Looking For A New Volvo 850/S70

zbyers · Post by **zbyers** » 25 Mar 2015, 20:20

Hello all,

I used to have a '96 850, however, totaled it in December of 2013. Slid on some icy roads into a Chevy Suburban head-on. It was a scary moment, but she- the Volvo- (never named her) saved my life without a doubt.

As such, I am looking to replace her. I found a 99 S70 AWD that is for sale for $750 as three of the five cylinders are out. My question is, would it be worth picking up and having the engine rebuilt? The vehicle itself looks immaculate as it came from California.

If it's feasible, any idea what a rebuild would cost for this? What about a new engine altogether? I'm located in Pennsylvania.

I have also located a '95 850 Turbo for sale with 155k on it for $1800. Anyone think this would be a good option too? The vehicle, from the few pictures I've seen, also looks to be in great shape and it was recently inspected here in PA.

Thanks for all of the information,

Zack

Post by **dosbricks** » 25 Mar 2015, 20:36

Zack, sorry to hear about your '96. From the bit you shared, there would appear to be no way of knowing the condition of the AWD on the '99. To say Volvo AWD was problematic in the early years would be an understatement. Others will have more insight, but just my 2cents.

zbyers · Post by **zbyers** » 25 Mar 2015, 20:42

Dosbricks,

The poster of the ad didn't provide much information either. You can see it here.

http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/cto/4893926338.html

It seems as if it would be a good deal if the AWD worked, and if the engine could be rebuilt easily.

As for the '850, it can be seen here.

http://harrisburg.craigslist.org/cto/4922750605.html

This is the one I'm more interested in as it is already inspected here in PA. However, I have no experience with turbo vehicles and don't know of any quirks with them in a Volvo.

Post by **scot850** » 25 Mar 2015, 23:08

How much of the work can you do yourself? Can you pull an engine and rebuild? 3 cylinders out could have been a timing belt fail and mashed the valves, someone replaced the timing belt and hoped all would be ok. Sometimes you can pull the head, and replace the valves provided the valve stems are not damaged, or the pistons damaged. You have to have the head rebuilt and planed level.

Other option may be cheaper if you can pull and replace the engine yourself, and get a used engine. It would be cheaper.

dosbricks is correct on the AWD. Unless you need it, I would steer clear unless there has been a lot of work done on it. It can get expensive quickly. If I were to buy another 850 or 1st gen V/S70 it would be FWD only. My 2 AWD have been a pain and expensive.

850 turbos are nice cars, and a lot of people will tell you so, and they are pretty quick. At $1800 is will be a lot cheaper provided it checks out, in my opinion.

Neil.

zbyers · Post by **zbyers** » 26 Mar 2015, 06:16

Scot850,

I have never pulled or rebuilt an engine myself, but we do have the tools to do so. It would be a learning process and take a while though lol. I will steer clear of the AWD models though. Don't wanna mess around with drivetrain issues on top of all the other typical Volvo issues.

As for the 850 turbo, it seems like it's a good deal. I know many people on here praise their turbos. I'd love to have one. Then I can race people much better than in my Pontiac Vibe haha.

I emailed the poster to ask for additional information on it. I hope to hear back and be able to purchase it. I know a lot of the quirks on the 850 from I previously owned. Nickeling and diming to death was it's problem.

Thanks.

BigRed · Post by **BigRed** » 26 Mar 2015, 06:18

To give an idea of possible costs to repair the S70, I have a 98 V70R that had two cylinders go out due to burnt valves almost exactly one year ago. I did the head job myself and the total costs was few hundred north of a $1,000 (would need to pull notes for specific).

A rebuilt head was $650 (with core deposit) from Clearwater. Then there were a lot of one time use parts; nuts & bolts (some an emergency run to Volvo dealership $$$), gaskets, seals, sealant, etc. Fluids as it was prime time to replace coolant and do an oil change. Also general shop supplies; gloves, towels, hand cleaner, oil dry, carb clean, Simple Green HD, denatured alcohol, the ever important PB Blaster, etc. While I had some quantity of those things on hand, not enough for the job. I also had to buy some tools.

There is a lot of room there to cut costs. For example, the head bolts alone were near (or perhaps over) $100. I read many people reuse them, but I didn't want to risk it. Also, not using OE/OEM gasket, seals, sealant, etc. would cut costs. Again, didn't want to risk it.

I did some additional things at same time that further increased costs. I had shipped the fuel injectors out to Richard Jensen at Cruzin Performance for cleaning, I put in NA cams that I bought from board member Robert (RSPI), PCV replacement, and probably many more things I'm not remembering.

As for the AWD, mine was rumbling when making turns. I dropped the prop shaft and it went away. Though, after this winter I am quite interested in getting AWD back!

zbyers · Post by **zbyers** » 26 Mar 2015, 06:41

BigRed,

Thanks for the information. That definitely makes me want to avoid getting the S70 due to the cost and time it would take for the repair. I don't have a garage to do the work either, so that's another big detterent. I'd imagine with three of the five out, the job would be running over what yours did, even if I cut costs by not using OE/OEM parts.

I live about 2.5 hours north of Pittsburgh in the Allegheny National Forest. AWD is nice with the amount of snow we get here in PA. My Vibe is on FWD and handled really well in the snow with a great set of snow tires so AWD isn't a big priority if I get a Volvo.

Post by **JRL** » 26 Mar 2015, 13:44

The paint is GONE on the 850 plus he said the seats had rips in them, so you're already starting with a cosmetic project and who knows what it needs mechanically!

DrJammer · Post by **DrJammer** » 26 Mar 2015, 14:43

I personally would avoid 98-00 AWDs. My 2000 V70XC has been awesome for the past 8-9 years, and most major issues have been a result of, or exacerbated by the AWD system. case in point, research fuel pumps on those AWD models (sigh). Even if you can do the work yourself, I'd steer clear based on the valves.

If you're not sent away by the paint on the 850, it could be a decent beater for 1500 bucks. And if my xc craps out soon, I might try and beat you to it. Seems S70s are coming around a dime a dozen in these parts. I'll have no qualms about picking and choosing for an S70 in the 1-2K range to be a point A-B car I can work on a tad. Find out as much as possible, and knowing what is most likely to go wrong will save your crocodile tears for bigger things.

Post by **combatkarl** » 26 Mar 2015, 14:49

I'd echo what JRL states regarding the cosmetic issues. I picked up a $1,000 850GLT a couple of years ago with some rust and bad seats. I found replacement seats at a pick and pull, but still have the rust. As for AWD, living in Minnesota I do not want the added expense of AWD/4WD unless it is a full size truck or Jeep. I find winter tires/rims are amazing. I have them for all 3 of my family's daily drivers - relatively inexpensive compared to AWD systems.