Apologies for the *very* verbose post and long list of pictures, however the car has a long list of issues and I wanted to seek the advice of those familiar with Volvos. Any advice is appreciated.

The car is not mine, however it is a kinsman's (original owner) whom I am helping. It is a first generation MY2004 S40 with the B4204T4 and Aisin AW55-50 sold in the North American market. It has ~140k miles.
It has been used primarily for city driving and short trips at that. I estimate that the car has had ~30-50k cold starts in its lifetime. ~3-5mi average trip. Always garaged. Serviced regularly by mileage, not age. Car still driven regularly.
The car had a *really* bad idle, dangerous intermittent hesitations, a suspension clunk in the front right, and mushy brakes. Browsing through service records and speaking with the owner revealed recent issues with oil and coolant.
Apparently, since ~90-100k miles through present, each time the car was taken to a Volvo specialist for its regular service (~5k mile OCI), the technician noted that there was barely a quart of oil left. Long history of electrical gremlins.
And in the past year or so, the car had a leaking heater core, which the owner remedied with K-Seal and refilled with 3 parts concentrated universal Prestone green coolant to 1 part tap water.
The timing belt was serviced as part of the 105k mi service in 05/2017. Ignition coils were replaced soon thereafter, and struts were replaced around 65-70k miles.

It had the following codes pulled at the local parts store:
P0172: System Rich (Bank 1)
P0101: MAF Circuit Range/Performance
P0130: O2 Circuit Bank 1, Sensor 1
P0139: O2 Circuit Slow Response Bank 1, Sensor 2
P0172: System Rich (Bank 1)
P0101: MAF Circuit Range/Performance
P0130: O2 Circuit Bank 1, Sensor 1
P0139: O2 Circuit Slow Response Bank 1, Sensor 2
P0301: Cylinder 1 Misfire
P0302: Cylinder 2 Misfire
P0304: Cylinder 4 Misfire

Following is the current list of *known/suspected* issues, what I've done, if anything, and what I believe was the cause. I have pictures of most, but not all. I've diagnosed all of this myself and recognize I may have gotten some things wrong.
1. Rough idle. There are many issues that could be causing this, though it has improved greatly. Can't believe it idled at all with all the idle issues.
2. Clogged air filter. Owner was following 30k mile or longer change interval. SoCal is dusty, and it was really dirty. Helped improve performance significantly.
3. Bad MAF. Tried cleaning; no change. Tested part, and confirmed bad. Replaced with new OEM MAF from VDO/Continental. Improved things further, cranked over better.
4. Leaking Fuel Pressure Regulator (FPR) and torn vacuum hose. Haven't replaced, fuel coming out of hole in vacuum line.
5. *Green* (Yes, green) brake fluid. Copper contamination? Green dye? Tech filled with coolant? Don't honestly know, but want to flush and bleed with fresh DOT-4. Brakes are mushy, but not quite bad enough for me to think it's the master cylinder.
6. Bad front right strut mount. Struts are ~70k miles old. Thinking entire struts should be rebuilt around old springs, but money's tight. Bad idea to just replace mounts? Can see movement when bouncing car up and down. Hasn't ruined tires yet.
7. Drooping headliner. Was badly glued (not by me). Don't care. Interior lights burned out. Don't care. Other miscellaneous electrical oddities. Don't care.
8. Clogged PCV. Fails glove test instantly. Smoke from dipstick and tailpipe. Advised to leave dipstick loose/up to relieve pressure, but damage has been done.
9. Cam seal leak or leaks. Bad. Losing lots of oil. Suspect was caused by PCV. Running low on oil and hot from running out of coolant due to former heater core leak couldn't have helped.
10. Oil soaked timing belt. Caused by cam seal leak(s).
11. Cracked oil cap gasket and dirty oil cap. PCV, heat, and age, I'd assume. Smell gas in the oil fill. PCV, I assume.
12. Deteriorated rubber and plastic; lots of it. Oil, gas, and heat. Timing cover is deteriorating. Timing belt, ignition coil wiring harness, and hoses too. And who knows what else.
13. Split insulation and exposed wire on ignition coil wiring. Also, oil made it through the gasket on the plug for the wires next to the timing belt. Cleaned out the connector, but the gasket was destroyed.
14. Upper coolant hose leaking.
15. Maybe a dirty IAC? Don't know.
16. Fouled plugs? Probably. Runs very rich. Always smells like gas. Maybe ignition coils or just wires. 1 and 4 misfire makes me think its related to the two plugs per coil design linking 1 and 4, 2 and 3. Switched the coils and will pull codes again.
17. Hose going from IAC(?) to intercooler outlet(?) before throttle body was completely split. Soaked in oil. It's now being held together with a Velcro zip-tie and a cardboard shim. Did at same time as cleaning ignition wiring connector. Greatly improved idle. Don't know which was responsible, but assumed as this certainly was a huge vacuum leak.
18. Oil in hose before throttle body. Fairly good river. Assume this is contributing to smoke from tail pipe. Caused by turbo? PCV?
19. Dirty throttle body. Gee, wonder why.
20. Coolant(?) leak from turbo? Seals in turbo bad maybe?
21. Broken quick-disconnect clip for the fuel return(?) line for the fuel pressure regulator. Doubt this is important.
22. Needs coolant flushed and replaced coolant looks dirty even though new, and incorrect.
23. Power steering ATF just below/at min. Top off with Aisin ATF.
24. Compression? Haven't tested. Seems OK, but don't know.
25. Engine mounts. Ignoring for now.

I have no idea how many more things may be wrong. I may have forgotten to list a few, the list is so long. Am I incorrect in what I'm thinking on any of this? Are there any suggestions of things I should try? The owner believes that they cannot find a better car for what this one's worth (Worth 0 IMO), does not have money for a new car, and it's obviously not economic to have this taken care of at a garage. How much would this likely cost at a Volvo specialist @$100/hr labor rate? How many hours of work would it likely take to fix all this at home best/worst case scenario? Parts from FCP Euro, etc, obviously varies depending on what route is taken in replacing parts and how much is replaced. But I know it's not going to be 0.

Again, sorry for the long post. Any suggestions or advice would be very much appreciated (e.g. Set the car on fire, sell it, keep an extinguisher in it, do an engine flush, don't do an engine flush, replace with an updated part, replace the turbo, rebuild the turbo, idiosyncrasies with the '04MY, anything at all.).

Cheers


Top of engine with covers removed. Ignition Coils out for testing. Leaking upper radiator hose visible.

Torn FPR vacuum line.

Fuel rail, FPR & vacuum line, quick-disconnect.

IAC, and visible below is broken IAC hose(?)

IAC hose(?) broken.


Dirty oil cap and visibly cracked gasket.

Dirty connector, oily timing belt.

Dirty oil fill.

Fuel line seems to be rubbing slightly.

Off-center strut mount. Deteriorated.

GREEN?!

Exposed wire.

Ignition coils and negative wire colors.

Intercooler outlet(?)

Throttle body closed.

Throttle body open.

Oil going into hose of before throttle body.

Oil coming out of hose before throttle body.

IAC hose(?) split.

Coolant leak(?) from turbo?

 

Sorry for double-posting. Didn't mean to. Don't know how to remove the other duplicate thread.

 

I think you're on the right track. PCV (I'm betting the cause of all the oil everywhere), plugs, cleaning that nasty throttle body. I'd also do a tranny fluid drain-and-fill.

I've never done this, but on a car that looked like this one, I'd pour a can of Seafoam in the oil, and drive it for a few miles, then drain-and-fill. Gotta believe it will release LOTS of gunk. I might do a "sacrificial oil change" with cheap dinosaur oil for the first change, and then do another in a few days. I'd probably do a quickie Seafoam "intake system cleaning" (dribbling in about half a bottle slowly, then tipping in enough to stall the engine, and let it sit for 10-15 minutes - when you re-start, you'll fog the neighborhood with the gunk that's liberated from your intake / valves). Not a "real cleaning" but I'm betting you don't want to pull the intake and do it right if you can help it.

And I'd start counseling your kinsman to start saving his pennies for a replacement - this one's just hovering on the edge of oblivion, and there are about a dozen things that could happen to push it over the edge... ;-)

 

@habbyguy,

Thank you very much for your response. I have a number of questions, hope that I'm not going too far with them. Please tell me if so.

To clarify: You think I should try doing an engine flush with Seafoam and cycle through cheap oil to try and clean it out. Then I should replace spark plugs, clean the throttle body, and do a transmission fluid change rather than a flush. Correct?

Also, you said to drive it when doing the Seafoam engine flush. I've always used LiquiMoly's engine flush and let the car idle, not driving it. Why do you suggest driving it? Isn't that risky given how clogged the PCV seems to be? My understanding is that if the car is really clogged I may need to drop the oil pan. This leaves me concerned that the engine flush might be dangerous. And would it even unclog the PCV? I thought that cleaning/replacing the PCV tank itself was pretty much a requirement to correct the issue. Is there any real chance that an engine and intake Seafoam treatment would actually work? My impression was that it's hopeless to try and could ruin the engine.

And why do you think an ATF change is advisable over a flush? Are the Aisin units really that fragile? I can look through the service records to see if a flush was ever performed. I know that ATF is full of detergents and could break the transmission with a flush if it's already on the brink. I know that Volvo cars of the era with GM transmissions were crap, but does this extend to the Aisin units too?

Also, what do you think the odds are the turbo is bad? I suspect it's not, and think the PCV, cam seals, and timing belt should be addressed first. If there is still oil where it shouldn't be, then worry about the turbo?

My concern is that it isn't worth fixing anything unless everything is fixed lest limited time is bought... the PCV, cam seals, timing belt, FPR and hose, plugs, ignition harness, IAC and hose, strut mounts/struts, oil cap gasket, coolant flush, brake flush, and transmission flush are all performed. Then an oil change. MAF and filter already done. It just seems like a lot of money for a car on the brink.

Also forgot to mention in original post that motor mounts are on their way out IMO. Is there a particular mount or mounts to specifically change, or should all be replaced?

Is it worth just replacing the strut mounts? Or do the struts also need replaced at 70k miles?

And what are your thoughts on the green brake fluid?

And I already told my kinsman that a replacement vehicle is the better choice. Being old, cheap, and stubborn, that didn't go down well. How much do you think it would be for a Volvo shop to handle everything listed, parts and labor? Going through old records makes it look like ~$1500 for cam seals and timing belt, ~$500 for mounts, ~$500 for MAF, ~$60 for air filter, ~$300 for FPR, ~$700 for struts, ~$1200 for PCV, ~$150 for brakes, ~$130 for plugs, ~$100 for IAC, ~$200 for harness, ~$200 for coolant, ~$100 for oil change... I mean that's a good five grand right there, not including other little things. Those are just my guesstimates. Cheaper to do at home of course, but it seems like a lot of hassle I don't really want, but could do, I suppose. And still a lot of parts costs.

Thank you again for your thoughtful response, and apologies for the long follow-up.

Cheers

 

Yes, your assessment of my approach is correct.

I recommend the draconian measure of a Seafoam oil treatment, just because the inside of the motor (as evidenced by the gunk on the inside of the oil filler cap) is horrible. I'd never do that to a well-maintained car. Yes, there's some risk,and idling (as opposed to driving) will reduce the risk of damage. But that motor's been SO abused that if a few miles with diluted oil pushes it over the edge, it was on the way out anyway. I've never seen the Seafoam intake cleaning process hurt anything (other than to foul a plug or two).

Transmission "flushing" is a bad idea, for any tranny. The odd flows that it sets up inside the tranny can liberate all kinds of gunk from where it's been safely nestled for years, where it can find its way into your valve body and/or solenoids. Multiple drain-and-fills are easy (easier than an oil change) and has no potential for harm (and is a lot cheaper). Just use the right fluid (3309 spec, IIRC).

And yes, do the PCV ASAP. Nothing will be right until that's fixed.

Turbos tend to be good for at least 100,000 miles, though the suspect lubrication this engine's seen would make me worry (a lot) about the health of that one. Maybe not worth swapping preemptively, but I wouldn't trust it for long, either.

I've got no clue about your green brake fluid. Maybe it's a St. Patty's day thing? ;-)

And yes - if the option is dealer service, better to sell it off and move on (and do a better job maintaining the new car). If it's all DIY, it's very recoverable, and (assuming the rest is in fair shape) should be a reliable car (at least compared to what the budget for the cost of parts would buy in a "new used car").

 

@habbyguy,

Thank you for elaborating.

It too noticed the oil cap sludge. I shudder to imagine the valvetrain. I'd feel more comfortable doing multiple oil changes and flushes with idling than driving it during the flush. Costco sells Warren-based synthetic 5W-30 for $11/5qts, and there's always the Mobil1/Walmart rebate trick, so @ 20 bucks a flush, I'd rather not risk it. Figured the intake would have to come off for PCV anyway, so why bother spraying Seafoam through the intake...

In my experience, ATF flushing in lower-mileage vehicles is better if they've been done regularly (e.g. @30k and every 50-60k miles thereafter). But I do understand that the gunk can be what's keeping the transmission going, so I think I'll determine whether a flush is warranted based on the fluid condition. IIRC, that the Aisin ATF @ FCP is $7/qt. I'll check IPD and others too.

"Turbos tend to be good for at least 100,000 miles"... cough... BMW... cough. But I digress. Agreed. At 140k with this car's issues, I'm concerned. No noises I can detect yet, but with all the other bad noises... hard to tell. I found the Mitsubishi turbo for ~$800. Are they worth rebuilding? Or no?

Brake fluid is regulated so that it *must* be "amber-clear" in the US for street use. It's law from the NHTSA. So that really worries me is if it's copper or something. I haven't tested it for water contamination, but I think I'll just flush it without checking. I was just checking to see if there was an explanation for it I hadn't considered.

Not dealer service. A good Volvo specialist though. I personally trust shops and stealerships as far as I could throw them. My own vehicle has never been to a shop for anything ever (besides tires, alignment, and smog), if that's any indication. I think the reason it's been taken to a Volvo specialist is because of the PITA that is Volvo's VIDA. Otherwise, I imagine the owner would be taking it to a more local shop.

Again, thank you for the help. I'm not particularly familiar with Volvos specifically, and your guidance is much appreciated. I know this is an arbitrary metric, but from your experience, for a Volvo motor of this class of design, what percentile would you rate its abuse at? (e.g. 99 meaning that it's been as abused or more abused than 99% of other similar motors). I'm actually kind of impressed that it isn't dead given its abuse.

"and do a better job maintaining the new car"... Not anticipating that TBPH. Luckily, it's not my car.

Cheers

P.S. Again, I know my last post had lots of questions but wanted to you know if you had any thoughts on the following two. [1] The motor mounts are on their way out IMO. Is there a particular mount or mounts to specifically change, or should all be replaced? [2] Is it worth just replacing the strut mounts? Or do the struts also need (read should) replaced at 70k miles?

 

Forgot about the intake coming off anyway, so yeah, skip the Seafoam intake treatment.

If you do an "oil flush", I would still recommend just using dinosaur oil for the post-flush change, since it's not going to be in there long enough to matter.

And I would absolutely (no questions) suggest at least one or two transmission drain-and-fills. I think the right process is to drain all that'll come out, then put in four (IIRC) quarts and call it a day. Volvo put the tranny dipstick where it's impossible to use correctly.

And yeah, I'd do a brake fluid flush. I can't even imagine what's in there, but will just hope it was "designer brake fluid"...

I'd say that motor is in the top 25% of abused motors... not at all pretty, but probably not THAT unusual. The engines are tough as nails though, so your buddy / relative may have dodged a bullet.

On the motor mounts, I hate changing anything that's not clearly bad on a car in this condition, so would just eyeball them and replace any that look at all bad.

Struts might or might need replacing - depends on the conditions it's driven in, mainly. Same with struts. If they're not misbehaving, ignore 'em.

 

Seeing how it's port injected I'm not concerned about the intake valves anyway. Do you think I'm likely going to have to drop the oil pan given the shape of this motor to do the PCV?

Wasn't looking at the synthetic oil for longevity so much as detergents and dispersants. It's just as cheap where I get it anyway.

Hmm. There are a lot of people that are bad about oil changes, that's true. And from what I'm seeing, I'd agree these engines are stupidly durable. Reliable, maybe not so much; not terrible. But definitely durable.

Motor mounts are clearly bad from feel. None are obviously bad from a quick and easy visual inspection, but honestly, wasn't going to mess with until bigger issues were addressed.

And I checked the ATF dipstick today. Wow, you weren't kidding; that dipstick sucks. I'd assumed that there wasn't a dipstick, that Volvo was pulling lifetime BS or something. And the fluid was definitely dark and burnt. So change and not flush it is. I'm sure it's never been changed given it's condition, or at best was changed 100,000+ miles ago. Had to add 2 quarts of oil too. It loses oil at a prodigious rate.

Cheers

P.S. Now there is a cylinder 2 misfire. Wonderful.