Swirl Arm low cost repair!

[rat840771]

Just had mine 'repaired' as it has been broken for about 2 years and I was getting fed up of the warning coming up when I booted the car in 5th/6th.

I did ring Volvo and they said don't bother with the crappy circlip as it is impossible to get it on! ( it is)

So I have used wire and at the moment it appears to work.

How often should the stepper move and re calibrate? Is it every 10 start/stops? As it is hard to see the swirl arm actually move by revving the car.

[Desmaui]

I've the swirl arm broken three time already...
Bad original part, too much light..

[5cilinder]

Try a small t-rap, mine is working fine for over a year now
Its easer to put in the hole due to the longer length , and to deny even a lousy 5 pound to the suits at the granite floors at the stealer is also good

[bobdabuilda]

What is a t-rap please? Can't find it on google!

[Shooter69]

Guessing it's a small tie wrap or more commonly known as cable tie

[Saint Evil]

LaurieB

is there any chance you could post a photo of what you did with the keyring please?
I'm just about to launch into various rods and nuts to fix the issue, but your solution seems elegant and easier.

Thanks

[S60D5-185]

The reason that the arm breaks is that during it's calibration run it overstretches itself and eventually the ball and socket joint at the cylinder head end usually breaks.

On my S60 it did exactly that in 2010 and I fixed it myself, PERMANENTLY and never had any further issue with it.

1. Remove the arm completely by easing it off each of the ball joints ( unless already disconnected at one end through failure)

2.If it is Broken at the cylinder head connection, ( nearly always the case )drill a small hole through the exact centre of the socket of the plastic connector ARM and then owing to the very limited space available at the cylinder head end, get a small panel pin or short nail and heat it until cherry red whilst holding it in pliers at 90 degrees point to the left.

3.Now CAREFULLY push the red hot nail against the Ball on the Swirl arm at the Cylinder Head in its EXACT centre. Keep reheating the nail until you have pushed all the way through it.

4. Get a suitably small nut and bolt and push through the reassembled ball joint and fasten it up but not too tight as it needs to be able to swivel properly.

5. Address the cause of the failure by fabricating a small stop on the stepper motor to prevent excess movement ( See Photo below )
The motor goes through a calibration self test every 5 ( I think ) activations of the start procedure when you switch off again. Watch for it and you will see it do it after the engine has stopped.

Make sure that you do not restrict the throw too much with this DIY stop.

My car performed faultlessly after this and never needed looking at again.

[dannyhammond]

Hello there everybody,

I have a 2007 model V50 D5 and have gone through the pain of repeatedly replacing swirl arm linkages in vain.
In my case the arm is the later kind with two cups on the arm itself. I had made a couple of temporary fixes that worked for a while, the first was with cable ties, the second an arm fashioned from a coat hanger.
The problem was there was at some point too much resistance and the calibration drifted out, or seemed to stop trying to calibrate at all as both solutions either had too much play or were binding up.

The cheap fix (which i stumbled across possibly in this forum).......

turn the rod around 180°. So the same cups are at the same ends, just turned back to front. in order to get the swirl flap side to pop over the plastic ball you may have to file away the plastic tangs slightly to give yourself a bit less overlap, and use a bit of grease.

I have been running this bush fix for about 6 months and its fine. The angle at which the arm operates looks a little strange, but it works perfectly.

I would try this before more exotic fixes are tried out.

[macs]

Originally Posted by dannyhammond

Hello there everybody,


The cheap fix (which i stumbled across possibly in this forum).......

turn the rod around 180°. So the same cups are at the same ends, just turned back to front. in order to get the swirl flap side to pop over the plastic ball you may have to file away the plastic tangs slightly to give yourself a bit less overlap, and use a bit of grease.

I have been running this bush fix for about 6 months and its fine. The angle at which the arm operates looks a little strange, but it works perfectly.

I would try this before more exotic fixes are tried out.

Found this trick too a while ago in this forum. It worked for ca. 12k miles and failed eventually. The ball joint on the swirl rod end wears and it won't hold the arm anymore.
I left it in full open position and it's been ok. There is a fault generated but the car drives fine.

[luggsey]

I just drilled a small hole in th ball and use use small split pin to hold it I place.
Took about ten minutes all in and near far it seems to be a permanent repair.