Cheap Tyres

does it have an econometer by chance??

Hi James,

A while ago, I contacted Volvo directly about power steering and they were adamant that it had never been done , couldn't be done, shouldn't be done etc (the 'our designs are perfect and you're an idiot' mentality). I suspect you're right that PAS was available from the factory but it was totally denied. I supose in fairness, if you're involved with 30 grand motorcars on a daily basis, you're not going to spend much time researching 16 year old parts for a car worth 150 quid!

Now to a report on the new acquisition. The steering is beautiful! One finger lock to lock! It's a conventional power rack and at this stage suspect it's a standard 360 item. Anyway it's all coming off the car and I'll let everybody know the part numbers etc.

Don't worry about the engine mount, Thats the easy bit. The intercooler is the tricky bit and I have a brill solution. Photographs and destructions to follow shortly.

Best Regards James

Len

Dear John & Christina,

Thanks for your comments. I picked the car up in Derby on Saturday and drove it north to Lancashire (Colne). At the moment it seems to be doing everything the book says. You accelerate up to the speed you require and then back of the throttle. The engine revs fall but the car keeps the same speed as the pulleys adjust. On the motorway the maximum comfortable speed seemed to be about 85 (sorry, sorry ,sorry, that was a typo, I meant 70, 70, 70!) When slowing down, it's almost as if someone has put the brakes on for you and the effect is particularly noticable around 5mph.

There are three things I'm curious about. The first is that the lever will not go into the park position. The chap selling the car said that this was a common problem. Is it? It doesn't really affect the driving of the car so I'm not overly concerned. The second is that after a cold start, there are a lot of transmission whiney noises until everything has warmed up. Is this normal? The third is that there is a definite jolt if the throttle is opened suddenly. Is this the pulleys making a rapid adjustment?

Despite all the above I'm quite taken with the CVT and think it might become a permanent part of my collection. They are a cute anorachy thing and I dont think there will be many around in the next five years.

Best Regards

Len

I had a problem at one point where the lever got stuck but I played with it a bit from the drivers seat and it cleared itself. I think the pushbutton in the top of the lever was stuck down. But I don't know what caused it. It has never refused to go into park but does require some messing about occasionally to go through reverse (I think the gears dont always line up perfectly and need jiggling).

My transmission was very quiet when I first got the car but it didn't kick down properly when I accelerated from 30 mph. I changed the belts for the ones from GSF which are Roflex, not Volvo. The new belts have made the trasmission work beautifully but are very noisy when cold (pedestrians look round to see what it is!) so I suspect you have Roflex belts.

On throttle opening, do you mean from a standing start? I find that it does jolt if you just wop the throttle because the centrifugal clutch takes time to respond, whereas if you gently rev to 1000 or 1100 then open up it is smooth. Also if you change the throttle setting suddenly in any car in first gear (equivalent to up to 10 mph in the CVT) it will have a large and sudden effect!

No. Frayed Knot.

I'd love an econometer, despite the fact that I couldn't do anything about the reading. I just like them. I fitted a Smiths one on my Mini years ago, but even these seem to have disappeared from the shelves.

But alas no...

i've got a broken one you can have :P

Dear John & Christina,

Thanks for all that. It's funny how you start to take things for granted very quickly. The steering is light, like a modern car so I never realy thought about it too much. The CVT was the novalty and I put everything down to that. Listening carefully, I think a lot of the whiney noises are coming fron the power steering pump. The power steering is being transferred to one of my other cars so I'll let you know how much noise comes from my CVT then.

I've learnt very quickly that the CVT likes smooth progressive application of the throttle particularly from rest. The jolt I'm refering to is at high speed, say 60 mph, if the throttle is floored quickly to overtake.

Best Regards,

Len

I don't get a jolt as such when overtaking. It's just like flooring the throttle in a a manual, except that the kickdown throws the revs up to about 5000. You don't get the power come through until the revs stop going up but you get used to giving the CVT 2 seconds notice of what you want it to do, then everything is fine.

I find the car likes to travel sedately rather than enthusiastically although it sticks to the road quite well for rear wheel drive.

Hi Len

Don`t worry too much about your transmission noises as long as it all quietens down after a mile or two. For peace of mind it`s worth changing the oil in the gearbox(es) if you are unsure when ths was last done. IIRC this is a 20,000 or 2 yearly job anyway and should be checked every 6 months as there is only a couple of pints in there and a leak will empty them fast.

As John says there is always some whining and I have found that non Volvo drive belts make a particularly unpleasant, almost grinding noise first thing. This is, I believe, caused by dewfall on the pulleys - mine is noticably much noisier on foggy cold mornings and is quiet when first moved later in the day in summer. It goes when heat generated by belt friction dries the pulleys off.

As regards the car not going into park - I`d consider it a bonus if you ever leave it with any spotty trainee "mechanic" - at least they aren`t going to burn the clutch out by revving it against a locked transmission.

Your transmission should not really jolt if floored while power is being transmitted although if the clutch has disengaged - for example when almost stopped at a roundabout ( you will feel this as a loss of engine braking at very low speeds ), then a fast increase in throttle will cause a jolt when it re-engages.

It will jolt from a standing start though, the trick being to get the car just moving before giving it some. The low gearing and the fact that you don`t have to change gear can give some impressive standing starts which is useful at busy junctions etc.

Regards

Will

Dear Will,

Thanks for your comments. You are I'm surte quite correct. The big whiney noises do clear within a mile or so and I have the impression it's a little like overnight rust forming on disc brakes.

As regards the park position, I do agree that if the car were to ever go into a garage, I would ask them to read the owner's manual supplement about variomatics first. The fact I can't shift into 'Park' is no problem at all. It is simply that I bet the car went into park when it left the factory and I like things to work as designed.

You are dead right about throttle control. Smooth application is the name of the game as is backing off the throttle once the desired speed has been avchieved. Acceleration is very good, in fact quite surprising compared with my manual 1.4's. The CVT provides the optimum gear ratio and I suspect that's what it's all about. The jolt I'm referring to is if you floor the throtle at say 60 mph to pass something on the motorway. It's a one time thing and the car then pulls like a steam train. My question is if this is a normal characteristic or shouild I be looking to replace/adjust something.

Best Regards,

Len