Purchased a 2000 XC70 AWD SE

[dislusive]

Hello all.

I have just purchased one of these for my wife and have been scouring the internet looking at possible pre-maintenance repairs that I can get out of the way now.

The vehicle has 94,xxx miles, and was serviced all of its life at the dealer routinely. It has an extended warranty, that expires at the end of this month. I picked it up for a good price, I believe ($5k).

I'm taking it into the dealer, dropping it off tonight, to have the timing belt changed tomorrow.

The idle seems to be a little rough; really it's just kinda loud. It doesn't seem to "purr" is all, you know it's running. There isn't any type of sputter in the idle though. There is also a very slight hint of antifreeze when the heater is cranked, but no loss of fluids.

Since I'm a first time owner of this model of volvo, it's possible that all of this is common and nothing to worry about.

I also noticed, and in accordance with the service records, that the oil has been changed every 7.5k miles... The next interval is at 97.5k. It seems there's dyno oil in it (every 7.5k!?!?) and will swap that out with mobile one EP tomorrow as well. The oil was a quart low, so I already added a quart of the EP to it (to see if it breaks up any build-up and causes a leak). *edit* Also, should I use 5w30 or 10w30?

I've read a lot about the ETM issue, and will probably replace that as well (myself).

Are there any other things that I should look for, or replace while I'm at it?

Thanks much in advance, any advice you can give is very welcome!

[binglax09]

Dealer: Avoid if you can, unless you have the money to spend or you HAVE to go to them due to warranty issues.
Timing belt: This is due at 105K and I would HIGHLY recommend replacing all pulleys along with the water pump.
ETM: This is warrantied for 10years/200K miles so I wouldn't replace it unless it dies and it's a free replacement anyway.
Anti freeze: If you can smell it in the cabin it's most likely the heater core. This is any EASY thing to replace.
Oil: That quart of oil wont do a thing. If you keep changing it out with a quality full synthetic then you could see a slightly cleaner engine. Run a quality oil/filter with a good OCI and you will be fine.

[JRL]

The idle seems to be a little rough; really it's just kinda loud.

IT PROBABLY NEEDS A NEW LOWER MOTOR MOUNT, PERHAPS BOTH (UPPER AND LOWER) MOUNTS

It doesn't seem to "purr" is all, you know it's running. There isn't any type of sputter in the idle though. There is also a very slight hint of antifreeze when the heater is cranked, but no loss of fluids.

IT NEEDS A NEW HEATER CORE, NOW OR VERY SOON YOUR FLOOR WILL BE COVERED BY ANTIFREEZE

Since I'm a first time owner of this model of volvo, it's possible that all of this is common and nothing to worry about.

COMMON, BUT PROBLEMS. YOU NEED TO FIX THESE ISSUES NOW

I also noticed, and in accordance with the service records, that the oil has been changed every 7.5k miles... The next interval is at 97.5k. It seems there's dyno oil in it (every 7.5k!?!?) and will swap that out with mobile one EP tomorrow as well. The oil was a quart low, so I already added a quart of the EP to it (to see if it breaks up any build-up and causes a leak). *edit* Also, should I use 5w30 or 10w30?

VOLVO MAINTENANCE TIME IS 7500 PROBABLY NOT WITH SYNTHETIC.
I WOULD NOT GO TO SYNTHETIC UNTIL YOUR PCV (BREATHER BOX) IS CHECKED. AT 100K MILES IT'S ABOUT TIME FOR A NEW BREATHER BOX, THEN SWITCH TO SYN.

I've read a lot about the ETM issue, and will probably replace that as well (myself).

YOU CANNOT. IT HAS TO BE INITIALIZED BY VOLVO. FOR $500 THERE IS ONE OUT NOW WITH NO CONTACTS, ALL ELECTRONIC. HERE IS THE LINK, THIS WORKS
http://www.xemodex.com/


Are there any other things that I should look for, or replace while I'm at it?

CHECK THE ENTIRE FRONT SUSPENSION, STRUT MOUNTS, SPRING SEATS, SWAY BAR LINKS, CONTROL ARM BUSHINGS.
CHANGE OUT THE BEVEL GEAR FLUID AND FLUSH THE TRANSMISSION NOW.

YOU'RE IN FOR A HEFTY BILL, THIS IS ALL NORMAL MAINTENANCE AT 100K OR THEREABOUTS ON THESE TO KEEP THEM RUNNING RIGHT FOR THE NEXT 50K MILES

MANY OF YOUR PROBLEMS SHOULD BE COVERED UNDER YOUR WARANTY.
DEMAND THAT THEY FIX THE BROKEN ISSUES, (HEATER CORE, MOTOR MOUNTS, ETC. MAKE THEM LOOK HARD AT THE SUSPENSION, THESPRING SEATS ARE COVERED BY MOST WARRANTIES

Thanks much in advance, any advice you can give is very welcome!




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[dislusive]

Thanks for the reply.

Since it's still under warranty, I'm hoping that when the dealer replaces the timing belt that they will discover that the WP is 'going', then it will be replaced but as a warranty repair. They may also discover something else that needs "replaced" while it's there, which is fine as long as it's a warranty job.

This will be the last time it sees the dealer, unless it's a warranty/recall repair. I will handle all the repairs, unless it's something very major, from this point on.

I'm going to use the mobile one EP filter to match the oil.

I read about the ABS module also going bad, anything else I should watch out for?

[dislusive]

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JRL,

Thanks for the reply. That's A LOT of stuff to go over...

I'm not sure what all the stealship is going to replace when they do the t-belt. I was hoping the pulleys would be included in that.

the motor doesn't shake, the idle seems to be a bit high?

I read about the heater core, and the fix. The smell is very faint, and goes away pretty fast. I'm thinking it could be normal for just turning the heater on. I did check both sides of the floor, and found no fluid. Since it's a cheap repair, I will probably replace sometime over the summer just to be safe.

I see in the service records that the PCV was "cleaned" at the 90k maintenance. Should I also replace it?

I was also speaking of purchasing the no-contact ETM, by xemodex, available, not a volvo one.

[binglax09]

The oil traps tend to last a lot longger then the older systems did. Switching to synthetic is perfectly fine without touching the oil trap. UNLESS you are blowing smoke out of the dipstick, burning oil, or leaking oil due to excess crankcase pressure.

As for the cleaning at 90K. If it was done then it was the PTC valve and not the complete PCV system.

[elgallo]

I went to syth but I forgot the washer,so if you do your own oil change dont forget to buy the aluminum washers. I have a slight drip but it will have to wait until I change oil again.

2000xc 146000 mi. love the car

[JRL]

Oh, forgot to tell you NOT to change to synthetic at this late date (mileage).
You may now develop some oil leaks.

If this were my car I would change the oil back to a good dino oil and change it more often