

As am I!

Your doing great Dale. I hope the sale can net you a good profit for the real fun adventure, the v8 swap.

 

[2000StreetRod]

Fuel pump removal

I used a 4 way tire tool to remove the fuel rail Schrader valve core. The results were the same as before. Three psi at ignition turn on that immediately drops to zero. Ford could learn from Volvo with regards to fuel pump access. I removed the spare tire access panel from the cargo area, pulled aft the tire cover and raised the storage compartment panel. I discovered a fuel pump access plate identified by the green arrow.

The blue arrow indicates the fuel level sending unit access plate.
I removed the four bolts retaining the storage compartment panel and moved it forward away from the fuel pump access plate.

Then I removed the five nuts retaining the access plate. I loosened the fuel port connectors with a brake adjustment tool.

Volvo uses a special tool to loosen the fuel pump retaining ring. I tapped a 1/4 drive extension with my four pound hand sledge.

 

[2000StreetRod]

Fuel pump condition

From the looks of the fuel pump it is not surprising that the output pressure is so low.

The filter is torn allowing rust to collect at the input to the pump. The screen at the input port is almost completely clogged. The filter is packed with rust.

This would greatly restrict fuel flow into the pump. Also, there appears to be a split in the fuel hose at the pump output port as identified by the red arrow.

The outside of the fuel hose has totally deteriorated and has the consistency of roofing tar when disturbed. However, the pump may still be usable. I plan to buy a new filter locally ($15), clean the inlet port screen, replace the fuel hose and reassemble the pump and then test the assembly since it is so easy to install and remove from the tank. A new OEM assembly costs about $400. A new OEM equivalent pump costs about $100 and an aftermarket replacement of unknown quality can be purchased on eBay for $50. I may be able to get enough pressure out of the reworked pump to at least idle the engine to achieve warm up so I can check the #5 cylinder compression.

 

[2000StreetRod]

Engine runs on repaired fuel pump!

I purchased some fuel hose, clamps and strainer locally. I disassembled the fuel pump assembly, cleaned the electrical contacts and reassembled the pump with the new parts. With the return hose blocked I allowed the pressure to build up to 80 psi before switching off the ignition. The shop test procedure states not to let the pressure exceed 85 psi. Then I connected the unblocked return hose and tested the fuel pressure regulator with my hand vacuum pump. Everything was within specification so I installed the throttle body and linkage, the IAC valve and hooked up the intake hoses. I removed the fuel pump jumper and installed the relay and tested it for normal operation. When I cranked the starter the engine fired after a few seconds and then ran at idle speed. I shut off the engine after about 10 seconds since I had not replaced the coolant after draining the radiator.

Next I replaced the coolant reservoir which had a broken coolant level sensor, checked the hoses, and added my bottle of coolant flush. As I added the last of the flush I heard coolant leaking from somewhere and spashing on the garage floor. I know that I should have tested with water before using the coolant but I was anxious to run the engine long enough to let it warm up so I could test the compression. By the time I positioned a catch pan the leak had stopped. I lost about a third of the flush.

I hope that the coolant leak is not due to a cracked block, head or water pump. When I drained the radiator it contained antifreeze so the coolant should not have frozen at some time during the winters the vehicle was sitting. Maybe I'll get lucky and the block drain valve is not closed. There is a maze of plumbing between the firewall and the engine that is very difficult to see and access. From just looking at it I can tell that it is not connected correctly. I have to research the cooling system configuration before proceeding with correcting the leak. Meanwhile, I'll complete the installation of the fuel pump which I just temporarily installed.

 

[2000StreetRod]

Searching for coolant leak

I finished installing the fuel pump and began searching for the source of the coolant leak. The leak is between the back timing cover and the head/block as shown below.

In order to remove that cover it is necessary to remove the serpentine belt, the timing tensioner and belt and the water pump. I searched the internet and found a photo of the engine with the head removed that makes me hopeful.

The pipe with flange on the left in the photo attaches to a cooling port in the lower section of the head. This is in about the same location as the leak. I'm hoping that the previous mechanic failed to insert a gasket or tighten the bolts.

I suspect that it will be necessary to remove the exhaust manifold to gain access to the flange. I started and ran the engine for 10 seconds. The IAC valve seems to be working but there is a significant exhaust leak - probably between one of the ports and the manifold.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Wow- lots going on Dale... I really wish Ford would have put access points like that in everything they built. Oh well.

Plugging along- awesome work, pics, and writeups as always!

 

[FarmTruk]

holy cow!

You deserve an atta' boy for this.

 

[2000StreetRod]

Got lucky!

I crawled under the wagon to try to see the cooling tube flange. I finally found a position that I could see about half of it. There is no gasket, no mounting bolts and there is a 1/4 inch gap between the flange and the head. According to the shop head gasket replacement procedure the flange is bolted in place prior to installing the exhaust manifold and turbo. I tried to buy a gasket locally but none was available so I ordered one - to arrive on Wednesday. I thought about using some form-a-gasket but I'd have to remove the tube - also turbo and exhaust manifold. I think working with a stiff wire I can slip the gasket into the gap from below. There is no room for a hand from either top or bottom.

I found another engine case to transmission case bolt with 1/4 inch gap between the head of the bolt and the case. Because several bolts were loose or not installed I suspect the engine may have been removed/reinstalled or replaced.

 

[2000StreetRod]

heater hoses

While waiting for the ordered coolant pipe flange gasket to arrive I've been reworking the heater hoses at the firewall. They were about 12 inches longer than required and coiled around the turbocharger. I quickly realized that they were that way because of nearly impossible accessibility once the turbo is in place. After much aggravation I was able to shorten them to about stock length and route them similar to the factory configuration.

While working in the area I noticed that the vacuum hose to the turbo bypass valve was broken off at the port. Now I know what that length of hose in the parts box is from. There is a tiny and very hard to read vacuum routing diagram on the hood. I photographed it so I could study it without straining my eyes.

I think I have finally identified all of the components with vacuum connections and as soon as I replace the turbo bypass valve vacuum hose everything will be connected correctly for the next engine start.

I have also located one of my exhaust leaks near the firewall. The EGR pipe was cut at about a 4 inch length from the exhaust manifold and then folded over on itself to seal it closed. The 22mm nut that secures the EGR stub to the manifold was not even finger tight. The stub was positioned to be in contact with a rubber hose. One of my Christmas gifts this year was a set of offset open end metric wrenches. I repositioned the stub away from the hose and tightened the nut with one of my new wrenches. There is no EGR valve in the engine compartment nor have I found a port in the intake manifold near the throttle body for an EGR tube. I suspect EGR was not implemented in 1996 on the turbo engine except in California.

 

[2000StreetRod]

Numerous leaks

The coolant pipe gasket arrived Wednesday afternoon and I spent Thursday, Friday and part of today installing it. I suspended the gasket with a string tied above the head, threaded thru one of the gasket bolt holes, back up around a pipe above the head and down where I could pull while under the vehicle. I guided it between the coolant pipe flange and the head with a long screwdriver as I slowly pulled the string. Once in position I inserted some long, slender bolts thru the flange to hold the gasket in place while I carefully pulled the string out of the gasket. I soon found that the M7-1.0x20 mm bolts I had purchased were too short. I had one spare 30mm bolt that I added a washer to and inserted in the lower hole. Then I robbed a 30mm flange bolt from one of the camshaft sprockets for the upper fastener. There is a slow drip after I snugged the bolts and added water to the cooling system. I'll torque the bolts properly once I get the correct flange bolts from an online dealer.

The engine started easily and idled smoothly while warming up. The only type of leak I don't have is fuel. There's an ATF leak as previously described, the coolant leak drip, an engine oil leak that drips from the rear of the oil pan near the drain plug, and one or more exhaust leaks. I didn't have a time to locate the origins of the newly detected leaks nor check the turbo for oil or coolant leaks. I'm disappointed about the exhaust leak(s) because I have torqued the exhaust manifold stud nuts to specification. I'll listen with a hose to try and determine if the leaks are between the manifold and the head, the manifold and the turbo or the turbo and the downpipe. I wouldn't be surprised if the previous mechanic reused the exhaust manifold gaskets or even left one or more (there are 5) of them out.

I only had time for the engine to idle about 10 minutes so it didn't reach normal operating temperature. Even so, I pulled the plugs, disabled the fuel pump and ignition and checked the compression. For each cylinder the compression maximized after 5 compressions as follows:
1: 125
2: 138
3: 142
4: 153
5: 117

I was glad to see that #5 had increased from the previous 60 psi to 117 but all cylinders are below the specified 156 to 185 psi. I know from previous testing that the compression will increase if I add oil which indicates poor piston compression ring sealing. I'm thinking about adding a measured amount of Sea Foam to each cylinder and letting it soak the top ring for several days while cranking the engine each day. Since the engine has only run for 10 minutes after sitting for more than a year I'm not willing to pull it for rebuild at this point.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Interesting, Dale. What's the over/under of the seafoam soak working on the rings? Are you nearing a crossroads with the car do you think?

 

[2000StreetRod]

Sea Foam Motor Treatment

Interesting, Dale. What's the over/under of the seafoam soak working on the rings? Are you nearing a crossroads with the car do you think?

I have never been receptive to burning Sea Foam in my engine because of the extensive carbon deposits it releases from the intake system that can foul the plugs and collect on the valves. However, it is advertised that is "liquefies gum and varnish deposits or internal engine contaminents, removing carbon deposits, freeing sticky valve lifters and rings . . ." By adding it directly to the combustion chamber thru the spark plug holes and letting it seep past the rings into the crankcase it will lubricate the rings and cylinder walls (when the engine is cranked). I will suction out all the Sea Foam remaining on the piston tops before reinstalling the spark plugs. Then I'll add some Sea Foam or Gunk engine flush to the crankcase.

During the next few days I'll investigate the exhaust and engine oil leaks. It's very possible that one or more of the 4 camshaft seals was not seated properly when the camshafts were installed.

After the Sea Foam treatment I'll run the engine again and let it warm up completely. I'll see if the transmission will shift with no wheels or load. Then I'll check the compression again. The engine has hydraulic lifters that could be sticking now. The exhaust leak is so loud that it could mask the sound of sticking lifters. I'm hoping to avoid removing the head, engine or transmission. I suspect I'll have to remove the turbo and exhaust manifold.

I checked the DTCs and the only one set is P0444, EVAP Emission Control System Purge Valve C Open. I haven't checked the hose that runs to the unit yet. I know it is connected at the vacuum tree. One of the check valves could be bad. More DTCs may get set once I actually drive the wagon. I also have an ABS warning light illuminated on the instrument panel.

 

[Joe Dirt]

I'd assume that the lifters are more of a paint to get to than worth it in order to pull and soak them?

Do you think it was more of "someone that had no business working on an engine at this level" after getting through this with regards to how the previous mechanic put it together, and that's creating a lot of the issues?

 

[2000StreetRod]

"lifters"

As with most DOHC engines the lifters are between the camshafts and the valves. The photo below with the upper section of the head and the camshafts removed shows the lifters on top of the valve stems.

On my old Alfa and Jaguars there were no hydraulic lifters. There were cam followers with calibrated spacers of different thicknesses between the followers and the stems to achieve the correct valve clearance.

To soak the hydraulic lifters requires removing the serpentine belt, the timing belt and tensioner, the upper head section and the camshafts. New camshaft seals would have to be installed when reinstalling the camshafts and the camshafts would have to be retimed. So yes, that's more trouble then it's worth.

I believe the previous mechanic did not utilize the shop replacement/repair procedures and thus assembled things in an order that significantly increased the difficulty. What really aggravates me is that he did not retain all of the parts for reassembly. The camshaft timing was not so far off to keep the engine from starting. However, with no fuel pressure and no spark there was no chance it would start. I suspect the previous owner decided the repair was taking too long and costing too much and reclaimed the vehicle before the mechanic could find the remaining signficant problems.

 

[2000StreetRod]

Compression improvement

For the past four days I've been adding Sea Foam thru the spark plug openings to soak the piston rings. Here are the before (slightly warm engine) and after (cold engine) results.

# Befr Aftr
1 125 130
2 138 146
3 142 160
4 153 163
5 117 162

The minimum specified compression for a warm engine is 156 psi. So now cylinders 3, 4 and 5 meet it when cold. I've decided to work on my leaks while continuing Sea Foam treatment of cylinders 1 and 2. I doubt that I'll need to pull the engine and replace the rings. I assume that the compression will continue to improve with Sea Foam soaking and running the engine.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Wow- that's a huge difference, Dale...

 

[2000StreetRod]

Main harness rework

For the past four days I've been reworking the main wiring harness that comes from the engine ECU and the transmission ECU. As shown in the photo below the plastic bellows is not fitted together (red arrows) and a breakout wiring branch has no loom to protect it (yellow arrow).

The lower section protective sheath is also not properly fitted.

I ended up removing the serpentine belt, loosening the power steering pump, removing both ECUs and their enclosure in order to fix everything. The serpentine belt tensioner requires a 3/4 inch square drive to rotate it. Since I don't have one I cut a short section of 3/4x3/4x1/8 inch aluminum angle stock, inserted it into the tensioner and rotated it with a 12 Crescent wrench. If I buy another Volvo I'll purchase a 3/4 inch drive.

The underside of the ECU enclosure was a rats nest of wiring that needed rerouting to fit within the rigid plastic sheath. I finished reworking it and now have everything back in place.

 

[adambant]

Amazing work Dale!! Your a very patient man. When I changed the belt on my 1993 850, I also did not have a 3/4" drive. I can't remember for sure, but I believe i used a regular 1/2" drive after I inserted one or 2 quarters in the tensioner, or maybe they were nickels....? Got it to work anyhow

My explorer has been running great by the way, except for my less than ideal 14-15 mpg with i would say 80% highway driving Good luck with the volvo!

Adam.

 

[2000StreetRod]

exhaust leak

I started up the engine today and it ran for a few seconds and then quit. I could hear the fuel pump run so I ruled that out. I tried restarting several times with the same result. I thought it might be the IAC valve connection but it was humming normally. I began to worry that I had pulled a wire loose in the main harness when straightening the rats nest. I read the DTCs and the only code was the usual EVAP P0444. I started checking vacuum lines when I noticed that the main air hose from the turbo output to the intercooler had separated because I failed to tighten the clamp. I was surprised that no lean DTCs were set since no air was being pulled thru the MAF sensor. So much for the capabilities of Volvo 1996 OBD-II.

After reconnecting the main air supply I started the engine and let it run for about twenty minutes at idle. I selected all possible transmission gear select positions to make sure gears engaged. Even though the wheels are all off I increased the engine speed in Drive until the speedometer read 25 mph.

Using a length of hose to listen with I isolated the major exhaust leak to between the head and the manifold in the area of exhaust port #5. There is also a very small leak between the manifold and the turbo.

I also isolated my engine oil leak. It's where the turbo oil return line enters the top of the sump. I believe there is an O ring at that junction that needs replacement. The turbo and exhaust manifold will have to be removed.

While the engine was still warm I drained the old oil containing the SeaFoam that leaked past the piston rings into the sump. I was going to replace the oil filter but the one I purchased has the wrong thread. It must be for the 2.4 liter instead of the 2.3 liter turbo. I can't return it because I had already prefilled it with oil. I'll save it in case I buy a normally aspirated Volvo.

Tomorrow I'll drain the engine coolant and start the turbo removal process.