D5 slow acceleration, bare with me

[R-P]

Hi all,

I have posted on here about this problem before and gotten some good info.
But... reading all the possible faults just makes me more and more scared, so I wanted to give it one more try to narrow down the things I should check first.

I have: slow acceleration below 2000rpm.

Possible causes: the autobox/motormanagement software limiting the torque for the autobox, the autobox neutral-shifting software, leaks in the turbo-hoses, etc.
Additional info: when first starting, the problem is more pronounced then after it has warmed up (but 'warm' it is still aweful, dangerous when crossing a road or entering a roundabout, etc.). This (the issue being engine-warming dependant) leads me to believe it may not be the autobox setting or just some software, or am I wrong in assuming this?
When parked with the front or rear wheels against a curb and getting the wheels up the curb, takes several seconds and revs to far above 2500 when cold. I am sometimes wondering if it will be able to get up it at all...
No smoke, at least not so much I notice it, even when driving on my motorcycle behind the wife in the Volvo (so intercoolersplit is not likely? then I should have clouds of smoke?)
No bad running above 2k rpm (again an indication it may not have anything to do with the when-not-running-easily-squashable-turbo-hose).
No change since cleaning the plenum chamber.

Plans:
1- remove the turbo-connected-rubber hose and check for leaks
2- check for oil under the intercooler
3- remove the air-flow meter (MAF) and look for what???
4- bring to local garage and review the whole tubing from airbox=>turbo=> intercooler=>EGR-mixer (to go any further into the engine, I have to disconnect the highpressure fuel lines, right? That does not sound like a good plan)

Further info: car ran 207k km, ~130k M
Engine came out of a ~80k km, ~50k M British D5 from 2004, received a new distribution-belt and new oil before being dropped in.

I would love a Rica tuning upgrade, but not unless I am sure I have no other issues.

Thanks for listening to my problems once again...

Links used for info:
1 and 3 suggested here; 72106
2 and 4 info here: 73982
Some more pages of interest: 50099
69443

[Bernard333]

My D5 is approx same age and miles as yours and I have had problems in the past but right now its running perfect and has not had any repair done which I can point to . Regarding your plans :

Removing intercooler , I did this in January looking for problems , nothing wrong with it and I should have trusted the advice I was given which was to stand in front and get someone to rev hard and feel if there is air being blown hard out the front or oil or expanded pipes or end sections , I found it to be a very awkward annoying job to do and dont want to repeat unless I have to .

MAF - disconnected mine in January and took it for a run , no harm done and on plugging it back in I have not had a power loss problem since although I am still not convinced this was the problem i.e bad electrical connection . Running without the MAF gave much reduced power but nowhere near the very low power when the engine is in limp mode although you would think that disconnecting the MAF would put it in limp mode ? Anyone know why it dosnt ? You can clean the MAF but use a spray cleaner that does not leave a residue othewise you will destroy it .

A good garage should have equipment to test for leaks in the turbo/intercooler pipe system but as far as removing the high pressure fuel pipes unless you are changing an injector or problem with cam shaft or head gasket I wouldnt remove these pipes just to do further exploration as your problem is not likely to be inside the engine . You could do a leak test on the low pressure fuel return pipes on the injectors , they should trickle fuel out , spraying out means a faulty injector or fit a tube and compare the flow rate from each injector by timing the fuel filling a measuring jug . I have done all this stuff ( a few times over ) and found nothing , very frustrating not that I want to find an expensive fault , I am hoping to eventually put my finger on something definite thats not going to cost a lot to fix .

You say you have slow acceleration below 2000 rpm , have you had someone else drive it who also has a D5 engined car to see what they think ? I think my D5 is a bit like that but its nothing compared to a T5 which dosnt pull at all until 3000 rpm .

[R-P]

Thanks for your input!

Originally Posted by Bernard333

You say you have slow acceleration below 2000 rpm , have you had someone else drive it who also has a D5 engined car to see what they think ? I think my D5 is a bit like that but its nothing compared to a T5 which dosnt pull at all until 3000 rpm .

Yes, a guy from Rica drove it and said it felt fine, bit slow, but could be cause of the AWD.
A guy from a Volvo garage drove it and said it was OK. But the hissing sound I mentioned to him may be a split intercooler according to him.

I don't buy it that the car is OK. A car that is dangerous to drive across a busy road cannot be 'OK'. I think I will make a vid to show just how bad it is.
The neighbour has a S60 D5, but it's a manual. So I wanted to drive his and let him drive mine, but if the software of the autobox has such a big influence, I may still know nothing.

Just had confirmation the condensor is leaking , so I'll have a look if I can investigate the intercooler thoroughly when they replace it.

[kev ryder]

what happens if you drive it as manual,i have a 2.4d geartronic which you can drive as a 6 speed sequential manual,will it not do this to see if it is any different,may be worth a try.

[R-P]

Thanks Kev ryder for the suggestion. I tried, but did not notice any real difference.