Just Bought...

[Marc]

I just bought a 1999 XC with 74K on it. My mechanic checked it out, pronounced it perfect, with the exception of a leak in the turbo drain lines. I took it to a Volvo dealer, had that fixed and completely eliminated the leak. The car has brand new tires all around (albeit generic house brand Firestone all-seasons), complete dealer service records, no body damage, perfect interior.

Anyway, the 75K service interval is upon me. Looks pretty simple and I think I could handle it. Should I take it to the dealer anyway? The reason I ask is because when I took it to the dealer for the drain line repair, he sat me down and gave me the "ETM Talk." Step one, he said, is a cleaning, which he will do (no charge, of course) on my next visit. The car has a barely perceptible cycling of the idle right now.

Otherwise, I just wanted to say "Hi," introduce myself and tell you guys I think these are great cars.

Thanks,

Marc

[Beiner]

They've all gotten better about it but it was good of him to at least offer to clean the ETM. They used to be quiet about it and then when it fails they'd shrug their shoulders and go :confused: . Now they've been all but bullied by angry owners and vexed.org to compensate for the guaranteed failure of the ETM. As well they should. Other than that I hope your XC is as good to you as mine has been to me. Religiously rotate those tires or I'll give you one of these [nonono] !

[Marc]

...it passed state inspection this morning with no problem. Jan. 6 it goes in for an oil change and the ETM cleaning. From what I've read, it won't be long before it goes back for a new ETM.

Rotating the tires? Funny that you mention that: it's going in Saturday morning for tire rotation. Locally (St. Louis, MO), National Tire and Battery offers free tire rotation...and yes, I checked and they will remount the tires/wheels using a torque wrench. Judging by the wear numbers on the tires, I think getting them rotated every 4,000 miles would be a good schedule...I can sync that with my oil changes (Mobil 1).

Other than that, the only other things on the agenda are a new cabin filter (looks very easy) and a thermostat replacement (ditto).

So far, so good...

[Beiner]

Sounds like you're at least somewhat handy. I say that about the tires because the mechanism that gives you AWD (viscous coupler) is finicky about tire diameter and will fry (almost literally) and leave you w/ a multi-thousand dollar bill if tire diameter is off. My stat went bad this year also. Blows me away how cheap aftermarket stat's were. Here's a website that'll help you http://fcpgroton.com/ Have fun XCing!

[Marc]

One question (I haven't seen this addressed anywhere else, though I may have missed it): My AWD and viscous coupler are functioning fine. Is it fair then, to assume the previous owner didn't almost cook it and that it's now just hanging on by a thread? Everything is dead quiet, seems to be working perfectly, and the guy I bought the car from knew about the tire inflation/rotation/replacement issues, so I'm cautiously optimistic.

I know you can't know for sure...but I'd like your opinion...

[Beiner]

In keeping w/ the finicky assembly that it is and from what limited research that I've done, it sounds like when it fails, it fails. Virtually no warning. I've wondered about changing the fluid or if it was possible but ran into a dead end. If you'll reasearch brickboard.com and volvospeed.com and even swedespeed.com you'll get some good info. From what I understand the VC is filled with a silicone based fluid similar to the Benz system of that era and is non-servicable. I can only assume that there is a temperature threshold that it reaches then it's complete failure after that. In studying failure analysis a little in school I think the metal inside the assy. reaches that temp it begins to flake or possibly pit (like spalling in masonry) reducing the mass of the metal thus reducing the heat transfer capabilites and, more importantly, creates a rough surface for it to contact. Again, this is a semi-educated guess (yes, it is possible to be semi-educated). I have not, nor do I wish to see this first hand.

[cossie1600]

What is that ETM stuff you guys are talking about?

[tgrumaj]

ETM is Electronic Throttle Module....they are on 99+ models with the problems being in the 99-01 model years (so far). You've got a 98 with the old mechanical throttle so you're off the hook on this issue.