Best way to get started on DIY for 2000 V70 XC?

[Susans_Volvo]

First post for me -- apologies if I missed anything in the FAQ or forum rules.

I'm looking for suggestions on getting started with some serious DIY for my 2000 V70 AWD XC, which has about 113,000 miles and some issues. I bought the car used in May of 2010.

First let me clarify -- *I* am not the car DIY'er, my sweetie is. I like to read about car work and help occasionally (did you know that small hands like mine can retrieve a sender wire when replacing a gas tank in an AMC Eagle wagon, when the guys with big hands can't reach it?). My SO does lots of car work (is outside working on his Eagle Talon right now, and contemplating front end work on his Jeep) and is the primary repair guy. But there has never been a Volvo in the family until I bought this one.

Using info on this site he's already done a simple job for me of replacing the spark plugs, but before he tackles anything more significant he'd like to have repair documents for the car. I'm having a hard time tracking something down that we can use. I've dug around enough on this site to understand that there is no Chilton manual, and apparently no printed manuals at all, even from Volvo. If I've got that wrong and there was some way to get printed material, please post how! My SO loves printed car books, he'll sit and read the TSM for his cars, and I also like to read the printed material to kind of get an idea of how things fit together -- sometimes this has lead me to have useful ideas of how X and Y interrelate so the problem might be with Z....

Anyway. It looks like the only option for us would be to get the VADIS program that I have read about on this forum. Problem is, my computers are all Mac's: SO has a Windows 7 netbook but is not willing to set the date back or disable antivirus protection, even just short term for an install. I understand his reasons and don't disagree with him in this case. So that machine is not an option.

So I'd like advice. I know someone who sells used laptops and I may be able to swap him a Mac G4 tower that I just finished rebuilding for an old laptop that we'd dedicate to VADIS. Here come the questions:

o What, in your experience, is the MINIMUM configuration that will run VADIS reasonably? Please include info on processor, memory, dvd drive needed. If anything special is needed to print from VADIS, that would be good to know too.
o Can the VADIS files be copied to a hard drive so you don't always need the DVD drive? How big are the files in total, if so?
o Once VADIS is installed, can it be used for "browsing" info on the car (like skimming through a paper TSM), or only for specific searches like "blower motor"?
o If we have VADIS and an ODB-II reader, will we be able to gather any needed diagnostic information? Again, from reading on this site, I understand that we can't use the VADIS functions to direct connect to the car to gather diagnostic info without purchasing additional expensive hardware: but, can we get info from the ODB-II reader and plug that info into VADIS manually to handle most if not all issues?
o Has anyone purchased VADIS from this seller/listing on Ebay, and did everything work out OK with the transaction and installation? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Volvo-VA ... 759wt_1026

Right now the car is drivable although it has some issues (I'll add them at the bottom of this post). It is not generating any ODB codes that we can read....and we'd both like to understand more about how to work on the car before we try to figure out what's going on and if it's something SO can do or if I need to take it to the local shop or a (gulp!) dealer.

Thanks for any advice you can give us!

--Susan
2000 V70 XC AWD
..with:
o Trip computer with intermittent 'disc' message, which I flip the switch around until it clears and otherwise ignore
o Intermittent bad AM radio reception, which I ignore by changing the radio station to an FM one
o Can't close the right back window from the driver's controls, but I found the fix for that on this site and will get to it soon as it's something I can do and don't need SO for
o Climate Control system only works about 5% of the time, flashes the two little LEDs on most attempts at use, but when it works it works great including full normal A/C and heat -- working around this with a cigarette lighter fan, and it's the highest priority for a fix once we get some kind of manual
o Strange vibration at speeds between 16 and 20 MPH that the shop can't figure out and says "just drive it", so I do!

[bw77]

I would not spend a lot of time and effort on VADIS.
In my experience, the best sources of information for diy repairs, are:

1. matthewsvolvosite and the other Volvo repair forums on the web, including one
forum just for xc owners, www.volvoxc.com
2. Haynes manual, the one for the 2000 V70 is #4263, but it does not cover AWD models
3. Vadis is a big disappointment to me, hard to use to find information.
Glad I only spend $5 on the cd.

In short, forums are your best bet.

[Susans_Volvo]

Thanks for the Haynes suggestion. We'd looked at it but since it appeared to be for the British cars, we hadn't tracked it down. Did you find it really that close to the US cars?

If you don't mind giving a little more info on what you disliked about VADIS it would be really helpful to me -- sweetie seems to think it would be a good thing to have....

Appreciate your input. --Susan

[bw77]

Vadis is not so easy to follow in many cases. I would describe it as "clear when understood", meaning that
if you know how to do the procedure and just need your memory refreshed, it's fine, but if you have never
done it, it's hard to understand. And the pictures are poor quality on my computer screen. And there is no
detail for each step.

Haynes is often no better than Vadis. I always want more detail than they provide and better pics. If you find
a well written diy tutorial on the web, it will be much better than either Haynes or Vadis. Not all tutorials are good,
some lack detail, some are excellent.

For example, from Vadis, here is the first part of the text for removing the intake manifold.
-------------------------------
Remove
-the control module box air baffle
-the cover plate over the injectors
-injector connectors
-the connectors for the sensors in the plastic charge air pipe between the charge air cooler (CAC) and the throttle body (TB)
-the cover over the ignition coils.
Separate the connector for the electronic throttle body (TB).
Separate the charge air pipe at the hose / plastic pipe.
Remove the plastic charge air pipe.
Seal the opening.
Mark up and remove the vacuum hoses from the intake manifold.
-the cover over the ignition coils.
Remove the hose from the flame trap to the cam cover at the terminal in the cam cover.
Remove the mounting screws from the fuel rail.
Separate the fuel line quick-release connector.
Use tool 951 2666 .
Spray universal oil or similar around the injector nozzle at the terminal on the intake manifold.
Gently work the fuel rail and injector nozzles loose.
---------------------

[lext]

I have Haynes, although to be honest the first thing I do prior to tackling anything is to search online at one of these volvo sites for a walk-through. And if there's no walk-through then I assume it's too easy it's not worth documenting Having/reading Haynes doesn't help (my confidence) that much.