Alternator pulley replacement.
 

Because they are a known issue I intended to change the alternator pulley on my 2006 XC70 Euro 4 - it still seems quiet but as far as I know its original so at 15 years & 157k miles it probably long overdue. From a quick trial run there is an aircon pipe which follows along the top of the'fold' of the inner wing and prevents the Seely removal tool from being used on the alternator in situ. What is likely the best option to address this?

1) remove the alternator
2) jack the engine to get clearance
3) move the aircon pipes.

Any advice as to which of the above might provide the least hassle solution welcome!

Removal of the alternator isn't that difficult as it's atop the AC compressor.
Better to remove it than fuss with jacking the engine a bit though I don't know the diesel layout.
You'll have a straighter shot at the hardware. At that mileage you might consider having the alternator rebuilt at a shop.
Starter & Alternator shops are around as they're small footprint business.
You'd get new bearings, a new freewheel (pulley) and a new regulator. 157K is about when my regulator went.
Get it all done once now and you can side-step a surprise (emergency) cheap replacement and the breakdown which often accompanies failure.
You'll get your Volvo one back.

If your battery is older, now is the time for that too.
Check your voltage in the morning (before use) and report back.

Battery was changed about a year ago because the original was getting a little tired and I changed out the regulator about a month ago - not because of any charging issue but simply on the basis of age/working hours. From the state of the old versus new brushes it was probably still good for the next 50K miles at least.

I was hoping someone with a car with a similar engine bay layout had changed an alternator pulley and already found the the best method of doing so. If no one suggests an alternative, that worked for them,I'll probably end up taking the alternator out.

John

I see posts saying they’ve done them in situ on the P2, but when I did mine on a ‘03 D5, I just took the alternator off and did it in the garage.

Had to take the alternator off on mine, I didn't think removing the air con'd pipe was really possible. The Steering pump just unbolts and can be moved out of the way without disconnecting the pipes.
However, I had to remove the bottom radiator hose to get all alternator bolts out. So I had to drain the coolant.

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2004 V70 D5 163bph

Using the shortest bits from the Sealey kit, I've changed the pulley in situ on several P2 Euro 3 D5.
I don't know if the Euro 4 layout on a P2 is much different.

A P3 Euro 4 I work on regularly definitely doesn't have enough space so the alternator will be removed for the pulley change when the time comes.

Thanks for all the replies. Even the shortest bit in the Sealey kit catches on the aircon pipe so I think I'm going to have to take the alternator off to change the pulley.

Cheers

John