Hello to all who read this.

I just purchased a 1998 S70 with 209k for $800. The car was taken care of and drives just fine, but I have a few questions.

First, the seller did disclose that it needs a PNP Module (switch), and that a shop would charge 200 for part and labor, is that good. I found one for around 100, but not sure how bad the labor is. Is it true that this part wears out quickly on these cars.

Second, she failed to tell me until the last min that the headlights dont work, and so I had to use the Hi Beams to get it home. Now I must trouble shoot that, suggestions?

Third, there looks like a part is missing on a hose directly over the radiator, I will post pics tomorrow. Once they are up can someone help me identify it so I can replace it **** Image added 11/21/13 ****

Forth, the leather is ripped in the front, where can I buy directly replacement leather (i put replacement leather in the RSX for show purposes back in 02 so I know what that entails)

Long winded I know, but I just want a safe car that drives and can pass SMOG in NV. Thanks again

 

Hi and welcome to the forum.

209k is a good chunk of miles, I don't think I would consider the worn out quick when it comes to a PNP switch or any other part. $200 seems low, I would expect 2 hours of labor so maybe $280.

Light issue can be the ignition switch.

 

RSPI has some good videos to look at to tell you what you need to be wary of or at least check out. 200K is a lof miles but you got it pretty cheap and if you can do some basic work, you can fix it pretty cheap.

-Figure out the timing belt age first. That will trash an engine the quickest.
-Figure out the PCV - glove test is good.
-Check the brakes
-Check all the fluids
-Check the dust boots on the rack and pinion. You don't want to have to deal with that right off.

That should get you started and road worthy

 

Seat Skin Link: https://volvoforums.com/forum/sale-t...t-skins-44818/

 

Great resources and thank you for the reply. I will be checking into these things this weekend and will report any questions I have. RSPI, your videos are great

 

Here is a quick pic I took on my phone of the missing part. Can someone help me identify it

 

It's a small section of the tube.

 

http://www.ipdusa.com/products/5889/...t-cooling-hose

 

 

RSPI, thank you for your help

 

That tube is inportant since it's the cooling for the computer box and right now you are sucking hot engine air into the box.

All that oil splatter needs to be addressed.

Looking at the picture, you are running the engine without the dipstick in. The dipstick goes in the hole that is right in front of the 2nd tube from the left on the intake manifold.

Before you just pop it in, you need to follow RSPI's video on the PCV system and do the glove test. The quickest way to hide a PCV issue is to open up the engine to atmosphere. If you just put the dipstick in you may blow some of the seals or cause them to leak if they are already bad. You don't want that tube open to the elements since the inside of the engine doesn't repond well to things like dirt and water.

 

That is actually not oil splatter, it was beginning to rain when I took the picture. I have a dipstick but the top has broken and I will be buying a new one this weekend along with the new tube

 

Slowly putting some love into this car. Got the new tube and its in. Found out that my air box was not completely connected from the induct on the front bumper so I fixed that. Its been raining in vegas so it was hard to get more done this weekend but I have a long weekend coming up and I want to check out the PCV system. I looked to see If i could locate a date for the timing belt and I could not. Looks like replacing that will be in the near future.

 

**** UPDATE ****

I ran a scan on my OBD 2 connection and got these codes
P0500 - Speed Sensor
P0440 - Evap system failure
P0130 - O2 sensor

Anyone ever get these codes and if so, were there any common issues or should I start replacing parts?

 

Did you fix the issue with the PNP? Here is a link to a P0500 issue: http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/for...hp?f=1&t=17210

For th P0440 you have a research project. Take a look at the J hose and the hose to the tank. I can't recall if tha tis the code for when that breaks. The J jose is just in front of the passenger rear wheel. there is a hose there that feeds back to the gas tank. Both tend to dry rot and and break. It's quite common. the straight hose can be replaced with a piece of hose from any parts store. I tried using regular hose to replace the J hose and it just doesn't work out because the bend is too severe. If its not either of those 2, you need to run through the EVAP and look for broken and dry rotted hoses.

I'd fix the EVAP and reset the codes to see if the O2 still occurs. If it comes back, the O2 sensor is easy enough to replace. Get a loaner tool from the parts places and some antiseize. Make user you don't get antiseize on anything but the threads and be light with it.

 

OK, thanks for the advice. I haven't done anything to it since my last post and the only thing I did since I've owned it was put that new hose in the engine bay. I cleared the codes and they came back yesterday so I will scan again. My roommate thinks the Evap may just be a bad gas cap and I hope the same but I will trouble shoot it this week. Thanks again

 

It could be the gas cap but I think that may be a different code, unless it's starting to leak quite a bit. You will need the Volvo cap, not just any old cap from a parts place, or you will create a problem with codes.

A general piece of advice.... don't let codes go too long. Some of these codes may not appear to have a lot of significance on the surface, but not fixing them may have more expensive consequences. Many codes cause the engine to run in a standard configuration which will affect fuel consumption. When you have an EVAP problem (basically a vacuum leak), the engine is forced to compensate by dumping more fuel to keep the engine running with the excess air intake. That can lead dumping unburned/poorly burned fuel into the catalytic converter as well as coating the O2 sensor with soot. There is no guarantee to any of that but you should keep it in mind. On my wifes car I ignored a "strange noise" and months later I was installing a $600 air compressor when a $20 relay would have fixed the problem (which I had to buy anyway).

I get the financial aspect. Sometimes fixing things can get expensive. We all have to weight our financials into the mix.