[V50_M66]

Thats how that hitch was designed. There was an adapter pigtail from the ECE 7 pin to the USDM 4 pin included here, originally.

Interesting, thanks. Looks like I'm going to have to find one of those too.

That's epic. My understanding is that those connectors actually work as there is an ISO standard for it. You may have seen me mention that I intend to convert to 13 pin since I am beyond fed up with 4 pin connectors and associated components that never work. I may know a place that has the towbar. I'll check.

FYI that hitch is rated for 1800kg.

Yeah hearing you and others talk about how much better the European connector is I got excited when I saw that. I've given up on buying a trailer since I hate electric brakes and don't want to hack up my car adding a controller. Euro pinouts and surge brakes make so much more sense to me.
That's an impressive number - quite usable. I remember reading it was 3,300 lbs in the US, but our numbers are usually pretty laywer-ified compared to Europe.
Ok, let me know on the towbar - thanks!

A couple of suggestions/guesses:
1) Evap leak - if the code comes back, try not filling gas all the way to the top. Fill it just up to 16 gallons (out of 18) and then see what happens. I'm currently dealing with a similar situation.
2) Vibration above 60mph when slightly turning in one direction but not the other - I had this happen once with an aftermarket front axle. The rubber boot wasn't installed correctly and when turned in one direction, it would stretch and rub on the spinning shaft inside causing vibration. Replacement axle fixed that. But this was a fluke/random occurrence.

I've never filled it over 10 gallons or so since I didn't want it to be full if I decided to drop it and don't have enough gas cans laying around to drain out 18 gallons. So I'm assuming it would be worse if I filled it all the way.
Yeah I'm going to rotate the tires and give everything a thorough inspection when I do to see if anything looks out of whack or if the vibration moves with the tires and go from there.

 

[JaredR]

Yeah hearing you and others talk about how much better the European connector is I got excited when I saw that. I've given up on buying a trailer since I hate electric brakes and don't want to hack up my car adding a controller. Euro pinouts and surge brakes make so much more sense to me.
That's an impressive number - quite usable. I remember reading it was 3,300 lbs in the US, but our numbers are usually pretty laywer-ified compared to Europe.

If you get a trailer I would just set it up to be 7 pin. Lighting options are way better and why adapt down to the American garbage that doesn't work. Only reason to have the adapter then is if you ever needed to tow someone else's trailer.

US/CDN owner's manual states 3300 lb but the towbar will be plated "Volvo" "For 850 AWD/V70 AWD" and "1800kg."

 

[JaredR]

....apparently there is a different PN for US/CDN that is downplated to 3300lb...might want to skip that LOL

 

[V50_M66]

If you get a trailer I would just set it up to be 7 pin. Lighting options are way better and why adapt down to the American garbage that doesn't work. Only reason to have the adapter then is if you ever needed to tow someone else's trailer.

US/CDN owner's manual states 3300 lb but the towbar will be plated "Volvo" "For 850 AWD/V70 AWD" and "1800kg."

Yeah that's what I'd do (every 4 pin trailer I've used save Uhaul, where they check the lights every time it goes out, has had issues) and seems easy enough, although I've looked into converting from electric brakes to surge brakes and get almost nothing. Lots of people going the other way, but not really anyone going to surge brakes.

....apparently there is a different PN for US/CDN that is downplated to 3300lb...might want to skip that LOL

In that case I'm gonna want a Euro one for that extra weight rating. Takes it from semi-usable to enough capacity to tow a car with a light enough trailer. I found the US one on Volvo Parts Counter (although I can't seem to find it again after my compute decided to update while I was using it), but it's around $400 and I'm not spending that much, especially for American spec stuff.

 

[JaredR]

Yeah that's what I'd do (every 4 pin trailer I've used save Uhaul, where they check the lights every time it goes out, has had issues) and seems easy enough, although I've looked into converting from electric brakes to surge brakes and get almost nothing. Lots of people going the other way, but not really anyone going to surge brakes.

In that case I'm gonna want a Euro one for that extra weight rating. Takes it from semi-usable to enough capacity to tow a car with a light enough trailer. I found the US one on Volvo Parts Counter (although I can't seem to find it again after my compute decided to update while I was using it), but it's around $400 and I'm not spending that much, especially for American spec stuff.

Surge brakes are really easy. All you need to do is swap out the trailer coupler for one that activates the brakes. For example:

There's a master cylinder in there so you just treat it like a car once it's all hoked up. Even submerging this thing in salt water every 6 months or so, I don't think we've had to do anything to the hydraulic system since we set it up 12 years ago.

Not really an issue but something to be aware of—the European 50mm ball is technically different than the US/CDN 2" ball. I know there are many people using 2" couplers on 50mm balls but, if outfitting your own trailer, there are couplers designed to accept both and there would be no reason not to use one of those. I think uhaul has the ones that accept 1⅞-2" balls so you would obviously be good to go with a 50mm ball in that case too.

I would highly recommend disc brakes instead of drums although a lot of our issues with our drums is probably due to submerging them in salt water every 6 months. I also would not put ANYTHING behind this car without at least 302mm front brakes.

 

[V50_M66]

Surge brakes are really easy. All you need to do is swap out the trailer coupler for one that activates the brakes. For example:
View attachment 179469
There's a master cylinder in there so you just treat it like a car once it's all hoked up. Even submerging this thing in salt water every 6 months or so, I don't think we've had to do anything to the hydraulic system since we set it up 12 years ago.

Not really an issue but something to be aware of—the European 50mm ball is technically different than the US/CDN 2" ball. I know there are many people using 2" couplers on 50mm balls but, if outfitting your own trailer, there are couplers designed to accept both and there would be no reason not to use one of those. I think uhaul has the ones that accept 1⅞-2" balls so you would obviously be good to go with a 50mm ball in that case too.

I would highly recommend disc brakes instead of drums although a lot of our issues with our drums is probably due to submerging them in salt water every 6 months. I also would not put ANYTHING behind this car without at least 302mm front brakes.

Ah that’s easier than I thought. Thanks. Also planning on 302s for this car; I’ve been searching for a cheap set of Neptunes either on FB or from a junkyard so I can clear them since they’re common, cheap, and I love how they look on these cars.

 

[V50_M66]

The Euro 7 pin to US 4 pin adaptor (PN 8633880) is NLA, but I was able to find a Land Rover equivalent for $27 that is readily available through eTrailer and should work the same (link). Now to find the removable tow bar...

 

[V50_M66]

Ok, so I'm clearing out my storage unit towards the end of this year out at school so I'm not paying $135 a month for that. As such, my Kia sedan with non-folding rear seats isn't going to cut it, so over Easter break I want to bring this car out to school with me to help with that.

Thing is, it's 900 miles one way. So, I want to get this car ready over the week I have at spring break, possibly spilling into the couple days at Easter if needed. So what should I do to make sure it's solid?

Current plans are:

• Put in the blend door actuator out of my parts XC in so it's not blowing full heat at me all the time
• Rotate the tires to see if it helps with vibration
  • Based on what I've read and talking to a friend at school that's currently M66 swapping his MY00 XC, it's most likely the driveshaft - what's the best route to go with that if it ends up being the culprit?
• Chase down my evap leak
• Install front control arms and get it aligned
• Glove test PCV
• Take a look at rusty/weeping oil cooler lines
• Put in driver door speaker if I have time since it's not working and that's a long drive for wonky audio

Is there anything else I should take a look at or just replace?

 

[mattj456]

Not sure what the current state of things is but there are plenty of components in the cooling system that can and will bring a 1,800mi round trip to a halt

 

[ZZZZZZZ]

Getting some of that down and then taking it on some shakedown trips is a good idea. Like around a beltway or up and back a few times on a highway that keep you nearby the house to get it back easily. 900 one way is wicked long. The other thing to do is NOT push it. We took the XC up to NYC and babied it and it did well. I took the VR down to essentially Savannah, GA from DC, and to make time I tried to push it harder and it didn’t like that. Granted it’s a longer trip but I think had I just calmly cruised at like 90 or so it would have been fine.

 

[V50_M66]

Not sure what the current state of things is but there are plenty of components in the cooling system that can and will bring a 1,800mi round trip to a halt

Cooling system is mint. I just put in a new upper and lower hose, new reservoir, new reservoir cap, new reservoir hoses, Do88 turbo upper hose (couldn't reach the lower one without removing AWD or exhaust stuff, but it's tiny), new Do88 heater hoses, new firewall junction, and new heater core. So the cooling system should be pretty much perfect - only parts that aren't new are the radiator, water pump, and that one turbo hose.

This reminds me - I should do the serpentine belt/tensioner/idler as well since it's squeaky and idk when it was last done

Getting some of that down and then taking it on some shakedown trips is a good idea. Like around a beltway or up and back a few times on a highway that keep you nearby the house to get it back easily. 900 one way is wicked long. The other thing to do is NOT push it. We took the XC up to NYC and babied it and it did well. The VR down to essentially Savannah, GA and to make time I tried to push it and it didn’t like that. Granted it’s a longer trip but I think had I just calmly cruised ir would have been fine.

That's the plan. My dad's XC didn't like doing 95 all the way to Carlisle last year. Taking it out to school with me beginning of this year at 80-85, it was much happier. I've put almost 400 miles on the car, most of which over the span of a couple weeks over winter break, and it's been quite solid.

 

[ZZZZZZZ]

You were at Carlisle? Which day? Reminder: we are officially 14 weeks away this year. 5-12 & 13, 2023.

Cooling system is mint. I just put in a new upper and lower hose, new reservoir, new reservoir cap, new reservoir hoses, Do88 turbo upper hose (couldn't reach the lower one without removing AWD or exhaust stuff, but it's tiny), new Do88 heater hoses, new firewall junction, and new heater core. So the cooling system should be pretty much perfect - only parts that aren't new are the radiator, water pump, and that one turbo hose.

This reminds me - I should do the serpentine belt/tensioner/idler as well since it's squeaky and idk when it was last done

That's the plan. My dad's XC didn't like doing 95 all the way to Carlisle last year. Taking it out to school with me beginning of this year at 80-85, it was much happier. I've put almost 400 miles on the car, most of which over the span of a couple weeks over winter break, and it's been quite solid.

 

[V50_M66]

You were at Carlisle? Which day? Reminder: we are officially 14 weeks away this year. 5-12 & 13, 2023.

Saturday. It was around the time I joined the forum so I didn't really know of anyone yet. I'll try to bring this car this year, and hopefully meet some of you guys. That's a few days after I get out of school, so I can time that pretty well.

 

[JaredR]

Carry an extra fuel pump relay
In the distributor cars I carry a full set of backup ignition parts since any single component failing takes down the whole system.
Inspect your cam and crank sensors and wiring.
When I am taking one of the automatic cars and want to be really prepared, I carry a spare starter. I carry one at all times in the T-5R since it so frequently goes so far from home.

I have never needed any of this in the field. Since we started driving Volvos, we've had cars disabled in the field 4 times. Two were due to cooling system failures, a blown heater core hose and a bearing failure in an aftermarket water pump. One was due to me not getting a relay plugged back in all the way because the insulation had fallen apart and jammed the connector without me realizing what had happened. The most recent was due to a fuel pump failure in my mom's S70 which, for some reason, had a Walbro pump in it. So, of all of our failures, two were due to less than OE quality replacement parts installed by a prior owner, one due to failure to adhere to appropriate maintenance schedule, and one due to user error.

My focus would be on identifying and replacing any aftermarket replacement parts, anything that is believed to be beyond its recommended service life, and anything that is known to currently be malfunctioning.


I'll drive my T-5R hard on trips and the only time I ever had an issue with it was when I later realized my original fuel pump was dying at like 313k miles which was apparently causing all sorts of crazy problems since it all went away after I replaced it. Something is probably broken or about to break if you're having an issue with that. I don't go 95 all the time for a variety of reasons, but that car will happily sit in traffic flowing 90-95 for hours at a time. And that's tame compared to tearing around the mountains for hours on end. That's actually what I was doing when the fuel pump first started acting up. It was fine when I got back to normal road trip driving but it wasn't long after I got home before it was obvious at all times that I had a problem. Threw in a new pump and then the next big trip my dad and I combined to do a 1500 mile round trip in 30 hours with zero issues.

There are a lot of places I really don't want to drive if I don't have a car that is comfortable keeping up

 

[V50_M66]

Carry an extra fuel pump relay
In the distributor cars I carry a full set of backup ignition parts since any single component failing takes down the whole system.
Inspect your cam and crank sensors and wiring.
When I am taking one of the automatic cars and want to be really prepared, I carry a spare starter. I carry one at all times in the T-5R since it so frequently goes so far from home.

I have never needed any of this in the field. Since we started driving Volvos, we've had cars disabled in the field 4 times. Two were due to cooling system failures, a blown heater core hose and a bearing failure in an aftermarket water pump. One was due to me not getting a relay plugged back in all the way because the insulation had fallen apart and jammed the connector without me realizing what had happened. The most recent was due to a fuel pump failure in my mom's S70 which, for some reason, had a Walbro pump in it. So, of all of our failures, two were due to less than OE quality replacement parts installed by a prior owner, one due to failure to adhere to appropriate maintenance schedule, and one due to user error.

My focus would be on identifying and replacing any aftermarket replacement parts, anything that is believed to be beyond its recommended service life, and anything that is known to currently be malfunctioning.


I'll drive my T-5R hard on trips and the only time I ever had an issue with it was when I later realized my original fuel pump was dying at like 313k miles which was apparently causing all sorts of crazy problems since it all went away after I replaced it. Something is probably broken or about to break if you're having an issue with that. I don't go 95 all the time for a variety of reasons, but that car will happily sit in traffic flowing 90-95 for hours at a time. And that's tame compared to tearing around the mountains for hours on end. That's actually what I was doing when the fuel pump first started acting up. It was fine when I got back to normal road trip driving but it wasn't long after I got home before it was obvious at all times that I had a problem. Threw in a new pump and then the next big trip my dad and I combined to do a 1500 mile round trip in 30 hours with zero issues.

There are a lot of places I really don't want to drive if I don't have a car that is comfortable keeping up

Lots of good info here - thanks. I'll be sure to get the ignition parts I haven't yet replaced (cap, rotor, and coil), and be sure to thoroughly inspect all the wiring. Should I just outright replace the cam and crank sensor?

The serpentine belt is making noise, so I'm going to replace that, the tensioner, and idler. Supposedly the timing belt was done like 30k ago (not sure how long ago age wise), and it does have a Conti belt in it. Considering replacing that too (and wp, tensioner, idler) to be safe, and replacing evap hoses and intake piping as necessary.

The fuel pump isn't giving me issues, but with all this talk about it I might go ahead and replace it anyway, if not for this trip at least sometime in the near future. This will also give me the opportunity to replace all the hoses on top of the tank, which will be nice.

 

[Rally Man]

I'd do the timing belt too, you're pretty much there, do it and have peace of mind.

 

[V50_M66]

Anyone know the correct part number for AWD evap hoses? The J hose and other evap hose are both listed as FWD only on every source I look at, and no AWD alternative is listed.

 

[V50_M66]

Anyone know the correct part number for AWD evap hoses? The J hose and other evap hose are both listed as FWD only on every source I look at, and no AWD alternative is listed.

So judging by this diagram, I need 4, 16, and a bunch of vacuum hose (described only as LG with a length). What size ID vacuum hose diameter is this?

 

[JaredR]

Lots of good info here - thanks. I'll be sure to get the ignition parts I haven't yet replaced (cap, rotor, and coil), and be sure to thoroughly inspect all the wiring. Should I just outright replace the cam and crank sensor?

The serpentine belt is making noise, so I'm going to replace that, the tensioner, and idler. Supposedly the timing belt was done like 30k ago (not sure how long ago age wise), and it does have a Conti belt in it. Considering replacing that too (and wp, tensioner, idler) to be safe, and replacing evap hoses and intake piping as necessary.

The fuel pump isn't giving me issues, but with all this talk about it I might go ahead and replace it anyway, if not for this trip at least sometime in the near future. This will also give me the opportunity to replace all the hoses on top of the tank, which will be nice.

I would do the timing belt/etc. I replaced the cam and crank sensors in both of my 850s.

 

[qmark]

cam seals ...definitely!!!