Consdiering 06' V8.........

[QuantumBox]

Another common issue for ALL V8s is idler pulley bearings. They should be treated as a maintenance item, replacing them by 70-80k miles.

Having just replaced the belt, pulleys and such - don't neglect this. I found out the hard way that when a pulley goes, it goes quickly. Thankfully close to home, and not (as I was the week before) five hundred miles from home on a remote gravel road at 9500'.

On the plus side, it's not a difficult job, and can be done fairly cheap. Instead of buying all new parts I removed the old NTN bearings from each pulley (all three are the same - the one on the tensioner and the two idlers) and replaced them with SKF bearings I found locally. There are plenty of writeups on the V8 serp belt procedure out there, but the one thing I did differently revolves around getting the 10mm allen bolt (holding the tensioner) to release. I found it fairly easy to place an allen socket into the head of the bolt, then grab the socket with a plumber's pipe wrench.

HTH, and sorry for jumping on the zombie thread

[Volvo4Skier]

Well, in follow up to my earlier comments, I can add lots more for my 2006 V8, including the following and these are not normal wear items

1.failed main electronic module - v costly to fix
2.completely clouded over front headlight
3.failing front shock aborbers
4.had to replace alternator at 56k miles ... unbelievable
5. transmission has hard clunks between 2 and 3, whether going up or down in gear and sometimes when come to a stop there is quite the jerk into first gear
6. very loud noises when starting in the morning - could be idler bearings
7. one of the front wiper blade shutters even after installing new blades
8. engine oil leak at bottom of engine - estimate cost about $2,000 to replace the seal
9. key stuck in ignition - could not turn at all even to get out

etc., etc.

This is hardly a safe and reliable vehicle. Buy at your own risk.