Bling bling

Hello, my dear readers!

This time, I will tell you about something I did a few days ago. Finally, I found a pair of 2005+ "jewel" S60 tail lights and I went ahead and bought them. Also I bought a pair of 2007+ side mirrors with integrated side markers that I will cover in the next post. Here are the beauties:

The very next day I started the disassembly of my tail lights. This process is very easy. All you have to do is open the trunk and then release the cover on both sides using the knob.

Behind the " mystery " door we find this: the tail light assembly.

The tail light is held in place attached to the body via four 10mm bolts that are placed on the tail light's screws.

After you unscrew these bolts and remove both the connectors, you can pull the tail light away from the car.

Now comes the tricky part. You must understand that this job is not 100% plug and play. There are 2 things you must consider when you decide to do this kind of job. Firstly, when you buy the new tails, be sure you buy them complete with the electronic parts (the parts where the bulbs are fitted) because the electronics from the older type of lights will not fit. Secondly, you must know you have to modify the tail light a bit since the new one has a very long plastic guidance pin that will not allow it to fit your car (if your Volvo S60 is made pre 2005). 

What you have to do, and what I did, was to cut the pin that you see in the picture above. However after you cut it, you are left with a hole.

So, I used some clear silicone to seal this hole so that when the cold and wet season comes, I will not have any "surprises"

 Until now I have showed you the work I did on only one headlight. But now, I show you the end result of "trimming" and sealing the pin and hole respectively, at the other light.

Almost done, now all I had to do, after the silicone was dry, is to assemble my new jewels back on the car.

One last note, the connectors fit perfectly with the electronics of the new tails, so no worries there.

Hope you like the result and maybe, who knows, you will do this kind of conversion to your car also.

Safe journeys everyone!

Volvo S60 front bumper disassembly

Hello!
It's been a while. The people that follow this blog, know that a few months back I decided to close it. After some time thinking about how much work I invested and seeing that what I do here actually helps some people, I decided to bring the blog back

So, let's get cracking.
Today I decided to write about the steps necessary to take the front bumper off your car. As you may already know, I have changed my headlights (new post soon) so in order to remove them I had to take the front bumper off.

This procedure is easy. You start by taking off the bumper moldings. You can use a bone tool or your bare fingers if you are careful enough not to scratch the paint.

If you have a '00 - '04 front bumper model like mine, all you need is to pry the left and right moulding. The center one and even the license plate can remain on your bumper. However be careful not to pull too hard so you won't break the little clips holding the molding to to bumper.

Next step is removing the 6 plastic clips from under the hood. They can be removed easily by pressing them with a screwdriver. After you are done with whatever work you had to do with your bumper you can reuse them.

Next you have 1 torx T25 screw on both sides of the car under the wheel arch that need to be unscrewed . As you unscrew it make sure you push on it, this way it will push against a locking mechanism that is attached to the bracket that holds the bumper. 

Lastly there are two 10mm screws that need to be unscrewed and you are almost done. One is on the right hand side...

And the other on the left hand side

After all this unscrewing and pressing, it's time to take it off. I suggest you put some cloths or something soft under the front bumper before proceeding. The last part requires 2 persons because it is easier to slide the bumper off the brackets this way. I am not saying it can not be done by a single person, I'm just saying it is more difficult that way. 

After you have detached the bumper from the car, let it rest on the cloths, but be sure that you disconnect the fog lights (if equipped). The fog lights are very easy to take out of their housing. 

Done. Make sure to store the bumper out of your way and place it in as much of a natural position as possible to avoid warps or chips of the paint.

End result

It's good to be back! Safe journeys everyone! Don't forget to comment in the section below if you have any questions or ideas. I would love to read them! Hope this helped.