Hello! We recently acquired a 2005 xc70 from some elderly neighbors; I'd been bugging them to buy the car for 6 years! She's got 235k miles on her! She needs a few minor repairs, but runs and drives great and we've been enjoying fixing her up. Hubby and I both grew up with Volvos, but this is our first Volvo project after 25 years of classic Mustang and pickup truck restorations. Looking forward to learning from you all. Thanks!

 

Good luck with the project! Simply post any questions to the XC70 forum to get the most responses. You can also search older threads for some fast answers (you'd be surprised how many post a question that's been answered in length in a prior post!). Also google and YouTube are great resources.

 

Thanks! Yep, already used some YouTube videos. My kids call it University of YouTube. Lots of good info on these forums as well.

 

Glad to be back with our 2008 C70 (acquired in 2020)......also own ,57 444 (purchased in '64), 67 122 wagon (purchased new), '71 1800e (acquired in '91).
I know a great deal about SU systems, but very little about an ECU! Similarities end at the spelling of the name!

 

The thing about modern ECU cars is that they will tell you when something is wrong - but you need to follow a diagnostic plan since for any given fault code, there's usually more than one possible root cause. Basic operation is all the same, ie fuel/air, spark compression but the modern engine uses a set of sensors to control fuel and spark. To keep you on your toes, these cars actually have multiple computers which communicate with each other. For example, your transmission is computer controlled taking/giving signals from the ABS system (which is tracking wheel speed) and the ECU which is tracking engine variables, wheel speed info from the ABS etc. You don't have a throttle cable any more - you have a signal going from your pedal position sensor up to an electronic throttle module which sets the position of the plate for you (aka drive by wire) - and those are just the basic systems :-) Funny thing is, nobody knows about how a carburetor works these days... I got a kick out of a post where somebody wanted to retro-tech a 240 by replacing their wonky FI system with a 32/36 Weber. I remember doing that swap on a 1973 BMW 2002 about 40 years ago (give or take... So kudos to you in knowing old school and have fun learning about the new! Once you start diving into it, its not really all that complex - its just the digital version of what you know about the SU world.