Wrenchin... Adventures under the hood... Put em here.

[fatnslow]

Dang. What a pain. On the plus side, you at least avoided getting royally bent over by the dealer or any shop on that job, though! Would likely not have been cheap so good on ya. SO annoying trying to source stupid little parts like those little metric castle nuts when you'd think they'd be easy to find anywhere. NOPE!

I had to bit my tongue when they(multiple places) said "we only have standard size"............... I guess the Japanese/Koreans/Euros will stop selling cars domestically soon.

[gravitylover]

Is that just a metric thread nylock nut or is it a TTY?

I was looking around under the wife's new car when it was on a lift last week and notice that the front passenger side tie rod end ball joint boot was shredded and there was grease all over. You'd think that when I paid the shop before this one to give the thing a once over and let me know what it needed they'd have spotted that. Then a few minutes later when it was being aligned you'd think the guy would have felt the grease all over the end but no... So after that and a few other misses that day I left to deal with that hub centric ring issue that I solved. I ordered the tie rod end and went back in there to talk to the shop owner/manager to explain the comedy of errors that day and they brought it right in to change it and redo the alignment for free The mechanic, who I've known for 26 years, told me there was no reason to change it because there was hardly any play in it so why bother doing it when it's not even rusty yet I said, so when it gets shitty and starts ruining other shit then what? His boss looked at me and said "that's how we pay these guys". WTF. Anyway, it took him all of 10 minutes to change it out, including wheel off and on. One whack with the hammer and it just fell out. If I had to pay for it the cost was $89. I need the knowledge of where to hit things to make it that easy

[fatnslow]

Can someone confirm my theory of a failing ignition switch ?
2000 Acura tl wouldn't crank but started with a jump and came home. Tried starting again, no crank and super slow crank with a charge pack that wasn't fully charged. Assumed a bad battery so replaced with new. After installing the new battery it behaves the same
After a few taps to the starter and still no crank I took the key out and crank/key out a few times and strays right up. When I have a no crank the lights on the dash are real dim like a dead battery but the dome light is bright.
The main relay was replaced this summer and this has happened 3-4 times in the last 2-3 months. I assumed I had a failing battery since the car only gets driven to school and back by my kid but no dice.
Does the symptom sound like a failing ignition switch ? Fairly cheap part and easy to replace so just want to make sure I'm not going down the wrong road. It's kind of intermittent so tough to trouble shoot with real certainty and for $50 I would just replace the part and eliminate it as a possible cause.

[mangle]

Had a fun one today - New-to-me Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 was running cool. I didn't really think anything of it until it wouldn't defrost the whole windshield on a trip through I80 the other day. Turns out it sits at 170* in steady state. This is a clear case of a failing thermostat.

These things are stupid easy in the modern Chryslers. You pull off the intake, unbolt the thermostat housing and catch some coolant, pull out the old thermostat, toss in the new thermostat that includes the seal for the housing, tighten two bolts, reattach the intake, and top off the radiator fill port. It took all of ten minutes out in the parking lot during the little snow squall we had today. Now it sits at 195 or so and warms up faster. I'd swear it runs better, too.

[wooley12]

Hard start/no start/starts finally are symptoms in my daughters 2004 Outback. New battery didn't fix it. Research suggests the old wire from the bat to the starter might be the cause but we haven't replaced the $10 part yet.

[powbmps]

I find that working on the car ultimately screws me up more than a day of skiing. I must not be doing it right .

My rational for working in it was I skied Friday afternoon and knew it was going to be pretty firm all day on the hill and my old joints can't take two days of firmness nor do I enjoy it.
I guess I should have just skied and have my body abused a bit rather than fucking with my car.

[powbmps]

I spent quite a bit of time and money chasing an intermittent no-start on my 2008 Chevy 2500. Replaced batteries, relays, fuse block, etc. over the last few years. After giving up and bringing it to a local mechanic (who then gave up and sent it to the local dealer), it was traced back to a bad ground wire behind the motor. Looked good from the outside, but was loose in the ring terminal.

Can someone confirm my theory of a failing ignition switch ?
2000 Acura tl wouldn't crank but started with a jump and came home. Tried starting again, no crank and super slow crank with a charge pack that wasn't fully charged. Assumed a bad battery so replaced with new. After installing the new battery it behaves the same
After a few taps to the starter and still no crank I took the key out and crank/key out a few times and strays right up. When I have a no crank the lights on the dash are real dim like a dead battery but the dome light is bright.
The main relay was replaced this summer and this has happened 3-4 times in the last 2-3 months. I assumed I had a failing battery since the car only gets driven to school and back by my kid but no dice.
Does the symptom sound like a failing ignition switch ? Fairly cheap part and easy to replace so just want to make sure I'm not going down the wrong road. It's kind of intermittent so tough to trouble shoot with real certainty and for $50 I would just replace the part and eliminate it as a possible cause.

Hard start/no start/starts finally are symptoms in my daughters 2004 Outback. New battery didn't fix it. Research suggests the old wire from the bat to the starter might be the cause but we haven't replaced the $10 part yet.

[MontuckyFried]

Yup. Definitely check battery cables. Years ago my Volvo was having such issues. Crazy thing is they looked visually fine at first glance but were corroded internally. Super cheap and easy fix and resolved everything.

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[fatnslow]

Yup. Definitely check battery cables. Years ago my Volvo was having such issues. Crazy thing is they looked visually fine at first glance but were corroded internally. Super cheap and easy fix and resolved everything.

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Planning on doing a voltage drop test when I get home and maybe just replacing the negative cable cause it's fairly easy and I can get one made for a few bucks at the local battery shop. Fuck me, just spent $100 on a new battery at Costco that I had to go back twice cause' they gave me the wrong one.

[gravitylover]

Grounds and anything negative related are usually my first places to look after the battery negative cable and clamp. Too many times over the last 20 years I've had rodents chew the covers off soy coated wires to not look there next.

[fatnslow]

Quick voltage drop test on the negative and positive battery post side to ground points , alternator and starter with no real obvious problem but it starts just fine. Took the negative cable off and took it into the battery shop and the guy says "let's just clean the battery terminal cause the cable looks just fine". I obviously missed some corrosion. Super nice guy says, " I would love to take your money but don't want to steal it.". I'll just wait and see what happens. I guess if/when it happens again I'll check voltages again , especially at the starter.

[Aldo]

Speaking of starters, how old is the unit in the tl? Unless you found your issue with the terminal corrosion, sounds more like a tired starter than an ignition switch. Honda cable ends are notoriously shitty and never really fit right as they get older on replacement batteries in my experience so always need to do your diligence there first when chasing a no start/voltage issue. But maybe you just found your issue, we’ll see.


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[fatnslow]

Speaking of starters, how old is the unit in the tl? Unless you found your issue with the terminal corrosion, sounds more like a tired starter than an ignition switch. Honda cable ends are notoriously shitty and never really fit right as they get older on replacement batteries in my experience so always need to do your diligence there first when chasing a no start/voltage issue. But maybe you just found your issue, we’ll see.


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I think it's the original starter, 20 years and 189k worth if starting. I was thinking about ordering new contacts and replacing them. Is this a stupid idea, should I just replaced the unit ? Would a tired starter cause my dash to dim if it was causing a short by having the solenoid stick ?

[Todd Zander]

Its the bendix, happens every time.

[fatnslow]

Its the bendix, happens every time.

Just ordered a cheap starter on Amazon, I have bought 2 for other Hondas with decent success. The thought of having one of my kids breaking down and having to rescue them wasn't worth the $70 and maybe an hour to replace the damn thing. Even if it wasn't the problem it's probably on it's last leg. I guess that makes sense if the solenoid/Bendix sticks creating a dead short I would see reduction in voltage temporarily.
Some of this is more in depth than I get into. I'm strictly a backyard parts replacer with some conspiracy theory trouble shooting mixed in. Basically too cheap you go to a pro with a chest full of of harbor freight, craigslist and some inherited tools.

[gravitylover]

I've had a couple of starters and alternators rebuilt by the local guy and every time they worked at least as well as new and sometimes better. It also costs way less than new or reman.

[fatnslow]

I've had a couple of starters and alternators rebuilt by the local guy and every time they worked at least as well as new and sometimes better. It also costs way less than new or reman.

Keeping the old one for this purpose just in case the cheap amazon unit shits the bed. I can rebuild myself, just don't feel like messing with it and keeping the car down. My last few repairs have not gone smoothly so I can't imagine a starter rebuild going fast right now. I'm 98% certain if I ordered a rebuilt kit I would get the wrong one with the correct one being back ordered for weeks while i break something on the starter during disassembly. $70 seems like good insurance against a 12:30 am call from my kid from god knows where right as I'm falling asleep and ready to ski the next morning.

[gravitylover]

I'm trying to find instructions to replace a front parking sensor on our XC60 but having a hard time. Volvo, like other mfrs., doesn't have service manuals available without purchasing them so it's ~$500 (which I don't have right now) for the software and a new computer to run it because we don't have a Windows 10 or earlier computer with nothing else on it. Does anyone know if it's like some others where the entire bumper cover has to come off?

[fatnslow]

I'm trying to find instructions to replace a front parking sensor on our XC60 but having a hard time. Volvo, like other mfrs., doesn't have service manuals available without purchasing them so it's ~$500 (which I don't have right now) for the software and a new computer to run it because we don't have a Windows 10 or earlier computer with nothing else on it. Does anyone know if it's like some others where the entire bumper cover has to come off?

Have you tried searching on Matthews Volvo site ?

[wooley12]

Wrong forum Jong.

https://volvoforums.com/forum/

[mcphee]

This is the most asked and answered with good info car repair thread I’ve ever been in, Woolley.


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[MontuckyFried]

I'm trying to find instructions to replace a front parking sensor on our XC60 but having a hard time. Volvo, like other mfrs., doesn't have service manuals available without purchasing them so it's ~$500 (which I don't have right now) for the software and a new computer to run it because we don't have a Windows 10 or earlier computer with nothing else on it. Does anyone know if it's like some others where the entire bumper cover has to come off?

Sure it needs replacement? Have you tried the WD40 trick? I need to repair one of mine too, but it's because my kid pushed it in when he was 2. Thought it was a button. Disappeared into the bumper. Still there, but I have to remove the rear bumper to pop it back in. I've just lived with it for years, but I do want to get around to it one of these days. Haha. Maybe I'll do it when I get around to getting the ICM repaired since it needs that to work anyway.

BTW, I don't know if many other cars do this, but one of the COOLEST things about the parking sensors in my Volvo is that whatever direction the sensors are detecting something is what speakers the tone comes out of. Super intuitive and your brain registers where it's coming from before you even see the screen. Nice touch! Car has killer surround sound for DVDs too. When it worked that is. I REALLY miss that Dynaudio system actually working.

[gravitylover]

I've searched the Volvo forums and asked in the Fb groups and come up empty other than "get VIDA, that's where the answers are." If anyone knows where I can get a pdf service manual that would be great. I have two for my RR that are over 3k pages each and a parts number list (in Russian) but Volvo keeps that info proprietary. There's a guy here in town, a Volvo tech, that does weekend sidework at home but he's $25 per question so unless it's desperate I probably won't use him.

MF - wd40 trick? Mcphee- yup. That's why I spend so much time in this thread. Well, that and I have now idea what I'm doing but I'm not afraid to try (anymore). I probably spend more time researching and asking questions than each job takes me but lately it has worked and I'm getting shit done.

[wooley12]

Try YouTube?

[MontuckyFried]

I've searched the Volvo forums and asked in the Fb groups and come up empty other than "get VIDA, that's where the answers are." If anyone knows where I can get a pdf service manual that would be great. I have two for my RR that are over 3k pages each and a parts number list (in Russian) but Volvo keeps that info proprietary.

Seriously! I don't know why it's such a pain to get the freaking manuals for our cars. I've even tried the usual pirating sources and have come up dry there too. I HAVE at least scored the full wiring diagram somewhere so that's been helpful at least. But yeah, I've heard the VIDA route is the way to go too. Occasionally on eBay, you can score a used dealer laptop with Windows 95 and all the software you'll need. Just have to buy a temporary license from Volvo once in a while (it's cheap enough) for when you have to do VIN coding or update the car's ECU or whatever.

MF - wd40 trick?

Yup! No guarantee, but a possibility depending on your issue. Worth a shot if you think this might be your problem. No harm in trying I guess. See below: