cameronberges »
I just wanted to share some of the misery I’m having with my ’98 V70 XC. I’ve had nothing but problems with it so far, my current repair being a slipped timing belt. Be prepared, this may be a long story.
I bought the car a couple months ago from a guy that buys salvage cars at auction and then fixes them up. The V70 I bought from him was salvaged because a tree limb had landed on the roof and busted out the moonroof, moonroof track, and the back window. He repaired the damages using glass and parts from junkyard cars and resold it to me.
The car ran wonderfully for the first couple weeks I had it. I did run into a couple little things I had to repair, including a burnt out gear selector light and the dreaded creaky door stop. I may make a seperate post about the pure evil I had to wade through in fixing the door check (mine wasn’t just cracked, it was busted clear off the side pillar). A few weeks after my little repairs I started noticing a groaning in the right front of the car. I checked underneath and the boot for the right front axle was torn completely off. So I got ahold of a replacement axle and sent it to my local mechanic, where it sat for about a week.
With the new axle installed, I thought it would be smooth sailing for a while. I was mistaken. The car ran fine for another couple weeks until I drove it to my hometown to do some work for my dad. While driving it around town, the engine just shut off. Luckily, I was able to steer it onto a side street before it rolled to a stop. When I tried restarting the car, the engine would turn but wouldn’t start. So I started rooting around in the engine compartment and noticed something very wrong on the side of the engine. The timing belt had slipped off its pulley and sawed its way completely through the timing belt cover.
So I had it towed to the family mechanic, a Ford guy, who agreed to fix it as long as I got ahold of the parts and a shop manual. After reading the horrible reviews for the garage tinkerer shop manuals, I decided to get one of the official Volvo software manuals of questionable origin off eBay, which was a whole other adventure. I printed off all the information he might need and he told me which parts to order. Apparently the pulley seized because one of the bearings wore out, causing the belt to slip off.
Once he gets all the parts replaced, he’s going to check out the top of the engine to make sure there wasn’t any other damage when the belt slipped, such as bent valves. I’m just hoping the car runs problem-free for longer than 2 weeks once this repair is finished, since that seems to be the pattern thus far. But I’m not holding my breath….
Ozark Lee »
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but the valves are toast.
This is a good resource for a new head, http://www.cylinder-heads.com/ .
You will also need a new head gasket kit and new head bolts since they are angle torqued. Replace all of the rollers, the water pump, and of course the belt itself while it is apart.
In some cases it is cheaper to replace the motor with a good used one.
Bad luck with timing belt on 1998 V70 XC
Last Updated on August 19, 2020
