S40 V40: Diesel Turbo Valve Issues -- Urgent :(

[flyhigh]

Hey guys,

My 2000 v40 diesel is giving me some problems, here is the story:

I went to the shop for a tune up before driving to Greece for vacation. I am currently in Greece with my wife and two young daughters.

I asked then to clean the egr for me as part of the tune up.They had done this for me a year ago when I bought the car, and it had been a filthy beast (they actually removed the entire manifold and power washed it -- which I would never have imagined could be done...).

Anyway. The egr "wasn't dirty" and they didn't really clean it this time around when they pulled it--but they did pull it.

When I left the shop, the turbo was not kicking in, so I turned around after 1 km and came back. They did a bit of trouble shooting on the egr, and decided it was the turbo valve/pump, which for some reason was not turning on. Thus, they grabbed a used valve from their random bin, threw it on, and away I went with everything ostensibly working. I saw all this happen...

So yesterday out in the middle of nowhere at the beach in Greece, I shift into second at low speed and the power just dies. The car remains on, in idle, but pressing the gas does nothing. Since my car has Albanian plates the locals are either scared or prejudiced and don't want to help ... I have my 5 month old and 6 year old there in the sun ... loads of fun.

Fortunately, after a while the problem vanishes like it came, and I manage to make it back to the apartment where we are staying.

There is a volvo dealer here nearby where I can get parts, but they have a month waiting list for service work, so I will probably need to fix this myself (better option for me anyway if possible).

Maybe relevant maybe irrelevant:

I have been having issues with my turn signals / hazards : intermittently not working, or working for a minute then turning off. Sometimes a good technical thwack on the dash gets things working again.

My clutch is going out. I ordered the parts and will have it replaced when I get back. My normal mechanic told me he thought it was fine for the trip, but to replace it as soon as I could when I got back (he saw it the evening of our departure so there was no time). So far it seems like it will get us back.

I have a had check engine light on for a month, but no reader so no further info.

FAQ: Yes I am a fool!

Should I just buy another turbo valve and install it? What else might be going on here? There are two levels to this of course: getting home (3 weeks and 2000km to go) and a definitive fix. Definitive is better, but I will take what I can get.

Thanks for helping out a fool!

[morrismen]

Check for loose hoses, particularly the turbo hoses where there could be a split.

[flyhigh]

I bought a couple tools and checked the hoses.

There was one hose they had replaced, and another that looks a little damaged but without visible holes. I will replace today regardless.

There was a T connection with the vacuum hose for the turbo valve that had tubes which I could easily connect more firmly. There are a couple of hoses going to the turbo valve that they perhaps replaced with something of inferior quality: they are really soft, and it means they don't seem to grab onto the barbed fittings very well -- I can easily attach and remove them with two fingers.

I went to get the codes read at a little shop. There was a list of about five codes related to the engine, but his reader did not recognize any of them. He deleted them, so if they come back I will stop by the Volvo dealer and beg for at least a reading.

If I grab a couple meters of hose and just replace as much as I can, and then I cannot notice the problem (happened only once for a short period of time), how confident should I be that the problem is fixed? I need to drive through long empty stretches with children, and I am not sure how to get some sense of security on the fix...

Thanks!

[boyracer996]

could be a host of things, try unplugging the maf and go for a drive also, and see if it makes any difference

[V40DSchariot]

You say pressing the gas pedal does nothing, no revving or anything?
If thats the case, that suggests to me a problem with the 'drive by wire'. If a 2000 model has the 'drive by wire', my 2003 model has.
I would be tempted to look at the throttle and follow any wires from there to where they go.

[flyhigh]

Thanks everyone, I did some troubleshooting and figured out what the problem was -- it had nothing to do with the turbo.

Apparently the plastic (?!) fan blades went to pieces and with the noise of the crew in the car I didn't hear it. Impressively, the car can stay at temp when driving, but when you stop, of course the temperature shoots way up (hits the red on the gauge). So, since we had stopped for only a few minutes before hand, it didn't have time to drop back down and triggered a software safety, ie idle only.

I managed to find the broken fan and trigger the software today, so now I just need to find an affordable part and we are good to go.

[V40DSchariot]

Interesting to know. Well done.

[boyracer996]

didn't know there was a temperature safety but there you go! learn something new every day!

[flyhigh]

necessity is the mother of invention. I certainly liked my 1996 better, it was much more solid, but it had been hit by reckless drivers so many times it had to go.