2004 Volvo Questions

Sparky242 · July 11, 2017

Hi I have been reading about HDTs on this forum and wanting one for about 2 years now, Looked at my first one today, a 2004 Volvo 780 with a Cummins ISX motor 465 Hp and a 13 speed trans and just over one million miles. The body is clean outside, the inside needs some love. I have a couple of questions for the experts here 1) when I started it there was no air and it took about 10 min to fill to about 100 psi is this about normal ? 2) how much pollution control stuff is on this motor( the owner said the EGR valve was just replaced) 3) on the 13 speed trans there are two buttons on the shifter, one in front and a red one on the side if the shifter. what do they do? The owner just thru me the keys and said have at it. Being I have never been in a truck like this, all I did was start it and drive it forward and backward a few feet, I couldn't believe how cool it was , now I have to have one for sure!!

cactus · July 11, 2017

Sparky

Check out U-Tube video for shifting a 13 speed

Alie&Jim's Carrilite · July 11, 2017

Flip switch on the front of the shifter was for your high and low range- 1-5 low, 6-10 high, 8-9-10 the other button splits those gears.

10 minutes to make air from empty is probably normal..... but that means the truck has air leaks. Depending on how long it sat most all trucks will leak down over time. But in days..... not hours or minutes unless the leak is big enough to deplete the system.

phoenix2013 · July 11, 2017

Million miles, 13 years old, should be pretty inexpensive "for now". 10 minutes is pretty good, if it sat, check if it goes down fast when you shut it off.

porky69 · July 11, 2017

If you want to use all of the gears the shift pattern is:

Front Flipper(range selector) down (will only go down if red button is slide to back) then shift L-1-2-3-4 (L is all the way left and back).

Then Flip the front valve up (pre-select) and shift back into 1 hole(also marked 5H/L), this makes gear 6.

When it is time to shift again, Slide red button forward, let off throttle briefly, once you feel it shift ease into the throttle again. You are now in 7th(5 high). To shift to the next gear as you start to move the shift lever towards the #2/6 hole, slide the red button back to the low position and continue this progression until you get to 8H(13th).

For light load (RV puller)or bobtail I would start in either 1, 2 or 3 (depends on the truck) with the front lever down and shift L-1-2-3-4, Front lever up and the go 5L-6L-7L-8L-8H(or you could go 5L-5H-6H-7H-8H, just so long as you get into High eventually), you don't need all of the gears.

Here is a link to the shift pattern label

13speed shift pattern (I tried to post this picture but it wouldn't take it).

It looks confusing but if you watch some YouTube videos and study the label its not that bad, you just have to find the rhythm of that unit. If you want to use the clutch you will have to double clutch (push clutch in to shift from gear into neutral, briefly engage clutch, push clutch in to go into gear, shift and the release clutch). I find it much easier to float shift (clutch only for initial start and stop, rev the engine to match the gears). You are going to grind a lot of gears for the first little bit but keep trying, it will get easier fairly quickly.

If you have never driven a HDT before and are only going to drive it occasionally to pull your trailer I would recommend finding a truck with an automatic or an autoshift....

RickW · July 11, 2017

10 minutes sounds like a long time to refill the air system. My 2004 would leak down overnight but in about 4 to 5 minutes they entire system would be charged and the air dryer would spit.

My 2004 had Volvo power, so not sure if any difference with pollution control equipment between the two motors. The Volvo motor has two EGR valves. Best to replace both when replacing. I think the ISX only has 1 EGR.

I agree in think hard about the transmission you want. I originally considered any transmission when truck hunting. When we found the truck we wanted it had an auto shift. If you ever get caught in any traffic, you will be grateful for the automated transmission.

Also keep in mind, while not too difficult to learn, these transmissions are completely different beast from any non-truck manual transmission you may already be use to. The low range of the gearbox is only used from 0~20mph. Around 20mph you then flip to the high range. While you can skip gears it still can get old quickly having to constantly shift gears.

GlennWest · July 11, 2017

Most time my truck builds air quickly but twice it took like 10 minutes. Always had set for weeks when this happens.

BlueLghtning · July 11, 2017

I'm a manual guy and I shopped specifically for a manual truck because I knew the price point I was in, I'd be most likely dealing with the first generation of auto shifts and wasn't sure about one of those and being in an older truck. I ended up with the Eaton Fuller 10spd manual. I have 5 on the low side and 5 on the high range. Bob tail, I can start in 4th or 5th gear easily with no issues. Starting in anything lower than 3rd is just wasting time getting up to speed on bobtail. In my truck, 6th gear is like 2nd gear in a car and generally the gear I will go to when I take a corner and still moving as you round the corner. Compared to the 13 speed, I don't have the left side splitter on mine and the 10spd pattern reuses 1st gear on the highside while the 13 doesn't reuse the low position although there is a gear there. My Low/High side split is going from 5th to 6th, I go from the right rear position to the left rear position and then repeat the pattern on the high side going 6-10. The 13spd technically is going from 4th to 5th on the low/high split, but you go from the rear right back to the middle top. you don't go back to the low postion on the bottom left. The 13 is nice because you have more splits on the high side in each gear. I wouldn't see why you need to do the splits bob tail as it's only a 500rpm drop between each gear, but I could really see this being nice around 8-10 gears being able to split those when you only want a minor change in gear, in that case a 250rpm change would be nice in some cases. There are times I find 9th gear to be a bit high, but 10th be a bit low. Having a gear in between would be nice, but certainly not necessary.

With that all said, if you aren't familiar with shifting a non sequential transmission, you may be in more for than you bargained for. I had driven some of these types trucks in my early 20's when I worked for UPS on the yard so I had a general idea about how things worked and I watched a ton of Youtube videos on various shifting techniques before I bought mine and i was prepared for the challenge, but even so it was a pretty steep learning curve. You also need to familarize yourself with the clutch brake and not pushing the clutch down on each shift that you wear this out prematurely. You only need to used the clutch brake when stopped completely. I will say I've found floating the gears much easier than I expected and I do float them on 90% of my shifts not to mention using the clutch all the time will wear you out. I use the clutch on downshifts more to take the pressure off and then usually rev it and float it on the downshift. Of course you use the clutch when starting off too.

I've come a long way in a short amount of time, but I'm still working on my downshifts to be like I want or when I make a turn and need to find a gear that's a couple lower than what I was in. Thankfully I've got to the point now I can listen to the engine and kind of know the range of what gear I should be in and usually get that right. I'm no longer getting "lost" in the gear box like I did several times the first few times I drove it and have to stop to start over. Also just as a tid bit, if you get lost in the gear box or miss a gear, it's much easier to find your gear by floating it and not using the clutch. I learned this on a youtube video and it works so much better than trying to clutch and find a gear and usually when you are stressed, you push the clutch to far which only complicates the matter because now you are activating the clutch brake and you'll never find the gear that way.

As for leak downs, my truck leaks down in about a day or two. I know I have a leak at my junction box so my truck leaks all the way down, but it only takes about 3-5mins to come up when it's been sitting for more than a day or two. If it's only a few hours, I'm fine with very little leak down.

Brad & Jacolyn · July 11, 2017

JMHO but I say look for an automatic especially if you want the DW to drive it. And trust me you want her to drive it also.

Brad

Nuke-E · July 11, 2017

On an '04, check the suspension leveling valve for cracks. They were plastic and didn't hold up well--if you're airing up the suspension every time you start it, it's going to take longer to get to full.

Note that an '04 doesn't have the same range of tilt in the steering column as newer models, but it does have metal inner fender supports (which make for nice steps when climbing around under the hood).

As far as the ISX, it's just one EGR valve. I've replaced belts, tensioners, and idler pulleys some time ago, and an alternator--but nothing major. http://rvnerds.com/2016/05/10/belts-tensioners-and-pulleys/

Star Dreamer · July 11, 2017

Also just because truck is a 2004 doesn't mean the engine is a 2004. It could be older and may have even less emissions equipment.

That is why glider kits are popular.

Dave

Stan Wright · July 11, 2017

3 hours ago, Nuke-E said:

.... I've replaced belts, tensioners, and idler pulleys some time ago, and an alternator--but nothing major. http://rvnerds.com/2016/05/10/belts-tensioners-and-pulleys/

Thanks for the write up and the parts list! It's a project I need to do also.

Sparky242 · July 12, 2017

Thank you everyone this truck was sitting about a month before I looked at it. it looks like there is a new leveling valve on it. It also has 10 new tires on it, they are asking $15,000 for it but said they were willing to deal. I am thinking on passing this one by, Have my heart set on a 730 anyway and an auto seems like the way to go for me. I know I really have to have an HDT

BlueLghtning · July 12, 2017

55 minutes ago, Sparky242 said:

Thank you everyone this truck was sitting about a month before I looked at it. it looks like there is a new leveling valve on it. It also has 10 new tires on it, they are asking $15,000 for it but said they were willing to deal. I am thinking on passing this one by, Have my heart set on a 730 anyway and an auto seems like the way to go for me. I know I really have to have an HDT

Was this still a commercial truck that was tandem?

Sparky242 · July 13, 2017

Yes this is still a commercial truck that is tandem. The company that owns it is getting out of long haul work and no longer needs it

Sinbad5024 · July 13, 2017

On 7/11/2017 at 8:19 PM, Sparky242 said:

Thank you everyone this truck was sitting about a month before I looked at it. it looks like there is a new leveling valve on it. It also has 10 new tires on it, they are asking $15,000 for it but said they were willing to deal. I am thinking on passing this one by, Have my heart set on a 730 anyway and an auto seems like the way to go for me. I know I really have to have an HDT

FWIW, we didn't spend much more than that on our 07 780. Has 725k, new tires, auto, etc. We looked for a while, then went to a dealership to look at a truck. Found ours on the lot and it wasn't "listed" for sale anywhere. Drove it and purchased it. Been adding stuff ever since. Good luck on your search.