BLUE - 2017 Volvo V40 T2 R-Design Progress Thread

[Petey80]

Came off my night shift this morning and decided to stay up all day...... god I'm tired right now.

Decided, as it was actually a nice day, to get to cleaning the Pipercross air filter I have installed.

It has been in a year to the day so was in need of doing.

Popped the bonnet, removed all the screws from around the airbox and took the filter out.



Followed the instructions that came with the cleaning kit and firstly brushed all the bits off the filter. Then used the "Air Filter Cleaner" spraying that all over the underside of the filter and agitated that with a soft brush.
Then washed it out with warm water and left it outside to dry.

That seemed to take forever, which really shouldn't have been a surprise as it's a foam filter.

Whilst that was drying off, I thought I may as well hoover out the interior.

Had the kids in for 1 journey and they had left grass all over the footwells in the back. Pictures aren't great, but it was worse than they show.



The front was looking a bit grubby as well



Passenger side, not so much



Rear passenger side



Hoovered it all over and wiped it down with some dashboard wipes I got from Wilko's ages ago when it was closing down.













Such a nice interior. I really like the half leather/half alacantara seats.

Bowser and Goomba approve



After doing all that, the filter was finally dry. I gave it a light coating of the "Air Filter Dirt Retention Additive" on both sides as per the instructions and re-installed it.



Jag wheel update #2 - I've managed to pick some overtime shifts up whilst I'm off this week so the alloys are booked in for refurb on 31st July!! I can't wait.

[Petey80]

Something a litle different to start off with.

The wife and I had a ride out to Marske the other night. Such a pretty place









The beach is definitely one of the nicest ones in the nearby area.

Of course I had to get a sunset-car shot.



This morning, I gave Blue a clean after getting home from my night shift. Luckily, I finished just before it started to get really warm.

Once dried and all the detaily bits were done, I had a drive to the nearby stately home for some pics.

















And that's that.

[Petey80]

I managed to keep a bit of cash back from my last wage packet, so ordered a little something something for Blue.

Again from Autodoc and only took a few days to come, including over a weekend.

Eibach Pro Front Springs





The correct ones with regards to front axle weight



Shiny and new



And now I have the full set!!



Rear on the left, front on the right



Looking forward to getting those on at some point in the near future.

I may have also purchased further suspension components, so more pictures and information when they arrive next week all being well.

[Petey80]

I kept on seeing a microfibre cloth company appear on my FB feed, so thought I'd give them a go.

Just ordered a few cloths to see what they're like along with some shampoo as I'm almost out





PH neutral, so shouldn't strip any protection that is applied. Supposedly highly concentrated and very sudsie.

I got 10 cloths altogether. I was impressed that they were in their own sealable little bags



They seem pretty decent. Close to the well known Kirkland type cloth. Will compare them when I'm next in the garage.

[Petey80]

A few upgrades and renewables arrived over the last week or so.

First up;

New Febi/Bilstein rear shock absorber top mounts











I am 99.9% sure that they will fit. When you actually search for 2016/17 V40 rear top mounts, only OE ones come up and they're priced at over £100.

As the V40 is on the P1 platform and based on the Ford Focus and Mazda 3 and the V50, C30 and S40 they should be fine and also after searching the V40 Crew FB group, another member bought these and confirmed they fit.

I will find out next week when I offer them up and also install them along with these beauties



What do I have here.......?????

Bilstein



B6's baby!!







I um'd and ar'd about whether to order new bump stops and dust covers or just use the ones already on the car and give them a clean up.......... I decided on a new set to go with all the new stuff. They should be here by Monday all being well.

If they are and the weather is decent I'll have them installed Monday afternoon/evening as I'm only at work for half a day. If not it'll be Wednesday afternoon or Thursday. Basically the first chance I get.

And I also ordered and received new bolts for the bottom of the shocks



And new bolts for the top mounts



Got these from TMS aka Volvo Parts Shop. Really good service from those guys. Always spot on and are really helpful and accurate when it comes to getting the right parts.

[Kev0607]

Nice Petey! Some real goodies there for sure. Expensive ones too!!!

Did you have to pay any import fees from Autodoc?

Do you not like the shocks that are on it currently? I'm guessing they're Sachs if original.

B6's on the front too, eventually?

TMS... I haven't heard of them before. Are they the ones that have an eBay store (Formerly Mill Volvo in Newcastle, now Stoneacre)?

[Petey80]

Originally Posted by Kev0607

Nice Petey! Some real goodies there for sure. Expensive ones too!!!

Did you have to pay any import fees from Autodoc?

Thanks Kev.

Yeah, some decent stuff. I do prefer to pay a little extra and get better quality items. Don't think you can get better than Bilstein and Eibach for suspension parts.

No import fees, no. Straight to the door in 6 days with Evri. Really impressed with Autodoc at the moment.

They also have some Meyle HD front suspension arms I've now saved into my "Wishlist".

I wracked up how much I've spent recently on all the wheels and suspension bits and it came to over £1k!!!???? Didn't realise that at all. A friend asked me about it so I totalled it all up..... That's enough spending for now, or until everything is paid off.
I have the tyres and B6's on "Pay in 3" via PayPal, so once that's all finished I'll carry on when I have more funds available.

Originally Posted by Kev0607

Do you not like the shocks that are on it currently? I'm guessing they're Sachs if original.

Not a case of not liking them, just wanting to upgrade them all if I'm honest. I had these on the back of the V50 I had. Just like the thought of them being stronger and hopefully they'll iradicate some of the crashing when going over bumps/potholes.
Plus they'll compliment the Eibach Pro Kit lowering springs once they go on.

Originally Posted by Kev0607

B6's on the front too, eventually?

I will get B6's for the front eventually, but they're currently £185 each on Autodoc so they'll have to wait for now.

Originally Posted by Kev0607

TMS... I haven't heard of them before. Are they the ones that have an eBay store (Formerly Mill Volvo in Newcastle, now Stoneacre)?

TMS are located in Hinkley, this is their web page - https://www.volvoparts.tmsmotorgroup.co.uk/ - I know the one you're referring to though.
I've stopped using the Mill garages that have been taken over by Stoneacre. They've all gone downhill since then.
I may pop to my local one just for some parts as I need some oil for a service in the near future. Will see what they're like. If no good, I'll have a little road trip down to York and go to Ray Chapman. Been there twice now and can't fault them at all.

[Petey80]

I went ahead and bought some new bump stops and dust covers.

Ordered from e-bay and were listed as Sachs items.

When they turned up I was presented with this



After searching the net, I found that Boge and Sachs items are manufactured by NF Aftermarket - https://arksglobal.co.uk/sachs-or-bo...he-difference/ - and are one and the same, just the packaging that's different.
There are other sources to confirm this, so I was happy with my findings.

And here they are



The dust covers look a bit dirty, so I'll give them a clean before installation commences. Not that they'll stay clean for longer than a day though.

Top mounts again.

As they are so open to the elements and are liable for corrosion and snapping near the bolt holes, I thought I'd try and help fight against that a little bit



Gave them 2 coats of Hammerite.

And that's it for the rear shock absorber setup.

Next up is fitting which will happen on Monday afternoon/evening, or Wednesday afternoon/evening or Thursday when I'm off the whole day. All depends on the weather as I'll be doing them on the drive.
At the moment the forecast is rain the majority of next week.

Tomorrow I'll be finishing off a caliper painting job for a friend at work, so will snap a few pictures once complete.

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by Petey80

Thanks Kev.

Yeah, some decent stuff. I do prefer to pay a little extra and get better quality items. Don't think you can get better than Bilstein and Eibach for suspension parts.

No import fees, no. Straight to the door in 6 days with Evri. Really impressed with Autodoc at the moment.

They also have some Meyle HD front suspension arms I've now saved into my "Wishlist".

I wracked up how much I've spent recently on all the wheels and suspension bits and it came to over £1k!!!???? Didn't realise that at all. A friend asked me about it so I totalled it all up..... That's enough spending for now, or until everything is paid off.
I have the tyres and B6's on "Pay in 3" via PayPal, so once that's all finished I'll carry on when I have more funds available.



Not a case of not liking them, just wanting to upgrade them all if I'm honest. I had these on the back of the V50 I had. Just like the thought of them being stronger and hopefully they'll iradicate some of the crashing when going over bumps/potholes.
Plus they'll compliment the Eibach Pro Kit lowering springs once they go on.



I will get B6's for the front eventually, but they're currently £185 each on Autodoc so they'll have to wait for now.



TMS are located in Hinkley, this is their web page - https://www.volvoparts.tmsmotorgroup.co.uk/ - I know the one you're referring to though.
I've stopped using the Mill garages that have been taken over by Stoneacre. They've all gone downhill since then.
I may pop to my local one just for some parts as I need some oil for a service in the near future. Will see what they're like. If no good, I'll have a little road trip down to York and go to Ray Chapman. Been there twice now and can't fault them at all.

Yeah, Bilstein are top notch really.

Autodoc seem to be very reasonably priced. I've never used them before though, so its good to hear positive feedback.

Meyle are great. My Dad has a set of them on his V70. He got them for £90 each from Parts for Volvo. My local Volvo main dealer (Lookers) wanted nearly £180 for one!!! It didn't make sense spending that kind of money just for control arms on an older car with 163,000 miles on it. So far so good with the Meyle's. The car drives like a car that has half the mileage thanks to the new control arms, as well as the front/rear suspension rebuild.

Sounds like you've spent a good chunk of money there. I didn't think it was that much either being honest, as I've been following this thread closely. I suppose it doesn't take long for things to mount up! At least you've got some of the items on the "Pay in 3" scheme with PayPal, so that gives you chance to spread the cost. That's a good thing, especially for the high value items.

I haven't used Mill Volvo for a few years now. Sadly, its not uncommon for things to change when someone else takes over. It doesn't surprise me that they aren't as good as they used to be.

One good thing for you is that your car is relatively new, so there's less chance of coming across stubborn/rusty bolts. Good luck with the fitment. Hopefully the weather isn't too bad and you don't get soaked in the process!

[Petey80]

Originally Posted by Kev0607

Yeah, Bilstein are top notch really.

Autodoc seem to be very reasonably priced. I've never used them before though, so its good to hear positive feedback.

Meyle are great. My Dad has a set of them on his V70. He got them for £90 each from Parts for Volvo. My local Volvo main dealer (Lookers) wanted nearly £180 for one!!! It didn't make sense spending that kind of money just for control arms on an older car with 163,000 miles on it. So far so good with the Meyle's. The car drives like a car that has half the mileage thanks to the new control arms, as well as the front/rear suspension rebuild.

Sounds like you've spent a good chunk of money there. I didn't think it was that much either being honest, as I've been following this thread closely. I suppose it doesn't take long for things to mount up! At least you've got some of the items on the "Pay in 3" scheme with PayPal, so that gives you chance to spread the cost. That's a good thing, especially for the high value items.

I haven't used Mill Volvo for a few years now. Sadly, its not uncommon for things to change when someone else takes over. It doesn't surprise me that they aren't as good as they used to be.

One good thing for you is that your car is relatively new, so there's less chance of coming across stubborn/rusty bolts. Good luck with the fitment. Hopefully the weather isn't too bad and you don't get soaked in the process!

Autodoc is reasonable when it comes to prices. As long as you're okay to wait 6 days or more for the part, it's well worth using them.
One thing I have noticed with them however, is that their prices on certain items are always changing. Maybe only by a couple of quid, but each day items I have in my wish list are a different price to the day before.
That's kind of what spurred me on buying the rear B6's, luckily they were at a fairly low price the day I was looking at them.

I really rate Meyle HD parts. The ball joints are really strong and looking at drop links for example, like the ones I used, they were nearly twice the size of the OE ones. I put Meyle HD TRE's on my V50 and they were loads beefier than the OE ones as well.
I've also got some rear anti roll bar drop links to go on, again Meyle HD items. I only got them as they were like £10 each. One is silver and the other is black though...... So might have to paint them.

I have, haven't I..... You don't realise when you're just clicking away and ordering things via PayPal.. When somethings a good price and you know you can afford it one way or another, I just go crazy.

The PayPal "Pay in 3" is a godsend though, I wouldn't have gotten half the things I have if it wasn't for that. Plus the 39 hours of overtime I did the other week.

I remembered I also haven't added the £276 for the refurb and the £75 I'll be paying for having the alloys ceramic coated..... So that's over £1,300!!!????

No, I took my V50 to Mill in Stockton/Preston Farm for an air con "service" and it was terrible. They said there was a minor leak, but regassed it anyway, which I thought was against the law???
They did a health check and found all 4 tyres wearing on the inner edge, no offer of a wheel alignment check, just 4 new tyres.
When I complained about the service, I didn't get very far with them and they weren't really interested.
I think the parts department is still okay though, but time will tell when I pop there at the end of the month.

Yes, I'm hoping all the shock absorber bolts come out nice and easy. The top mount ones should do as they are only torqued to 30nm, just the bottom one might be tight at 170nm.
I'll be doing it on the drive and luckily I now have a little impact gun. Hoping I can crack the nut then buzz it straight off with the gun. There isn't much room to get any kind of breaker bar on it as you have to contend with the wheel arch or the floor.

A full write up will be forthcoming though.