Engine 850: B5234TR/2.3/20v/T5R: DIY service or professional?

[glennethwest]

Is it worth DIY servicing my N Reg T5R?

I am unsure whether to pay £££s for a full service, interim service etc. so I am considering doing the job myself. Is it a big job?

The car last had filters at 158K by previous owner but it has now done 164K.

Cheers.

[ddmgti]

Its easy i done mine myself in a couple of hours.Plugs Leads, filters oil as long as you have a set of ramps and decent toolkit i wouldn.t pay out £££s personally but some people like the service book stamped

[Merc85]

All do all the servicing myself, i still fill the book out detailing the work but obviously dont get it stamped,

I'm really fussy with mine and at least i know it's done instead of taking the garages word for it.

850 T5 mbc, turbo gauge de-cat sports grille

[RollingThunder]

I do all mine myself. Even the T5 engine is pretty straightforward (not as easy as a redblock but that is a particularly nice engine to work on!).

The only things I don't do are clutches, timing belts and brake master cylinders - mainly because I don't have the tools or time to do it these days. Routine servicing is easy though, just take your time, and if you have to disassemble anything take photos with your phone etc first - lots of them. Its usually some obscure cable connection that you didn't directly photograph that you need to check on later Taking lots of photos gives you more chances to check.

Parts are pretty cheap - get quotes from Rufe, German Swedish & French, PartsForVolvo, EuroCarParts and compare. Don't buy pattern parts where it can be avoided - these are modern precision engines and frequently pattern parts don't last long. Check back here if you're unsure of a brand name - for example Mann make Volvo oil and air filters, Pagid make the brake pads... etc etc

The Haynes manual is not that bad to be honest. Refer to VADIS for parts assembly order info - the diagrams can be very helpful.

Take your time, don't cut corners, and ask about anything you're unsure of - that way you'll end up with better maintenance than you'll get with most garages (including main dealers).

HTH

[bobbych]

to be honest, it is not worth paying a garage to do it. the extra you pay, is not worth the stamp as far as sell on value. you are better spending the cash on better quality oil etc for the service and doing it yourself. it is not hard the volvo t5 lump is an easy one to get round

[philharris]

I agree with the above, DIY makes good sense as long as your reasonably handy with tools, most jobs are fairly straight forward and with a decent manual and tools its amazing what you can do and have the satisfaction of knowing the jobs been done correctly , one thing i would say is buy decent tools i bought most of mine used off e bay, stick with the quality brands such as stahlwille, snap on, king dick , gedore ,britool ,blue point, armstrong etc, and you wont go far wrong

[gdphillips]

as for the service book fill it out but keep all your parts recipets to show date time miles all tally up that way you can keep a record .....easy ....