Hi All,

I love my 1998 Volvo S70. The car is 21 years old with 83,000 miles. It's a city car so isn't used much at all. Any thoughts are appreciated.

Water Pump -- The water pump is original and works fine but I am 8 years and 18k miles on the last timing belt / tensioner / idler. I know the original aisin OEM water pumps on the S70 seem to last quite long. Are the new AISIN water pumps they sell as good? Would you leave the water pump alone and just change the timing belt? FCP sells the Contitech kit with INA brand idler and tensioner which they mark as OEM which would probably be the parts I get.

Starter / Fuel Pump / Ignition Coil -- Original and not showing problems. But is it time to just swap any of these out before it doesn't start one day? All city driving.

By the way, all the original rubber coolant hoses and heater lines lasted 20 years when they were all replaced preventatively last year. The car has always been stored indoors. Periodic transmission fluid drain and fill of the aisin 4 speed transmission (just whatever comes out of the bolt) has been done and it shifts fine.



I am not able to do this work myself, so I will bring the parts to a mechanic to install.

It's a great car.

Thanks all,

TJ

 

Ok, just for reference......we also have a 1998 S70 T5 that my kids drive. It has just shy of 150,000 miles. Yes, you are due for a timing belt change (along with all the rollers/pulleys. As for the water pump, I would leave that up to the mechanic to decide as it is not hard to do once you are in there. Some say change it as preventative, some say if it ain't broke, don't fix it. LEave the starter alone until it needs replacing. It is buried under the manifolds and is a royal pain to get to. We had an 850 (that uses the same engine as the S70) and it went 25 years and 300,000 miles and the starter was still going strong when we sold it. Fuel pump and coil, same thing.........if they are working fine, leave them alone. If they go bad, they are easy to change, and usually give you plenty or warning before leaving you stranded. Just my.02

 

Thank you for sharing your insight. It is super appreciated. I will get the timing belt kit with the pulley & tensioner and also buy the water pump in case it looks like it should be changed when opening the timing valve cover. I have not had a car 21 years old before. Your knowledge of the vehicle and willingness to share your thoughts are very much appreciated. Tom

 

These cars are pretty sturdy and will run a long time if the maintenance is taken care of when it comes due. This forum is good for advice and tips also if and when any issues crop up.

 

+1 the 98 S70s are basically a restyled 850 with a well proven design. In term of your maintenance, the original 7 years / 70K miles for the timing belt was upped to 10 years /105 K miles in 1999 as more data came in on durability. You are correct in noting the OEM water pumps are stout and generally last 200K+ miles. Many dealers recommend with the second timing belt change - but that is typically at 140K+ miles. You might as well do this now if you plan on keeping the car. No reason to wait a year - given there's no VVT gear on your car, its pretty straight forward. Just consider doing the serpentine belt idlers along with the timing belt tensioner and pulley (a must so buy a kit).

Other stuff I'd look after:

Coolant flush should be done every 2-3 years - should have been done with your hoses so you should be good for a bit. Did you also replace the overflow cap and thermostat? Brake fluid flush. Again check color but you should consider a flush ever few years of the brake fluid as moisture collects and can damage the calipers and master. For the ignition - check the date code on your wires - if older than 5 years, I'd do a cap/rotor/wires. Coils generally don't fail so I'd leave that be. If I were to keep a spare part on the shelf, I'd consider an alternator or voltage regulator before a starter although I had to replace both on my 850 during 250K miles of ownership. Power steering fluid change - this is easy as a DIY. Buy a turkey baster and a quart of Dex-Mercon ATF ($7). Use the baster to suck out all the fluid from the reservoir, refill with fresh ATF, then start it up and turn lock to lock 3-4 times to circulate the fluid. Repeat 3-4 times and you'll see the fluid go from brown to red and you're all set.

 

Thank you guys!

I am trying to "invest" a bit preventatively. I just feel better riding a car that I keep an eye on and give some attention to it. It's a hobby to some extent. This is my father's last car before he stopped driving, so I do feel some extra responsibility for it.

Coolant / Thermostat / Temp Sensor: Coolant is changed regularly though not not as often as every 2-3 years. I also change the thermostat and temperature sensor with every coolant change. The temp. sensor is probably unnecessary as I believe they last 100k miles. Radiator - After 21 years, I still have the same radiator and there doesn't seem to be signs of rust. Coolant hoses / heater hoses/rings -- all replaced last year at 20 years old. Only one hose looked more "iffy" than the rest, but we got great life out of them (northeast area car which is garaged and only used on weekends so that probably helped extend their life).I did replace the little hoses to the overflow tank and the overflow tank cap. Radiator Cap -- it's 21 year old.

Steering System: I did the turkey baster approach a few years back for the first time and was shocked at how much gunk was being brought up. Some people say to leave it and not change it, but I disagree completely. No fluid lasts forever. Original rack & pinion is in place and it seems to work fine.

Brakes: I replaed the 4 flex brake hoses last year preventatively. They were 20 years old and they seemed a bit stiff. So it was good to do them. I had a brake flush at the same time.

Alternator: The original was replaced two years ago. I replaced the accessory belt, tensioner and idler pulley at the same time.

Timing Belt / Water Pump: Since the original is still in place, I will buy the aisin water pump and bring to the mechanic, as 21 years is quite a good amount of time. The risks in keeping the old water pumpe could be that having a new timing belt/tensioner/pulley could put more pressure on the original water pump than it is used to. I believe there are also 2 cam seals, 1 front crankshaft seal, 1 rear crankshaft seal, and an oil pump seal somewhere that could be replaced at the same time while its largely open. I have no idea if those are easy for a standard mechanic to do without bringing him the special tool, or if changing those seals is practical/necessary while doing the timing belt/tensioner/pulley/water pump.

Ignition Wires / Rotor / Distributor Cap: This was done 8 years and 18k miles ago.

Thank you all,

Tom

 

In all honesty, the only weak point I have seen on both the old 850 we had and the current 98 S70 is the coolant temperature sensor. I replaced 2 on the 850 in 10 years and just replaced the 2nd one on the S70 this spring. They wont leave you stranded, but the symptoms are sudden hard starting, poor acceleration, and a temperature gauge that instantly reads normal temperature on first start after sitting overnight. Easy fix.

 

I think the fuel pump (and its relay) will certainly conk out, but they're so easy to get to. You will get left by the side of the road sometime when they die. Also, the heater core, if it's original, is also going to go bad. it is unusually easy to replace compared to other cars (which ain't saying much.)