Minuit

Damn, that looks sharp. The one on my 91 is a little scabby looking. Might just send it to you one day.

It's part of the dashboard's internal ductwork. Look for a round protrusion sticking out of the dash pointing towards the driver side. It's fairly close to the front.

I think people who lift their trucks and don't properly aim their headlights should be taken out and beaten. Also, the person who designed the blinding laser beam array on the front of late model Ford trucks. Sincerely, A driver of normally stanced vehicles

The MJ foot pedal parking brake is a dangerously unsafe design prone to premature wear of the ratchet teeth, resulting in a tendency to release itself. Thus the handbrake swap. If I had my way there wouldn't be a single original parking brake on any non-museum truck. There was a recall over this, but it only covered the 86 model year if I remember. Doesn't matter, they all do it, including the one on my automatic 91 that was almost never used.

Yep, within 24 hours I had an order placed with FCPEuro for over 700 bucks. The timing belt job is about as easy as it gets. Not encountered too many special tools in the service info I've peeked through. The swedes do love their Torx though. You can take most of this car apart without touching a hex socket

Owning a late 2000s European car out of warranty. What could possibly go wrong? or I bought one of them furr'n cars and didn't even piss my dad off! If you cruise the pub very often, you may know that I've been looking to change cars recently. To put it short, I'm tired of driving vehicles that are either 1) entirely unreplaceable (my never-sold '91 Comanche), 2) kinda ratty and increasingly hard to find parts for (my also never-sold '96 Thunderbird), and in both cases lacking any safety features other than basic front airbags on the Thunderbird. I recently lost my brother to a car accident, and safety suddenly rocketed to near-top of my list of needed features in a vehicle. Anyway, my list of requirements and price range landed me right on the 2007-2009 Volvo S60. In the interest of keeping maintenance costs down and fuel economy up, I wanted a 2.5T front wheel drive - all wheel drive and the more powerful T5 engine subtract MPG and add maintenance headaches. But I also wanted heated seats, rain sensing wipers, speed sensitive steering, and the premium audio system (with factory auxiliary input - of course). Naturally, it also had to be in good condition and at a relatively low mileage. That meant that I was looking for a pretty specific car in what may be the most disrupted used car market in history. It took several weeks of looking, a handful of disappointing test drives, and 600 miles of driving to finally find the right one, but I did it, and here it is. Finished in Ice White, with 122,747 miles on the clock before the trip back home to Tennessee, and featuring every option available on a 2.5T except all-wheel drive, it's exactly the car I wanted. At first, I wasn't crazy about the white paint (I was hoping for the right car to be either dark blue or silver), but it's grown on me - especially since there's almost no black trim. I think that for a white car to look good, it should commit to being white. That does mean there's now three white cars in our driveway. Anyway, this generation S60 rides on what Volvo referred to as the P2 platform. These cars represent basically the midpoint of the current Volvo and the old boxy cars. They still have the solid build quality and feel of the old boxes, but they don't feel so much like farm implements. Even 13 years later, the doors still close with an authoritative thunk, the panels still line up just as well as on just about any new car, and pretty much everything makes a solid noise and has a solid feel. Even plastic quality, an area where Euro cars typically don't hold up so well as they age, ain't half bad - a step above pretty much anything most of the domestic brands were putting out back then. The engine is a 2.5L turbocharged inline five. It produces 208 horsepower at 5000 rpm, and 236 ft-lb of torque from 1500 all the way up to 4500 rpm! And yes, it does sound just like a very quiet Dodge Viper (the turbo muffles a huge amount of the exhaust noise, so this thing is actually very quiet at full throttle). While not exactly the sportiest car in the world (not that I wanted it to be), it'll get up to speed plenty quick and do a quarter mile time in the low 15 second range. This example has a very smooth five-speed automatic with manual mode. Manual transmissions were available but rare on these cars. The interior is in good shape overall, including the leather. The seats could use some leather conditioner and there are a couple of spots where the driver seat could benefit from some dye, but all in all, it would have been hard for me to do better. There are a couple of broken plastic parts, but nothing major. The back seat is a little on the small side, but I fit OK in my own driving position. Since this car has the 325 watt premium sound system, it has a built in 6-CD changer. It works! And you know what, for a factory sound system, they did a damn good job. The trunk is big for a car of this size, and the seats fold down for even more space - easily enough for me to sleep if for some reason I had to. One of the little things included with the premium package is this neat fold-up grocery bag holder. The car is in overall excellent condition for the age and mileage, but there's still a couple of things that need to be fixed - the only "important" one currently being the multi-function switch, a $120 part that takes less than 10 minutes to replace. It's also due for its 120k mile service (timing belt, water pump, fuel filter, transmission fluid change, among other things), which I intend to complete ASAP. Among the many firsts this car represents, the fact that it's an interference engine with a timing belt that's 3,000 miles past due is the most worrying to me. A timing belt set has already been ordered and is on the way. In the meantime, I'll be taking it quite easy. This car first popped up on my radar several weeks ago - it was actually one of the first cars I saw online prior to me locking in the S60 as the model I wanted, listed at a considerably higher price than I eventually paid. Noting that it fit all of the criteria as far as options and mileage went, I saved the car on Autotrader and didn't think much of it, figuring it would disappear. It was only after driving a few disappointing S60s in Tennessee that I began to truly consider the need to drive so far to find a good one. This car looked absolutely stunning in the pictures, and it really seemed like this one could be the one. I pulled a Carfax report and found nothing alarming, which prompted me to ask a long suffering and very good friend of mine if he'd be willing to drive to Georgia so I could have a look at this car. He agreed to take me down to Georgia to look at the car in exchange for food, gas money, and some help with his newly purchased 2001 XJ. A good "bro trip" only happens once every few years, and this one turned out to be a good one. The return trip was pretty good too. This car handles extended driving like an absolute champ, with a tight but not firm ride, wonderously comfortable seats, and no vibrations to speak of whatsoever. The test drive went well, and we managed to negotiate enough off the price to make me feel pretty good about what I paid, considering the market. The previous owner, bless his or her heart, must have been a sports loving die-hard Christian (every single radio preset was either sports radio or Jesus), but they weren't the most efficient driver. In the little bit of city driving I've done since buying the car on the 27th, I've averaged 20.6 mpg! On the drive home cruising over the mountains at 80, I managed 27 mpg even, and I think I could almost touch 30 if I tried to save fuel. Which I might need to consider, because this car takes premium. Another first for me. The first picture I ever took as the owner of this car - at the gas station filling up for the trip home. You can't see it, but this thing is ridiculously dirty in this picture. Like, industrial fallout clung to every panel dirty. I do not believe it had been washed since the dealer got it several months ago. Gotta fix that: I love foam cannons so much. Much better: Did I mention this thread may contain some detailing content? That's another thing I'm super excited for - I finally own a car worth pampering! And believe me, I'm gonna. I worked hard for this car and I intend to protect that investment. I need to get a coat of Collinite on it soon to hold me until I have time to decontaminate the paint (there's lots of little specks stuck in it and a couple of little spots I need to touch up) and polish it. Things that need to be addressed, in rough order of importance: 120k mile service - parts already ordered as of 11/28: Timing belt - I'll also be replacing the water pump since it's right there Oil change - it was changed about 3,000 miles ago, but I want to get it on a clean slate Transmission fluid change (not technically in the 120k service, but it's probably a good idea) Power steering fluid change Brake fluid change (should have been done every 37,500 miles but I have no evidence it's ever been done) Cabin air filter Fuel filter Spark plugs (technically in the 127,500 mile service, but whatever) Serpentine belt Various broken or scabby stuff on the interior: Turn signal/trip computer stalk - it works, but sometimes you have to hold it just right to keep the turn signals blinking. Part ordered. The cover for where the seat belt goes into the passenger seat is broken. Part still available new - another first for me. The paint is chipping off of the interior door pull on the driver door. The part is replaceable, and is still available. One of the center dash vents is broken and is stuck pointing straight out. I think I have to buy the whole piece that includes both vents. As always, my goal is to maintain the absolute hell out of this car. A well maintained car is a happy car, and a happy car is a reliable car. This represents a departure from my normal output in so many ways, and I hope it will at least be entertaining to someone.

This was why I was glad you were able to take the D44. Left just after 5 am, got home with the car right at 6:30 pm. And I would have had to do the same thing on Friday otherwise.

Well... 2008 S60 2.5T with every option in the book except all wheel drive. Exactly as I wanted. 122k miles. This was the third one I test drove and it was the best by miles. The 300 mile drive home with it was about the smoothest, quietest highway drive I've experienced. It's not 100% perfect and it does need its 120k mile service done which includes a timing belt/water pump, but all of that can be overcome. Lots of firsts for me here. There will be a "build" thread very soon.

I was practically immobile after dinner yesterday. Feeling better today, but I'm eating leftovers right now so who knows.

I hope everyone has a lovely day today.

No, sorry, I'll post here when and if I do.

Yep, diagnostic plug. If you have a compatible scanner, you can look at live data, trouble codes, and do some basic bi-directional tests.

Oh no. Sorry to hear that. Don't worry about us and our stuff, worry about your people. Were you in the vehicle?

If the mechanism itself is not seized up (and since you were able to actually insert the tape into the deck, it isn't), this problem is almost always a seized loading motor, or more specifically, the motor reduction gear. It's on the bottom of the deck. You'll have to pull off the bracket to get to it. If memory serves, there are two screws holding the motor in to the deck. Be very careful not to strip them. It's easiest to desolder the wires that go to the motor; they should be twisted together, and where they go should be marked by color on the circuit board. There are several small plastic gears under the front housing of the motor. You'll want to clean the "grease" (which has by now degenerated into a glue like substance) from the gears. If you put something back in, put in a very small amount of silicone grease. The deck should now load a tape. Now you get to find out if the auto-reverse sensors still work! If yes, good! Enjoy your very nice sounding tape deck. If not, you are screwed! These are decent mechanisms by car audio cassette standards, but they have a lot of problems.

Several weeks into the process, I sat in a car! I test drove an '08 S60 today. I was in Nashville for a work-related training class that ended early, and a local car lot had a high-mileage but clean looking example (at least, in the pictures online). I had a bad feeling about this one mostly due to the mileage, so I was mostly looking for things like seat comfort, visibility, etc. Unfortunately, that specific example turned out to be a $#!&box showing severe and obvious signs of neglect, but I did learn a few things: - Build quality was overall very good for a car of this age and noticeably ahead of anything American and most Asian brands I've seen regardless of age. Despite 178k miles (and plenty of scratches and dents leading me to believe they were pretty hard miles), all of the doors opened and shut beautifully and panel gaps were near-perfect. The leather seats looked better at 178k than my mom's Cadillac do at just over 100k. Some leather conditioner and one or two spot treatments would easily bring them back to like new. Ditto the steering wheel. Almost all materials had a premium feel. Seats were very comfortable. Back seat is very tight, but I couldn't care less. The paint did not appear to be actively removing itself from the car... how do they do that? - This car was almost fully loaded, and had a lot of neat features like rain sensing wipers, front and rear fog lights, parking sensors, and a premium sound system which sounded quite nice for a change. By this point, Volvo was handing out sunroofs like candy, so any car with decent options will have one - I'm not so sold on that, but whatever. - This car had 17" wheels, so the turning radius was not great. I'm pretty used to this on front wheel drive cars, but I'd probably look into some 16" wheels and the matching steering stops to tighten it up a bit. - Even though it was not in the greatest of mechanical shape, it was plenty quick and the transmission shifted very smoothly. So, Volvo remains high on the power rankings. I've located a couple S60s that are likely to be in much better shape, but further away - could hit all of them in a day if they're still there in a couple of weeks.

I'll take a look at the FSM and fuel injection manuals when I get home. I think I know but need to verify.

A few comments: I'm not interested in SUVs, crossovers, or minivans. Car-type chassis only. I intended to put this in the main post but it got left off somehow. I am however very much open to wagons. Somehow I knew Pete was going to come at me with the minivan angle. Crown vics: I see this as a rough equivalent to what I have now. I'm not a fan of the transmissions but am moderately familiar with the engines. I don't see myself needing such a big car, and while 4.6 cars get just fine highway mileage in my experience, the city mileage is brutal with so much weight to pull around. My thunderbird's mileage falls off a cliff the second a traffic jam shows up. Avalon seems worth a second look. I'm not a big fan of the Toyota interiors of the time but I'll do some homework. The Chevy Cruze and pretty much all Chryslers sit at negative infinity on my list. My grandma owned a 2014 Cruze, and a coworker had a 2013. Both hateful little cars that quickly developed issues. I know nearly nothing about Hyundai or Kia products, but the stories I hear seem to be either "lemon" or "best car ever" with very little in between.

So, here's the deal. My line of work involves me driving. A lot. 120 miles a day right now and I'd say that's about average. I've come to the conclusion that I need a modern, safe, practical car that gets relatively good mileage. A touch of luxury wouldn't hurt either, considering I expect to spend up to 3 hours a day in the damn thing. My budget is undecided, but absolutely no more than $10,000. I make good money, but I'm not looking to spend a fortune. In current market conditions it looks like this means I'm looking at ~10 year old and older cars depending on brand. I'm not in a hurry to buy something, but I am doing my homework ahead of time so I know what to look for when it's time. CC is full of practical people, so tell me what car I should buy! Let me lay out my requirements: - No older than let's say 2004 or so. - Safety, safety, safety: I don't work nights anymore so there's actually more than just cops sharing the road with me now, and I see ridiculous $#!& on the interstate every day. - Comfortable ride: I don't want sporty pretensions. Roads where I live range from ok to "downright horrible" and I'd really rather not have my teeth rattled out. - 25 MPG highway rating minimum. Not too high of a barrier within the class of car I'm looking at, but I do need at least better MPG than my 25 year old, 3700 lb V8 coupe gets. - Nice interior features. I expect to spend a lot of time in this car, so creature comforts are appreciated. I'm looking for a reasonably nice car, not a stripped out econobox and am willing to trade some maintenance headaches for that. Some. No Volkswagens. - I'm not afraid of maintaining it myself. Both automatic and manual transmissions are fine, I don't care which or how many wheels get driven, and I don't care if the car is fast or not. Right now, my vehicle lineup consists of the following: My '91 MJ, which is completely irreplaceable should I get into an accident. It also has 0 modern safety features and gets 18 MPG on the highway. As easy to work on as it gets. Mechanically as solid as it gets, I'd trust it to drive cross country tomorrow. My '89 MJ, which is a project stuck in the worst kind of limbo and is going away soon. Anyone want to buy it? I have goodies I'm willing to bundle with it, including a D44 and interior parts. My '96 Ford Thunderbird, which isn't a bad car, is comfortable, and easy to work on, but it's also 25 years old and not getting younger. I have doubts about the transmission, it needs tires, and the paint is falling off even more than it was. I can routinely get 23 MPG on the highway, but would like to improve on that number. I have no intention of selling or trading this car away. On paper it sounds like a Volvo is the perfect ride for me. I really like the way the 06-09 S60/V70 looks on the inside and outside, and I've done a fair bit of homework on them in the last few days and have become somewhat familiar with the typical trouble spots. Has anyone on here had any experience? Subarus are very popular around here, especially as you go further east into the mountains. An old friend had an '08 Outback 5-speed when we were younger and really liked it. I'm aware of the head gasket issues on the 2.5L engine. I'm not afraid of PM'ing them myself but would obviously prefer a car that's already had them replaced... or has the 3.0L engine. On the bright side, Subarus are very safe and seem solid apart from the head gaskets. I would be looking at the 2007-2009 Outback and Legacy. The 2006-2012 Ford Fusion was recommended to me as a good driving car for the price, but I keep hearing about problems with the automatic transmissions. The Fords of this era that I've personally been in haven't had my favorite interiors, either. I'd rather not pay the Toyota/Honda Tax if I can avoid it. A friend has a 2015 Civic... meh, it's a car. The seats are hard and the ride is kind of rough. I believe if you read my posts you can probably guess that I'm not much of a GM fan after having grown up in essentially a GM family. I don't see them having much for me. You can't shake a tree without a dozen 2006-2013 Impalas falling out around here, but nothing about them is especially appealing to me. The driving position causes a weird pain in my legs too. My dad owns one. Also, no Cruzes or 3.6L V6s. I'd honestly rather own a '90s Northstar. I'm not currently considering any Stellantis/Chrysler/whatever products. Should this change? At the moment it seems like I just need to finish making my list and then go test drive some cars. Maybe by then the market will be heading back towards normal... if it ever will.

Once society collapses and we're all fighting over patches of desert wasteland, that is exactly what I'm gonna do to it.

A little dose of the weird $#!& I'm into:

Pictures show what appears to be a transfer case/transmission bezel lighting harness, an NSS and an intermittent wiper box they don't mention too. The window motor is not pictured. Seems they don't quite know what they've got. Roughly $50 US. Would have been an easy buy for me if I actually saw myself needing any of this stuff. Can't quite identify the item on the right. I think it's either a wiper switch or high/low beam switch.

Been driving it to work the past few days due to rain. The tires on it are much, much better at resisting hydroplaning. I die a little bit inside when I think about the risk I'm taking driving it in Nashville traffic. I really need another car that I don't have to worry about as much.

My almost totally uninformed opinion as someone who has never owned, driven or even seen one in person is that they are at this point impractical due to a lack of power and especially parts. One would be a beyond horrible choice as a daily driver in 2021. However, they are very uncommon and weird. Just by virtue of being a member of this board, it should be evident that I like uncommon and weird. But I especially like the really uncommon and weird stuff. Besides maybe the System Sentry or other ultra-rare options like the '87 only black leather seats, I think the diesel engine is peak "uncommon and weird" for the XJ and MJ platform. If the right diesel XJ or MJ showed up for cheap my red truck would be sent down the road packin' though. I'd be replacing a useless 4.0 vehicle with a useless 2.1 vehicle.

Now share your secrets with the rest of us mere mortals!

I would. Asking for a shipping quote is showing interest in an item. Leaving the seller hanging after an adequate (and knowing you, I'm sure it was adequate) reply is rude and conduct unbecoming of a member of this forum. I'm not saying someone has to buy something after asking for a shipping quote, but if they're going to play games, I can too. I'm somewhat disheartened by the amount of generation-bashing in this thread, but maybe I come from a biased background. I think every generation has the same amount of a$$holes, but social media has made access to them so much easier. I've met good and bad people of all varieties. Ghosting people isn't limited to just selling truck parts, though.