Originally Posted by
hogie50
As I have found out, there are lots of (expensive) things that can go wrong with these cars. I'm sure they must have been developed with the help of Lotus (Lots Of Trouble, Usually Serious!!).
My 1998 V70XC has about 230k km (150k miles) on it and was supposedely checked by a (non-volvo) workshop prior to sale. It was clearly either not looked at and was then shoved to auction. It is a good job that I got it realitively cheap as it has been very expensive since then!
Problems that I have found:
PCV nipple and separator tank/pipes clogged. Got a replacement kit from IPD for $100US and cleaned out the nipple in the turbo intake pipe. There is a posting on the subject. Not hard but took more time cleaning up mess first. Suggestion to run Seafoam regularly in oil prior to changing it.
Distibutor cap and rotor arm - Fairly easy. Rotor arm wears at higher mileages.
Break vibration - Replaced ALL 4 rotors as both front and rears were warped. Used Zimmerman rotors and Volvo pads.
All the flexi's had to be replaced as one was split and 3 others were cracking.
Parking break/e-brake. Cable snapped and other seized. Again long job but not hard. You have to remove center consul, rear seats and lift carpets. Also have to drop rear jacking points as cables routed about these and pop-riveted from the top. Can't access to re-rivet, so I used small bolts and nuts instead. Volvo position all mounting bolts to make it as difficult as possible!
AWD system. Notoriously unreliable. Angle gear bearings fail, (check output flange for movement), drive-shaft uj's and center steady bearing. Check bearings for 'slop' or movement. Hard to do, but check metalastic/rubber around steady bearing for splitting. Colorado driveshaft will overhaul for about $400 and re-balance/warrant for 1 year ($1600 from volvo). Watch there are 2 types of shaft. Newer version is non-repairable.
Torque-tube failures.
Hard to diagnose. There is a VERY dangerous way for testing the operation, but Volvo refused to do it as it is not safe. There is a forum entry on it. In my case it was the roller bearing at the 'nose' that failed.
Sounded like a tinkling/rubbing noise. Again not hard to replace but need access to a press to remove it (or in my case I took to Volvo as they had to use long drifts as all the balls fell out). Bearing is about $40. Again there are 2 sizes (diameters). Volvo didn't know which until disassembled.
Torque tubes fail or seize and if they seize will take out the drive-line and diff. Also check the support bush at the front of the torque tube as they can fail and cause a clunk in the drive-line.
Door locks. Passenger front and both rears and tailgate are prone to fail, especially if passengers grab handles before locks lift. Again about $135 from IPD. Fiddly but not difficult to replace.
Tailgate inner panel detaching. Clips break with age and clip holders in cover break. Repair kits available for $15-20. Have new clips and small plates to repair the broken supports. Easy fix.
ABS/Tracs lights coming on. Failure of unit. Again there is a reliable company that repairs unit for $125. Again recent post on this subject.
Drive-shaft gaiters/boots splitting/failing. Not had this yet! But often present by clicking/clunking when turning or decelerating/accelerating.
Water-pump/cam-belt.
Replace both if you don't know when last done. I didn't replace the water-pump and it promptly failed after fitting a new belt.
SAS - Secondary air System/Air pump. Valve on bulk-head seize open allowing moisture to run down tube to pump (under battery). This will fail and take pump out. Advised to replace pump/valve and relay. IPD do a kit but it is still about $600-$650. You can try used but good luck with that one! You can run with this not working, but if you have emissions testing, then you'll need to fix as it helps speed up the heating of the catalyst and lowers emissions (if I understand this right). Again, may be worth removing the valve and making sure it is not clogged and refitting (especially if the PCV has been clogged).
That's it to date! Can't think of anything else but I'm sure the car will find a new problem.
Good luck and if you drive gently, hopefully your car will look after you!
Inspite all of this, I still like the car, and fortunately it is a spare car so I can work on it when I have time/funds.
Oh, lastly watch for rust appearing at bottom front edge of rear wheel-arches!
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