My new celebration...a few questions for the experts:

[wreeve]

Well I have lost my Volvo virginity. 133 has a few problems / niggles but the one thing I can’t deal with, the body work, looks OK.

Got her over the pit this morning to have a look, photographs at http://www.reeve.org.uk/volvo/133.htm , they are quite large so I thumb-nailed them, click to enlarge. Some questions for you 480 experts, sorry for the long post, just excited at my new purchase!

1/ Passenger side one touch all the way down electric window does not do the one touch down thing. The driver’s side doesn’t one touch up either. Is there a way to program them like on my Vauxhalls?

2/ May have an engine mount shot? The engine revs freely and pulls evenly across the rev range but there is vibration between 2k and 3k which is transmitted to the chassis. I have a feeling one of the engine mounts are shot, is this a known weak point on these cars, easy to change, expensive? I’ve looked at the big one under the engine (see photograph) and that looks OK. There is also a little shock on the left of the engine which also looks OK. I can’t find any more. I may be barking up the wrong tree anyway.

3/ Half of the front lip “spoiler” is missing, looks like it’s in one piece. Has a kind member got one for sale from a scraper?

4/ Cargo cover is missing, anyone have one for sale?

5/ Starter motor seems to take a while to disengage, starts on the buttons but sounds like the engine is driving it for about a second before is disengages…strange as it does disengage but not instantly. Is this fixable? Seller said it was like that when he bought it a year ago! Anyone have a good spare?

6/ Wind noise at speeds above 80mph, sounds like it’s from the sunroof area or a slightly open window (they are closed I checked!). Do they all do that?

7/ Interior fan seems to be on low all the time, fan switch works OK at all settings I just don’t seem to be able to turn it off. I know that if AC is on then usually the fan is on low to stop freezing the evaporator but with AC off the fan will still spin on slow. Any ideas?

8/ I seem to be missing a cabin filter cover (see photograph). There is one on the left but not the right. Anyway have one. I will replace the filters anyway.

9/ One of the rear lights is broken at the top and looks a bit cloudy. The rubber seal on the rear break light is displaced and the middle light thing is also cracked, you might see this in one of the photographs so I am after one of these as well.

10/ Is there meant to be a rubber gator over the bar where the gear stick connects under the car (see photograph). If so mine is missing!

Oil looks clean-ish, coolant looks clean no rad weld, engine sounds a little noisy but not bad.

Plan for Saturday morning:

Change:
Oil
Filter
Air Filter
Plugs
Cabin Filters
Fuel Filter

She will be cleaned up properly tomorrow, needs a gentle t-cut and polish I think. Interior leather is surprising soft, but I will give it a feed it as well. She has 116k miles on her but the gearbox and clutch are like new, the clutch was replaced 2k miles ago but the gearbox clinks into gear like a new car! Car isn’t that fast but I wasn’t expecting a racer and seems to cruise at 80mph OK.

Steering and handling are superb. It's my first non-200+bhp RWD car for years and, yes there is a hint of under steer and jiggle if you push on fast in a bumpy corner but nothing like what I was expecting. The steering in particular is superbly weighted as I don’t believe it’s a speed sensitive system? Ride is firm but not overly so. I am very impressed, no dash rattles either. The alloys look mint, no curbing, and the rear arches are mint as well, loads of soil removed this morning and I can run my finger over the inner lip and its smooth painted metal. I will get some under seal on there tomorrow as well.

Thanks for your time in reading this! Keep well,

Will

[Joolz]

Hi will....congrats on your lovely 480, I'm no expert but all your niggles sound infinitely fixable......very unusual to get a Celeb with a sunroof and ES badge...you got a plaque inside?

btw nice shed!

[wreeve]

Yep. Plaque on glove box, V5 says 480 CELEBRATION and first registered 02 08 1995, so all seems to tie up. Interior looks like the celebration leather and she seems to have all the celebration spec. I wonder if she has had a second-hand glass hatch in the past. That rear brake light doesn't look like it was stuck on in the factory! The top of one of rear plastic lights is cracked as well. It seems to me it would be easy to slam that hatch onto a large load and the glass goes bang!
The sunroof only goes up with a knob, doesn't go back and forth, are they like this from the factory or is it an aftermarket one?

[Ben Harris]

1/ Passenger side one touch all the way down electric window does not do the one touch down thing. The driver’s side doesn’t one touch up either. Is there a way to program them like on my Vauxhalls?

This is normal - the passenger side doesn't have the one-touch thing, and the drivers side only has it for 'down', not 'up'.

6/ Wind noise at speeds above 80mph, sounds like it’s from the sunroof area or a slightly open window (they are closed I checked!). Do they all do that?

My first 480 didn't do this, but my second one did. If you look in the FAQ on the owners club main page, there's some information about replacing a couple of plastic clips in the sunroof, as they'll be broken. Unfortunatly they weren't broken in mine, and I never managed to solve it.

7/ Interior fan seems to be on low all the time, fan switch works OK at all settings I just don’t seem to be able to turn it off. I know that if AC is on then usually the fan is on low to stop freezing the evaporator but with AC off the fan will still spin on slow. Any ideas?

Also perfectly normal. All the cars fitted with AC had a switch that didn't have an 'off' position.

8/ I seem to be missing a cabin filter cover (see photograph). There is one on the left but not the right. Anyway have one. I will replace the filters anyway.

The pollen filter was an option that never seems to be fitted to 480's. I managed to get hold of the housing for one through eBay, but I believe Volvo will still sell the kit needed to fit one.

9/ One of the rear lights is broken at the top and looks a bit cloudy. The rubber seal on the rear break light is displaced and the middle light thing is also cracked, you might see this in one of the photographs so I am after one of these as well.

These are as rare as.... well, a very rare thing, to find second hand in good condition. Volvo will sell them new, but they're about £130 per side, I think!

Hope that helps answer a few questions!

Ben.

[sallysal]

Hey Will, nice car!
Alot of these probs sound quite common........do a search on the forum and you'll find answers to alot of your queries. To add to Ben's great help -

I'm no expert (contrary to what it says above my avatar ) - Your sunroof looks like an aftermarket one; Celebs never had sunroofs unless I suppose you asked for one to be fitted. The sunroofs on all the 480s I've seen are electric moonroofs (ie they go up and down......they're not slidey sunroofs as such).

It does sound like you've prob got a replacement tailgate - if you want it to look right - the badges will come off - take off the 'ES' and move the '480' to the correct position -I'm sure there's info on the exact placing of it somewhere in this giant haystack of a forum. If not, I'm sure one of the many celeb owners would be able to help you out there. .

As Ben says trying to find good second hand rear light clusters is like like to find chompers in a chicken's mouth! but they do come up occasionally and then there is a mad fight for them. They are expensive new - but they do make a huge difference - any replacements you put in - seal them in with Butyl mastic - not silicon.
Sx

[Ben Harris]

6/ Wind noise at speeds above 80mph, sounds like it’s from the sunroof area or a slightly open window (they are closed I checked!). Do they all do that?

My first 480 didn't do this, but my second one did. If you look in the FAQ on the owners club main page, there's some information about replacing a couple of plastic clips in the sunroof, as they'll be broken. Unfortunatly they weren't broken in mine, and I never managed to solve it.

I'm no expert (contrary to what it says above my avatar ) - Your sunroof looks like an aftermarket one; Celebs never had sunroofs unless I suppose you asked for one to be fitted. The sunroofs on all the 480s I've seen are electric moonroofs (ie they go up and down......they're not slidey sunroofs as such).

Sorry, I didn't look at the pictures, so didn't realise it wasn't a Volvo OEM sunroof. My comments about the plastic clips probably won't be relevant then.

Ben.

[Brasco]

1/ Passenger side one touch all the way down electric window does not do the one touch down thing. The driver’s side doesn’t one touch up either. Is there a way to program them like on my Vauxhalls?

2/ May have an engine mount shot? The engine revs freely and pulls evenly across the rev range but there is vibration between 2k and 3k which is transmitted to the chassis. I have a feeling one of the engine mounts are shot, is this a known weak point on these cars, easy to change, expensive? I’ve looked at the big one under the engine (see photograph) and that looks OK. There is also a little shock on the left of the engine which also looks OK. I can’t find any more. I may be barking up the wrong tree anyway.

3/ Half of the front lip “spoiler” is missing, looks like it’s in one piece. Has a kind member got one for sale from a scraper?

4/ Cargo cover is missing, anyone have one for sale?

5/ Starter motor seems to take a while to disengage, starts on the buttons but sounds like the engine is driving it for about a second before is disengages…strange as it does disengage but not instantly. Is this fixable? Seller said it was like that when he bought it a year ago! Anyone have a good spare?

1/ The "Toll" setting which winds the window all the way down is only on the drivers side, so it's not broken. There is quite a lot of lop-sided thinking on the cars, like the central locking only works on the drivers side too.

2/ Usually, if the rear mount has gone (quite common) you should feel it in reverse, there will be a knocking. The bad news is a new one will set you back the best part of £100.

3/ Lee on the forum has a mould for making the spoilers, he's not online very often so your best bet might be to go through Wayne (Laserowl). They are quite reasonably priced.

4/ That's one for ebay. Try not to pay more than £10, these things have been known to go for stupid money.

5/ Unfortunately, later starter-motors are not as well made as earlier types. This problem is one I've had on one of my cars, but I can live with it to be honest. If it ain't broke...

Hope this helps.
Ad

[Agwa Moose]

The engine mount in the pic, is that the one under the alternator at the front?

If it is that's the one thats gone on mine, car reverses fine but setting off forwards it starts smoothly then just as you let go of the clutch completely it feels like it 'steps' over something, like a slight lurch, does this every gear change as well, also there's some vibration through the car once you get over 2000rpm

If that sounds familiar then it'll cost £87.54 from Volvo for a new one (thats what mine cost anyway), and a warning - the movement it caused buggered the joint between the downpipe and the cat

J

[wreeve]

There's not big bumps when you go forward or back, more a coupling of engine drone into the chassis, you can feel it through your bum at certain revs. Not sure as you can rock the engine by hand a little.

Sunroof: It's a Volvo branded sunroof and the words Volvo are on the knob...wonder if it's a dealer fit or factory fit. It's not electic for sure!

[Ben Harris]

Sunroof: It's a Volvo branded sunroof and the words Volvo are on the knob...wonder if it's a dealer fit or factory fit. It's not electic for sure!

Looks like you've got the Volvo 'aftermarket' sunroof fitted, as shown in the accessories catalogue on the main club site:

* Made of hardened glass with integrated foil.
* Easy to handle lock and opening handle.
* The glass is approved according to the european regulations.
* Gives comfortable air conditions and ventilation in the car.

* rubber seal = 3343934-0
* rotary knob = 3210928-2
* glass panel = 3210929-0

[random_monkey]

no dash rattles

Lucky git.

[wreeve]

That's the roof. To be honest I wish they hadn't have bothered!

[catgroom]

Hi Will!

I believe the power steering is speed sensitive on the 480 yes.

Looks clean enough!

Steve.

[Ben Harris]

I believe the power steering is speed sensitive on the 480 yes.
Steve.

I'm sure I've read somewhere that the 480's power steering is 'RPM sensitive', rather than 'speed sensitive'. Always seemed a bit of an odd way to do it though, and I almost certainly could be wrong, as I've no idea where I read it from!

Bne.

[catgroom]

Ah fair enough then Bne!

Bneeeeeeeeeeee Ha!

[Ben Harris]

Doh - that's what comes from typing too quickly!

[Macaroon]

9/ ...The rubber seal on the rear break light is displaced...

I take it you mean the rubber mounting gasket thingy between the high-level brake light and the inside of the tailgate.

This seems to be a fairly common "feature" of 480s. Both of mine have the rubber visible on the right side of the light and I have seen several others around town. I always assumed it arose from the factory assembly process since they look so similar but it could be a result of amateur repairs or the ageing process..

It may be more trouble than its worth to try and fix it but you probably win a prize for getting a double sided one.