Hey guys I am new to Volvo's and am going to be picking up an N/A 98 S70 this weekend I was wondering if that engine ever blew how hard it would be to swap the turbo engine in cause I know you can't just turbo the NA cause of the ECU and the NA engine having a high compression. I know it would be cheaper to buy a turbo version from the start but their is no turbo manual S70s within 500 miles of me so thats why I am sticking with getting an NA what are your guys thoughts on this and how hard would it be to just drop it in?

 

Getting the engine in would not be a major issue, but the ECU and associated wiring would most likely be your biggest challenge.

 

Wiring harness is a little bit different. The NA harness did not include, for instance, the circuits for boost control. They were not built to be plug and play easily under the hood. You could plug-and-play the wiring if you had the dash out, but that is a lot of trouble.


There are little changes year over year, so for instance your best bet is a 1998 T-5. The farther you go afield from 1998, the more little changes you will discover. The fuel system, for instance, was constantly changing from 1994 to 1998. You can't easily swap in a 1999 and later set of brains, so you are limited on donors up to 1998.


You want to be able to get everything you need off the donor car. I never try to piece together an engine swap. Junk cars are way too cheap to do that.