[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.

 

[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?

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[ChitownV]

That's good advice.

Thanks, because there will be people with more and different real-world experiences. Whether it is performance, new product materials, fluids, repair techniques, or LED lights, it's good to update one's knowledge and accept these new members and experiences.

 

[ChitownV]

Control arms and steering knuckles came out without much fuss. Outer tie rods and ball joints were completely shot (I have new ones to install). If anybody has any tricks for removing the ball joints from the knuckles, let me know. They are rusted pretty good.

I use a cold chisel + hammer and aim for the small part of the balljoint flat area that just sticks out of the knuckle. Hit one side, then the other, until there is a big enough gap where I can get a prybar to assist. Have always been successful to remove the Volvo P2 ball joints this way.

 

[ChitownV]

Sorry, here is a link to a cold chisel. I haven't used this specific one, but what I do like about it is it's longer and not as wide. https://www.amazon.com/400-4-Inch-8...1&keywords=cold+chisel&qid=1609387359&sr=8-19 You can also find a set of cold chisels that might help in different situations.

Good luck.

 

[ChitownV]

There's a tool we used to call a pickle fork that's like 2 chisels side by side that is easier to use or:

Go to Autozone and borrow (for free) their ball joint separator.

Or, get a BFH and:
View attachment 115187

That is used if separating from the control arm. For the knuckle, it's different.

 

[ChitownV]

Got the prop shaft out of the front (Angle gear) flange. The flange has 6 bolt holes in it to connect the shaft, and it also has two extra holes. I used two of the M8 bolts that were removed from the flange, cut about an inch off them, inserted them through the back of the flange and hit them with a 3lb sledge. It took about 18" of socket extensions, going from the driver's side, to get a good angle on the bolt to hit it.
Now to get the shaft off the rear. Hoping the same approach will work.

Nice!! Keep it coming. And if you want to tease us with more pics, that's good too

For installation of the balljoint, I start a few threads of the two bolts then I bang on a steel pipe with a cap end that goes over the balljoint. It is large enough to go around the balljoint boot (preventing damage) and bang the base of the balljoint into the knuckle. I don't like how some people just tighten the two bolts as that can bend the base tabs and doesn't fully seat the round base into the knuckle.

OK, I'm confused. What is the OP trying to replace?

If you pop the stud out of the LAC, you can reattach it. If you wail on the ball joint with a hammer it's junk, IMHO, and you still have to release the stud to replace it.

Removal of the balljoint from the knuckle was the issue, not the removal of the balljoint from the LCA. If you have done it before, you will know the balljoint is bolted to the knuckle with two bolts. It can get rusted or corroded in the knuckle as well. Removal of the balljoint from the knuckle doesn't have to damage the balljoint.

Here is a video to see the use of a screwdriver/chisel to remove the balljoint out of the knuckle.

 

[ChitownV]

I kind of agree with you on this. Welding the angle gear sleeve might be your only option for the power you are likely to create. With more torque than a V8 in a modded 2.5t, it takes just one [fun] moment to damage the splines/sleeve. In this round of fixes and upgrades, might be good to just get the XC90 running well and then tackle the sleeve at a later date. Though more work, makes sense when it's your personal car and not a project car that's the 4th vehicle in the stable.

Keep it up!

 

[ChitownV]

Oh gee, glad that stud didn't give you problems before. Do you have the part number on your stock manifold? From the initial look, it seems the same as an R manifold.

For others who might want to also upgrade, does this sum up the essential parts to your build? T5 Turbo 16T (angle), the Japanifold has a larger exit bore & higher flow, green injectors (R) for the flow at stock fuel psi, then custom Hilton Tune?

 

[ChitownV]

That is always good advice. If it is time to change the outer tie rod due to normal wear, then it is a good idea to change the inner one too. People can save a lot of time and headache since it is easier to remove the entire tie rod. I also bought a side facing (oetiker) clamp tool for the boot clamp and I can use it in parallel to the tie rod vs perpendicular.

One time I had an issue with a rusted tie rod ball joint nut. Being at home, I used a Dremel with a small cutoff wheel and cut the nut. The Dremel with cutoff wheel has saved me numerous times and it is small enough to fit into tight spaces. Hold it tight because if it bounces, then there might be some collateral damage.

 

[ChitownV]

Nice, Besides a Dremel for rusted bolts/nuts, a heat gun is another great tool to have that helps install or remove those rubber bits. I also use a heat gun where I'm afraid plastic is going to crack when removing.

Can't wait for the end result!

 

[ChitownV]

If the logs look good, then you have some time to think or purchase new injectors from reputable FCP. Or get it done so Hilton ensures the tune is set to the injectors. I have had an injector fail on me and it burned up the piston. The exhaust valve luckily was sodium filled so it handled the heat. With a turbo, for peace of mind, I would get the injectors. Glad you said something here about it because getting good quality parts and getting them from reputable places is worth a little more money, just to keep peace of mind. Great lesson for those planning a build or modifications.

 

[ChitownV]

I have had one issue with a drop shipper from FCP (only time they used one with me) and they corrected it really quick. They went to ship the parts from their warehouse to quality check the next day. How are they handling it?

This is also good info in verifying parts that come in, from anywhere. What are the part numbers on the shorter injectors? Are they different?

 

[ChitownV]

Looks great! Does that mean you can safely get good part-throttle logs? Perhaps a WOT pull?

 

[ChitownV]

When you can, please update us on your MPG in normal driving too. Can't wait to see the video!