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I have a 98 v70XC that I bought when I returned deployment. Now, looks like I may go again, and wonder if I should sell this thing first. Paid $11,000K with 95K Mles, and I hate it.

Issues:

1) Uses oil. No leaks, no smoke. Where is it going? 1 qt/1200-1500 miles.

2) Air pump. Seller told me that check engine light was from air pump. The one under the battery. He had a used pump that came with the car. I replaced it, all was fine. Now, it makes horrible noise when starting and warming up. (after finding this forum, I read about a valve that also should have been replaced? ??)

3) The BIGGIE!! Car has check engine light and NO POWER!! Cannot keep up with traffic on moderate grade on interstate. Around town, feels like I am hauling a trailer. I checked, no trailer, just way sluggish motor.

4) Stealership replaced window switch and motor mount, and did oil change for $900.00. I replaced entire front and rear suspension on a BMW for less! Anybody know a good swedish wrench in Nebraska?

So, all you Volvo lovers, I challenge you!! Help me. Make me like this car!

I am more than willing to do the work myself, but have no idea where to start.

 

1.Are you 100% sure you have no oil leaks? Have you inspected under the car?

2.The Air pump will make a Hairdryer like noise when started first thing in the morning. That is normal.

3. The first thing to do is have the codes pulled. If you live near an AutoZone have them pull the codes.
The let us know what they are. Then we can help you.

4. Yes the Stealership does S***. They could have easily been done by you for Less.

These cars are pretty easy to work on. We will be glad to help you.

 

OK HATEMYVOLVO, take a deep breath. Theres probably nothing wrong with your car that can't be fixed fairly easily, if not cheaply. The 98 is regarded by many as the last best year for Volvos, the year before Ford got involved. This site has a ton of people that have had the exact same problems you are having, got them taken care of and are enjoying a fine car in looks, safety and performance. I know a little about your situation, as I was driving my 98 V70 T-5 home from the dealer I bought it from, the dreaded Check Engine light came on, not even 20 miles down the road. The Air Pump was bad and I was so pissed I let the thing sit for a couple of months before I fixed it. I have slowly but surely rediscovered why I bought it in the first place, I just always wanted one. Good luck and thanks for what you guys in the military do for the rest of us. You must be in Offuit. I was at Whiteman for 10 years and live in St. Joseph, small world.

 

Local auto parts store (O'Reilly) wanted to RENT me the OBDII tool for 258.00...so, uh, no!b Does Auto Zone do for free?

And, are the B, P, C, U codes? Something different?

Took to local foreign car wrench, he said that it is either a turbo or timing belt problem....He said he will have to look deeper to find out...I put him on hold till I talked to you guys. He was suprised at the loss of performance/power in the car.

Here we go!

Symptoms:
Check engine light is on. He said not related (and, as I was soiling myself at words "turbo" and "timing belt" I failed to ask what code was...DOH!)

Air pump (the one under battery) squeal on start, then quiets down/or stops. See above, I put new one in, worked fine, found out I should have done some valve too...Is it full of water? Can I drill out rivets and rebuid it)

No power...No acceleration...Doesn't want to go over 3.5-4K RPM when driving.

Tranny seems like it is shifting rougher than it used to.

Let's fix this pig!

Where do I start?

Is 99.00 code reader worth my money?

OBD II CODE READER
Manufacturer: EQUUS
Part # EQU-3100
LIST PRICE : $149.99
YOUR PRICE : $99.99


(Off topic.. OBDI Rocks...Rover has LEDS under seat, BMW has Check Engine that flashes codes...Robert Bosch is a god...Motronic!)

 

Feel free to EM me direct...

 

Auto zone normally does it for free in the parking lot.

We really need to know what the codes are.
You could have a bad Vaccum leak.
You could have a bad Mass Flow sensor.
You could have bad O2 sensors.

Do you hear the turbo working?

The P codes are generic. Im not to sure about the other codes.

When was the last tune up?

I Doubt it is timing belt releated.

If you hear the turbo then it won't be that.

Also inspect all 3 vaccum hoses that go to the turbo. Feel them all the way to the turbo and make sure they are all good and have no cracks or have broken off.


Do you have a link for the site for the scanner?

 

Uhh, (time to reveal my Volvo ignorance) What does the turbo sound like?

Where is it?

I will pick up car from shop today, spend weekend on it. I have Offutt Air Force Base auto hobby shop at my disposal, I'm thinking they might have a scanner.

Last tune up...? We have only put 20K on it since we bought it, it was "supposedly" tuned up just prior to our getting it.

Is this motor like the M20 BMW motor, what we call zero clearance, as when you jomp timing you notice by the trail of bent valves?
Motor is not noisy, ie. valve to piston slap.


Scanner Link
http://www.iequus.com/item.asp?cid=7&pid=3100
or just iequus.com

Saw them in Walmart for 99.00

PS...on data display, easy around town driving, car has always averaged 17 MPG, might be related?

IF you point me towards tune up, where do I source parts? Online? Napa? I am so Volvo ignorant...

Thanks to all, and have a good day. I feel that this might work out and appreciate your support.

 

You can pick up an ODB-II scanner at Auto Zone for around $75. You will bend valves on these cars if the timing belt breaks or it jumps out of timing. Personally I have stayed away from the AWD models. Just seems like something more to go wrong and I really don't have a need for four wheel drive. My FWD cars do just fine in the snow. If the weather is too bad for them, I stay home.

 

The turbo is like a whirling noise when you get into the gas hard.

The turbo is at the back of the engine under the metal covers.

Look at the spark plug wires they should have a date stamped on them in either yellow or white writting.

IMO buy Volvo plugs. The cap and rotor are made by Bosch. The wires are to I think.

Yes it bends Valves $3000,00 later if you have a shop do it.

Just to make sure you Know for a scanner that is that little amount of money it will only read engine codes.

In the General section there is a post Links to sites check it out for Parts.

 

My cheap scanner reads and erases engine codes. If it didn't erase I would not have bought it. But it doesn't do anything more than that.

 

As a fellow unhappy Volvo owner I'd say dump it. They are very overrated as far as reliabilty goes. As soon as I can get my V70R in saleable shape, it's history. I needed/wanted 4 or AWD. I'm going to get a Subaru or a Jeep or a Ford f-150. The Volvo ranks right up there with my major mistakes, like my first marriage, difference being the Volvo's gonna cost me more.

 

you guys are overlooking one thing,

You don't know the care/maintainence given by the previous owner.....

 

Agreed. And in truth, I do hope to be able to bring the car back to snuff for maybe $2,000. Then I'll know where everything sits mainenance-wise. I'm really the idiot here as I bought a pretty fancy car without throughly checking it out. I paid well below trade-in so I can afford to pump in a bit. I hope a new abs module will fix a lot of my issues. After that's done I'll address the tires and exhaust system (might be OK, maybe noisy due to hi-po motor) and have an indy fix all missing light on the dash. I have the potential to become a happy camper. Maybe all I need to do is up my valium intake for a few weeks while I work out my kinks. I honestly like the layout of the car and the drive is good even with crappy tires. I'll zip it for a few weeks as I bring the car back and see how it alll pans out.