Today's update is:
PCV done...I mean I know this won't resonate with all of you but I'm really quite happy and proud I managed to do that given my previous experience or lack thereof. Did the rubber glove test after and we're all good so that should be job done.
A few specific comments about PCV replacement I would like to make in the hope that maybe others may benefit from my personal observations and learnings:
- It takes a while if you've never done anything like it before, but it is doable
- Take your time, watch videos, get the right tools ready and go for it
- Have a helper if you can - it makes it easier to label things and hold things and also means you pull fewer hoses/connectors off by accident!
- It is helpful to be able to jack the front up but not absolutely essential
- I removed the fan to give more space and found this essential as my hands are not exactly dainty so it gave more space for moving around. When removing the fan it is quite difficult to get to the bottom screw on the left hand side as you look at the car from the front. The bottom ones only need undoing because the fan moulding slots in at the bottom so this is when I jacked it up and got at this screw from underneath.
- When putting it all back together, there are the two difficult to get at bolts one under the manifold and the one holding the dipstick. These are much easier on the way back in BUT for me the little bracket that the bolt attaches to under the manifold had moved slightly meaning the holes didn't line up so I had to undo the other bold holding the bracket to the block to allow me to move it a bit and line it up then do both bolts back up. No biggie but I wasted a lot of time on this as I didn't know what was going on.
- Get your own jubilee clips ahead of time, I didn't (couldn't) use any that Volvo gave me so used my own.
- On a 10v car I don't believe it is necessary to remove the fuel rail but in all my research I didn't find anyone saying this so I removed it. If you do remove it, have some paper towels ready because it wee's petrol everywhere!
- The end of the PCV hose that goes across the engine from the oil trap on the left over to the funky pipe thing on the right didn't quite fit for me. It is a bayonet style connection and it is perfectly the wrong angle, at least for me. I had to force the end of the PCV pipe to an angle it didn't really want to go and then screw it into the pipe that connects to the end of the inlet manifold but the way the bayonet unscrews is the same way that is naturally wants to turn so it undid straight away. I got around this by attaching a bracket that effectively pushing against the connection to keep it tight and jamming the head of the hose into a gap so it can't move. I had no idea what else to do.
- There is a small bit of pipe you will get (I don't know if this is just the 10v) that connects the top exit hole from the engine to the right hand side of the oil trap. This pipe was not the right shape for me and I don't know if the clips will hold, time will tell. The pipe should be bend in the middle because the outlet on the oil trap is about 1cm-2cm higher than the outlet of the engine so what happens is, when using the straight angled pipe the hose doesn't sit perfectly happily on the outlets. Difficult to explain, but interestingly the one I took off was perfectly angled and therefore fitted nice and snug. I debated on reusing it but took the chance on the new one.