Swirl arm actuator

[Powerhorse]

Sent my car into Volvo as fault codes came up when I booted it the other day I revved it up and happened when accelerating.

checked when got home, found the swirl flap connecting rod had come off one end (the swirl flap end) and there was a bit of oil around the swirl flap end

Did my own scan, got codes P2004 intake manifold runners stuck open and P0101 MAF out of range

they said its the swirl flap actuator on their proper code reader,

Said they first need to check wiring and linkage,

At dealership said £350 for further checks and wiring. They have now sent me a quote for £1157, that just says "wiring check and linkage"

Car is 2006 V70 P2, D5 2.4 Diesel, 185bhp, manual.

[Powerhorse]

Thing is Volvo are leaning towards wiring and then actuator failure.

But car was fine until I booted it up to 3500 revs, then it happened.

I usually drive like a grandad, so it seemed the issue was connected to me booting it past 3000 revs

like I said when I checked, actuator arm was hanging off I re-attached and it stayed on

"Engine Service required" wont go, tried own scanner and Volvo said its a "permanent" code and the could not clear it. But car is driving normally.

just it seems to be an expensive "stab in the dark" from Volvo. could pay loads of money and still have a problem. Getting the feeling they're having my pants down.

I don't see why booting it to 3500 revs for less than a minute is suddenly going to bollocks the actuator or wiring to it, also the push mechanism the connecting rod is attached to still moves on start up.

[Powerhorse]

Well.......

New actuator arm arrived today, so i fitted it and it clicked into place the old one was very worn and wobbling all over the place.

Rang a mate who is a mechanic, he advised me that the actuator perhaps got stuck due to me "grandad driving" so now id fitted new arm that had clicked into place to take it out for a longish run and once engine was warm to rag it around a bit.

So I did, once warm started revving up accelerating sharply, running higher speed in lower gears running at 3500 revs, sometime going up to 4000+ and sometimes redlining.

Low and behold, stopped the car after first hour, waited, re-started and codes were gone.

then drove around for a bit, had lunch out, went to the shops, drove to see some "sites around Leicestershire", revving it out, blasting down the A roads and M1 Motorway. Car actually seems smoother.

Honestly, I actually enjoyed it, rather than cutting the grass, cutting the hedge, clearing out the shed over and over and doing crappy DIY jobs!

[Kev0607]

The swirl flap actuator arms don't last long... Such a stupid design if you ask me. Its just a piece of plastic that has to go back and forth goodness knows how many times. Eventually the ends of the plastic rod get worn enough to slip over the little ball joints that it fits over.

I'd have some of those actuator arms saved in a little draw because its pretty much guaranteed to fall off again. Its just a matter of when... Could be months, might last a year... you never know.

[stuart bowes]

Someone did a writeup a while back about converting to metal rod and little rose joints, i believe you have to cut off the little ball and drill a hole for the bolt but it seemed like a relatively small simple enough job that makes it basically permanent

[Kev0607]

Yeah. I think Volvo do a repair kit to make the swirl arm more secure.

[Powerhorse]

Originally Posted by stuart bowes

Someone did a writeup a while back about converting to metal rod and little rose joints, i believe you have to cut off the little ball and drill a hole for the bolt but it seemed like a relatively small simple enough job that makes it basically permanent

Yeah, read about that, but that fix is mainly for when the ball joint is completely knackered.

Mine, the new one "clicked on", while the old one made no click and had no resistance when I pushed it on.

might get one of those kits , along with a couple of extra arms, keep in store, just in case.

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by Powerhorse

Yeah, read about that, but that fix is mainly for when the ball joint is completely knackered.

Mine, the new one "clicked on", while the old one made no click and had no resistance when I pushed it on.

might get one of those kits , along with a couple of extra arms, keep in store, just in case.

It will "click on", as its new and the ends are tight. Over time, the ends of the plastic rod wear and it'll just fall off.

Spare arms are a good idea.

[Joe Harding]

I think I'm right in saying that the stepper motor that drives the swirl arm and flaps tries to reach its extreme positions every now and then in order to self-calibrate. if it can't do this, it throws up an urgent 'engine system service' which will lock in until the next time it tries and succeeds.

We had this, and in the absence of my VIDA, I twiddled the arm a few times then cleaned the MAF sensor just for good measure. Fault went (for the moment)