What should I invest in to check/repair

[tryingbe]

When was the timing belt/waterpump last changed?

Not long ago. I checked yesterday, I have 80,000 miles to go on that.

Volvo manual says every 70k

http://www.volvocars.com/us/own/owner-i ... rs-manuals

[viper69]

When was the timing belt/waterpump last changed?

Not long ago. I checked yesterday, I have 80,000 miles to go on that.

Volvo recommends timing belt every 70000 miles.

http://Volvo.custhelp.com/app/manuals/O ... om_id/1111

I have the paper work and the sticker under the hood indicating mileage. I'll double check, I may have written down 80 as a ball park. I've always replaced it according to spec though. That's one part I've never risked getting a little extra out of.

[viper69]

Nice catch tryingbe

Its 70,000 miles/ 7 years first occurring on the 1995 models, correct.

How is the car riding? If you are on good roads, the suspension can last longer than 100k - there is no reason to replace it if you like the ride and the tires arent wearing out. One easy measurement is the ride height - this will give an indication of your spring wear, which will tell you how hard the suspension has been used. Measure from flat road to bottom of fender well, report and have people compare. I gained something like 1-2 inches when I did my 1999

It feels fine to me, but then again I'm not always that great recognizing certain things because when I drive it often, like most people, you get used to things. For example, many years ago the motor mounts were shot, and it was noisy. But I drove it regularly for years and didn't notice the difference as the deterioration was gradual. When the mechanic told me, I was like "really?!". The new mounts went in, and wow it was much quieter hah.

I'll measure and report back here, thanks for the tip.

[viper69]

I've got a question for anyone.

Is the trunk light supposed to go turn on automatically when the trunk is opened? I can't remember if this is one of the quirky "features" from the Swiss Swedes that actually doesn't function the way we expect it to here in the USA.

Yes it is supposed to go on. But there is a little switch on the trunk light too, make sure the light is switched on.

Been talking to my Swiss friends too much lately, how'd I mess that up hahah. I fixed up above.

Thanks for the info. Yeah my switch is a a fairly large black round knob (presents as a semi-circle). I can turn it off, but wasn't sure if ON was permanently on or not hah. I will switch it back to On.

The only thing I wish I could CHANGE is the crazy, head/hand smashing trunk the Swedes engineered. Who comes up with a HEAVY trunk that can swing down so easily and basically chop off your head. It's a very dangerous design.

[erikv11]

If the trunk lid falls down easily, then it needs new trunk shocks. E.g. https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... er-3512998. I'm not sure why the "no spoiler" struts are so expensive, I would try the "with spoiler" ones, the trunk itself is the same just heavier with the spoiler.

[viper69]

If the trunk lid falls down easily, then it needs new trunk shocks. E.g. https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... er-3512998. I'm not sure why the "no spoiler" struts are so expensive, I would try the "with spoiler" ones, the trunk itself is the same just heavier with the spoiler.

I will look into those. Years ago I posted about this here and people told me the design of my trunk was different than the later models (which it is), and thus couldn't be changed so it doesn't fall so easily. Weird.

[abscate]

I've got a question for anyone.

Is the trunk light supposed to go turn on automatically when the trunk is opened? I can't remember if this is one of the quirky "features" from the Swiss Swedes that actually doesn't function the way we expect it to here in the USA.

Yes it is supposed to go on. But there is a little switch on the trunk light too, make sure the light is switched on.

Been talking to my Swiss friends too much lately, how'd I mess that up hahah. I fixed up above.

Thanks for the info. Yeah my switch is a a fairly large black round knob (presents as a semi-circle). I can turn it off, but wasn't sure if ON was permanently on or not hah. I will switch it back to On.

The only thing I wish I could CHANGE is the crazy, head/hand smashing trunk the Swedes engineered. Who comes up with a HEAVY trunk that can swing down so easily and basically chop off your head. It's a very dangerous design.

Swiss , Swedes...hades...up,here we consider the Deep South anything past Philadelphia

[viper69]

Yes it is supposed to go on. But there is a little switch on the trunk light too, make sure the light is switched on.

Been talking to my Swiss friends too much lately, how'd I mess that up hahah. I fixed up above.

Thanks for the info. Yeah my switch is a a fairly large black round knob (presents as a semi-circle). I can turn it off, but wasn't sure if ON was permanently on or not hah. I will switch it back to On.

The only thing I wish I could CHANGE is the crazy, head/hand smashing trunk the Swedes engineered. Who comes up with a HEAVY trunk that can swing down so easily and basically chop off your head. It's a very dangerous design.

Swiss , Swedes...hades...up,here we consider the Deep South anything past Philadelphia

Pretty much, once you see grits served you know you're in the South.