1998 V70 turbo reliability?

[kmesse]

Looking to decrease potential for major problems in buying a used 98 S70 or V70. Most of the cars I see listed are all turbo models, maybe all. Why is that? With more in the engine, is there more to go wrong? What if the car wasn't maintained will with proper oil?

[mecheng]

Naturally, there is more to go wrong but the turbo itself is very reliable as is the motor. The benifit is a much better driving experience, the LPT is barely enough power for me I can't imagine the NA.

[Ozark Lee]

The turbo cars aren't really any less reliable than the N/A cars. There are more parts in a turbo and, of course, the chances of a part failing increases proportionally with the number of parts in the car. If the car has been poorly maintained then the likelihood of things breaking increases greatly. That said, the biggest things that are Volvo killers apply to both the turbo and N/A engines - timing system failure and overheating. The timing belt and its related components need to be replaced at the proper time or mileage intervals - Period. If something lets go in the timing system the entire top end of the engine needs to be reworked.

The cooling system also needs to be properly maintained. For me that means replacing all of the hoses on purchase. Here the turbo models have a bit more going on and the turbo coolant supply line hose is difficult to get to and it is failure prone. The reason it is failure prone is likely because it is small, not highly visible, and difficult to replace. Since you can't really see it it is easy to ignore it - until it blows. Any failure in the cooling system leads quickly to overheating and it is easy to blow a head gasket. The results of a blown head gasket are about the same as a timing belt breaking - the entire top end of the engine needs to be re-worked.

Other than those things, which apply to all of them, the '98 is a good choice. It has the standard distributor ignition system and a mechanical throttle body. On the '99 and 2000 models there is an electronic throttle module that has been very problematic.

Once either of the cars (Turbo or N/A) get through Stage Zero, they are as reliable as anything on the road but getting them to stage zero is fairly comprehensive. If you can't work on the car yourself it will eat you alive in repairs and maintenance.

...Lee

[j-dawg]

NA with the 5spd is decent in terms of performance. 0-60 with either transmission, if i'm not mistaken, is 9-10 seconds, which is modern subcompact territory. with the manual it's reasonably lively to drive. can't comment on the automatic.

most maintenance jobs on these cars are very easy. but every time i come across something frustrating, it's specific to the turbo model - the engine bay was laid out with maintenance of the NA model in mind, and the turbo adds a lot of hoses, connectors, etc that need to be replaced, and sometimes hook up to less than ideal locations. and yes, if you can't do the work yourself you're going to develop a very friendly relationship with your local volvo specialist (that goes for n/a and turbo both, methinks, but more so for the turbo - as lee said, more parts means more to replace).

all that said, the turbo adds a good bit of fun to the car and i don't regret having it. just be extra-diligent about maintenance.

[kmesse]

Thanks. As long as I have this forum to search, I'll work on anything. So replace all the hoses upon purchase, be religiuos about timing belt and oil changes, and dig for Lee's walkthrough on replacing coolant supply line hose.
Am I to use only synthetic with turbo or does it matter? What if past owner was not good about maintaining oil changes?

[erikv11]

Turbo cars definitely have more small, annoying oil leaks. NAs usually don't have any, unless somebody ruined the oil drain plug hole or the PCV hasn't been done. Definitely more parts to fix on the turbo, and definitely less easy to work on. When I need to do something on the NA I smile at how open the engine bay is, and how easy it is to access and check out everything. But I spend the great majority of my engine bay time on the two turbo cars.

The NA is slow but not bad, though I enjoy driving the turbos much more. A well running LPT (the 97-98 GLTs, they all have a 13g turbo) is super peppy around town and in getting up to highway speed, even quicker than the 16t HPT (the 98 T5) for much of that, while similar to the 15g (in the 94-97 HPTs or T5s) at those lower speeds. The 13g can not roar at high speeds the way the HPTs do, and of course the 16t does slightly more up there than the 15g.

[abscate]

If you want peppy, hold out for a HPT Stick.....

[kmesse]

don't need peppy, my daughter will be taking her driving test in it!

[tryingbe]

don't need peppy, my daughter will be taking her driving test in it!

You'd want a 240 wagon. My sister can't seems to kill hers.

[kmesse]

Can't find any of those cuz people are still drivin them!