Grab a Boobie im a Newbie.....440 TURBO

[Torque of the Town]

Hi all,

As you can see im new, and have recently purchased a Clio with a 440 1.7l Turbo conversion and a few mods' (front mount intercooler, induction kit....)
Being a member on many other ownes clubs/websites (i own afew other cars). Iv popped over here for some advice/tips

Now, what can you tell me about this type of engine? i.e. Performance standered to maximum....reliability....servicible/easy or hard.....prices for parts.....what to check/do first.....etc etc etc etc

At the moment i have a noisy release bearing, a leaky radiator and a couple of perished hoses which need changing soon.

I will be honest with you, i dont know to much about Volvo engines, so im hoping to Learn and take on as much information and advice as possible, So fire away?!

Thanks

[Torque of the Town]

Bump

[Jod T5]

Sorry i dont know bugger all about 440's, let along the engines being dumped in a clio....however as a new member you get a Welcome from me...
Cheers
Jod

[B20F]

Hello and welcome to the forum!
First it's not a Volvo engine but a Renault engine from origan. Renault used it in the clio, laguna, R5 .Volvo had the inlet and turbo tuned by Porsche because they lacked the expertise. Porsche tuned it to something like 170hp which Volvo thought of as too much. This was because Volvo is not a name associated with sportcars but with safety. So they de-tuned it to 120hp. Those engines can handle something like 200-220hp without any trouble or modifications. There is on this forum a guy who can deliver you a richmod ECU which delivers 170hp without any further modifications. The brakes are a weakpoint though, can't really cope with those powers. The clutch is not an easy job, you have to or lower the subframe or hoist the engine out. In both cases a lot of work. Clutches are about €130. Use a Volvo one, these are also used in the clio turbo as an upgrade. Another weakpoint are the engine mounts. Expensive and a lot of work to change. Also check the subframe, these are prone to rust through. Another pain in the ass is rough idle, gives you always trouble. Could be caused by perished hoses, and there are a lot of them, bad or dirty idle controle valve, bad MAP or detuned MAF sensor. A new radiator will set you back around 90 pounds. For parts this is a very reasonably priced site:
http://www.partsforvolvosonline.com/...h=2_25_228_443

[Clan]

The engine may be able to produce 170 bhp but the safe limit of the already strengthed transaxle over the normal 440 is 155 bhp .
The standard engine can easily have the boost raised to just under the 13 psi safety cut off point and produce about 150 bhp ... this transorms a 440 Turbo so should have similar results in your Clio ..

[bkf_uk]

Would say that a 440t is able to cope with 170bhp myself (richmod power) however an auto cant take that power (found out myself by blowing the same inner cv joint 3 times now) but a manual will take it, however your brakes will need uprating and i would suggest getting a front splitter to get the front end down. the lift on the front end under hard acceleration is unbearable.

[Clan]

The 440 Turbo and 440 2 litre really NEED heavily uprated front suspension dampers that lift is completely eliminated and makes for a much more pleasant car to drive ..

[AndyPants]

I can believe it, even in my 1.6 the front seems to pick up some times when pulling out've junctions fast (usually on inclines).

Wish mine was a turbo or 2 litre

[Torque of the Town]

Thank you for the Replys all, Whilst browsing the wonderfull eBay, i came across this:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Volvo-400-440-...d=p3286.c0.m14

Whats your views? 50bhp?.....How much do theys go for? or would it be worth/cheaer getting mine unlocked?.....dunno how much they go for so i dont know.

Also, Do any of the other Volvo models parts fit the 440 1.7 Turbo? or other Manuafacturer's parts for turbo upgrades etc?

Im going to go over the engine bay tomorrow if i manage to get some time, and write up a 'To Do / Require' List.
I will keep you informed?!

Thanks

[bkf_uk]

Ok atm the price of the ecu on ebay is good but wont stay at that for long, the mod costs £80 (if you read another post on the forum you would see that i am able to get this done for people)

A gain of 50bhp, yep can vouch for that, have the mod in my 440 turbo and it goes like stink! only volvo 400 series parts fit the volvo 400 series, some odd renault bits MAY fit the engine, as the B18FT engine is based on a renault F series block, but has been modifyed by porshce for volvo.

also with the engine there are 5 types of ECU for them, they are identifyed by the colour of the stickers on them. so if your engine was from an earlier turbo it will probably have a orange ecu. however the Blue ecu's are from 94+ turbos.

the diffrent ecus CAN NOT be mixed as the car will not run properly, so before going for the ebay ecu make sure you check which ecu you have. and if you havent got a blue ecu give me a shout and we can sort out getting your ecu modded!

Regards
Bryan