A £1.50 engine upgrade for D4 VEA owners

[Turnwood]

Originally Posted by The Tinkerer

@ Turnwood, glad it's working for you. Just out of interest, how long was the factory-fitted length of hose on your car?

It was 156mm on mine, it would be interesting to know if this is a standard length.

Mine was 159mm - it was kinked around the component that it loops over so it definitely appeared that there would have been some kind of restriction.

[The Tinkerer]

Originally Posted by Turnwood

Mine was 159mm - it was kinked around the component that it loops over so it definitely appeared that there would have been some kind of restriction.

Thanks, interesting to know. I inspected the factory hose on mine carefully, and it looked like it had been cut to length using a hand tool, the ends were not perfectly 'square.' Makes me think the lengths of hose are just pulled off a drum on the assembly line and cut individually by the worker who is 'plumbing' the hoses that day - which explains the slight variations in length.

Mine was originally kinked over the solenoid too, and at first I re-routed it so it took a more natural path, but I could see the hose was still a little flattened at the sharpest part of the curve. I needed to lift the mesh cover to see this properly.

[Baggies79]

Just completed the mod ready for tomorrow's trip to North Wales. The removed hose is 161mm.

[Robbiefen100]

I'm going to try this (really safe) mod this weekend!

Always thought the pick-up from idle at a junction was a little tardy, this is definitely worth a try, I was considering polestar later this year when the first service comes due to cure this niggle - somewhat more costly!

I have an auto by the way, dunno if that makes any difference to pick up response?

[wimorrison]

There is a slight lag with the auto as the fluid flywheel needs to engage to get you moving, though if you floor it you will find that lag pretty well dissappears

[Robbiefen100]

I correct my choice of words, I don't experience a lack of engine pick-up - it just needs to wake up! Don't want to floor the throttle pulling out from a side road as going to result in unwanted wheel spin and / or torque steer (I'm fwd) Polestar blurb mentions enhancement in this regard if I recall correctly, not sure I can justify cost of p*

It's a lag in throttle response from idle which, as pointed out, means that until the torque converter has enough fluid spinning it there is a perceived delay.

Sport mode helps as the tickover rpm is slightly higher I believe, presumably for this reason. I'll have to do an comparison exercise to test sometime?

I need to try and get in the habit of flinging the gear selector to the left when I know I'm pulling out of side road or roundabout into traffic - but I tend to use sport mode only for the occasional overtaking these days though.

Minor gripes, just me getting used to Volvo's again. Love my car!

[The Tinkerer]

Originally Posted by Robbiefen100

I'm going to try this (really safe) mod this weekend!

Always thought the pick-up from idle at a junction was a little tardy, this is definitely worth a try, I was considering polestar later this year when the first service comes due to cure this niggle - somewhat more costly!

I have an auto by the way, dunno if that makes any difference to pick up response?

Please do report back and let me know your impressions.

A quick tip: the hose is easier to remove when the engine is warm, as it's more flexible. It might need a bit of a pull to remove it from the spigots, but it will come easily enough.

Just measure the length of the hose you remove, and cut the new piece of hose a couple of centimetres longer.

[LF1991]

Mine was 16cm... I put 21cm on. Noticeably smoother. And definitely easier when the engine is warm..

If anyone wants some pipe, I bought a meter, so have 80cms ish left

[Robbiefen100]

I wish you'd said earlier

I just had to shell out 30pence more than the title of this thread.

What could I have bought with that 30p?

[NigelDay]

Just a quick question. Would this DIY fix cause an warranty issues ?