I just bought my first car so I don't have much trouble shooting or maintenance knowledge yet. I'll start with what I'm planning on tackling right away:

- Cabin Air Filter
- Oil Change
- Boost Gauge (Was told I need this to ensure everything is working properly)
- Brakes checked/Rotors Turned
- New Stereo (It's rocking the original system)

And now I'll list the various issues I've encountered in my first three weeks:

- "Wavy" breaking, especially when braking downhill or hard
- Air conditioning cool but not cold
- "SERVICE" light comes on occasionally on start up.
- Rubbing or grinding sound on turning (I'm pretty sure my tires are just rubbing something)

I'm not sure if there are any other issues yet. I honestly don't know what I should be looking for. I was hoping you guys could throw some general maintenance or "things to look for" knowledge my way, and maybe some suggestions on what I plan on doing and the issues I'm experiencing.

I do plan on doing as much of the work and maintenance my self as possible.

 

Welcome to the forum. A few things - I own 3 turbo cars and only my 850T has a boost gauge. Not a priority IMHO. Here's what I'd check for a newly acquired car:

1. Timing belt - if its older than 70K miles or 7 years - change it.

2. Check the date stamp on your spark plug wires. if older than say 5 years, do a "stage 0" - wires/plugs/rotor/cap.

3. when doing the oil change, use OEM or Mann filters (Not sure if the 98 uses the cannisters like the 850s if so, there's a check valve in the OEMs to keep oil up top for better start up lube.

4. Check the coolant color. if nice and clean green, great! if brownish, consider changing the thermostat and if clean do a simple distilled water flush and refresh.

5. Upgrading the stereo - You can go with a "double DIN" or you can get a better Volvo model for cheap on eBay that snaps in. Just make sure you get the anti-theft code.

6. On the AC, listen to how frequently it cycles. If you are low on freon it will cycle on/off more quickly than normal. If concerned you can measure the pressure (good fill kits include a gauge or have a shop test it)

7. Volvos have two different lights - "SERVICE" is the service interval reminder which can be reset (search online for how to reset). "CHECK ENGINE" is the one to worry about as it says the computer has stored fault codes.

8. Wavy braking can be a few things - typically it means the rotors are warped or the pads are worn. When you said rotors were turned, did they do all four or just the fronts? Less often it can be caused by worn suspension parts (bearing,control arm bushings etc) so if there's other "feel" issues (turning, going over bumps), I'd suspect it may be that not all rotors got done.

9. Rubbing at full turn or just while cornering? If it happens during driving on a curvy road, I'd be suspicious of a worn wheel bearing or possibly a CV joint. Other wise, pull the front wheels off and look for any rub marks - or a fender liner out of place or brake shield etc. If you have after market wheels on the car, its possible the offset is not correct (your car should be using wheels marked ET40 give or take a few)

10. I had to add one more just to make a Top 10... look at the air filter etc as well as battery terminals to make sure they have been serviced.

Good luck with the new ride...

 

Thanks! That's all very helpful.

1. Timing belt was changed by the previous owner about a year ago (7000 km since)

8. The rotors haven't actually been turned yet, that was just what I was planning on doing as a first step on the wavy breaking issue.

9. It happens when I turn tightly, like in a u-turn. I'd say it starts to become noticeable when I've got a quarter of a turn left till my wheel won't turn anymore. I'm 99% sure it's the tires though, as I had factory sized tires on it when I got it and it was only really noticeable when I couldn't crank the wheel any further. I put new tires on it (went from 205 to 225) and it happens much earlier now. The tires I got were free and are really amazing tires, so I'd like to keep them if possible. The tire shop said I should be fine to drive with that size, so I don't understand how this could be such an issue.

I'll check out the other stuff you've mentioned and update if I run into further issues with those items.

 

re the rotors - personally I haven't had a rotor turned in years - the price of new rotors/pads is pretty cheap when you shop online - do it right and don't worry for the next couple years. You will need a 7mm allen socket to get the front calipers off - the rears are easy - the slide out pad design don't require any special retractor tool (like my S40...) - just use brake grease and shims on the backs of the pads to avoid squeals. I've also tended back to softer OEM style pads - IHMO they all throw dust... You may also want to invest in a brake bleeder to flush the lines. Inspect the hoses while you're working too - they can get soft giving a spongy feel to the pedal.

 

Okay, that's good to know. I was already sort of considering just putting new brakes on it, so I guess that's pretty much decided!

I'm trying to figure out the tire thing, but I can't seem to see anything that indicates the tire offset. How common is ET40?

 

Well, I took a look at the rotors and they're in pretty good condition still. They don't look worn at all. I had taken it to a friends place, who has a lift and when we had it off the ground he noticed that my ball joints are basically toast. I'll be replacing these on Saturday and going from there.

From what I've read, when the ball joints go they can cause this wavy feeling. I'm really hoping that this is the culprit and that this doesn't become a wild goose chase.

 

ball joints, control arm bushings and tie rod ends can all give you a floaty feeling. On these cars the ball joints are part of the control arm assembly so you need to replace both front control arms and you get new ball joints and new bushings at the same time. I'd even suggest you consider doing the tie rod ends and then get a quality alignment and enjoy the like new feeling. Specific to the wheel offset question - I think the OEM wheels are ET43 but most cars (and their wheel wells) can go plus minus 5 or more). The offset is just how far the wheel's center line is from the hub's center line. Too much offset and you may get tire rub on the strut, too little offset and you may get rubbing on the fender arch or the fender liner. Just remember if you go to wider tires you need to compensate with a different profile or you tires will be "taller" making the speedo/odometer error - ie if you go from a 195/60-15 to a 225/60-15, there's like a 7-8% different in revs/mile.

 

Ugh. I swear, there's always something! How do I get a different profile? I'm pretty sure that's not something that they did when they changed mine. If they did, they didn't mention it. I'll talk to my friend about that when I get the arms changed tomorrow.

Also, in regards to the tie rod ends, is this something that I can do in a few weeks? I wouldn't be able to get them in time for tomorrow morning at this point.