Dig's debut: 2000 V70 XC
 

Now Maryland State inspected, tagged and on the road.

2000 Volvo V70 Cross Country
180K miles
Clean, tight and the turbo makes it surprisingly quick.
Garage kept and the original paint looks great.
Allegedly female driven from Maryland to New England for weekly antiquing trips. Sure.
$2300.

I got it for $1900 but had to update some stuff for the inspection. The P.O. promises to reimburse me but I'm not holding my breath. I was originally going to pay him $2300, knowing that it needed the additional $400 work but I held out until he finally offered it to me at a price that essentially included the repairs.

Attachment 18682


It will replace the green '97 Avalon in the background now sporting 316K miles and a serious case of terminal rust. Broke my heart. That car wants to go forever.

Attachment 18683

Allegedly:
Trans replaced at 90K
New radiator
Both front axle assemblies replaced
Front U-joint
Right front strut mount (and now the left as well)
New ABS computer module
New pads all around
New front rotors
4 new tires.Some 4x4 variety. I may need to find some all seasons next year to eliminate some of the road feel.

I'm considering getting some Forever Black for the plastic trim but that sounds like work and I'm trying to cut back.

BTW...the center caps on the wheels are black and don't show well in these pics but rest assured, all four are there.



Dig is happy but tired tonight.

Congrats! And as you mentioned forever black I tried some of that on my 98 and it helped a little but less than I expected. I think that the problem is that the trim is and is supposed to be "gray", and just doesn't work as well. Your ride looks really nice.

Thanks!

How many coats did you put on the trim? Most of the reviews that I read said that it wasn't until the third coat that the stuff really worked as they had hoped.

I did several coats. It did really get rid of some of the discollaration. I suspect it is just more difficult to make gray trim look new than it is with black trim.

Ah! Understood. I just had a brain flash and googled "forever gray" and after following a few links, ended up here.

I'm still new at this Volvo stuff.

Well. The non-functioning fog lights are now functioning again thanks to the never been used replacement fuses in the secondary fuse box, under the hood hard by the firewall. Fuse #17, at 20 amps, had burned out. Volvo even puts a little fuse puller in the fuse box for us.

Baby steps. Fun stuff.

Congrats! For me, to my mind, volvo really is a "luxury" car in many respects. Kind of a sleeper in that regards. I've owned several different high profile luxury cars mostly brand new, and volvo meets and beats other makers in many ways. Above and beyond it all, there just aren't any more comfortable and long-lasting seats in the car industry. And for me, it is hard to top that with any other hoopla.

The ONLY way the trim will look good for years is to paint it with grey bumper trim spray paint
Not hard, just a lot of masking
(and good prep if a silicone treatment has been used, you MUST get all that off first)

Good to know! Thanks.

Just a nod to the good folks at ipd (with whom I have no affiliation other than they now have about $38 US of my money) and a shout out about fun Volvo stuff in general.

My car came with a remote key fob that had a severely damaged plastic case. It was missing the red "Panic" button and was held together with what seemed like a half a roll of clear packing tape. Ugly, fumbly and generally unsatisfactory so I went looking for a replacement.

ipd had this unit for $18.95

115608 Alarm Remote Fob Cover (4 Button) with Buttons

http://www.ipdusa.com/uploads/images...lsize_5070.jpg



Then I was looking under the hood and saw the plastic tube that directs fresh air to the ECU. I noticed that the "accordion" flex section had worn to the point that the edges of the every one flex ridges had split open on both the top and bottom of the tube, allowing the heated, dirty air from the engine compartment to be sucked into the unit. I ordered a replacement for $9.42.

112863 ECU Air Duct Cooling Hose

http://www.ipdusa.com/uploads/images...lsize_2476.jpg

I chose USPS (cheapest) delivery and placed my order on New Year's Day (Sunday). Both parts arrived the following Thursday, which was pretty quick when you consider that they were closed on Monday for the holiday! With shipping, everthing came to just over $38 US.

I had maybe 15 minutes of daylight left when I opened the box and foolishly squandered that daylight by messing around with the remote fob first. After I cut through all the packing tape that was holding it together, it was stupidly easy to swap the guts into the new unit and the buttons they supplied looked nice and unworn, not to mention that I now have the red Panic button again. Then I took the ECU tube outside with a flashlight and popped open the hood in the dark.

I went back in to put new batteries in the flashlight.

Then I looked at how the tube was connected. Amazingly, both ends of the tube were a simple slip and press fit over their respective ports! No clips or clamps required. I tugged gently on the end by the radiator and out it popped. Same with the ECU end. I inserted the new tube into both ports and snapped them into place. Easy-peasy!

There was even a little plastic loop near one end that another, previously freely hanging hose fit into, giving it support! This didn't exist on the part that I had removed.

I have rarely enjoyed working on a car more than I did during this little fix.

Now... on to the ignition lock replacement!

But first...P0014 code!

I have determined that this code is appearing not so much due to any cam timing issue but more to the fact that this engine is very susceptible to sludgy oil. I changed the oil to high mileage Valvoline synthetic for outdoor temps BELOW 86º F, just about 3K ago and have watched the instances of this code drop from a low of around 60 miles to the most recent interval of just over 600 miles. I clear the code with an OBD II reader and reset the odometer each time. I believe that the oil change is helping to break up the sludge and only get the codes now on start up in temps from 20º to 30º F. It's time to change the oil again and a family member who is a tech at a Subaru/Volvo dealership has recommended extracting a quart of oil and replacing it with Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF).

He says to drive it for about half an hour (20 miles or so) to allow the high detergent characteristics of the ATF to dissolve the sludge and then immediately change the oil.

I'm inclined to believe him as he has never steered me wrong over the years but I thought I'd post here to see what, if anything, anyone has to say about what seems to me to be a highly unusual procedure, especially considering the turbo aspect.

Any thoughts?

Have you performed the dreaded PCV repair? This may be at the root of your problem.

Not yet. I have read somewhere that a regimen of aggressive oil changes decreases the sludginess of the engine over time and the code gets thrown with less frequency. I'm going to give that a shot for a while. Fresh oil every 3k miles. What can it hurt?

Meanwhile, the shortcut offered by the ATF flush is still on the table.

Funny how things keep popping up. Bad weather last week brought to light a new situation. I was driving in a wintry mix and needed to hit the washer to clear the windshield. The wipers worked on the glass and the headlights but no fluid came out. The rear nozzle sprayed fluid on the tailgate glass when I hit that button. Later, I tried to fill the reservoir but it was nearly full already.

The fuse chart in the owner's manual says that the entire wiper/washer system runs off the same fuse so since everything else worked, it couldn't be the fuse. I couldn't understand why the rear nozzle was working so I googled it and found out that there's a separate pump for the rear. I decided to pull the pump and test it with 12 volts direct from the battery. Of course, the pump that I removed was the pump for the rear. Remarkably, it was pretty easy to remove. Pull straight up and twist/wiggle it a little bit to get the hose and nipple to clear the metal 'shelf' it lives in. Unsnap the plug at the top, remove the hose from the nipple and you're ready to replace the rear pump, if necessary.

http://www.partsgeek.com/assets/rep/thumb/1023756.jpg

For me, though, not necessary. Back to google to learn where the main pump's location was. Looked under the front bumper and there it was, attached to the side of the washer fluid tank.

http://www.partsgeek.com/assets/rep/thumb/1055280.jpg
The pump is held in place by the large, serrated nipple on the right side of the picture above. The nipple is simply inserted through a rubber grommet that seals the opening once the pump is installed. It's a very tight fit and I had to pry it out with a flat bladed screwdriver. Once out, disconnect the hose going to the washer fluid system and push the wire horseshoe retainer to release the plug and it's out. No other tools necessary.

I cut a length of speaker wire from a spool that I had, split the ends and stripped them and attached the pump to the battery. Nothing. Dead silence.

I went to a local junkyard and searched the Volvos. Found the correct pump on about the third one. I popped it out and cut the wire plug leaving myself as much wire to work with as was available in case there were any issues with my existing plug. Murphy's Law and all that, you know? Five bucks, U.S.! Once out in the parking lot, I wired it up to the battery again and this time, I heard the sweet sound of success. I tossed everything into the back of the car and went home.

Getting it back in proved to be much more of a chore. The pump is positioned so close to the fender that there's not much room to get your arm and hand up in there and get enough leverage to push the nipple back through the grommet. I was working by feel and ended up pushing the grommet into the tank! Not knowing how easy it would have been to fish it back out, I resigned myself to dropping the washer fluid tank by removing the two bolts and one nut that held it in place. I can't recall the size but it's metric, of course and they were all the same. I thought I would have to remove the plastic fender liner to gain access to the bolt at the back of the tank but the liner is flexible enough to bend it away from the fender enough to get a socket and extension in there. I stuck a pair of pliers in the opening I had created so I didn't have to try to hold it while I was ratcheting the bolt out.

To get the tank to drop, I had to remove the filler neck/cap which is also very easy. Just pull it straight up and it comes right out. The rear pump stayed in and went along for the ride. Once down low enough to see it, I kicked myself for not trying harder to fish it out before removing the tank but ultimately, dropping the tank made it easier to push the pump through the grommet.

The pump I got from the junkyard came with a fancy filter (I think my 'original' was a replacement since it didn't say Volvo on it, there was no filter and the wiring had been jury rigged. I was glad that I had snagged the extra plug when I got the pump!

I plugged in the pump, reattached the tank and hooked the hoses back up. It took the better part of a gallon of fluid to fill the tank.

I got in the car and hit the switch and after a couple of dry heaves, the windshield and headlights started receiving washer fluid just like Dr. Volvo (or whomever) intended.

If you can handle the replacement of a headlight bulb, this job is not that much more difficult, especially if you avoid the mistakes that I made but even then, it was not catastrophic.

The next day...


I was in the car with SWMBO and proudly went to show off my manly achievement regarding the above described fix of the windshield washer system. I said, "Watch what the car can do now!" and flicked the stalk to the washer.

The fluid came dribbling out of the hood nozzles and didn't even reach the windshield. It ended up puddling at the top of the hood and then rolled back down past the nozzles until it ran off the front of the grille! Talk about performance anxiety.

I opened the hood (using the 'pull the hood latch twice' method outlined elsewhere on this forum). I wanted to hear the pump while she operated the system. Everything worked as it was supposed to and the fluid came firing out of the nozzles with full force. I thought maybe some dirt that had been clogging the jets had cleared out and I closed the hood. I tried it again and it was back to the dribbles.

:mad:

Time was short so we went on with our business and today, while I had a moment, I popped the hood to make sure all of the hoses were properly connected. That's when I noticed that the hose coming from the fender that wound up by the hood hinge was kinked. I stretched it out and relocated the metal clip that held it to the fender to a better spot, closed the hood and pulled the stalk.

More success!

:cool:

Well, crap!

The guy behind me at the flashing red light (it means STOP!) thought that I had gone and made his move...right into my rear bumper.

:mad:

Attachment 18433

Dig, that bumper boo-boo breaks my heart.


A careless driver just made my daughter part with her 98 S70...car totaled, daughter unharmed. Time for another Volvo.

I'm sending her to buy a silver version on your car for $2K 140K. (She's at college in PA...I'm far away in SC). Carfax says no accidents, one owner. Seller says maintenance records are included and timing belt was done recently.

Keep us posted with your issues/fixes. I'm sure it will help me guide her with her new vehicle.

Thanks, az. Right now, I'm having trouble with the other guy and his insurance. They try to call him but he doesn't answer the phone. They say they can't authorize repairs without speaking to him. I was advised to try calling him and asking nicely. He answered and seemed entirely reasonable and said he'd be glad to answer their questions. That was 3 days ago.

:mad:

Hi Dig: I enjoy your thread.

Sorry about the recent ding, he needs to CALL HIS INSURANCE company and get that taken care of. My daughter was swipped in her car and the old lady had no remberance of any accident. Good thing she had a police report. ALWAY CALL THE POLICE.

We have the iPd key fob case as well, matching red. :) I recently just went to their site and looked at EVER part they sold for my car. Took me about 2 to 3 hours. It was a learning experience and I was surprised at the price of a few parts. Wow!!!

I did use Forever Black on 2 cars that I have/had. Both were 850's. It turned out real good. I did let the car go several weeks without putting conditioner on the trim and bumpers. Here is a pic and a link to the thread where other's have used it.

https://volvoforums.com/forum/volvo-...y-color-28339/

http://www.atthetipwebs.com/technolo...s/theforce.jpg

http://www.atthetipwebs.com/technolo...ICT8039-1s.JPG

I even did the door handles. Prep work is essential.

http://www.atthetipwebs.com/technolo...0/PICT1567.JPG

Here is my black wagon with the before bumper treatment and after side trim treatment.

http://www.atthetipwebs.com/technolo...n/PICT6698.JPG