Volvo 480 Club Europe

Being that the space saver has been tucked away out of the elements it's probably fine. Inspected for cracks etc. It's only ever meant to be a 'get you to a repair shop' tyre so longevity in use isn't a huge factor. Pack a can of mousse in the car just in case you need to reinflate the full size roa...

Guessing you've sorted out by now. Unlike almost every other car I've ever worked on there is three bolts at the front (left) end of the starter motor, and a bizzarre bit of meccano at the other end with one bolt in. I used a roof rack across the engine bay to support the engine while the g/box was ...

Taking the driver's seat out can make life easier. I'm going to guess that the noise is coming from the nylon sleeve/bolt that the clutch pedal rotates on.

I've done 3, all the same way. In situ by separating the gearbox. On the first one I thought it was a big job, but now I've done 3 I can get it done in about 5 hours. It was all good practice for the Alfa 156 v6 I've just done....Having a garage and a million tools help. Get a 1/2" socket set and to...

Hi Alan

You don't actually say why the handbrake failed the MOT.
Whenever any of my 480's failed the MOT it was an inbalance between left and right.

Reply with details of your actual symptom and I'll give you a step by step how to fix.

Cheers
d.

I've had 7 480s, down to 'just' 4 currently. Love them! So much character, so much to fix, so unlike any Japanese car...the leaks, the crap plastic, dodgy electrics...but the buzz from getting it all working and nipping about in a car that is fun and different from everyone elses... Good on you for ...

I've owned 7 480s. Down to just four at the moment. Is that madness? My answer is fix the black one and enjoy them both. How hard can it be? Hahaha! That might not be economically sensible it you have to pay someone to do it, so take my answer with a grain of salt. 480s are getting old and rare so I...

If the orange side reflectors leak the water goes into a space between the boot and guard. From there it can drain onto the road provided a blocked drain hole or rust doesn't divert it into the boot. Tail-lights are a favourite and persistant source of leaks. It's a poor design, dumping water from t...

There's an earth connection in the left rear corner. You have to take the trim out to see it. Water leaking in (and don't 480's leak?! I thought the Dutch knew how to control water!) follows the wiring loom and rusts the terminal post badly. The poor earth can affect rear lights, rear wiper and wind...

The nude lamps are cheap and readily available. With a small pair of side cutters snip through the wires holding the faulty lamp into the plastic base and pull out the lamp. Straighten up the wires on the new lamp, slip it into the plastic base and then fold the wires back up over the contacts. Spot...

I'd strongly suggest measuring the resistance at the connector before taking the sensor out. 2.5 ohms is correct. Otherwise the problem is likely to be a poor connection at the instrument panel end. The signal from the sensor is very small, and any connection problems will kill the speedo signal. Yo...

Hey Richard. You're describing the gearbox breather thingy. The sensor is bolted to the engine just a couple of inches behind it.

After experiencing a similar problem, I'd suggest a new air filter element

Replace the air filter element

Intermittantly my 1.7 480es would idle at about 1500rpm, but only when warm. If I loaded the engine briefly - e.g. while at the lights I'd engage 1st gear and gently lift the clutch - the revs would drop back to normal and stay there. Opening the bonnet and tap anything on the engine would produce a...

Little blue gear in the odometer has lost a tooth.
Not a repair for the faint hearted, if you can get a gear that is.
They are available from Palo Alto Speedometer in the U.S.

The engine is a B18E

After chasing around for a year, I found the cause of the car intermittantly idling at 1500-2250 RPM. There is a bolt on the underside of the throttle body - it secures a bracket going to the dipstick holder. It had vibrated loose, and was allowing air into the throttle body, depending on the loosen...

I thought it was the valve seals initially, and I suppose it could still be. I ruled them out when I figured that oil from a leaky inlet valve seal would have to go uphill and against the airflow to get to the butterfly. The inlet manifold is really long and curves over the top of the camshaft. Supp...

I've seen that on the car that I've had idling issues with. I had the throttle body off for checking and cleaning. I didn't give it a second thought at the time, because I don't think it's causing any problems. Is the oil causing a problem with your car? I'm not saying at this point what is causing ...