Crash Test

The Volvo s40 is not the first Swedish car I have owned but unfortunately the last one, a Saab 9000 Turbo, failed the crash test.  Fortunately there was no damage to the granite wall.

I managed to crawl away with just a few broken ribs.

Service and repairs

The most important factor in keep a Volvo running for a long time is keeping up with all service and repair work and using high quality products to carry out the work.

16/10/2011.

Bought a tin of BG44K and added it to a tank of fuel.
This stuff gets fantastic write-ups everywhere and is recognised as the best engine cleaner you can get.
It cleans the entire fuel system from injectors and valves to catalytic converter. Although its not cheep it is widely known to do the job that the cheaper alternatives only claim to do.  The result should be to increase both performance and fuel economy as a clean engine burns fuel more efficiently and therefore runs more efficiently.
The manufacturers of BG44K don't claim to raise the bhp of your car (as some others do), but promise to restore your cars lost bhp caused by the gradual gunging up of the engine over the years.

After about 200 miles there was a definite and noticeable improvement to the running of the car.  Out and out performance of the engine is always going to be difficult to comment on without serious diagnostic equipment, but where the difference is obvious is the responsiveness of the engine.  The performance is certainly sharper and the slightly flat feeling has gone.  Well worth the £25 I spent on this product. 

31/10/2011.

When I took a look at the air filter I decided that was due for an urgent change.  Although it was probably within its service life of *years I feel that an air filter should be changed at least every twelve months.  Once it starts to get dirty you loose both engine performance and fuel economy.  With the price of fuel constantly going up it is not going to put a hole in your pocket getting the filter changed regularly.  I intend to use genuine Volvo parts for all of my repairs and servicing due to the high build standard Volvo insist on.

I managed to get my new Genuine Volvo filter for less than £12 delivered from the Ebay shop of Anglia Volvo.  http://stores.ebay.co.uk/angliavolvo

There is a strange foam backing to the S40 Volvo air filter which I was surprised by at first, but apparently it is there to cut down on the induction noise on the turbo models.

No noticeable difference from changing the air filter.  I guess if you do notice a difference when changing the air filter you have left it too long between changes.

Running Total

Buy Car: £1750                         £1750

Air Filter: £12                            £1762

BG 44: £25                               £1787

My 2003 Volvo T-Sport. 2 Litre Petrol Turbo (165bhp)

I bought this car 01/10/2011 for £1750.  It is 8 years old but everything woks and it feels and drives like it is brand new.  It has the full sports and luxury pack and has been well maintained.  Considering the price I paid is about 10% of the cost when new I feel this is a real bargain price for a fantastic car.  This S40 has 86465 miles on the clock which is quite low for a well maintained Volvo and hopefully it will complete another 86465 miles.  There is some service history with the car but I will assume all service parts need replacing and detail the work as I get it carried out.

I will keep the service and repairs page updated with all the work I carry out. 

This blog will also become an information resource for the Volvo s40 with articles about the history of the model, technical specifications and interesting modifications.