Hi all - the air pump on my '98 S70 GLT is bad, and I need to replace it. My question...I have the the air pump from a '97 850, and I'm wondering if they're interchangable. The part numbers are different:

S70 - 9179271
850 - 1270558

I know they're both OBDII, and I know there are several other parts that are interchangable from 850 to S70. I just don't want to mess something up and end up spending more than the $300 I'm saving by not buying a new pump.

Thanks for your input. Abe
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1998 S70 GLT 99K

The 850 had at least 2 different airpumps. I bought one of the earlier pumps,on ebay it had a replacable fiter and I had to cut and splice the wiring harness.

They should be interchangeable.

Besides, its just an air pump, some folks have even placed a VW air pump in there without problems. ($40 vs $300 in price)
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'88 240, '92 745, '98 v70 -John, Tampa Bay

I have a 1997 850 glt and am in need of an airpump. How do you convert a vw air pump to work on the 850? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I am waiting for my e-mail confirmation and my e-mail is cspivey1@triad.rr.com

thanks

hustleking

OK, now you've got me curious. The 850 pump is not purchased yet; I just have access to it for a good price...but not $40 good. Tell me more about the VW pump...is there a specific part # or a site you can recommend to purchase it at? And when it's hooked up, the OBDII system will recognize it without a hitch? If it fits in there in the bracket just like the other, and the cords/plugs are all the same, that sounds like the best way to go.

I have not done it myself, but I've read that Pierburg makes the air pumps for volvo, BMW Mercedes, Audi and VW.

Somebody on the board bought a VW $40 air pump and installed it in the 850 without problems.

The catch is, he had to do a couple of mods: He cut the electrical conector from the old pump and spliced it to the Vw pump, and he had to make some adjustments to fit it into the same space.

So it's not a single swap. Do a search on the archives on air pump mods.
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'88 240, '92 745, '98 v70 John, Tampa Bay

I have replaced my Volvo air pump with a VW airpump.
The used VW pump was $40 from ebay.
The VW pumps air as expensive as Volvo to buy new, but I assume that they rarely fail due to the VW design and command less on the open market.

It is not rocket science to do, and neither is the function of the air pump itself. It blows air, lol. The best one that I have heard to date is a guy that used a 12V Coleman Air Mattress pump to replace the stock Volvo one and it worked fine. All you need to do is blow air.

But, to more precisely address the VW pump. Pierburg makes the air pumps for all of the European cars. I used a Jetta VR6 pump in my Volvo. They look virtually identical, but to swap it over, there are three relatively simple steps.

1) The electrical connectors are different, so I had to swap the back cap from the old pump to the new pump, 2 out of 10 on the diffiuculty scale.
2) The air outlet pipe is different, so I had to swap that part of the old pump to the new pump. Cut the rivets and replace them with small bolts. 4 out of 10 on the diffiuculty scale.
3) The air inlet pipe on the VW has a funny connector on it. Cut it off and clamp the Volvo hose on the remaining pipe, 2 out of 10 on the diffiuculty scale.

If you can figure out how to get the pump out of the car, you are more than capable of swapping in a VW pump.

But, also replace the pair valve, it is why your pump failed in the first place.

Mine has lasted over a year and still going.

Just wanted to share my experience doing the air pump modification. I bought a pump from a 2001 BMW X5 (E53) 3.0 on eBay for $50 shipped. They're both manufactured by Pierburg, and there are only subtle differences...it's the same darn pump!

I followed the Bay 13 instructions for air pump removal (it was filled with water). Once I had the pump out, it was an easy mod. Popped the electrical connections cap off the old Volvo pump and switched it onto the new one. Also had to cut off the tip of the output (smaller) valve with a hacksaw because it had a larger connection. That left less than an inch to clamp onto, but it was enough. I went ahead and drilled the 1/8" drain hole in the output at the lowest point of the pump while I had it out. The inlet (larger) valve on the BMW pump was the same size, so no mess there....although the valve doesn't point straight up like on the Volvo pump; it tilts 10-20 degrees into the frame, but it's not severe enough to obstruct air flow.

In my limited experience, I'd advise this BMW pump over a VW one, just because the outlet valve is the same size as Volvo...so you won't have to cut rivets and do what is reportedly the most work-intensive part of the VW mod.

If you're planning on doing this, just confirm you're buying a Pierburg pump and you should have an easy time of it. As it has been said earlier, Pierburg makes pumps for Volvo, BMW, VW and Audi for sure, and maybe on Porsche, Mercedes and Saab, too...I couldn't confirm those.

I also got a VW pump from EBay for $50. Followed procedures from Bay 13 ..... works great .... don't forget to drill the hole in the bottom to let water drain ...