Next spring, I'll be getting a new daily driver of some sort, and then the fun with this car can really begin!!
The first thing I've done since last time is change out the corner lights. The tab was broken on the left one, and it was being held on with packing tape... Not cool. This has been a common problem with P80 Volvos, but that is still no excuse! I had trouble finding the same clear lenses, but I did source a very cheap set of good used OEM ones from eBay. Most enthusiasts prefer the clear ones, but I think the amber lenses give a nice dash of color to the car.
My next little project was replacing the center armrest. The one I had was quite worn and letting the interior down considerably! I managed to find a mint condition grey vinyl one in the junkyard. It was obviously not the same color as the original, but it worked with the light grey interior still, and looked a heck of a lot better than that worn piece of junk I had in there. Eventually, I will get the original one reupholstered in the correct leather. For now however, this $5 junkyard piece looks great!
Starting a couple months ago, the car started to not run so well. Nothing to throw any codes at first, but I could tell something was up. (when you own a car for 10 years, you know what is normal and what isn't lol) It was idling very rough in the morning, but would be fine once it warmed up. Eventually, it did throw a code, and it turned out that the vacuum hose I'd spliced in the boost gauge into had a slight leak. The code was for the Turbo Control Valve, so I went ahead and got the color-coded silicone kit from IPD.
I already have their TCV, and it's great! Makes a big difference in boost development. I still need to mount the TCV properly and cut down the hoses to fit a bit better, this seemed to fix my problem... For a while.
The car did great for a few weeks, until the weather started getting cooler in September. Then it was back to the same old issue again, rough idle in the morning. After about a week of that, it developed a bit of a miss. Just sitting at traffic lights the idle moved up and down just a tiny bit. Nothing anybody else would worry about, but the car had never done that before.
I kept driving it, and within that week, it got worse and worse until the dreaded check engine light finally came on! I got 2 misfire codes, for cylinders 3 and 5, as well as that same TCV code..
Out of curiosity, I pulled out 2 of the old coils I saved off my parts car and swapped them out. Sure enough, the car ran like a dream! I'd had a couple coils go out over the years, and replaced them just one at a time. According to my maintenance records, 2 coils were still original... Hmm.Only one thing for it, I called up my favorite parts supplier and ordered a new set of OEM spark plugs, ignition coils, and a fuel filter. Not cheap, but I'm determined to do this car up right.
The ol girl is running great now, and all I've done since then is just a couple small cosmetic things. Replaced the right headlight lens due to a chip in the glass, and swapped out the cracked grille logo for a new one!
The last little cosmetic thing is that I Plastidipped the wheels! I was tired of them looking so bad, I just wanted them to be all one color for once.
They're far from perfect, but I'm planning on getting a new set of wheels next year, so it will work until then!
That's all for now, winter is fast approaching, and I'll be putting it away once the snow and salt hits! With any luck, I'll still be able to accomplish a few more tasks on the to-do list over the winter. It's starting to show early signs of an ETM failure, so I want to get that sent off to Xemodex for a rebuild. Other than that, it needs a new serpentine belt and tensioner, and probably a new parking brake cable.
125,000 miles strong!
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