S40: New to Volvo's - My new T4

[Gareth83]

I'm new to this forum and Volvo's in general so hi everyone. I was on the lookout for a V40 2.0T when I stumbled across a S40 T4 with full leather for a bargain price on ebay.

I picked the car up and drove it back from Birmingham-Cardiff and managed to get 27mpg despite driving 'spirited' with my new toy.






As you could see the paintwork was ruined having been covered in brake fluid. Not a problem as I have access to a bodyshop and had a few days off to get the car prepped.





ready for the top coat:





Not bad for 2 days work. Will post up some pics once I've given her a wash.

Couple of problems though...

AC - displays at random amber/green as and when it feels like it be it when the button is depressed or not. The air is certainly not conditioned so I guess something's wrong.

Fan - the fan has a mind of it's own but from searching I understand I require the following transistor 2N3055:
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=33878

Cigarette Lighter - Not working

Heaters - There is no heat and the car rarely makes it half way up the temp. gauge. I am guessing it is the thermostat at fault. Is this easily accessed? what websites do you recommend for parts or would GSF be okay?
I have a Halfords trade card so guess a thermostat from their will be fine.

Lights - the sidelights do not come on when turned to sidelights, they are only on when the switch is set to off or main beam.

MPG - I am getting a dire 20mpg despite a mixed run which my previous Golf GTi used to get 37mpg. I have new plugs for it, but would have expected 30mpg. What else should I be looking at? All tyres are correct pressures.

Advice appreciated

Cheers

[Enigma666]

Give it a full service mate and watch the fuel economy go up.... V-Power also works well in these

Cigarette lighter could be a fuse

If the temp is getting to half way then the thermostat is is fine, and it may be the heater matrix which is foobarred :S

Lights - they can be made to switch off by:
Turn on side lights, pull and hold indicator stalk as if turning on full beam. Turn of lights and release indicator stalk. (worth a go)

Hope some of that helps and good luck with the car I know I love mine to bits

[Baffler]

Will be a nice motor when you're finished painting. You should be aware that you won't acheive anything much higher than 30mpg for mixed driving. You can get 35-38mpg on a good steady run. Be sure to use genuine Volvo plugs and stay with genuine parts when it comes to the engine.

Best of luck with it. Enjoy...

[Nocomplaints1977]

AC - Probably needs regassing or if its on auto on the fan could be that playing up (the AC only flicks on when the fan is running). If it does it when on constant fan setting ie. 1 or 2 or whatever and the fan is running then I would guess a re-gas. You can get DIY tins to do top ups but yours will probably need more so off to the aircon person.

Wish I had access to that kind of set up, my panama yellow one needs the front end blowing over along with rear bumper etc. now its covered 165k. stone chips and general wear and tear.

Thermostat is easy and cheap, should be halfwayish up the guage in a few miles, can't remember where it is on the phase one (anyone?) on the phase two its just a case of follow the pipe back from the rad and its obvious where its fitted. Had same problem with mine which was highlighted by the cold weather last year.

Heater, check the level in rad expansion tank and top up if necessary plus bleed the pipes into the matrix etc. you should see bleed points set into the water cooling system, phase two ones are red screw type but again unsure with reference to phase one (anyone again?).

Defo use genuine parts (service bits usually not a lot of difference on price) and especially with reference to the plugs (last set £28-29 geniune less VOC discount). I had a set of NGK's and the tips disappeared after 10-15k with big misfiring above 1 bar boost. No such problems with geniune plugs and runs like a dream on Super/Optimax especially with a rechip . 1.2bar and flying .

Great cars and economical if you are with the throttle considering they push out 200+ BHP. Surprise people too lol, enjoy blowing boy racers into the weeds .

Gaz

[Gareth83]

Originally Posted by Enigma666

Give it a full service mate and watch the fuel economy go up.... V-Power also works well in these

I have just changed the plugs as you can see from the following pic:



they were in quite a state. I have replaced them with a new set of NGK PFR6B's and it already feels more responsive. I'm guessing the mixture is too rich as the plugs also smell of fuel so will get that set once I have changed the oil and air filter. What CO2 reading should it be set at?

Cigarette lighter could be a fuse

Will check that, I'm not a smoker but needed to use a sat nav once I bought the car.

If the temp is getting to half way then the thermostat is is fine, and it may be the heater matrix which is foobarred :S

Thermostat's have always been a problem with my Golf's as they don't open and close when they should. I have found this to be a simple fix to curing slow warming up. Where is the matrix anyway? I doubt it is that as I get heat from the heaters when warm.

Lights - they can be made to switch off by:
Turn on side lights, pull and hold indicator stalk as if turning on full beam. Turn of lights and release indicator stalk. (worth a go)

Will try this also

Hope some of that helps and good luck with the car I know I love mine to bits

thanks for your advice

Originally Posted by Baffler

Will be a nice motor when you're finished painting.

I've finished painting just haven't got round to washing it yet.

You should be aware that you won't acheive anything much higher than 30mpg for mixed driving.

30mpg would suit me fine as the refinement and safety of the Volvo is worth paying a bit extra on fuel.

You can get 35-38mpg on a good steady run. Be sure to use genuine Volvo plugs and stay with genuine parts when it comes to the engine.

Too late, got NGK's but will stick to Volvo parts for everything else. Is there a website that offers cheap Volvo parts?

Best of luck with it. Enjoy...

Thanks

Originally Posted by Nocomplaints1977

AC - Probably needs regassing or if its on auto on the fan could be that playing up (the AC only flicks on when the fan is running). If it does it when on constant fan setting ie. 1 or 2 or whatever and the fan is running then I would guess a re-gas. You can get DIY tins to do top ups but yours will probably need more so off to the aircon person.

Will look into this at a later date, don't really like air-con myself but didn't want it stuck on in case it caused excessive fuel consumption.

Thermostat is easy and cheap, should be halfwayish up the guage in a few miles, can't remember where it is on the phase one (anyone?) on the phase two its just a case of follow the pipe back from the rad and its obvious where its fitted. Had same problem with mine which was highlighted by the cold weather last year.

I found the thermostat housing when I was replacing the spark plugs, I will have a look into this next few days. Thanks

Heater, check the level in rad expansion tank and top up if necessary plus bleed the pipes into the matrix etc. you should see bleed points set into the water cooling system, phase two ones are red screw type but again unsure with reference to phase one (anyone again?).

Tank is full, will try to bleed it though. Where is the matrix?

runs like a dream on Super/Optimax especially with a rechip . 1.2bar and flying .

How much are you talking for a rechip and upping the boost? Is fuel consumption a problem? I'll prob leave it standard to be honest. (So I say lol)

Thanks for your replies guys.

Couple more questions:

Where is a good place to get a set of tailored floor mats?
Does anyone have a spare wheel nut they could post to me for free? ;-)
What about a nearside rear side repeater?

That's it for now folks.

Gareth

[Dandle]

You will be ok with the plugs as ling as they are NGK Iridium IXs like the ones removed. If they aren't you would be better of fitting some or genuine oem plugs. The T4 is fussy with plugs and it will make a world of difference over normal plugs.

[spangoolies]

i agree with the genuine volvo plugs, nothing works better with these cars, the bloody engine is really fussy. contact Rufe on this forum for discounted genuine parts -top bloke. also check out www.partsforvolvosonline.com for cheap genuine and non genuine parts.

[Gareth83]

Originally Posted by spangoolies

also check out www.partsforvolvosonline.com for cheap genuine and non genuine parts.

excellent site!

Oil filter
Air filter
Thermostat

£25.70 delivered

Will double check with Halfords using my trade card first though. Watch the pennies and the pounds and all that....

[spangoolies]

dont follow the books at halfords tho, they are never right, i had to go there purely out of lack of time, the fuel filter was wrong and they dont actually stock the right ones. and the sidelight bulbs were completely wrong. not tried anything else yet and i hope i never have to go there again

[Enigma666]

Originally Posted by spangoolies

dont follow the books at halfords tho, they are never right, i had to go there purely out of lack of time, the fuel filter was wrong and they dont actually stock the right ones. and the sidelight bulbs were completely wrong. not tried anything else yet and i hope i never have to go there again

You noticed that Hellfrauds lights book is way off too then

The headlights said they were H4 (from memory) and turned out to be H7 (from memory)

Off topic, but how the hell did you manage to fit your hids Ash? Can you actually get your hands in the gap or was it a bumper off job and lights out?

Got any pics of your bay out of interest?