Looking at a 98 V70 wagon 5 speed. no additional branding on it, so I presume your garden variety V70?
non turbo as well.

Trouble I see is it is leaking oil at a pretty good rate from around the area where the tranny meets the engine block.
I could not get right under the car, but I suspect the rear main seal??

the car drives very nice and I could detect no clutch slippage. Car was traded in to a HONDA dealer who subsequently sold it
to a used car dealer here in Toronto.

I also noted a service light on at the lower right of the dashboard that looked like an upside down yield sign?
Sales dude claims it is the change oil indicator?

125,000 kms, other than above it appears to be in good conditon.

they are asking 8900.00 cdn for it and the sales dude says they will have the leak repaired and the service light remedied.

I did not detect weather it had TRACS on it.

Would this have ABS as standard equipment?

Thanks for all the feedback to date, this is a great forum. T.

 

Yes it would have ABS standard.

Sounds like the rearmain seal to me.

That light should be a lamba sound light. O2 sensor is related.
I think cars other than the U.S. cars had the lamba light.
The U.S. cars don't have the light.

 

I'm wondering then if the dealer is going to fix the leak (that sounds expensive) then I should maybe offer to
pay for a new clutch while the tranny is out?

I presume they drop the tranny to fix this seal?

Should this model have come with traction control?

It has the heated seats, cruise control, no sunroof, no roof rack rails on it.

What else should I be aware of about this car?

Thanks, Terry

 

The only other main problems with these cars is the evaperator for the A/C leaks.

Have them look at the clutch and see if it is low while they are in there.

 

Tech, I had my c70 in the shop today for a steering rack and I asked the service writer who has been at the dealership for the past 21 years whether he has had an issue with the 70 series air conditioners as I was concerned after reading your many posts. He felt that it was probably an issue in Florida because the AC is used more often than in the frozen north...................in short, he has never had an evaporator failure with a Volvo. Incidently, I had the rack failure at 30,000 miles because the pump leaked (you could never see fluid) and I believe the rack bearings (sleeves) enlarged allowing the rack to chatter.

 

It is a problem in more than just the florida area.
I have heard from people all across the world having evaperator problems.

 

The evaporator is definitely a known problem. I had mine replaced on the 94 850 around 150K about eight years old. I had a guy that really knows A/C's do it and he said he would never do another one. Charged me around $1,000 and said that was a deal for the amount of work he had to do.

 

The funny thing is the dealer is only a couple hundred dollars more to do it.

They charge about 1200.00 to 1500,00 to replace it.They charge 10 hours labor to do it.The parts are like $350.00.

Someone that know the setup very well can have it done in 3 to 4 hours.

 

Jim............if mine lasts 150,000 miles.....................well.................I'l l be dead by then!!! In all seriousness, I never keep an auto that long.................I've kept my c70 simply because of the styling. I was going to buy a Merc clk 320 but the fact that they fall apart with regularity precluded that idea! The c70 looks like the clk and so I chose that avenue and do not regret it other than the innumerable squeaks, rattles, and other ****ling little problems. You are probably correct about the evaperators if you keep the auto for a long time and my dealership doesn't see very many older Volvos.............in fact I have never seen an 850 in the dealership in several years. I think people who own the older autos eventually find a good repair facility to keep their autos going. I also have a BMW and you never see the older models such as the e-21 or e-30's in the repair bays. Lastly, my Volvo has but 30,000 miles on it and the license tag reads: snowbtr................I use it in the winter and also drive it to the airport most every week. Incidentally, I see where you joined the Volvo club...............have you seen the great articles this issue on the p1800??? Now those were some great looking cars!!!