Recently Purchased XC90, Few questions

[Ryan2507]

Evening

Couple weeks back i purchased a 59 Plate XC90 R design D5 geartronic to replace my wifes 525d E61, very happy with the car so far although it is a little like driving a tank and just about everything is a blindspot... but very nice to drive.

The cars on 92k and id planning on doing some piece of mind maintenance, well getting my dad to do it whilst i hold the torch in the wrong place..

First question.. Iv bought a cambelt kit and some coolant as it came with a pump, iv found some guides and also have haynes manual for reference but does anyone have any good tips that i might have missed?

2nd question.. i want to do a gearbox oil change but have seen various posts of various different methods, is there any general consensus on best method and can any one link in a good DIY guide with pictures.. struggling to find one with forum search. Also iv seen recommendations for AMSOIL, is there a consensus and reasoning for this being better than volvos own ATF, I dont mind paying more to do it the best way possible if its going to increase chances of the gearbox having a long life.

3rd question... my wifes a hobbit and my kids are young so id ideally like some running boards, iv seen threads about using spacers to get original volvo steps to fit on a R design but iv also seen alot of posts saying theyre pretty useless anyway unless you like dirty legs, has any one found and had success with any aftermarket ones that are more like the ones you get on Q7s and range rovers etc?

Final one.. Any suggestions for other good preemptive maintenance specific to these cars?? car has a well documented service history, but the words "sealed for life" and "lifetime" seem to appear alot from what iv read

thanks for any help and input

Ryan

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by Ryan2507

Evening

Couple weeks back i purchased a 59 Plate XC90 R design D5 geartronic to replace my wifes 525d E61, very happy with the car so far although it is a little like driving a tank and just about everything is a blindspot... but very nice to drive.

The cars on 92k and id planning on doing some piece of mind maintenance, well getting my dad to do it whilst i hold the torch in the wrong place..

First question.. Iv bought a cambelt kit and some coolant as it came with a pump, iv found some guides and also have haynes manual for reference but does anyone have any good tips that i might have missed?

2nd question.. i want to do a gearbox oil change but have seen various posts of various different methods, is there any general consensus on best method and can any one link in a good DIY guide with pictures.. struggling to find one with forum search. Also iv seen recommendations for AMSOIL, is there a consensus and reasoning for this being better than volvos own ATF, I dont mind paying more to do it the best way possible if its going to increase chances of the gearbox having a long life.

3rd question... my wifes a hobbit and my kids are young so id ideally like some running boards, iv seen threads about using spacers to get original volvo steps to fit on a R design but iv also seen alot of posts saying theyre pretty useless anyway unless you like dirty legs, has any one found and had success with any aftermarket ones that are more like the ones you get on Q7s and range rovers etc?

Final one.. Any suggestions for other good preemptive maintenance specific to these cars?? car has a well documented service history, but the words "sealed for life" and "lifetime" seem to appear alot from what iv read

thanks for any help and input

Ryan

What brand is the cam belt kit? I wouldn’t advise changing a genuine Volvo pump for something aftermarket. That’s assuming you’ve bought an aftermarket cam belt kit. There’s D5’s with over 200,000 miles with original water pumps. Generally, the original pump isn’t changed unless leaking or making noise. Replace it if you wish, but I’d only use a genuine pump.

Here’s some videos to watch;

Cam belt replacement

+ YouTube Video

Transmission fluid

+ YouTube Video

Your car requires JWS3309 spec transmission fluid. Make sure the fluid you purchase meets this spec… that’s very important.

[Tannaton]

^^^ What he said, no need to change the water pump unless there is play it's running rough. If you do - fit only a genuine Volvo pump. Most D5 pump failures are aftermarket parts that won't make the next 108k.

[Ryan2507]

[QUOTE=Kev0607;2767244]What brand is the cam belt kit? I wouldn’t advise changing a genuine Volvo pump for something aftermarket. That’s assuming you’ve bought an aftermarket cam belt kit. There’s D5’s with over 200,000 miles with original water pumps. Generally, the original pump isn’t changed unless leaking or making noise. Replace it if you wish, but I’d only use a genuine pump.

Thanks for the reply and the links to the video

The cambelt kit I bought was off eBay and is a genuine Volvo one from one of the Volvo parts sellers, I wouldn’t have specifically chosen to replace it as have read they last well but the kit came with one

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GENUINE-V...-127635-2958-0

[Familyman 90]

Don't fit snything except Genuine belts and kit - pattern parts often arent up to the job, and its not uncommon for pattern aux belts to fail and wipe out the cambelt, with disastrous consequences.

The OE waterpump is incredibly robust, only needs changing every 2nd belt change.

A gearbox fluid change is a good idea indeed. I paid the dealer tomdo mine, they pumped itmput so it was a total oil change and didn't leave a torque converter full of old stuff. However, if you fancy DIYing it there is much wisdom on these pages on the matter. I would be interested in any genuine technical info you may unearth which suggests Amsoil is better than Volvo's, particularly as Volvo's oil is supplied by Borg Warner who actually manufactured the transmission.

PAS fluid is a good idea if its never been done. Pumps can fail in the 100-140k range - ive had the fluid done on all of mine and they've all been good. Lets hope I'm not tempting fate with that one.

The 90's are a bit of a barge, but the good news is the R Design is sharper through the curves than the other models, although its still a supertanker by most folks standards, and the seats are harder wearing.

As for running boards, I'm afraid I have no experience.

Good luck, and welcome to the team.

[theseriojca]

Just to add to the running boards question - I'm 6'4" and never experienced the 'dirty trousers' phenomenon, my wife is 5'6" and she uses the board sporadically (never heard a complaint about dirty legs either), but most importantly, my two 5 year olds LOVE them, use them every time, it allows them to actually get in and out safely. So a big 'yes' from me.

[Ryan2507]

Originally Posted by Familyman 90

Don't fit snything except Genuine belts and kit - pattern parts often arent up to the job, and its not uncommon for pattern aux belts to fail and wipe out the cambelt, with disastrous consequences.

The OE waterpump is incredibly robust, only needs changing every 2nd belt change.

A gearbox fluid change is a good idea indeed. I paid the dealer tomdo mine, they pumped itmput so it was a total oil change and didn't leave a torque converter full of old stuff. However, if you fancy DIYing it there is much wisdom on these pages on the matter. I would be interested in any genuine technical info you may unearth which suggests Amsoil is better than Volvo's, particularly as Volvo's oil is supplied by Borg Warner who actually manufactured the transmission.

PAS fluid is a good idea if its never been done. Pumps can fail in the 100-140k range - ive had the fluid done on all of mine and they've all been good. Lets hope I'm not tempting fate with that one.

The 90's are a bit of a barge, but the good news is the R Design is sharper through the curves than the other models, although its still a supertanker by most folks standards, and the seats are harder wearing.

As for running boards, I'm afraid I have no experience.

Good luck, and welcome to the team.

Indeed there will be no skimping on cheap parts or fluids, besides the false economy my dad/mechanic would refuse to use them even if I wanted to.

Regards the oil I will more than likely go with the genuine Volvo oil (have some saved on eBay watch list) I had just seen the other mentioned few times so was interested if there was a genuine reason it’s “better”.

Will add PAS to the list

Iv not driven it much yet as is the wife’s car but certainly gets interesting at speed on country roads but do like it

[Tannaton]

[QUOTE=Ryan2507;2767290]

Originally Posted by Kev0607

What brand is the cam belt kit? I wouldn’t advise changing a genuine Volvo pump for something aftermarket. That’s assuming you’ve bought an aftermarket cam belt kit. There’s D5’s with over 200,000 miles with original water pumps. Generally, the original pump isn’t changed unless leaking or making noise. Replace it if you wish, but I’d only use a genuine pump.

Thanks for the reply and the links to the video

The cambelt kit I bought was off eBay and is a genuine Volvo one from one of the Volvo parts sellers, I wouldn’t have specifically chosen to replace it as have read they last well but the kit came with one

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GENUINE-V...-127635-2958-0

1 - If you've got a genuine pump and your stripping down - then why not change it? The risk of failure is low but even lower if you change it.

2 - I hate to break it to you but you might have bought the wrong kit as the listing is for the Euro 3 engine, yours will be Euro 4. That said if you supplied your reg or VIN number, Caffyns are very good and will likely have supplied the correct parts but I'd check before I take it all to bits....

[Ryan2507]

Hi Tannaton

Good point some how Iv clearly not read the advert properly, but they did ask for a reg and didn’t dispatch until I sent it so hopefully they spotted my **** up and sent the right parts, but I’ll double check to be safe

Cheers

[ltec]

All this nonsense about aftermarket belts not fit for purpose is rubbish.
My main job was fitting timing belts to all makes of vehicles. I absolutely hated it but I got the dirty work. I fitted at least 1 timing belt everyday for cars sold and customers service. We fitted gates, conti, skf and dayco. Never had we 1 fail in anything and that includes water pumps, timing belts and fan belts.
These are all top quality brands.
If the genuine is close to these in price and easily sourced then fair enough.
But if these products were giving trouble I would have knew. The garage stood over all work. If it failed it was garages problem.
Just a few posts back someone is complaining of a faulty genuine tensioner.
If a fan belt fails it is usually down to faulty pulleys, tensioners or old age. Never have I seen a fan belt fail due to not being genuine.
I would rather have a new skf waterpump or any of those other brands than a genuine volvo one with 100,000 miles. As I stated above. I've yet to see a waterpump I fitted fail.
If your father is a mechanic he will also know this.
For all the people on here who says aftermarket timing kits are rubbish. How many actually fit aftermarket kits for a living and have seen repeated fails and I'm not talking about what some other cowboy fitted and you repaired. I've fitted thousands and i
can tell you now its rubbish.
Most fails of anything is due to poor workmanship.