This is my first time posting to this forum and have found it very informational. I am new to buying Volvo's but have always loved the cars. I just recently bought a used 99 volvo v70 non turbo wagonfrom the dealer. It had 88k miles on it and it now has 90k. I noticed when driving on the freeway that the engine temp was rising well above normal. I was only doing 60-65 and it was getting near the red. I slowed down and noticed that the temp went down as well. All fluids are fine, tranny, oil, coolant , and no leaks.

Once off the freeway i noticed that the transmission would shift abnormally and would not shift to 4th when driving in town. I haven't changed anything and there are no warning lights showing up. I was thinking of flushing the coolant and changing the thermostat but not sure if that is even the problem. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks!

 

Sounds like the thermostat might have broke.
I would replace the thermostat and maybe even the coolant temp sensor while your in there.

 

I will do that thank you!

Are the transmission problems that I am seeing a symptom of the overheating?

 

I was also wondering if you know if I have to get all of these parts from the dealer?

 

That might affect the transmission as well since the engine is running hot so is the tranny.

You should be able to get them from FCP groton.

 

Sounds like the thermostat, if that isn't the problem then your radiator might need to be replaced. At those speeds it is between those two.

Nick

 

I will replace the thermostat and see if that fixes the issue. I can't seem to find the coolant temp sensor on any parts site including FCP. I will have to call the dealer to find a part number. Thanks for all your help and I will let you know what happens.

 

I replaced the Thermostat and topped off the overflow and everything seems to be fine. I warmed up the car and it didn't overheat, I took it on an intensive city\freeway drive taking it to a steady 70 and then 80 which I was not able to do before. Thank you all for your help!

But this might have brought up another problem. Now that the thermostat is working I am hearing a noise down by the front passengers feet. I hear a whistling noise every now and then and it sounds like a wheel slowly turning down. Any Ideas?? Heat works just fine and no real smells and no steam coming from the vents. Thanks again.

I was thinking maybe the blower motor might be going out but not sure.

 

Does sound like the blower motor which is a fairly common problem. My son did his and said it was pretty easy job.

 

Great to hear that it was just the thermostat.

For the blower motor, if you plan on replacing the entire unit. I would just continue to use it as-is and it might not go bad for a while, if at all. This happend on my ex's Cherokee and we never fixed the motor (sounded like blades were off balance), although it didn't sound pretty sometimes it never failed.

Nick

 

I won't be replacing it anytime soon I just wanted to see what others thought if it sounds like the blower might be going bad. I will let it go out or until it starts to cause problems. Right now it works just fine. Thanks for everyones help and I will continue to use this forum for anymore advice.

 

Do you have the A/C on when it makes the whistling noise?
If so then the orface tube might be torn. When the A/C kicks off it makes noise.
Also does it do it when you shut the car off with the A/C on?

 

I have a 98 S70 that heats up after reaching 50 or more mph for about 5 mins. I changed the the thermostat and all fluids and it still heats up. It can idle for hours and not overheat. Can anyone help. I have 4 fulltime college students and cannot afford one car down. Please help!

 

Hello, I hope things work your way. Do you mind if I ask how much you paid for your 1999? Do searches here and on other boards (Brickboard, Matthew's, volvospeed) of the predictable issues and questions about your car. ETM wearout and replacement, door panel bubbling, blower motors and cabin air filter maintenance, motor mounts, SAS valve and air pump (if you have one), spark coils, heater core/evaporator replacement and radio code are among the things people talk about. IMPORTANT: In all likelyhood you need a timing belt. It's due at 105K and people say 7-8 years is pushing it. You're there. Extremely bad to break-do a search. You can take a BIG bite out of the cost of owning a Volvo by copying our behavior. Kira