We all know that factory turbo setups leave a lot of room for bolt-on improvement. This could be wastegates, boost controllers and this is no different for the Volvo & Ford’s 2.5T Compressor Bypass Valve (Blow Off Valve). The 2.5T is found in common models such as the Volvo S40/V50/C30 as well as the ford Focus RS/ST MK Euro Specs.
Side Note: This is the same part fitment as the Elevate T5 Compressor Bypass Valve here, but someone gave this to me as a gift. The Elevate one was on my build wish list and that would have been the one I bought for about the same price, but while still supporting the Volvo community. Further the Elevate one is made to Elevate specs and comes with your Loctite and some new vacuum hosing to make sure you have all you need, AND the correct elbow fitting, the TurboSmart did not have these extras except the elbow fitting which you will have to install yourself.
Two things to note on the factory bypass valve here is that they are not a traditional blow-off valve you may think of when the extra pressure is released into the atmosphere, but rather a re-circulation valve where the blow off happens internally. With the right intake you still get an awesome blow off sound, listen to mine on the S40 here. And this was the stock unit, down at the end of the article we sound clip the same Elevate Air Intake, the Elevate Intake Pipe and the newly installed CBV.
The second thing to note is that the factory units are made from thin plastic and the diaphragm is a thin rubber mounted into the turbo housing, leaving the whole thing exposed to crazy high temperatures. After any amount of time, these things start to wear down and a loss in functionality becomes present. Here is how the TurboSmart and the factory look side by side.
We can see instantly that there is a major quality difference between factory and aftermarket.
The instructions from the manufacturer are pretty straight forward. There are 3 Allen screws and vacuum hose atop. Seems easy….. but no. These instructions are assuming you have the turbo & manifold off the car….and how often is that?
The thing still left up to debate is should we have removed the passenger side axel and axel support bracket… We don’t know. While it seems it would give a lot more access, we don’t know if the time to remove those suspension and drivetrain parts would be more than sitting on the ground cursing at the sky, and trying to squeeze your hand into a teensy hole all while threading a tiny screw.
Let’s just tell you what we did…. Jack up car, remove passenger tire, remove fender liner. You know how to do all that.
From there you have as much access as you will, unless you remove the axel as mentioned above. Here is your direct access to the Compressor Bypass Valve… see it there? No! Us either. It’s about a foot directly behind the shock tower.
The easiest way to find the part is to follow the passenger axel towards the power plant. Once you get to the passenger axel carrier bearing & bracket, you can see it directly behind that about 6 inches.
To save you some time, you will note that your product came with the standard air fitting and the elbow style valve. While Elevate understands this and comes with simply the elbow style fitting, don’t be confused here with the TurboSmart generic spec part.
Pro-Tip: Before digging in, remove the straight fitting and put the elbow style fitting on, this is the only way to get a proper install. The straight fitting will run against other engine hard lines, and you wont be able to get a clean mount. A 13mm socket will do the trick.
NO – NO – NO
YES – YES – YES
Okay, you’re ready for the meat. What do I do?
Good Question. This is one of those installs where you kinda have to find your own way. While initially you think that a single 5mm Allen is going to get you to the promise land, you’re wrong. Here is what we did: 1/4 inch drive swivel racketing wrench with 1/4 socket and 5mm allen bit, a 3/8s inch drive ratchet with 4 extensions (about 18 inches worth), and the single 5mm allen wrench. Each one of these for a different of the 3 screws depending on the placement. There is no way to come in from the top, and again, maybe with the passenger axel out we would have had a easier time.
Also, you are having to reach in about a foot, and unless you got super magnet powered tools, you’re gonna drop each of these 3 screws 7 times each, we just used some painter’s tape to aid in the process.
That’s it. That is all we have for you. Be carful to be exactly straight. The third screw, closest to the front of the vehicle, behind the axel support bracket was EXTREMELY hard to put in straight. Long story short, we cross threaded that guy. We got a solid mount and seal, so hopefully we don’t have to pull this part before we do a K16 Turbo upgrade.
Here we are, best pic we can get, but you can see it’s all in.
Also, while this is not the Dual Port (vents into the atmosphere rather than full re-circulation), you can here the difference immediately. More pronounced, more “turbo surgey”. More “look at me”. Just right.
Sounds clip coming soon.
Ending Thoughts. We’ve stripped a fully functioning S40 from drivable to bare chassis, We’ve rebuilt the T5 top end, we’ve experimented with tons of off the path mods… This is up there on the list of PITA installs. It is about the deepest you can go inside the wheel well, with no light, low visibility and crazy angles in which a random assortment of tools will have to get you there. Just know going into this game, you aren’t looking for the Hail Mary at the end, the whole thing is the Hail Mary. Good luck.
