Help me save my 1998 XC from being scrapped!

[pcf817]

My beloved 1998 V70 XC, which was my car that I learned to drive on and had through high school, is on her last legs. My dad wishes to scrap it, with the great amount of sentimental value I have for the car--I'm wholeheartedly resisting this fate to befall my wagon. I drive an S60 during the day, the wagon has just been sitting in our driveway for the past few months since my family got the new '09 XC.

The dealer told us this (Apologies if it doesn't make sense--my dad scribbled notes on the back of a mini-golf score card):

1)Ignition coils need to be replaced (easy fix from what I have been told)

2) AWD seal and tranny differential starting to go

3) Valve cover gasket has a bit of oil residue

4) Cowlings drain holes clogged. This is what it says verbatim/what I can comprehend: Cowlines (HAHA) drain holes clogged, choked with leaves, etc. Air Intake-can flood the car (???). Clean out and make holes larger.

5) Timing Belt replacement

6) 'Struts and/or Axle need work'--Alot of clanking sounds going over bumps, clicking sounds turning the steering wheel

7) New Brakes

8) New Hand Brake

My problem: I'm a greenhorn. Tinkering with cars has always facinated me, but I don't know where to start when it comes to repairing them. This is where you all come in XC enthusiastes: I need the advice and sage wisdom of those with (much) more experience than I. I need to know everything from a good parts supplier, technical guidance, common knowledge snippits, etc. etc. I sincerely appreciate any and all help, guidance, lessons, etc. I'll be updating this as I move and appreciate all input :)

I'll probably start with general poking around, I'm driving out to Deale to grab a technical manual to help me learn the layout (so when I do poke around, I don't end up hurting myself or, big-guy-above forbid, hurting the XC! Taking notes along the way, of course. After that, probably start with the small things--ignition coils/clearing the blockages. Ideally, then I'd tackle the big things like the axle(s)/suspension. My timetable looks like: Get the car 'stablized' enough to take on to a road, get the car to pass the VA Safety Inspection, then start having some fun. Let's say post fixing the wagon (Her name is Annika, hah) I have dreams of a beautiful car with a couple inches of lift and kitted out to make her own roads.

I have plenty of tools at my disposal--I'm moving in with a couple of buddies & one of their stepdad owns the place and uses the garage as his home away from home. Well stocked when it comes to hand tools and cool gadgets.

Again, all wisdom/stories/experiences/knowledge/input appreciated! Though I'm capable of working on this car by myself, I'd appreciate the guidance/wisdom of the learned ones, just so I know I'm on the right track.

[binglax09]

The BIG question is mileage here! what is it?
1)Ignition coils need to be replaced (easy fix from what I have been told)
-If you really do have a 98 then you dont have coils, you have wires, cap & rotor (with one coil that are extremely rare to fail)
2) AWD seal and tranny differential starting to go
-You need to get more info on this, what EXACTLY is leaking?
3) Valve cover gasket has a bit of oil residue
-Normal
4) Cowlings drain holes clogged. This is what it says verbatim/what I can comprehend: Cowlines (HAHA) drain holes clogged, choked with leaves, etc. Air Intake-can flood the car (???). Clean out and make holes larger.
-The drains by the windsheild wipers? if so then just clean them! easy!
5) Timing Belt replacement
- Complete parts are $300 and a little bit of labor, not hard.
6) 'Struts and/or Axle need work'--Alot of clanking sounds going over bumps, clicking sounds turning the steering wheel
-Need more info, there are a lot of different parts that make noise, all pretty easy to fix yourself, axles are cake!
7) New Brakes
- another easy one but YOU need to figure out what really needs to be replaced and why
8) New Hand Brake
- hand brake cables or what? more info needed!

[instarx]

The very first thing you need to do is get a second opinion on all those things. I say that particularly after the absurd recommendation to enlarge the cowling drain holes, and the warning about some "oil residue" near the valve cover in an 11 year old car. Plus, you don't need to replace the coil unless it isn't working.

Those three things sound like make-work billable hours and as a result I wouldn't take their word at face value about any of the other things. As Eisenhower said "trust but verify" (he's a dead president you whipper-snapper driving a 1998 car in high school :)).

Getting a second opinion on the state of the brakes is easy - most full service tire stores will inspect your brakes (and suspension) for free in the hopes of getting your business.

A huge advantage is that you don't need to drive it every day so you can take your time fixing these things, learning as you go.

Or you could just sell it.

[jtridenour]

1)Ignition coils need to be replaced (easy fix from what I have been told)
Easy is true, but there could be more going on... I'll second the opinion of getting a second opinoin. ;)
2) AWD seal and tranny differential starting to go
Speaking from the crowd of folks who've replaced their transmission due to differential failure, this is ****ing expensive. And annoying, but I did it and I'm still to this day glad that I did. READ, LEARN, KNOW everything you can about these transmissions and watch it very carefully. I have been and things have been going very smooth since then. I suggest switching over to JWS 3309 regardless, it might extend the life of the tranny for a while.
3) Valve cover gasket has a bit of oil residue
Check your oil cap seal, press it with your fingernail, it's probably hard. I just replaced mine at 101K, and the little spots of oil near the ignition coils have disappeared and crankcase pressure has risen slightly. Cheap fix, so check it out.
4) Cowlings drain holes clogged. This is what it says verbatim/what I can comprehend: Cowlines (HAHA) drain holes clogged, choked with leaves, etc. Air Intake-can flood the car (???). Clean out and make holes larger.
Um, yeah. Clean the gutter, man.
5) Timing Belt replacement
If you plan to drive this car, DO THIS. This is also something I just did on my '99 XC. Don't risk it. I paid $190 in parts from FCP Groton and eBay and about $120 in labor, so barely over $300.00 to prevent total destruction of your engine.
6) 'Struts and/or Axle need work'--Alot of clanking sounds going over bumps, clicking sounds turning the steering wheel
Incredibly common symptoms. Check your endlinks, tie rods, etc... These parts are all pretty cheap, most are less than $100 and are DIY, especially if you have someone who has done these operations on other cars to guide you.
7) New Brakes
This is another thing I think is quirky about this Volvo, read around, find opinions on the right brakes and rotors. Certain ones wear better than others. I just bought some Zimmerman drilled rotors at the recommendation of a neighbor who has a '99 XC who loves them. We'll see!
8) New Hand Brake
I'll be honest, no knowledge here! Sounds like an important safety issue, but how expensive it would be to repair, I have no clue.


Don't give up on her! I'm in college, still driving my XC, ("Ingrid Bergman" - y'know... the Billy Bragg/Wilco song...) and she hit 101K as I parked in the driveway yesterday and I'm so glad that I've done almost all of the above maintenance that you've mentioned above. My mother questions me often about this car "nickel and dime"-ing me to death, but I think she's slowly realizing how much I love this car and how nice of a ride it truly is and the criticism has slowly stopped. Maybe the same thing will happen with your father. These are great, attractive little cars and I hope you can squeeze a few years out of her yet.


From a Kansan who wore your shoes,

Jeffery

[binglax09]

Did you just state that you replaced the tranny due to the BG going out? never seen that happen ever! I would like to know more about that....

Also did you replace the WP during the TB change? If not then you better pry it lasts 210K miles :)

[lookforjoe]

Did you just state that you replaced the tranny due to the BG going out? never seen that happen ever! I would like to know more about that....

Also did you replace the WP during the TB change? If not then you better pry it lasts 210K miles :)

Sounds like a snow job - the trans won't fail because of dead Bevel gear. It'll go on driving the front wheels quite happily - unless you ignored all the noises from the BG & seized it - causing Diff failure - that's about the only thing that would make sense in this picture.... :rolleyes: