Audio Modules & The Return to Boostmoose

Its been 3 months since the 850R officially left the parking lot, off to its new owner. Since then there have been 0 posts here, and its not in any particular reason. However since then, the S60 has achieved a new status. The S60 has slowly turned itself into the “Built Daily Driver” category.

I know have to explain why this is a bad thing.

“Jack, how could a a ‘project’ daily driver be an issue?"‘‘

Well here is why, its because once your car that you drive every day becomes your new project, it will never perfect. Making your daily a project also means that it slowly, over time, loses its ability to be a daily. It goes from your winter beater to “I cant take this is the rain / snow, these coils are too nice!” This situation is slowly where I am going with the S60, and to be honest, its not worth it. While I do love my S60, its not the platform I want to continue working on. In the near future I would like to go to a V90 or a V60 (R-Design of course), but that is still about a year off.

Currently, the S60 has been having a slew of audio issues. It has had a bunch of issues with the audio cutting out and popping, under all conditions. I tried using normal radio, CD, and bluetooth but it didnt make a difference. The first attempt at a repair was the dealership updating the software on the car. After a few days I noticed the issue was back and returned to the dealership. The second attempt at a fix was to replace the amplifier. Now on the P3 this is a pretty easy swap as the part is directly under the passenger seat. Unfortunately, after a few days the issue still persisted.

So at this point I was pretty pissed off, like how can they not fix this?

Well finally, after 2 days in the shop, and having the car diagnosed by techs in Sweden, they determined that it was the IAM in the head unit. I guess the high heat of this summer here in North Carolina finally fried some of the electronics in the headunit. All I can say is; thank god for the CPO warranty.

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The question is, where do I go from here? I know that as I sneak up on 100k miles, it may be time to start looking at replacements for this car. I do really love it, but the wrap is already starting to peel badly in many places, and the usability of the rear seats and trunk leave much to be desired. The only thing that really matters is if I go with the V90 R-Design, a V60 R-Design, or bump myself up to a V60 Polestar.

The Final Report: 850R Beauty Shots

As the 850R project draws to a close, and blog posts have still yet to be written, I figured I would post some of the "work in progress shots".

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Mid-July Summer Update

As you may have noticed there has not been much activity on my site as of late. Currently things are winding down with the 850R. I do have many images for the paint restoration and other work being done. My S60 has had a lot done to it as well, and images and a write up are coming for that as well.

My work and life during this summer means I have less time for the site at the moment. Thanks for visiting and checking the updates!

Summer Progress Update

I have been pretty absent from posting any updates, so let me address that. The semester ended for Steve and I, and I have taken temporary possession of the 850R to finish up the last fixes before selling. I plan on doing the PCV and the clearcoat before the end of June and selling it. We sort of ran out of time with the lack of good weather during March and April which severely limited the progress we could make on the car. Right now we are going to try for around $3000-$4000 for the car, which we think will be fair considering the work put in, and the rarity of the car. Stay tuned as we will have more updates coming soon!

 

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850R - Stage 0 Dreams Pt. 2

While the weather has been on and off here in NC, Steve and I have been plugging away the best we can with the 850R. The most recent work we did was a restoration of the exterior trim, as well as maintenance in the engine day. For the trim restoration we used Chemical Bros. VRP and some old microfibers, and well the results speak for themselves.

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This is the passenger side, rear door trim after 1 pass with the VRP. The difference in person is astounding, and after a few more passes (once the sun is back) the trim will really look as good as new.

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The upper engine cover / air filter cover also significantly benefited from the VRP. This piece needed a bit of soap and water before we used any chemicals on it. After a few heavy passes it started to regain its color, however the raised grille sections in the middle seem to need a second pass and maybe a wet sand to fully restore their color. It was also from this removal of the cover that we discovered how gross the cabin air filter was!

The engine day with the cover removed, and before detailing.

The engine day with the cover removed, and before detailing.

The nasty cabin air filter, replaced with a new Napa Auto Parts piece.

The nasty cabin air filter, replaced with a new Napa Auto Parts piece.

After replacing the cabin air filter, we detailed the engine bay for good mesaure. We used a shop vac to remove all of the leaves and grime that had built up in all the tiny areas of the engine bay.

The drain hose from the upper engine cover, completely filled with junk!

The drain hose from the upper engine cover, completely filled with junk!

We are still hoping to get the throttle body mod done soon, so stay tuned!