The pump was wet around the bottom.
I wasn’t sure if it was a simple o-ring leak from the return or high psi line. The unit appeared to be an original Volvo unit, which I later discovered was a salvage yard pick.
Assuming it was 18 years old, I decided to just replace the unit with a new AAE 5657N unit from FCP for 232.99. It was a bit less than the Volvo unit, and still has FCPs lifetime warranty.
The belt and pulleys were changed out about 30 months ago at 204k (the car has 218k now). I decided to swap all the parts out with fresh components, also from FCP. The price was about 400 shipped w/ coupon. The job took about 8 hours, mainly due to clean-up of the greasy buildup of ps fluid and rubber all over the timing cover, frame, and suspension below the motor.
While working on the engine I started to take inventory of previous repairs that I was told were done and noted alot of heat damage to the engine harness. Several connectors had no locking tabs, a couple had zip ties holding them in place. The worst damage wasn’t what was addressed… Many of the wires insulation has become so brittle that they’ve cracked open exposing the copper on multiple connectors ( It’s no wonder there’s not multiple active check engine codes). Coil grounds had been spliced on both banks, but many of the other wires at the connectors have copper exposure.
I cleaned up a few and applied Honda Bond to a couple but it looks like I may need to replace the harness. I suspect the harness took a beating when the VCG and TC gaskets were replaced 30 months ago. I noted “harness repair” on the service report. What I thought was fixing the back head coil ground wires turned out to be a bit worse than I realized.
After lightly de-greasing everything I started disassembly. I decided to completely remove the intake plenum so I could verify new PCV and hoses changes. The gaskets have been done and some hose and the PCV have been done.
The tensioner was next. I tried using a 19mm socket to release tension and it spun. I grabbed a 3/4 socket and was able to remove the belt. This was after I already removed the coolant line at the reservoir, ps pump lines and ground strap. The tensioner separated from the top half of the spring mount and fell to the ground as I was disassembling it. No matter, it was hitting the can anyway. After removal of the belt and pulleys I sprayed the front of the motor with a citrus cleaner scrubbed and rinsed it off trying not to get water in the valley. (I mostly successful keeping the water out) 😬. Rags were placed prior to rinsing, so not too bad.
Once the motor and frame was cleaned up, I pulled the passenger side wheel and started routing the belt, installed the tensioner, the power steering pump, and the two pulleys. I slipped the belt over the PS pump and slipped it over the front pulley in the end. It took a couple of attempts, but after failing to slide it onto the PS pump easily, I moved a little lower and slid it over a smooth pulley surface.
I am waiting on some additional parts, so I decided not to complete the manifold installation.
As a matter of fact, I decided to go deeper and ended up pulling the lower manifold. Once again, newer gaskets were inatalled. The spider came off in one piece, but one of the injectors was loose in the rail. After pulling the lower plenum, I made note of oil build up on the counterbalance shaft cover and adjacent to the intake ports. After further inspection it turns out that one of the mount tabs was bent enough to let oil vapors seep out from the gasket. This most likely also contributed to a unknown vacuum leak (I am aware of a CEL for bank 2 O2 sensor)…
So after cleaning it all up, I’ll have to get the plenum base resurfaced at a machine shop, or I might just file it flat so it seats flat to the gaskets. The tab is technically outside the port so this shouldn’t require replacement.
I’m at a pause currently. Waiting on new lower manifold gaskets and throttle body gasket to show up next week now… in the meantime I’ll scout for more wiring breaks and repair them without creating new ones… 😬
