Just got my first one

volvo noob · Post by **volvo noob** » 19 Jul 2012, 19:31

As the user name says, I am new to owning a Volvo. I just bought a 1998 V70 AWD wagon. It has 1986xx miles on it and it seems to run pretty well. It does idle a bit rough but that's to be expected with that amount of age and use. I was told that by the previous owner that the rear drive shaft has been removed. He did not know why and he did not have it so I am not quite sure what to do about that. Also the check enging light is on and has been for quite some time. He said that he has taken it to the shop several times to get it fixed and no one seems to know what the problem is. I do not know what the codes are yet but I will be taking it to get scanned in the next couple days so I will post the codes here when I get them.

What I'm looking for here now is some helpful tips and or tricks for a "volvo noob". And if anyone has any advise about the AWD or CEL let me know.

pmortv70xc · Post by **pmortv70xc** » 19 Jul 2012, 20:22

Hello - forget about the AWD - if the previous owner removed the rear driveshaft, it was for a good reason and not worth resurrecting. Depending on the problem, it could be a very expensive repair. My v70xc has been running fwd for several years and I only miss it in nasty snow. As for the CEL, could be any number of things, and hopefully, minor. You may need to take it to a garage that works on Volvos to get the codes read. Good luck.

Post by **rspi** » 19 Jul 2012, 20:59

Hi and welcome to the forum.

byeboy · Post by **byeboy** » 19 Jul 2012, 21:20

I avoid the dealers like the plague (except the Parts Dept. now and then)...BUT...I seem to have read that the dealers are obligated to do a free scan when there is a CEL...(others will chime in to verify that if its true)...but I STRONGLY suggest against letting them do ANYTHING that's not a freebie. They are bad about doing "fishing Trips" to find causes/cures, and tend to be very much more expensive than good small locals. Ask other Volvo owners you encounter where they get theirs worked on.

Welcome aboard, and that's a nice vehicle!

volvo noob · Post by **volvo noob** » 19 Jul 2012, 21:27

Thanks for the warm welcome all. I was a Volkswagen mechanic profesionally for about 10 years so I have lots of mechanic friends that still work at dealers so I will not be taking it to a Volvo dealer unless absolutely necessary. I know how much they like to rape...I mean "charge" people.

Again thanks for the warm welcome.

Post by **Matty Moo** » 19 Jul 2012, 22:31

volvo noob wrote: Also the check enging light is on and has been for quite some time. He said that he has taken it to the shop several times to get it fixed and no one seems to know what the problem is. .

That's code for "It's always been on and I've never bothered to find out why because I'm lazy and cheap".

98's are cake to work on. Find out what they are and post up.

KlubMarcus · Post by **KlubMarcus** » 19 Jul 2012, 23:41

pmortv70xc wrote:Hello - forget about the AWD - if the previous owner removed the rear driveshaft, it was for a good reason and not worth resurrecting. Depending on the problem, it could be a very expensive repair.

Yep, most of the $eriou$ problems with the '98 V70 is related to the AWD system and difficulty to do other work because of all the extra parts being in the way. It's easy to work on for regular maintenance and takes a beating.

volvo noob · Post by **volvo noob** » 20 Jul 2012, 16:55

Ok just got the trouble codes checked and they are P0172 for system too rich and P0455 for evap system large leak detected. I did a little looking around on the car and found that there is a plastic line that looks like an evap line directly under the radiator. It was disconnected. I thought could this check engine light really be that easy? If I am not mistaken ( anyone correct me if I'm wrong here ) an evap line being disconnected could cause both codes right? I'm not 100% sure that the line that I saw is for the evap system as I have never worked on these cars before but the place that the line goes to is a black box in the drivers front coner of the car. I am thinking that is the evap canister. Now if that would not cause the system too rich code, at least it should get rid of one of the codes.

Anyway ramblings over with. If anyone has any input that would be awesome.

KlubMarcus · Post by **KlubMarcus** » 20 Jul 2012, 19:31

volvo noob wrote:Ok just got the trouble codes checked and they are P0172 for system too rich and P0455 for evap system large leak detected. I did a little looking around on the car and found that there is a plastic line that looks like an evap line directly under the radiator. It was disconnected. I thought could this check engine light really be that easy? If I am not mistaken ( anyone correct me if I'm wrong here ) an evap line being disconnected could cause both codes right? I'm not 100% sure that the line that I saw is for the evap system as I have never worked on these cars before but the place that the line goes to is a black box in the drivers front coner of the car. I am thinking that is the evap canister. Now if that would not cause the system too rich code, at least it should get rid of one of the codes. Anyway ramblings over with. If anyone has any input that would be awesome.

Yes, that is the charcoal canister for the Evap system. Here's a thread about it with a picture of what you found. www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=30252

volvo noob · Post by **volvo noob** » 20 Jul 2012, 19:56

So from what I can gleen from that thread, the hose that I found running from the canister across the radiator to the passenger side of the car is the line that goes back to the tank and possibly the rollover valve (not FPR). So in that case that is probably the cause of the P0455 code but probably not the cause of the P0172 code. Is that correct?