[HPsauce]

I think, to be fair, the dealer realise that they want to give it back fully checked and working. They had to send it off to a larger branch of the chain for the engine swap which I pointed out (reminded them of) would probably be seen as a subcontract job so they needed to verify all was well.
And they want this job closed off and paid for and are well aware that I'm not going to "roll over" so are, I think, doing it "properly".
One could probably debate forever whether a 6 year old car needs it's batteries replacing, but it was working fine in all respects before they had it laid it up for 4 months, so not worth arguing about to get the job finished?
I'm planning to withhold a percentage of the bill against potential problems for say 3 months, what do you think is reasonable, 20%? Obviously 20% of the total, so half of my share as Volvo are paying 60%.

 

[peanut]

One could probably debate forever whether a 6 year old car needs it's batteries replacing, but it was working fine in all respects before they had it laid it up for 4 months, so not worth arguing about to get the job finished?
I'm planning to withhold a percentage of the bill against potential problems for say 3 months, what do you think is reasonable, 20%? Obviously 20% of the total, so half of my share as Volvo are paying 60%.
[/QUOTE]
One could probably debate a 6 year old car needing a new engine as well!
20% sounds reasonable to me, what kind of waranty are they giving you?

 

[RS3100]

I hope that works, but I can quite easily see them saying that they will keep the car until you've settled the bill, and adding a daily storage charge as well

 

[HPsauce]

In the end it was just too much hassle, I wanted the car back so I have it now and they (or Volvo?) paid for the batteries. Seems OK.
I also had a cash voucher from Volvo to further discount the bill, but they didn't know how to apply it!
They just took my word, reduced the payment, and asked me to forward the email with the details, which I have now done. A little bit of trust for once!

 

[HPsauce]

I've also been given, in an email, the new engine number that I need to notify DVLA of: "Engine number F9162859"
Does that format look familiar, I don't recall any mentions of letter prefixes before?
And can I check that easily, is the number reasonably visible anywhere?

 

[driverjgp]

I've also been given, in an email, the new engine number that I need to notify DVLA of: "Engine number F9162859"
Does that format look familiar, I don't recall any mentions of letter prefixes before?
And can I check that easily, is the number reasonably visible anywhere?

Letter might denote a replacement engine, letter aside it looks like a very recent build.

 

[RS3100]

For an engine that has come down the normal production line, the number should be on a sticker attached to the black plastic breather cover on top of the engine. You have to remove the plastic engine cover to see it. It may also be on a paper label attached to the timing belt cover. The number is also dot-matrix machine stamped into a vertical machined surface on the block. For VEA petrol engines the face should be behind/ below the alternator at the front of the engine, just above the sump, according to my book. The stamp consists of the engine code e.g. B4204T11 followed by a sequence of numbers (no letters) enclosed within an asterisk at each end, the numbers between the asterisks being the actual engine number.

A replacement engine could well have been ordered out of the normal production sequence, and may have bypassed the marking processes tied in to the usual production allocation and tracking. It might not have any labels or if it does, perhaps only the paper label attached to the timing cover, and the stamped number could have been marked manually using hand dies.

I agree with driverjgp. In those circumstances the initial letter may denote a replacement engine, used to distinguish it from the normal production sequence, to avoid the possibility of future misidentification or inadvertently matching a later sequential production number.

 

[HPsauce]

Thanks, I'll have a look tomorrow. 👍
I have a wireless endoscope that's about 2 feet long so can probe into awkward spots if the label isn't apparent with the covers off.

 

[HPsauce]

Well I found a label, though it's difficult to get at, but a blurred photo at an angle through a mirror shows, I think
:
TYPE B4204T11 PART No 36050704 SERIAL No F9162859

And that part number appears to be a complete exchange engine: 36050704 - Engine Complete. ENGINE, EXCH - Genuine Volvo Part

 

[HPsauce]

More depressing, with the engine cover about to come off I found:

Which appears to be a (very) insecure connection on the air intake, possibly after the MAF sensor?

And once off:

Which is an engine mount/brace at the top offside front. Missing a bolt?

 

[peanut]

unbelieveable!

 

[HPsauce]

Is anyone with a similar VEA (petrol) engine happy to take their cover off (it's dead easy) and check that bolt hole.
Ideally a photo to confirm.

 

[sjc]

Is anyone with a similar VEA (petrol) engine happy to take their cover off (it's dead easy) and check that bolt hole.
Ideally a photo to confirm.

I found this picture of a VEA petrol engine, although not a T5, and there doesn't appear to be a bolt in that particular hole.

VOLVO V40 S60 V60 1.5 PETROL 2017 COMPLETE ENGINE *B4154T4* 150BHP 21K | eBay

ENGINE CODE:B4154T4 ENGINE. REMOVED FROM VOLVO V40 1.5 6SPEED MANUAL 2017. VOLVO 1.5 V40 ENGINE COMPLETE MINUS CAT/DPF . COMPLETE ENGINE INCLUDING ALL OTHER ANCILLARIES. REG ENGINE REMOVED ND17XJB. All parts are stamped & removal of the marks will invalidate your warranty.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[RS3100]

Is anyone with a similar VEA (petrol) engine happy to take their cover off (it's dead easy) and check that bolt hole.
Ideally a photo to confirm.

That's not a standard production engine label, so it confirms an exchange engine and the correct number as quoted to you

The bolt hole by the engine mount is meant to be empty. It's intended for fitting part 9997503 which is a front lifting eye for removing the engine or suspending it when the adjacent engine mounting has to be removed e.g. to change the timing belt. It's empty on my car from new, although I can't take a photo right now. If you want to confirm, you can unbolt the rear engine lifting eye which is near the bonnet restraining catch on the strut cross brace, and screw its fixing bolt into your empty hole. The front lifting eye isn't fitted on the car as it would interfere with the engine cover, it's part of the dealer toolkit.

Air intake pipe clip not good though. I think it's a screw thread fitting rather than the clip type often used now, so hopefully you can tighten it with a socket, as I don't suppose you want to send the car back again...

Could be worth sending a photo to Volvo though. You can explain that you removed the cover to confirm the engine number.

 

[HPsauce]

Good find and info re the bolt hole, I won't panic then! That's what forums are for and why I asked here first before blowing my top at the dealer!

And yes I'm going to talk to Volvo Customer Services about various things.
I've already fixed the air intake clip, it was simple enough, took seconds. Big flat blade screwdriver is what's needed.

 

[HPsauce]

part 9997503

Excellent info. I found an illustration of it, though it was related to an XC40 in this case:

Interesting that for an XC40 there's a plug of some type in that hole that has to be removed first, presumably to keep the thread clean?

 

[HPsauce]

Air intake pipe clip not good though.

Indeed, and there was a definite air leak as the pipe wasn't on tight which would have messed up the fuelling as not all air was going through the MAF!

Funny thing is, SWMBO drove it soon after we got it back and commented that it felt a bit sluggish. Remember its a T5 with Polestar "optimisation" so should be fairly sprightly!
I'm a bit "old school" so have been treating it quite gently - who remembers "running in"? - and hadn't noticed anything.
But now I've tightened that up I'll take it for a slightly more "vigorous" outing and see how it behaves!

 

[RS3100]

Excellent info. I found an illustration of it, though it was related to an XC40 in this case:
View attachment 18277
Interesting that for an XC40 there's a plug of some type in that hole that has to be removed first, presumably to keep the thread clean?

I didn't know about the plug. Perhaps they thought the engine cover alone was sufficient on the V40. I do have a bolt in mine now, as I bought a generic lifting eye and suitable bolt for my own use, and decided keeping the bolt in the threaded hole in the head was the best place not to mislay it 😃

The genuine lifting eye costs about £50 as I recall. I almost got one at a much more reasonable price a few years ago, in an online sale of Volvo tools from a dealer that had gone into liquidation in France, but someone else beat me to it. I picked up a few other tools though, but Brexit would I expect make that less of a bargain now ☹

 

[driverjgp]

Indeed, and there was a definite air leak as the pipe wasn't on tight which would have messed up the fuelling as not all air was going through the MAF!

Funny thing is, SWMBO drove it soon after we got it back and commented that it felt a bit sluggish. Remember its a T5 with Polestar "optimisation" so should be fairly sprightly!
I'm a bit "old school" so have been treating it quite gently - who remembers "running in"? - and hadn't noticed anything.
But now I've tightened that up I'll take it for a slightly more "vigorous" outing and see how it behaves!

Might be wrong but I wouldn't of thought they would need to touch the ECU, using the same fuel system, injection system etc and you've literally had the block and head changed. Have you had confirmation the ECU remains unchanged or put back to its original Polestar state? Seeing how they have clipped that intake together is appalling. I'd be concerned about bits you can't see with workmanship like that. What warranty have they given with the engine? Mind you that wouldn't be worth the paper it's printed on as any problems would be blamed on something else that failed. I'd be finding a new dealer for anything and I think I'd be finding a good independent garage (preferably a member of the good garage scheme) and just give the car a inspection, removal of all the covers top and bottom and getting it on a ramp to have a good trunk about with a good light.

Pleased you got it back anyway.

Jason

 

[HPsauce]

I've sent Volvo Customer care a picture of the intake and queried whether that might admit debris to the new engine bypassing the filter potentially causing damage. I also said that an independent inspection is the least that's required, asked for the old engine to be secured for an independent evaluation and challenged their contribution level..