Back in the Volvo Fold

[MG68]

Lovely to be back in a Volvo seat after a couple of years. Having run the starship mileage V70 with 630k+ mileage.

2004 XC90 D5 MANUAL with FSH, owned by the last family for 4 years and 4 sons - the interior needs a good steam clean or stick of TNT. Shocking. They say there is more bacteria in cars than in the loo sometimes and that resonates, It will be a good dog wagon for our new puppy Vizsla, and general stuff.

Only 180K miles though - got some catching up to do on my old V70. ;-)

Looking forward to chatting - and if anyone knows a good valet in Salisbury area please shout.

Best, Mark.

[Georgeandkira]

A Volvo returnee announces himself >42 hours ago and nary a "Welcome back"?!?! Atrocious, I say.

Welcome back dude! By all means, get the interior cleaned up as you don't want a sick dog.

Seriously, I'm persuing a 2004 XC-90 myself. Nothing as cool or European as a diesel manual...in fact this baby is a base model with no sunroof and no leather....just the way I like 'em. It has only 104K and drives like a dream.

'Twas the car of a service station owner's wife so the FSH is based on trust. My gut already hurts.

[MG68]

I remember you GeorgeandKira from my previous tenure. Thanks for the message / advice.

Well, just popped 4 Goodyear Wrangler HPs on it, and collecting a genuine Volvo dog guard from an eBayer tomorrow. As new, £65 rather than the £140+ that Volvo want for it so chuffed. Gets the pup out of the doggy crate so better for him too.

Also have had the interior steam cleaned and valeted - I was amazed what was discovered - including a pair of scissors...;-)

Good luck with your search for one - or did you buy it already?

[Tannaton]

Originally Posted by MG68

Also have had the interior steam cleaned and valeted - I was amazed what was discovered - including a pair of scissors...;-)

When I stripped and power washed the interior of my ex-Forestry Commission Ford Ranger I found 3 live 9mm bullets under the carpet. Oh and 6 pound coins, but the old ones...

[Georgeandkira]

The owner is out of the country and the station's new owner says he's trying to contact her. He claims to have worked at the station for years before buying it from the Volvo owner's husband and swears the car is up to snuff.

She was a language teacher to children and the seats are plain dirty. This is one time I too will pay for real upholstery cleaning; slight wetting down, water+soap spray, water+vacuum out. Repeat as necessary.

Years ago there was a shop which had a few Meile products in little old Bergenfield, NJ. They had a single, adorable steam cleaner for sale. The thing which scared me off was Meile's near complete absence in the U.S. I feared needing a replacement heating coil or some such so I passed on it.

I did find a receipt for a replacement headliner. That jibes with transporting children, cribs and bicycles.

To Tannoton: Always fun finding $, £, and € in a car. I'd even accept ﷼ !

edit: Do the 2004's have the rear drive coupler with the fluid and small filter?

[paddy74]

Hey, welcome back! I did get back a few weeks ago too and it's nearly the same: I LOVE IT TO BE BACK!

The XC90 is a great car, enjoy it and take care of it - you will have one of the best dog transporters around!

@Georgeandkira
You mean the AOC/Haldex? Yes, the 2004 has the Gen 2 Haldex, so with filter, but not with the trimmed pump motor to replace the filter easily (that would be Gen 4).

Here's a very interesting thread/instruction to do the fluid change:
https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/fo...ic.php?t=64335

And here are the three different types of Haldex explained, that were used in the XC90:
https://forums.swedespeed.com/showth...=1#post4583065

[Georgeandkira]

The "Matthew's post" you provided a link to is stupendous.
The detailed instructions and complete materials list....all illustrated.

[MG68]

Volvo doggy guard all fitted. Happy pup no crate.

Nerdy question - the brand new Goodyear Wranglers fitted this week were pumped to 34 on the drive when fitted. 4WD Tracking done next day, and way out. I read that 39 is the magic number - when the Volvo guidance for normal load as printed on the fuel filler cap is 32 all round?

Any advice? Obviously I would like the tyres to do a good innings.

Many thanks in advance. Mark.

[Chunk11]

Mark I have Goodyear Wranglers on my XC90 235/65/17 and I run 39 psi all around. Makes for a slightly harder ride but after 15,000 miles I have 5.5mm left on the front and 7mm on the rear (they come with 10mm of tread) with nice even tyre wear. I have just swapped front to rear to even out the tyres.

I have found they are a great all terrain tyre and pretty cheap aswell compared to other tyres would definitely buy them again.

[MG68]

Many thanks for the reply Chunk,

Maybe I will up the PSI a tad!

Have you had any experience with the tyres in the snow? We live in the boonies. If snow fall lands it never gets cleared. Last year I put 4 Goodyear Vector Gen 2 4 seasons on the missus BMW 320d 63 plate estate and that was going up icy and snowy inclines like a 4WD. BMW are obv. useless in the white stuff.