time to look for another shop. I am sure you can find a mechanic who can install a turbo and agree to no warranty on the parts or the work. Sheesh, I've even had my dealer install parts I provided and my local indy will always work with parts I provide. As to the cat needing replacement, that is possible if the turbo blew enough oil to gum it up. If you have a CEL then that's a concern, if not, I'd just wait and see after the turbo is replaced. As to white vs blue vs black exhaust, I'd look at what is being consumed. Are you burning more than 1 QT oil for every 1000 miles driven? Are you needing to top the coolant from time to time? Last choice is to replace the turbo on your own or with a friend who has some tools/skills. Check Youtube for some vids to get a sense of what's involved.

 

I do not have the skills to do my own repairs. I'm a female interior designer and car repair was not taught where I went to school. I am reaching out to my friends and acquaints to find someone who would be willing to take on the job. in the meantime I am getting a complete diagnosis to see where I go from here. So far the shops I've taken it to are giving me the "we can't guarantee that replacing/rebuilding the turbo and/or the catalytic are the only problems. There could, of course, be more down the line. I get that, and I haven't yet made a decision. the diagnostic is $275, and I'm planning to do it next week. The shop, Rizzoli's in San Luis Obispo has a good reputation for Volvo knowledge. One of the managers used to work for a Volvo dealer in town. That dealer is not interested in doing the job. Change of ownership. I think they are more interested in selling cars.

 

time to expand your search for a mechanic. They are asking for two full shop hours to do a diagnostic on the turbo? Is that to say they are unsure if the turbo is leaking or do they have reason to suspect other issues like a head gasket leak? There's nothing special about the Volvo turbo set up vs any other turbo engine so I'd say any "European" car specialist would be happy to work on your Volvo. I did a quick search on Yelp and found several local shops worth calling. Good luck.

 

I called them all and told them what I the other shops said and I’m having Rizzoli’s look at it. They know nothing about the problem because they never saw the car before.

 

I would be happy to hear who you called and what they said. I’ve been reaching out to several engineers. Mechanical. One I know has a v70 ‘99. Haven’t heard back yet. The other one’s answer says no one does “shade” work. I don’t know what that means but I think it means behind the curtain. Or CA laws. CA has strict licensing re exhaust.

 

Shade tree mechanic was a term used widely for a person who fixed cars "under a shade tree" but what that really meant was "at home". The idea is not that it's illegal, but rather that it's just ultra-low-budget. You wouldn't expect the guys to know much if they didn't have a regular job, but sometimes it would be a highly trained mechanic, maybe a dealer mechanic, working on his own time for extra money. He might refer to that as shadetree "work" even though he was very competent.

There are people everywhere that specialize in volvos and it sounds like you are linked into the network.

 

No I’m not linked in. Wish I were. The shade tree is a friend, but doesn’t have any love for Volvo’s. Always buys “made in USA”. His family tradition. 🧐🤓

 

I mean the man who used the term, “shade tree”. He is a civil engineer. And Multiple businesses.

 

You could try to find a mobile mechanic on craigslist. A turbo swap doesn't require some crazy specialized tools. Be sure to order some new gaskets when you get the turbo.

 

thanks, the turbo is already at a shop and was rebuilt; I'm awaiting a call now for the completion. pretty pricey, but it's my baby.

 

I got the rebuilt turbo back from shop; however, it is smoking and smelling. The shop told me it had to be driven a lot, like 500 miles to get rid of the smell. The smoke is white, just like it was before they rebuilt it, but not as much. There appear to be a few areas where there is evidence (cardboard under car) of oil leaking, but apparently not anything to worry about. Shop has a 3 year warranty; they cleaned installed turbo and underbody again and couldn't find anything they did that would have caused this part of the saga. So the next thing they did was send it back to Arkansas to the shop that rebuilt it to check their rebuild and see if they can find anything. So far this has been 6-8 weeks; I lost track. If there is no progress when it comes back, I don't know what to do about it. This whole process cost $3800 plus several weeks paying for a rental, so over $4K. The shop has paid the last 2 weeks of the while they're looking for a way to fix the smell and smoke. Is this NORMAL?