THE PORTAL HUB - Pinzgauers, Haflingers, Volvo 303s and more!

Roy, A man after my own heart and a quick study! A. Punt the fan. B. Trellborgs are cheap but real noisy. Try Michelinn XS's or the quietest and most applicable for on-off road use (IMHO) the Goodyear Wranglers. You'll be amazed at the difference. C. Chances are it will be the rear drive shaft. Bala...

Roy, Again good thinking and a solid strategy. After the initial C303 check out unless you are a “Strapping Swedish Youth” or a masochist …ergonomics NVH comes into play dramatically. Although not Spartan (military like) in it’s original design concept and for it’s time, driving hundreds of miles a ...

Roy, You jumped to the next rational and logical step…..a “heart lung transplant”. There are a variety of approaches and one can “skin this cat” many ways. Again not a trivial task or one for the faint hearted, mechanically speaking. Key considerations are engine accessibility. Yes the “dog house” w...

Roy, Good to see it went well. Do double check that one fitting that goes on to the top of the oil cooling donut. Or at least monitor the bottom of the donut ( a bit easier) for any leakage. Even though the original engineering/manufacturing BOM called out for just one rubber gasket in the press fit...

Roy, Not trying to "rain on your parade"....from my limited experience the portals are relatively and surprisingly quiet (for straight cut gearing), and generally need little attention, acoustically speaking. I suggest swapping off the Trellborgs or other aggressive and perhaps noisy tires...

No OE overdrive made. Clearly with the state of oil today, an overdrive is of great benefit. Along with relief to the wallet an overdrive would add longevity miles, reduce maintenance, and drop the noise by a factor of 6 -12db at 55-65 mph (actual 303 spectral analysis and data that I’ve tested for)...

Roy, "sounds like a minefield for the inexperienced", not quite, but not as straight forward as some other water pumps. The only bugger is that if not done correctly, you'll spend hours trying to figure out what's wrong while the pump and hoses are pissing themselves. The uneducated first ...

Roy & Colin, I’ve been involved with a handful of C3-Series water pumps replacements over the past 4-5 years and have another scheduled next week that I’ll be working on. I’m not sure I agree with Volvo’s choice of water pump solution for this class of machine. The compression fittings don’t exa...