I bought this S40 at the start of the year from @Steadfst who I think bought it from @Ballast a few years prior, and I am fixing it up.

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It is in interesting condition, there are a lot of random parts missing, e.g. the stainless sill foot plates are mostly missing their screws. Stuff like that. The driver's knee panel is missing. A bunch of trim is missing from the boot.

When I bought the car, I knew:

  1. The front suspension needs some work
  2. There is some intermittent non-start issue
  3. Oil leaks

The oil leaks appear to be driven by crankcase pressure, so I've bought a whole new PCV system, as well as a new timing belt and new cam seals. The timing belt doesn't look very old, but it has been exposed to oil, so no good.

Other things I have found:

  • Needs a lower gearbox mount.
  • The upper heat shield on the firewall is missing
  • Steering rack boots are split
  • Headlight beam adjustment inop (I love this kind of thing, I 100% am fixing this)
  • Trip computer, central locking switch, child lock switch all inop (it turned out that they were just unplugged 🤷‍♂️ they all work fine now)
  • Tyres probably won't pass rego
  • Spark plugs sad, one damaged
  • Coil packs OK
  • Coil leads sad
  • Coilpack wiring harness disintegrating
  • Bunch of brittle rubber hoses around the place
  • Air filter sad
  • Air filter box missing some clips
  • MAF clips missing (the ones that attach it to the air box)
  • Vacuum pump fuse missing

I've given it a fresh set of OE Volvo spark plugs and Bougicord leads. It runs a bit more smoothly. I've also got a Dave Barton harness repair kit for the coilpack harness.

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It's been a slow start while I recover from a back injury but expect to see some stuff happening with this car over the next month or so.

Currently I am trying to work out if I can replace the phase1 strut tops with phase2 strut tops. It looks like I can, but I might have to replace the bearings and spring retainer also.

I would suggest getting a new vvt cam gear if you can as I've seen a couple start to leak at this stage of their life. Can't get genuine anymore but there's acceptable ones out of China.

  • Spac replied to this.

    I know the seats aren't great, they never are on a Phase 1 by now and are basically impossible to find. They are genuine Bridge of Weir leather (like the S60R!) so if you're motivated it may be worth hitting them with some genuine leather care stuff (cleaner and hide food). Or not…

    Yeah no VVT cam at all.

    I messed around with it today, I found the headlight beam adjustment fuse was blown, and one of the adjuster motors was not locked in to the back of the headlight lens, so the left side was pointing the beam too high. So fixed that and replaced the fuse and it works great, beams are aligned correctly and the dash adjustment works. Another small item off the list.

    The next is why the vacuum pump fuse is d/c, I'm just going to put a new fuse in and see what happens, but need to go to Jaycar as I don't have any mini blade fuses on-hand. If the vacuum pump is dead I'm pretty sure I have one or two spares in a box somewhere as Volvo used the same pump on P80s.

    Spac

    Correct. Fella I bought it off was an "interesting" chap, didn't get the sense it had been well loved. Not sure what the hell I was thinking buying it sight unseen and driving 1500km home 😬

    Looking forward to seeing it with a new lease on life. Always wanted to find what needed fixing and sort it all, but time and circumstances (and my skills) never aligned. Hopefully there's not too much other stuff for you to find 🙏

      Yeah you can find the Phase 2 seats in decent condition but the side airbags won't work. Phase 1 had mechanical detonators, the Phase 2 were electrically triggered.

      • Spac replied to this.

        Rory

        Pickles charge gold for all their auctions tho…

        • Rory replied to this.

            Ex850R likely, but im gonna bet it goes for less then $300, after auction fees thats only$ 500

              I've got nowhere to put a parts car anyway

              5 days later

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              PCV system has been replaced ☑

              While doing it, I found that the oil cooler hoses also need replacing, FCP have then for $notmuch so I'll order a set.

              Edit: oh yeah, the hose fitting on the radiator end tank is broken. There's enough of it left for the hose clamp to hold but the rad may need to be replaced in the near future. Just going to leave it and see.

              Chris I’m pretty sure this Ph1.5 has the electronic triggers.

                @Spac they look like the early seats but with the changes over versions who knows? Just a note of caution if James is thinking of swapping seats

                I also decided to try swapping the front suspension to phase2. Basically that is just a different strut top, bearing, and spring perch. I think it will work, because phase1 and phase2 have interchangeable dampers and all this stuff mounts to the top of the damper so fingers crossed.

                I'm not 100% sure if it's doable, but it seems like it is, and phase2 parts are much easier to get so I figure it's worth a shot.

                Basically I have bought this kit, minus the bellows and bump stops (the front dampers are not stock, they are Bilsteins.

                8 days later

                Mounts have arrived, and oil cooler hoses and some other bits should arrive before the weekend. After this hopefully all that is left is a set of pads for the front brakes.

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                92A is pretty hard - like nearly 'skateboard wheel' hard.
                Be super careful not to damage the original bush shell too when removing the old bush material.

                Might be ok with all other bushes as oem rubber and in good order. Might be terrible.
                Good luck!

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