P80's After reading this, P80's forever?

Post by **JimBee** » 02 May 2014, 18:55

To repair or not to repair the 850's, that is the question.
After reading the following thread on newer vintage Volvos or any other post 2000 car, it just seems to make more and more good sense to keep the relatively low miles 850's in good working order and just drive 'em. What do others think? Or does the thread sufficiently cover it?

http://blog.fcpeuro.com/2014/04/28/plas ... pean-cars/

Post by **BEJinFbk** » 02 May 2014, 19:50

I am going drive this car as long as I can!

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 02 May 2014, 19:50

I suppose it largely depends on if you actually like the car. Even though the P80 versions don't have plastic engine components they suffer the same coolant tank problems. I have had to change two or three of them and the XC has a small crack that I need to deal with.

Volvo plastic just irritates me beyond words anyway. The power train will run forever and the sheet metal tends to hold up but that is of little solace if the rest of the car disintegrates around you. For all of its other faults my '96 Suburban doesn't have any plastic component problems.

...Lee

Post by **dosbricks** » 02 May 2014, 20:55

We love them because we know them and the knowledge bank is too valuable to start over with any other brand.

I agree about the plastic, but on my BIL's 2000 Cadillac, all four power windows have died over time. The dealer wants $900 each for the regulator and the track (sold only as a unit)--ha,ha--but all this because a 50 cent plastic part breaks in the regulator.

It costs about 50 cents for the grommet that fails inside an 850 door that causes it not to unlock--plus a little bit of hassle.

Post by **matthew1** » 02 May 2014, 21:59

This topic is actually the combination (er... perfect storm) of brittle plastics and the law of diminishing returns (when you choose to bail on your car before a big $ event).

Plastics are everywhere -- P80 series, any series. No function in the car is safe from the plastic curse, no piece too large or small. As we know the tiny odometer gears are plastic, and infamous for breaking.

Vacuum lines are also infamous as failing utterly.

Heck, I'm on my fourth wiper fluid tank cap. The whole plastics thing is very aggravating.

Post by **98T5** » 03 May 2014, 07:16

As long I can get parts I'm keepin' my V70T5

Post by **mecheng** » 03 May 2014, 08:29

How many plastic parts on these cars fail: coolant tank, dashboard. That's all I can think off

The volvo hoses are durable, if they leak cut the ends and re clamp. Get rid of those annoying, useless oetiker clamps and use the self tightening clamps Honda uses exclusively or a screw clamp. Unless the hose is brittle or leaking it has life in it

I'd rather have that than the metal rusting like my Honda is starting to experience. Everything else on it is bulletproof but you can't fix cancer rust, it keeps growing. Parts you can replace easily

mrscullini · Post by **mrscullini** » 03 May 2014, 08:31

wait til the overflow nipple on the rad snaps off, that one will really make you scream.

as stated before, plastics are here to stay, just have to be careful. even with all the aggrevations, i have found the p80 to be one of the easiest cars to work on.

Post by **cn90** » 03 May 2014, 09:10

Actually I read the blog above.

Plastic existed even in the 1970s and 1980s. I used to have a 1983 BMW 735i, the coolant reservoir cracks at 120K or so.
No plastic lasts forever, most plastic develops crack at 12y/120K or so, sooner or later.

What is more important is the cost of maintenance for other expensive items such as engine and trans. As long as an engine and trans in a used car last 250K+, I am OK with that.
So let's say I buy a used car (let's say a 2005 XC90 FWD) at 100K, if I can drive it to 250K with minimal maintenance cost, I'd be happy.

I have learned that when buying a used car at 100K, replace the plastic ahead of failure time. The most important plastic is the coolant reservoir because once it leaks, the engine is at risk for overheat.

Any other plastic can be replaced using junk yard or ebay parts.

Now back to the original topic, a "modern" Volvo car (post 2004 year/model) may have additional issues (comparing with P80), somehow the engineers have managed to make it worse in terms of simplicity of maintenance, so let's look at a 2005 S80 2.5T:
- Mechanical tensioner (TB) needs to be replaced at 90K-100K (vs 140K or more for hydraulic tensioner).
- ? Electronic Throttle issues
- VVT sprocket leaking.
- More comples PCV system
etc. etc.

Basically the Volvo (and other mfg) engineers have made the modern cars more complicated: way more COMPLEX design (and thus complex repair) for very LITTLE gain in performance, or fuel mileage.

Soon or later, we have to move on, replacing our aging P80 with something else, and we like it or not, we have to adapt to the newer design to stay alive lol...

Post by **mikealder** » 03 May 2014, 09:39

mecheng wrote:How many plastic parts on these cars fail: coolant tank, dashboard. That's all I can think off

Tailgate trim panel along with those silly plastic clips that secure the door trim panels in place, tailgate is an easy fix with a trim panel repair kit but still a PITA - Mike