Volvo 480 Club Europe

To flush the engine,, I'd just remove the bottom rad hose, open the bleed screw half way between block & bulkhead then pour in a couple of bottles of 'cheap supermarket coke' into expansion tank, top up with water and run for a few miles

the coke seems to shift the rusty crud from block etc, flush out a few times then with fresh and add your favourite 'anti-freeze', I guess in your case for corrosion reduction, not for frost?


for the leaky rear hatch seal, i took my seal off then turned it around so it ran with outer side now on inner side, this 'perked' it up a bit.

watch those cables for rear wipe/screen heater etc. mine were starting to break up and sometimes the wiper worked sometimes it didn't, (MoT fail in UK) Volvo decide to make them ALL black so 'interesting trying to figure out which was which, fortunatley there is a fair bit of extra cable so managed to solder back together and put soldered section up inside the roof area so allowing a new section to flex

The coolant flush screw is located on the bottom of the radiator. The small screw is for removing air bubbles from the heater tubing.

El tornillo de descarga de refrigerante se encuentra en la parte inferior del radiador . El pequeño tornillo es para eliminar las burbujas de aire de la tubería del calentador.

[quote="glasgowjim"]The coolant flush screw is located on the bottom of the radiator. /quote]

ah forgot about that, it is plastic so 'might break' ? I have used it before as well so should have remembered, must be an age thing ?

rad hose chunky

Thanks for your advise, gracias amigos !!

I removed the bottom rad screw in red plastic and nothing happened. I insert a wire and went out covered of mud

So removed the bottom hose. The water was no so bad to have that amount of mud but maybe previous maintenance was not very frequent. It means the bottom of the rad has a lot of mud, and probably the heater rad, as the heater at maximun doesn't heat so much even on this warm winter.

I added only water for cleaning a bit and remove later, but I'll add coke to increase the action. I hope no leaking starts. sometimes a bit of mud is good

I'll go to Paris this week where the winter can be cold, (not this) I need a bit of antifreeze.

Old coolant:



wire with mud:

I changed also the thermostat. Removed the air box, air mass meter and battery. It came easily but everything is covered of hoses and wires.
The bad point is that the new has not the small valve for purge. In fact after top up with water the coolant temp fluctuate between 4 degrees constantly and after to make 30kms I had to top up again, the reservoir was empty.

old thermostat



new

Alan, I made the same with the rear seal, I think it must work now as I have to press a lot to close the hatch. But I'll try maybe silicone stuff for the rubber trying to soften it. it is too difficult to close.

Bottom rad screw



DO you know what is that? looks like a sensor

I have to come back to the garage, that rubber is broken:

I rememeber another thing. I have a random failure on the ABS. The light comes on from time to time. I check the diagnostic box and gives me 4 4 4 error.
Somekind of not power on ABS brake valves.
Do you know what is that?

Not good news with a split drive shaft boot, needs to pull the front hub off and then maybe even take drive shaft apart

but i do know that you can get REALLY stretchy drive shaft covers that slide on OVER the constant velocity joint saves taking the CV off drive shaft, you do need a large plastic cone as well.

note that the stretchy versions are NOT a Volvo part, only seen them in local motor factors, no comment on how well they work or how easy it is to split the drive shaft, but if it is a garage job 'under warranty' leave them to it

like these, never use dthese so at own risk etc

www.stretchcvboot.com/cv-boots/


the thing behind the fan does look like an air temp sensor, maybe only on turbo versions?

have you removed the under-tray in photos?, or maybe not fitted in hot climates or as is turbo ?

You can get a CV boot cover which has a join , you wrap it round and then join together with glue . They do work well and last a good while. It is what I use and it is not expensive.

Yes, I removed the plastic under cover. It needs an small fix.

CV boot cover already changed by the garage. 82 euros less, labour plus parts, not so bad. It's something beyond my skill. I prefer to leave it to a professional.
I heard about that kind made in too parts, it would be nice to know for how long it works.

Baxter wrote:Yes, I removed the plastic under cover. It needs an small fix.

CV boot cover already changed by the garage. 82 euros less, labour plus parts, not so bad. It's something beyond my skill. I prefer to leave it to a professional.
I heard about that kind made in too parts, it would be nice to know for how long it works.

at that sort of price I can see why!

you can spend an hour getting a bolt removed if it is a UK car due to rust everywhere, tho I got rear radius arms bolts off in an hour (the top ones at the VERY rear)

Yes, but I spent the time trying to remove the mud inside the rad, but it's difficult without removing the rad from the car.

I had time to paint the front bumper. I bought the spray can with the right volvo color from an specialist.
Two layers, Color + transparent coat to give strength and shine.
The black is a normal glossy black.

My idea was to take it to a professional next summer but I couldn't wait.
and diy is much cheaper, around 30pounds on material.
next time someone leaves a sign on my bumper I can solve it easily.

and with the glossy transparent coat.

That car looks better everyday !!

Muy buen trabajo !

Step by step.

And the final pictures. Not perfect but good enough until the next scratch.