New to me: 1998 Volvo V70 XC

[PTmayotte]

Hello;
My name is Peter, I'm in Massachusetts. I recently bought from a neighbor a 1998 V70 XC wagon with 153,000 miles on it. B5254T engine. I got it for a good price. here are a few observations:

After nearly four decades of VW Bugs, Slant Six Plymouths, K-Cars, Chevy Luminas, and Ford Tauruses, this Volvo could best be described as "different". Granted my father did have a pair of 145s, a '73 stick and a '74 Volvomatic, and one friend with a '67 122. I am not completely unfamiliar with them. I'm a hands-on guy that can do most of his own work.

Do have some service questions I hope some of you can assist me with.

This car needs a few jobs to be done, they are:

The gas gauge is inoperative: It does go up to 0 when the key is on. I do have the the Chilton manual. They show two access cut-outs. One is supposedly for the gas gauge send in unit, I opened the rearward one. It's only for the fuel filter. The forward one is under the luggage panel, I'll have to figure out how to remove it before I access it. They some a special fuel pump tool, where can I get one cheap? If anyone has any ideas, please come forward.

I see condensation on the oil dipstick. I know the oil is fresh and the coolant level isn't going down. Is this normal?

Could someone advise me on changing the PCV flame trap, more Chilton misinformation.

The 5 cylinder sounds like an old Chevy six at idle. Normal?
During acceleration, I get a noticeable tap that sounds like it's in the top end. As I recall, Volvos weren't the quietest engines. Any ideas?

I should change the distributor cap and rotor. Should I use genuine Bosch? What aftermarket brands are good? Ditto spark plugs. Bosch? NGK? Autolite?
I haven't had a car with a distributor cap in some time, my last was a '93 Plymouth.

Emergency brake cables are frozen. Can they be revived with a liberal dose of PB Blaster. How bad are they to change?

The hood latch only pops the passenger's side. To raise the hood you need someone to hold the inside release as someone else lifts the hood. Any known fixes?

The driver's side upper strut bearing is separated. You get a good squeaky-squawk over bumps. The struts are set up just like an old K-Car. How many pieces is the mount? I'll replace the broken sway bar link(s) while I'm at it. Again, what aftermarket brands are good for Volvos?

Are there any other service bugaboos I should be aware of?

Thanks in advance;
Pete
PTmayotte Posts: 2Joined: 13 Mar 2013, 07:55Location: Masachusetts Model, Year: 1998 V70 XC

[stenopete]

Hi, and welcome to the forums.

Great site for help with your Volvo. http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/

Also for parts and accessories. http://www.fcpgroton.com/ and http://www.ipdusa.com/

0. Gas: Check forums for best advise and easiest method.
1. Idle: You will need a tune-up. Belts, etc. They sell kits.
2. Brands: Your choice. Compare prices.
3. E-Brake: Get a new kit. They got those too.
4. Hood: Check forums. If nothing then find a junk yard and replace the unit with a used one.
5. Struts: You should change both of them. The above mentioned sites sell them as kits also. Also, rear shocks are Nivomats. Self-Leveling. Not regular shocks, just be aware of that.

Lastly. Maintenance. Critical. All four tires have to be the same and constantly rotated. Every other oil change is fine. Reason for it is that the angle gear will fail because of the tire differences. The 1998's are sensitive when it comes to that and the angle gear fails when tires not the same size and/or not rotated.

Propeller Shaft is another major critical item. You should ask your neighbor if it was changed if not then see if it's making any noises while driving. Noises such as a metal noise clinking, thumping, rotational banging. That means that the prop shaft is out or on its way out. Great place to get it from is http://coloradodriveshaft.com/ a lot of Volvo owners order from them and are happy.

Tranny. Change your tranny fluid. This means, don't flush it. Change it. There are write ups on this so whatever method you go with should be ok. Some people drop the tranny pan and other just let it drain and refill. I do drain and refill and it works well. I'm at 200K Miles right now and use it as a daily driver. Biggest thing that happened to me currently is that the tranny solenoid went out on mine and I have to change it.

Also if you have TRACS/ABS light ON. That's usually the computer. Its easy to change out but the bolts are angled and that might be an issue for some people, but overall its an easy fix. See if you can find a u-pull it yard and get the abs computer from there. Cheap. If not you'll have to send it out and get it fixed or buy a new one. Not so cheap.

Good luck.

[JRL]

Much of what was just said is incorrect or partially incorrect

[stenopete]

Much of what was just said is incorrect or partially incorrect

You sure you got the right reply for the right thread?

[JRL]

1. Idle: You will need a tune-up. Belts, etc. They sell kits.

Not necessarily but it's always a good idea to do a full tune up

2. Brands: Your choice. Compare prices.

NOT a choice, some are fine, some are NOT

3. E-Brake: Get a new kit. They got those too.

Same- this constant statement "buy a kit" is wrong.
You find what is wrong and replace that part.
You may need all new cables and shoes but you may need just one cable and no shoes.
You can't know until it's looked at

4. Hood: Check forums. If nothing then find a junk yard and replace the unit with a used one.

99% of the time, it's an adjustment. Every single one of these does this, the cable stretches, poor design

5. Struts: You should change both of them. The above mentioned sites sell them as kits also. Also, rear shocks are Nivomats. Self-Leveling. Not regular shocks, just be aware of that.

True, but again, be very careful of "kits", some of the parts for certain stores are sub standard. You do not want to do this twice in a year!
.
Also if you have TRACS/ABS light ON. That's usually the computer.
MODULE

Its easy to change out
Not if the bolts are rusted

but the bolts are angled and that might be an issue for some people, but overall its an easy fix. See if you can find a u-pull it yard and get the abs computer from there. Cheap.

Bad idea, you have no idea how old it is and they ALL go bad unless it's a rebuild which fixes the original issues with these, get a rebuild from Matt for 80 bucks

If not you'll have to send it out and get it fixed or buy a new one.

See above

[stenopete]

1. Idle: You will need a tune-up. Belts, etc. They sell kits.

Not necessarily but it's always a good idea to do a full tune up

2. Brands: Your choice. Compare prices.

NOT a choice, some are fine, some are NOT

3. E-Brake: Get a new kit. They got those too.

Same- this constant statement "buy a kit" is wrong.
You find what is wrong and replace that part.
You may need all new cables and shoes but you may need just one cable and no shoes.
You can't know until it's looked at

4. Hood: Check forums. If nothing then find a junk yard and replace the unit with a used one.

99% of the time, it's an adjustment. Every single one of these does this, the cable stretches, poor design

5. Struts: You should change both of them. The above mentioned sites sell them as kits also. Also, rear shocks are Nivomats. Self-Leveling. Not regular shocks, just be aware of that.

True, but again, be very careful of "kits", some of the parts for certain stores are sub standard. You do not want to do this twice in a year!
.
Also if you have TRACS/ABS light ON. That's usually the computer.
MODULE

Its easy to change out
Not if the bolts are rusted

but the bolts are angled and that might be an issue for some people, but overall its an easy fix. See if you can find a u-pull it yard and get the abs computer from there. Cheap.

Bad idea, you have no idea how old it is and they ALL go bad unless it's a rebuild which fixes the original issues with these, get a rebuild from Matt for 80 bucks

If not you'll have to send it out and get it fixed or buy a new one.

See above

"Hello;
My name is Peter, I'm in Massachusetts. I recently bought from a neighbor a 1998 V70 XC wagon with 153,000 miles on it. B5254T engine. I got it for a good price. here are a few observations:

After nearly four decades of VW Bugs, Slant Six Plymouths, K-Cars, Chevy Luminas, and Ford Tauruses, this Volvo could best be described as "different". Granted my father did have a pair of 145s, a '73 stick and a '74 Volvomatic, and one friend with a '67 122. I am not completely unfamiliar with them. I'm a hands-on guy that can do most of his own work.

Do have some service questions I hope some of you can assist me with.

This car needs a few jobs to be done, they are:"

Listen, before you turn this thread into something that it's not, let me stop. My reply was based on my experiences with the car, same model and year, which I own. For you to actually read the initial post and reply, and then reply with "it's incorrect", is for lack of a better word, incorrect.

Between the said issues he metioned and the websites I provided, it will be up to him to decide what he decides to do with his money and time. Where to buy it from and how to fix it. My opinion in this matter is that the car has mileage on it and issues. How "PETER" decides to approach each individual issue is up to him - whether he chooses to fix the "line" or replace the whole part that is part of that "line". Whether he chooses to change the one strut or both of them as a kit - again is up to him - when you're spending more money buying one part at a time vs buying a "kit" for a better price ratio.

Peter, when you look at the prices on the sites or the dealer, you'll see that it makes sense to buy the "kit". In my opinion if you decide to change one part at a time, cable, or any other part. You'll be back doing the same fix down the road. Plenty of volvo owners went through it and know. Good luck and don't hesitate to ask more questions. Always, read and do research, before taking anyones advice on forums.

JRL: By now and with the amount of posts you have you should know what forums are about.

[JRL]

and do YOU understand, with these "kits" there are some undesirable parts in there that make them cheaper?
Breather kits, there are a couple of poor quality hoses
Suspension kits, have perhaps an undesirable (poor quality) control arm or spring seat in the kit that makes them substantially cheaper.

To the OP, I think your questions were answered over on Matthews