2004 Volvo V70 Steering Estimate

titanvolvo · Post by **titanvolvo** » 27 Aug 2015, 18:32

I just purchased a used V70 Turbo last week and it needs a PA inspection. I took it to mechanic here in town to have them go over it. He called me today with $2800 worth of repairs needed. (with aftermarket parts)

2004 Volvo V70 2.5T 79,020 miles

This is what he is listing:

Rack and pinion steering assembly
1 tie rod
1 AC compressor
1 Rear wiper nozzle and assembly

What is reasonable labor for these items?

I know you have not seen this vehicle to evaluate, does this estimate sound reasonable to you? what comment would you make?

-JE

Post by **oragex** » 27 Aug 2015, 19:05

The repairs needed seem fishy right from the start.

Why does it say steering rack ? Does it leak badly at the rack? That is the only reason a rack is needed and I'd be surprised to happen at 80000 miles. If there is any other issue with the steering, get more information here on forum because most of the time the issues are bad steering pump fluid, bad pump (but not at 80k miles), or bad steering coupler (nothing to do with the rack). Many garages will make people replace the rack without reason, because the garage makes a lot of money out of it.

Why replacing the air compressor? What is the issue? Again, surprising it needs replaced at 80k miles.

Post by **abscate** » 28 Aug 2015, 03:53

I think 6 hours of labor would be a good estimate for those, with the rack and AC being the bulk of it.

titanvolvo · Post by **titanvolvo** » 31 Aug 2015, 11:43

Got this reply from a volvo technician: "Good news is, you don't need a rack and pinion or an A/C compressor. The noise is coming from the serpentine belt tensioner and the rack leak is from bad o-rings where the lines go into the rack. You do need a timing belt and transmission service. We will replace just the boots on the RF axle along with the outer tie rod end on the right side and the power steering reservoir and hose. I also have rear washer nozzle coming. The oil trap/pcv system seems to be functioning fine at this time. So about $1330 for the work that the car really needs at this time. The other thing that it will need at some point is the front struts/mounts. I probably wouldn't worry about that right now but it will be $770 parts and labor for new struts and mounts." So I am grateful for someone who is more willing to evaluate than to just throw parts at it...

Post by **GBS** » 31 Aug 2015, 12:58

Are you doing this yourself? read the rear washer coming.... if not I'd recommend you look into these individually and see what you might want to tackle yourself, if any. Serpentine tensioner is quite easy, so is tie rod and front shocks (don't forget alignment). Timing belt starts getting a bit more tricky but great videos and step by steps makes that doable for a shade tree mechanic. Not sure what transmission service is but maybe a drain and fill, which is VERY simple and definitely worth doing yourself.

Never done O-rings for rack so I'll let others speak for that repair. If you plan to take good care of your great 04 you should expect either to start wrenching or get more $1000+ estimates.... I'd recommend doing as much repairs you can yourself and before you know it you're maintaining it all yourself.

Post by **abscate** » 31 Aug 2015, 13:37

You are due on time for that timing belt replacement, for a 2004 its a 10 year/105k mile replacement item.

In my timing belt failure thread there are very rarely failing on time, they fail on miles. The P2s even have a VIN code version where the TB interval is 150k miles...and the hardware is the same.

You can have some fun with this. If you assume Gaussian statistics, you can estimate the actual MTBF if you have some guesses as to the acceptable loss rate for Volvo (2%) and the Std deviation of failures (20k miles is a good guess)...you get a MTBF of 190k miles.

If you are risk taker, you could defer this. I ran mine 30% past replacement interval on miles. I didn't do this as an experiment, but was basically driving my 1999 into the ground and was waiting for the TB to kill it.

I had an offer of 2500 for the car, but the buyer started chiselling when he came to pick it up, so I cancelled the deal....and then found MVS...the rest....as the say...is History.

Post by **oragex** » 31 Aug 2015, 16:49

If the $1300 quote is for the timing belt, one CV boot, one tie rod and the power steering reservoir, including parts and labor that seems reasonable. Make sure they use good parts for the belt as it's sensitive. I'm not sure about the o-ring at the steering rack, I think there is no o-ring there, but I might be wrong. On the other side the lines do rust and start leaking so they are perhaps just replacing the lines.