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FCP Euro Service Kits

FCP Euro Kits

A Volvo's front end is a gathering point for many essential systems. Directly in between the headlights are the A/C condenser, intercooler, radiator/oil cooler, and cooling fan. When they are all working properly there's a good chance you will never open up any of this stuff and they can be left alone to do their thing. However in the case of a failure, the procedure for removal is reasonably straight forward and with the right guidance can be completed in an afternoon.

The following guide was created for a '99 Volvo V70R, which does not have the oil cooler integrated with the radiator, leaving no need to remove the hardlines present on -'98 turbo vehicles.

VOL-31338284Tools

  • Ramps or jack stands
  • 6-13mm sockets, extensions, and U-Joints
  • Torx drivers
  • Box or jack that can match the height of the assembly when lifted
  • Hose pinch pliers (optional but a good tool to have)
  • Clean container at least 1 gallon (to collect coolant)
  • Volvo coolant
  • Rags

Procedure

Elevate the front of the car as you see fit. Once elevated, remove the two 10mm bolts on the black plastic air guard. Pull down and out wiggling the front most portion to unclip it from the bumpers lower lip. With this removed familiarize yourself with the component locations including the coolant petcock, lower intercooler hose, lower transmission cooler line, and A/C line.

A word of caution here as well. It is recommended to not disconnect the A/C lines and to be careful with them as they are under pressure and contain somewhat poisonous gas you don't want blasted in your face.

Drain the coolant in the system. This is done by opening the top of the coolant expansion tank and then opening up the 13mm petcock at the bottom driver's side of the radiator. If you've got the means to catch it and or want to expedite the process, unhooking the lower coolant hose will drain everything out VERY quickly.

Remove the intercooler piping

DSC00731 A little more than a gallon of coolant came out

While this is draining the rest of the way, start unhooking  things on the top side. The plastic cowl in the shape of a trapezoid can come out first with a torx driver, it leans forward and pulls up. Connected to this is the relay mechanism for the cooling fan. The relay 'block' should slide out of this loose piece, you will also need to remove the large grey plug from the relay that leads down the the fan motor. There is an additional long rectangular connector that will need to be pulled apart and disconnected from the fan housing. Facing the front of the car it is at the 10:30 position on the fan. Next comes the ECU cooling tube, detach it from the ECU/TCU box first then wiggle it out of the cooling fan shroud. After that remove the upper intercooler piping from the intercooler. Pictured in this write up is the very nice Snabb reverse intercooler piping or RIP kit, the stock one will be black rubber and black metal piping. Next up is the top transmission cooler line, this will be on automatic cars only. The green clip is kind of fragile so show it some love (those of you with metal clips on pre-'99 cars order new ones before doing this job, I tried to reuse mine and had atf leak all over the place). It can be disconnected by squeezing in on the clip and pulling firmly back out of the radiator. Expect some ATF spillage and plan accordingly. Next remove the lower transmission cooler line. It should have a little more ATF come out compared to the top line but a single rag and quickly turning it upwards should stop any additional flow. Finally remove any remaining connections to the fan such as the evap valve on the drivers side and the electric lines clipped in on the passenger side.

With those detached check on the progress of your coolant stream. It should be just a dribble by now and you can unhook the upper and lower coolant hoses. A word of caution as you will likely get good sploosh out of the bottom hose when disconnecting it (pictured below). Plug the lower coolant hose with a towel or clamp it if possible to prevent further leaking on yourself. Remove the lower intercooler hose, being careful around the lower AC line. The stock tubing is fairly flexible and should not put up much of a fight, the silicone ones on the other hand are substantially harder to work with. Expect a bit of oil residue to be hanging out down there as well so don't let it surprise you.

 

IC-01 Bottom View

 

Top view Top view

Double check nothing is left attached to the assembly on the top or bottom. Pull up on the fan and it should release and slide up and out the top with little effort. Removal of the next few pieces can vary in order depending on what you have available in terms of assistance or extra support underneath. There are 4 bolts hidden behind the plastic headlight support. On my vehicle some one had the foresight to drill holes into this piece allowing access to the top 2 holding everything together ( this made sense as they never replaced the middle ones a few inches down from these). One of the best ways to get access to these ones is a method demonstrated in the removal video from FCP with Ben Mcnally. Support the bottom of the assembly and remove the support bolts either side of the radiator. The passenger side is much more hidden than the drivers side but both sport a 12mm on the bottom and 13mm on the top. Secure each as you work because they will spin freely once loose. When removing the bolts take care not to loose the spacer resting in the body work between these two pieces. With the whole thing now loose you can lean it all back against the intake plenum and get much easier access to the four upper bolts. After removing those the removal of the bottom two should see everything be separated. Now that you have the pieces loose they can be removed from the top or the bottom if you have enough room. I chose out the top which required getting the radiator out the drivers side first then tilting it up and out. Its a tight fit so if you can get the room to remove it from the bottom go that route. The intercooler should follow right after that. The intercooler will have a wing either side used to keep its spacing and attach it to the rest of the assembly.

[gallery type="square" size="medium" ids="9164,9165,9166"]

Reassembly is mostly the reverse of removal. I found refitting the bolts that hold it all together, as well as the fan more difficult with the larger intercooler core. Take care to tighten back up everything gently to start with as some systems might require maneuvering to sit back in place properly. The coolant can be refilled just by pouring it in the top and letting it drain slowly back in, You'll notice the expansion tank drain in waves. After everything in nice and back in place double check your hose clamps on the coolant and charge air systems. You want them to be tight but not to the point where you crack the fittings underneath. In the end the job took about 4 hours from start to finish and was not without its difficulties.

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About the Author: Anthony Peacock

Anthony Peacock Head ShotAnthony Peacock is a small business owner and Volvo DIY enthusiast. He is an experienced videographer and editor with a long running reputation for owning and promoting Volvo cars and their many excellent qualities.


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Written by :
Anthony Peacock

Anthony Peacock is a small business owner and Volvo DIY enthusiast. He is an experienced videographer and editor with a long running reputation for owning and promoting Volvo cars and their many excellent qualities.


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