Yeah, to be honest it came out quite well. The worst part was probably disconnecting the exhaust downpipe – the bolts needed some heat.

I took my time and just made certain everything was properly disconnected and free. I think that was made a little easier in the knowledge I didn't have to label all the wiring, but I made sure I disconnected it properly rather than just snipping, because I wanted the experience for the XC.

I was very surprised that there wasn't much information out there but I managed to piece together what help I needed from various forum guides.

FWIW this is roughly what I did:
  1. Removed front bumper
  2. Drained fluids, inc. fuel line (mine was empty anyway from all the compression testing..!)
  3. Removed the strut tower bracing and engine covers, charge air piping, air box, etc
  4. Removed the intercooler, radiator, cooler assembly from the front end. Hugely helped by the fact I cut the front crash bar out.
  5. With car in the air...:
  6. Remove the front brakes inc. the calipers, pumped out some brake fluid
  7. Removed the front drive shafts – bit of a fight here with the ball joints
  8. removed the AC pump and the aux belt (probably didn't need to)
  9. Removed the coolant bottle and moved the power steering bottle out of the way. Removed hose to the PS pump too and tied it up.
  10. Slowly removed the electrical harness, sensors etc and moved aside
  11. Removed the heat shield and the exhaust downpipe. Found that after removing the bolts to the rear section of exhaust this was easier – must've been under some stress.
  12. Remove the AWD driveshaft. Access to the 8mm hex bolts is good and with the front wheels off the ground you can spin the shaft. After dropping out the mid-section support the shaft ends almost came out. I gave it a knock with a block of wood to push it out the rest of the way at the front. Then the rear needed a solid back-forth tug.
  13. Checked for anything else still attached that might be in the way..
    • disconnected the fuel line (almost missed it!)
    • removed the auto trans cable at the 'box end and set aside
    • removed the brake fluid bottle
  14. Lowered the car again
  15. Removed nuts from all of the engine mounts – ready to lift!
  16. Realised it was a good idea to remove the ABS module and move the hydraulic lines out the way.
  17. After that it was up and away, just careful to adjust the position and angle it out. You definitely want a load leveller for this.
Little tip from my recent experience. Make sure you swap the engine loom over from the old engine before you slot it in. Saves time and effort down the track when the car chucks a wobbly when some of the wiring doesn't line up.
Regards Paul
as in from the donor? No can do, it was crushed in the wreck..!
Nope from your car. Sounds like you don't have a choice.
I'm just going to go with "Reinstallation is the reverse of removal". The harness is completely removed from the donor anyway, so I'll just plug her in once she's safely mounted.

What I need to work out next is which other bits of the S60 are either upgrades (eg: bigger brakes like your S40) or worth removing and selling – without going too crazy. But I figure I can get much of the cost back as well as some free upgrades, and some good vibes :)
Have you decided if you are going to refresh the donor engine?
I'm going to do the belts, tensioners, water pump, thermostat, and any other typical wear items I can think of.

I'm now fairly certain I made a mistake with the compression test by getting fuel in the cylinders, so I don't think I'm going to pull it apart.

I'm in no great rush to drop it in – the shed is still blocked up with my old wagon, which I'm now scrapping. So I've got time to play with it a bit.

I've got new engine mounts, subframe bushes, strut mounts, control arm bushings, sway bar links etc ready to go in, to give the suspension a new lease of life. Toying with a set of Eibach springs while I'm at it. Have to remember this is meant to just be the family beater though! :)

Nonetheless, tempting to whack a chinacharger 19T on it and see how it goes!

I don't know if you've watched the exploits of Tyler Hoover on YouTube, and I'm not saying you are like him, but if not you might find them interesting :)
hah sounds like a man after my own heart. AKA an idiot.
a month later
Wow where have I been! Yas rippin into er. Nice.
Aye, it's almost kick-off time!

Some more tidying away to do first but the beast is finally in the shed – thankfully it limped there under its own steam.


Nice shed, wish mine was like that
cheers, money well spent I reckon – bit short but much better than being in the garage.

on the left out of shot i've got my pegboard and tool chest. All the gear...

@bigal write up a guide for us will ya?
I was hoping you'd go first so I can learn from you... haha. Yes I think I'll go the rostra solenoids at some stage.

Engine going in this weekend?
no, out!

I have to refurb the donor too before it can go in. Long way to go. Busy life!
@JeremyK did the solenoid job on his xc70, a comprehensive thread is out there.
Am sure he would answer any questions.


Some decent progress. I decided to remove the fan, radiator etc to make access that much easier. Came apart well, everything so far has been pretty smooth. Having all that practice on the S60 helped a lot.

Might even have it out tomorrow, but I'm not in a rush really.

You're just showing off that dream shed aren't you!
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