[joeycmsu]

Figured it was time to start a build thread as I am about to start some more ‘serious’ modifications...

This build thread is for my 2006 XC90 2.5t AWD. It was purchased in 2012 with about 80k on the odo. Here we are in 2020, and it now has 208k miles and has been a great car. In the words of Jeremy Clarkson, it’s time to “ruin it” with some modifications 🙂

Back in January of this year I did a complete ‘Stage 0’ including replacing the PCV system (had been previously replaced when I first bought it), timing belt/water pump, all engine mounts, etc. I also installed a few upgraded suspension components - IPD sway bar and poly subframe bushing inserts.

Earlier this summer I finally got a Stage 1 tune from Hilton Tuning, and wow I should have done that years ago! Of course that small taste of waking up the whiteblock engine has started to snowball a little.

My immediate plans (things to do in the next month or so) includes the following:
- Install TD04HL-16t turbo
- Install 3” downpipe from EuroSport Tuning
- Install OTE pipe from a T5
- Install “Japanifold” exhaust manifold (cause ya know, while I’m in there...)
- Install Bosch green injectors
- Stage 3 tune from Hilton
- Repair angle gear collar sleeve
- Install IPD HD front control arms
- Replace a few more suspension/steering items
- Do a few more transmission drain fills

Here’s to no rusted/stuck bolts!

 

[ChitownV]

Looks like a good start to a build plan.

I have a few questions and a suggestion:

What are your power, handling, driveability, and longevity goals?
Any plans to open her up later to shim or install closed deck sleeves or simply looking for a full bolt-on?
If you are looking at Japanifold and the larger turbo, I am assuming you now crave that upper end missing from the small stock turbo?
Have you addressed the oil seals and small coolant lines?

I would skip the IPD HD front control arms as they are not any better than stock for performance. Go with forward polyurethane bushings with original Volvo rearward bushings.

 

[joeycmsu]

The main goal is just to have a daily driver that’s a little more fun to drive - so yeah, I’d say full bolt on. I am leaving the transmission torque limit in place in first/second, and generally trying to address any maintenance issues.

I’ll be replacing the oil seals and coolant lines around the turbo when I put the new one in, but are there others that should be replaced? With 15 years and 200k on the car, I am trying to stay on top of replacing any rubber parts before they fail.

 

[ChitownV]

Off the top of my head, There is the small hose at the rear of the engine leading to the overflow tank, connected to a hard line. Then there are the hoses at the lower passenger rear of the oil pan for the oil cooler. Someone on this forum mentioned these hoses and I haven't changed them yet. There should be o-rings too connecting the oil cooler to the pan. Again, I plan to change these on an XC90, so don't have experience on them yet.

Then I am assuming you will do the seals when you do the angle gear sleeve. Have you repacked the CV joints yet as that grease gets old?

 

[joeycmsu]

Alright, 4 months later and I finally have time to start working on this. I’m taking the week off from work and hope to get everything installed, but I am a little concerned that the angle gear removal/reseal and haldex service are going to eat up a lot of time.
Wish me luck and I’ll be posting pictures and updates!

 

[joeycmsu]

Testing to see if I can post pictures - here is my car...

 

[ggleavitt]

Why not drop an R motor in? Guy did it a few years ago, see link for details- 2004 XC90 2.5T Engine Swap to R Engine. Black Friday Special Edition | SwedeSpeed - Volvo Performance Forum

If nothing else it may give you some ideas.

 

[joeycmsu]

Certainly an R motor would give better performance, but I would definitely have to do a trans swap as well. The turbo and manifold was only like $400, and everything else I would have to spend with an R engine as well, so I’m not spending all that much money on performance with the current setup.
If I ever really push the limits with this XC, I will do a manual swap and do a built engine, but I don’t really see going to that much effort at this point.

 

[ggleavitt]

I probably would not have done a manual but I get your point. If you have the bolt-ons already, might as well put them to good use. Thanks for clarifying.

 

[ChitownV]

Certainly an R motor would give better performance, but I would definitely have to do a trans swap as well. The turbo and manifold was only like $400, and everything else I would have to spend with an R engine as well, so I'm not spending all that much money on performance with the current setup.
If I ever really push the limits with this XC, I will do a manual swap and do a built engine, but I don't really see going to that much effort at this point.

I agree with this to keep it on the mild instead of wild side for the easy and affordable mods. Even with an R swap, if you go to the next level, you will still have to remove the heads to at least do cylinder shims, welding the angle gear sleeve, etc. Then, for a manual swap, finding a clutch that will work well with the extra weight of the XC90 as power handling of clutch discs isn't the only factor when deciding on drivability.

There is much more to consider in the overall package if deciding to do an R swap with mods and the replacement parts when doing a swap.

 

[ggleavitt]

Huh? Standard M66 will work fine in this setup if that were the direction you wanted to go. I'm missing the part about head removal, was that listed in the link example of the person who actually did one of these?

Welding the angle gear sleeve is an option when it strips and you don't want to buy a new one.

No name calling here, just pointing out that the information being noted in the previous post is lacking detail and is not correct.

 

[ChitownV]

Huh? Standard M66 will work fine in this setup if that were the direction you wanted to go. I'm missing the part about head removal, was that listed in the link example of the person who actually did one of these?

Welding the angle gear sleeve is an option when it strips and you don't want to buy a new one.

No name calling here, just pointing out that the information being noted in the previous post is lacking detail and is not correct.

Post #2 in this thread I asked about power goals which should always be asked in an engine build. If you also read that post, I suggest to strengthen the wear parts around the engine and XC90 overall before adding power mods. That is also known to set the car to stage 0, so it is ready for power upgrades.

Welp, there goes ggleavitt again. When modding, we usually go by cost, time, stages, and return. Mild modding, what joeycmsu is talking about are bolt-ons that don't require many extra parts and upgraded (non-engine) parts. If spending the money for an R engine, then yes, bulletproofing and doing small upgrades is worth both the time and money. I have done several engine swaps and this is the decision making and practice. People who haven't done them usually underestimate how big the "while you are in there" (and/or while the engine is out) parts and decision making is.

This thread was about the bolt-ons on a good running engine, not an R engine swap as ggleavitt suggested. But going the R route, if you do your own research ggleavitt, then you will learn about the cylinders rocking and causing internal damage when upping the boost (and sometimes just with high mileage). So, if a used R engine is a future possibility, it is always a great idea to future proof and bulletproof the engine while it is out of the vehicle. Basic things when doing mods and engine swapping. Ggleavitt it would help you if you search as you have suggested others do.

Now that Ggleavitt tried to hijack this thread, let's get back to the updates from joeycmsu. Joeycmsu has really done a good job of mapping out good upgrades that still give good drivability that all XC90 2.5t owners can learn from. Larger turbos might gain some top-end horsepower at the expense of some lower-end power loss, so choosing a 16T turbo is good for both power/drivability worlds. For others researching how to get some good modest gain, here is a decent write-up of the different sized turbos: Volvo Turbocharger Swap Guide. Of course, you can also search Sweedspeed too.

I am looking forward to seeing how these upgrades will perform in the heavy XC90 with joeycmsu's build and updates.

 

[ggleavitt]

Fair enough ChitownV you're the definitive "expert" now on XC90 performance improvements. I'll make a "pointed" point of sending folks your way.

Guess I'll just keep wrenching on my stock vehicles and leave things well enough alone in this department, "stay in my lane" if you will.

Sorry to Joey, was just asking a question before the "performance expert" chimed in. Appreciated your answer, Thanks

 

[ChitownV]

Fair enough ChitownV you're the definitive "expert" now on XC90 performance improvements. I'll make a "pointed" point of sending folks your way.

Guess I'll just keep wrenching on my stock vehicles and leave things well enough alone in this department, "stay in my lane" if you will.

Sorry to Joey, was just asking a question before the "performance expert" chimed in. Appreciated your answer, Thanks

No matter what the name, some of us refrain from consistently calling people different "names." Again, ggleavitt's repeated attempt of trying to gaslight.

The first thing to do was to listen/read people's posts. Let's just let people do what they do and in this thread, it was very clear from post #1 that joeycmsu did his homework. He is also going into undocumented XC90 territory to see how these mods, that S60/V70 owners have done, will perform in the much heavier XC90. So, it isn't totally undocumented or un-tried/tested, which makes it a very interesting thread to follow.

I am excited to see if that 280hp+ mark plus a good torque band can be achieved by using parts from different Volvos and a custom tune (assuming Hilton). This would make it affordable, tried, tested, fitted, and reliable. Exciting stuff.

 

[Capndirk]

Fair enough ChitownV you're the definitive "expert" now on XC90 performance improvements. I'll make a "pointed" point of sending folks your way.

Guess I'll just keep wrenching on my stock vehicles and leave things well enough alone in this department, "stay in my lane" if you will.

Sorry to Joey, was just asking a question before the "performance expert" chimed in. Appreciated your answer, Thanks

Give it a rest, already.

 

[ggleavitt]

You're right Cap'n, perhaps I'm judging the guy too harshly.

Folks decide what to do about keeping this thread "whole", I'll delete my posts in another 24 hours and the quoted re-posts can be dealt with as others see fit. There's a running record of this forum somewhere so it's being kept for posterity sake.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[ChitownV]

You're right Cap'n, perhaps I'm judging the guy too harshly.

Folks decide what to do about keeping this thread "whole", I'll delete my posts in another 24 hours and the quoted re-posts can be dealt with as others see fit. There's a running record of this forum somewhere so it's being kept for posterity sake.

Thanks for the feedback.

So, now you are trying to hide what you wrote and how you responded? Clearly, if you feel you need to delete what you wrote, then that's a good lesson and record that you shouldn't have written it. Just stop acting the way you are. Listen to people's contributions and accept you don't know everything. Other people can contribute too and from what you revealed from this thread, it's clear you can still learn from other members. That's the gist of an online car forum, share and learn. Be a good forum member.

 

[Leto Atreides II]

 

[ChitownV]

Alright, joeycmsu, this is just here to light a fire so you can get those mods in . The youtube poster said it has a 16T T5 turbo (stock XC90 2.5t turbo is 14T as reference) and green (R) injectors. Besides the custom tune, no mention of any other mods. Power is ~280hp and ~360 lb-ft. With a downpipe and Japanifold manifold, joeycmsu's build should be making more power. If I remember correctly, it's also believed that the 2006 2.5t had the same exhaust manifold as the R, but don't quote me, search it as I could be wrong.

I think the take-off in the video had some wheel spin, but still ~6s for 0-100km for a V70. I'm more interested in the mid-rpm power and rolling acceleration for the XC90.

 

[John C]

Listen to people's contributions and accept you don't know everything.

That's good advice.