Young 'Un with a whole bunch of questions...

**Webbie89** · 08-09-2011, 10:55 PM

Hello all,
I’m new to Volvos and to the forum, though I’ve sought advice from many like it regarding other mechanical frustrations. I also have a lot of questions. Brace yourselves.

I purchased a 2002 V70XC about a week ago. I know that the 01/02 models are the black sheep of the P2 cars, but I took my chances. I got what appeared to be a screaming deal on this one from a mechanic in Seattle.
It was a one-owner (dentist) car that munched some valves when the timing belt broke at 121K miles. Other than the timing belt, all maintenance appears to be good. The transmission doesn’t do any “clunking” shifting through the gears at a standstill, and the only way to get any observable flare is by driving up a pretty darn steep hill under pretty heavy acceleration. Body, interior, and amenities all look and function beautifully.

So the mechanic found a used engine with only 80K miles on it and dropped it in. With the swap, he installed brand new engine mounts, water pump, PCV breather box, serpentine and timing belts, thermostat, temp sensor, plugs, and two of the ignition coils. He also drained and filled the tranny and changed all other fluids. And he sold it to me for $7000.

Awesome!

Problem: That was a week ago. Since then, I’ve been into the dealer service department three times.

First visit occurred when the #3 ignition coil cracked. I was at the mercy of the dealership since I was 200 miles from home with only 80% of an engine, so that cost me $400.

I also had the annoying “gas cap loose” message followed by the more-annoying check-engine light, which got fixed over the course of visits to the dealership. Smoke test revealed a tiny pinhole in one of the hard-lines near the fuel tank. Diagnosis and fix cost me $200.

Neither item seems to indicate any negligence on the part of my mechanic. The dealership (Sandberg NW in Seattle) said that the engine installation looked like it had been done well.

Tonight I started getting another misfire. It’s only occasional, and it cropped up only after about 30 miles on a 55mph highway. The engine misses sporadically at idle and under throttle just before a downshift, around 1900-2000 RPM. On the drive back home along the same highway about 2 hours later, I didn’t feel a single misfire…. (?!?!?!)

I’m thinking another coil. The fact that it was inconsistent and only occurred with a nice hot engine suggests some insulation breakdown to me. No Check-Engine light came on, so I can’t pull any codes.

So my questions are…. (sorry for the long-winded opener):

Does this sound like a reasonable diagnosis? I think I may just replace the two remaining old coils with parts from FCPGROTON to cover my bases.

Is there some more-sinister underlying problem that could be killing ignition coils? I can think of a bad ground, but it’s not to hard to ground stuff when the unibody is bolted to literally EVERYTHING.

Should I heckle my mechanic? I still can’t think of a reason that I should blame these issues on him. It seems to be my own bad luck, but I can’t afford much more bad luck.

Will a generic OBDII code reader work for main systems? Say, for identifying bad ignition coils?

AND, is there a repair manual available? I found the Haynes guide for the V70 family, but I’m not sure whether the exclusion of the AWD components makes it useless…

I’d love to delve into this machine myself to save some money, but I need to get acquainted first. I usually just work on old motorcycles, boats, and cars that don’t thwart common code-readers.

Thanks a ton!
Casey

**Astro14** · 08-10-2011, 03:47 AM

I'll disagree - anyone who is too dumb to replace the timing belt doesn't know much about car maintenance and it's likely that other things have been neglected as the result of a "Smart" owner who "won't be ripped off paying too much for all this uneccessary maintenance"...but with a replacement engine...hopefully it's OK.

So, coils are common, but $400 is about twice what it should have cost to diagnose and replace...the OBD II reader will tell you which cylinder is misfiring - swap coils and see if the misfire moves with the suspect coil - and you can change one yourself in about 20 minutes...15 with practice...or just replace the two remaining - your call.

The Haynes is OK - there is not a lot of good manual information for this, unless you go with a professional on-line subscription or a pirate copy of VIDA...

**greemero** · 08-10-2011, 11:12 AM

I would agree that $400 is way too high for this job, unfortunately, it's about in line with what my dealership says, which is not too hard to believe since they charge near $200 for the part.

I would also second that replacing coils is a very simple DIY job. As a matter of fact, you may want to check the two that the mechanic says he replaced just to verify their condition. And while you're at it, check the condition of the spark plugs too.

There's a ton of repair information available in the resources section of this website (see tab at top), and other sites on the web. I've found pretty much all the information I've needed there, and didn't feel the need to go the VIDA/Vadis route.

**Webbie89** · 08-10-2011, 02:51 PM

The $400 was a sore spot for me, yes, but not as absurd as it sounds. The coil itself was only $105 on the invoice. They also offered to replace the wire-pack for all five coils, since the connectors were brittle and starting to crack. They threw in the wiring harness for free, but charged me for labor. So beyond the $105 for for the coil, the remainder was labor and tax.

I've ordered two more Bosch coils and a large-end Poly bushing for the lower torque mount. The dealer noticed that it was in need of replacement, and I'm associating that with just slightly less-than-crisp throttle response at highway speeds.

Astro14,
I'd agree that the timing belt neglect is a red flag, but I checked over the car myself and had a reputable European auto shop in Seattle do a buyer's inspection. On top of that, the technician at the dealership did a quick survey while he was doing the work on the car. All said that car appeared solid, save for the torque mount bushing and perhaps some front strut mounts in the near future. The transmission really does feel quite solid, so I'm hoping that the rest of the car and the new engine are solid. The dealer did a compression test on the replacement engine and all five cylinders pushed an even 220 psi.

greemero,
Thanks for the pointer. I'll hold off on buying an code reader for the moment, and I may just pick up a good generic OBDII reader to diagnose major problems. If I do choose to go the VIDA Dice route, how much can I expect to pay for the computer software?

I plan to make a checklist of all the auxiliary maintenance items I can think of and running through those. I have a 2,000 mile trip to make in two weeks, and the car has to be up and running.

Casey