Introducing my 1998 V70 T5M

[850 LPT]

Congrats! That sure is a nice find and in a nice color combo.
I believe it was the last year blue green was ever offered but I could be wrong. My old 850 was that color and I really liked it.

Good luck with it, with proper care, that car will last forever.

[1337]

I did some work on the V70 today...

1. The trim panel on the tailgate was loose and rattling. I used the IPD tailgate repair kit and replaced all of the broken clips. I haven't test driven it yet to see if the rattling is gone.

2. I was going to replace the rear shocks today. But, when I pulled the interior panels off to access the shocks, I discovered that one of the shock mounts is totally worn out. (The rubber is visibly cracked, and I can wiggle it a lot with my hand.) I ordered a fresh set of Hutchinson shock mounts... I'll do the shocks and mounts once the parts are delivered to me.

3. I did a little bit more work on the power locks (Now I have 2 doors with good power locks, and 2 doors that need attention.)

[1337]

I did some more work on the car this week (203243 miles)...
- Rear brakes: Zimmermann rotors, Volvo pads
- Installed Bilstein TC rear shocks and Hutchinson shock mounts. The old shocks were totally dead.

When I was torquing the shock mounts down with a torque wrench, one of the bolts broke off! Fortunately, I was able to take the shock off and unscrew the broken-off bolt by hand. Phew. I put a fresh bolt in, torqued it, and it didn't break.

I just got the rear wheels back on and took the car for a drive around the neighborhood. It's so much more stable now that it has working rear shock absorbers. And, the brake shudder is totally gone.

The front struts and mounts are still on my to-do list...

[DrJammer]

what a nice find, I just wish they would bring back the 98-2000 S/V/XC 70s, even with all their issues. The look and versatility are so great, unless volvo plans on coming out with a turbo diesel flat front van/camper....

front struts and mounts. keep your springs compressed until they are back on properly and do this repair in the warmth.....

[1337]

what a nice find, I just wish they would bring back the 98-2000 S/V/XC 70s, even with all their issues. The look and versatility are so great, unless volvo plans on coming out with a turbo diesel flat front van/camper....

Yeah, I am a fan of these.

When I was shopping for my V70, the only other vehicle I was considering was a 2002-2005 BMW 3-series wagon. I looked at several 3-series wagons, and all of them seemed to have been abused. A pre-purchase inspection found that one of the 325i wagons I looked at needed $5000 in PARTS, not counting the cost of labor. At least in my area, it seems like a lot of people buy BMWs for the badge and not for the driving experience.

Of the Volvos I looked at, many of them seemed well cared for and enthusiast-owned. One-owner Volvos also seem to be fairly common.

front struts and mounts. keep your springs compressed until they are back on properly and do this repair in the warmth.....

I have done all the work myself so far. But, I am going to have the front suspension work done by my local Volvo mechanic. I don't trust myself with spring compressors.

[j-dawg]

The E46s do not seem to hold up well. I've heard E36s and E30s are pretty easily DIYable cars, but they're much older, and neither came as a wagon in the USA.

[1337]

The E46s do not seem to hold up well. I've heard E36s and E30s are pretty easily DIYable cars, but they're much older, and neither came as a wagon in the USA.

Yeah, I think each generation of 3-series has something interesting to offer. The E46 forums have a lot of satisfied owners who do a good job with DIY preventative maintenance -- suspension bushings every 60k miles, cooling system every 80k, etc. But, many of the E46 owners on Craigslist seem to be obliviously driving around with cracked coolant tanks, bad O2 sensors, dry rotted engine mounts, bad power steering pumps or racks, floppy suspension bushings, leaking valve covers, and worn out catalytic converters. Bringing one of these cars to stage zero is a bigger task than I was willing to undertake.

[1337]

I had the V70 detailed today at a place in my neighborhood. I had them focus on shampooing the carpets. They also did a once-over of the interior and exterior panels. I think it came out pretty well. (I wish I had some "before" pictures to show the difference.)

After:

[1337]

I've been driving the V70 every day lately. It's at 205501 miles now. I've gotten a few things done since my last post...

DIY:
- spark plugs
- new Bosch MAF sensor (was throwing P0107 code)
- all power door locks working (copper wire in place of faulty temp sensors)
- engine air filter
- battery
- temporary repair to failing positive battery cable (planning to install new cable(s) soon)
- replaced peeling roof rails with clean ones from the junkyard
- it was on my to-do list to fix the power mirrors, which weren't working. It turned out that the power mirror switch was disconnected inside the driver's door. That was an easy fix! Power mirrors work now.

Done by real mechanics:
- rebuilt both front axles with new CV boots and fresh grease (this was pricey, but I really didn't want to do this one.)
- installed front struts, spring seats, strut mounts
- alignment

In my queue of things to do:
- leather on passenger seat is starting to fall apart... planning to hunt down a better seat skin from the junkyard
- tires
- the oil hose to the oil filter is seeping
- intercooler hoses to/from turbo are seeping
- some coolant hoses are probably original... should replace them to complete Stage 0
- timing belt due in 15k miles or 18 months
- cruise control died again.
- might need a fresh motor mount or two
- tailgate rattle is better but still makes noise once in a while.
- dash rattles/squeaks when the weather is hot. I watched Robert's videos on this. Fixing this takes some dedication...

[abscate]

The clutches on these cars are just unbelievably rugged. My 1999 had six teens learn stick on it, and I pulled a 3000 pound boat out of a launch ramp with horrible clutch slipping once too.

Now at 180k still smooth as silk.

I would be afraid of jinxing it but if it went out tomorrow I would have to tip my hat to its service