prognosis?

bekko · Post by **bekko** » 25 Nov 2007, 03:08

My wife has a 98 V70XC with 150k. She just upgraded to a '04 V70 and we are trying to decide whether to keep the '98 for our son who will begin driving next year or to sell the thing. It's is very nice cosmetically, but needs some work:
- the #5 cylinder is not firing,
- there is a leak in the side of the radiator
- there is a small oil leak around the crankshaft seal
- the windshield is cracked,
- it has not had a new timing belt in 85k.

Today I did a compression check. The good news is that the #5 cylinder has compression so the problem is likely the fuel injector. In four of the five cylinders the pressures were 135 to 145 dry and 140 to 150 wet. However, the #3 cylinder was 117 psi dry and 136 wet.

From reading here, I am thinking we could handle replacing the fuel injector on #5 cylinder, replacing/repairing the radiator and replacing the timing belt. We would have a glass shop replace the windshield when it will no longer pass inspection. We might just try to live with the leaking crankshaft seal (it looses a quart every few weeks) unless you guys tell me that it's a possible DIY job.

My questions are, how many more miles are we likely to get out of this engine given the compression numbers? When the engine finally goes, what is it going to cost to have a repair shop drop in a rebuild? In other words, is this car worth saving?

Thanks for your help.
-steve

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 25 Nov 2007, 07:09

Steve,
The most serious problem your car has is that the timing belt hasn't been changed. If it breaks, then for sure, you'll be dumping the car. Bite the bullet and change the belts (serp. belt too if it's not been done)... and that's when you change that seal. On this belt change you'll need to do the water pump, all tensioners and pulleys. The other stuff is fairly minor. I would keep this car, especially if you don't have any AWD issues. I have a '98 S70....can't recall where I saw it but there's a guy with half a million miles on his. Essentially yours and mine are the same care mechanically except the AWD. If you take care of it, it will go and go and go. At least this is my opinion.
MIJ

bekko · Post by **bekko** » 25 Nov 2007, 11:50

Thanks. Thirty years ago, I rebuilt the engine on a '62 pickup from top to bottom. Unfortunately, I have since lost touch with my mechanic self and no longer even recognize the components when the hood is raised. So, please excuse my novice questions.

I had never touched this car for fear of screwing it up but thought my wife and her mechanic were taking good care of it. The ever-growing list of things that need to be done indicate that may not have been the case.

Since you didn't mention the compression issues I will just ignore them and concentrate on the other things. The car is getting a well-deserved rest and does not need to go back on the road for six months so there is time to be methodical about it.

Will it be any easier to do the radiator at the same time as the timing belt, serpentine, tensioners, pullies, and crank seal? Also, is there a problem with getting parts through the local NAPA store or should I be going to the dealer or ordering on-line? If on-line, then where?

-steve

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 25 Nov 2007, 19:19

Steve,
A good time to do the radiator is indeed when you do the timing belt. Also, while you're at it, I would replace the PCV system. At your miles, you need it and probably the reason for low compression in one of your cylinders and why your cam seal blew (positive crankcase ventilation- actually there should be some suction and not positive pressure). You can order all parts from www.fcpgroton.com for a savings or eeuroparts.com Compare prices. eeuroparts is free shipping if you spend $39 or more. Okay, that said, are you sure your radiator is leaking or is it just one of the hoses? The hoses get old and don't seal as good as when new...pretty common. Just make sure before going for an entire swap. The Nissens radiators are a good replacement from either vendors I mentioned.
Good luck and let us know if we can help further.
MIJ

bekko · Post by **bekko** » 25 Nov 2007, 21:09

The list grows - PCV. But thank you VERY much MIJ. I don't want to make a career out of this and it would be great to do it all at once.

I am pretty sure it is the radiator body leaking - but not positive. The seam along the passenger side gets wet. You can barely reach the spot with your finger and it is not much easier to see it with a flashlight. Somewhere here it says that there are two kinds of radiators. One is crimped and the other is something else (clamped?). Somebody said they mashed the seam with pliers and it stopped leaking. I am wondering if you could hammer down the seam and use a hard silver solder to further seal it. There would have to be some way to close off the ports and pressure test it afterward. But, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I don't know what a radiator costs but won't try to fix it if you guys tell me there is a high probability that it would have to be pulled out again in a year of so.

I ordered a CD of an after-market repair manual on e-bay for next to nothing. I don't know which manual it is but it's supposed to have a thousand pages. Trouble is, it is coming from Europe and will probably take ten days to get here. An exploded view of the engine would be really helpful right now - especially since I have no idea what the PCV system looks like or where it is.

The NAPA store is supposed to have a $104 fuel injector and eight new seals for me tomorrow. I did not read far enough ahead and probably should have gone looking for a place to blow out and clean all the injectors instead of just replacing the bad one.

I need to get ramps or jack stands and a ten-by-ten tent too. It rains a lot here in the winter and this is literally a shade-tree job until I get a tent.
Which would be better, ramps or jack stands - or do I need both?

-steve

tripleb · Post by **tripleb** » 25 Nov 2007, 21:19

Steve,

Here is my opinion,

- the #5 cylinder is not firing-I would suspect the coil before the injector, have you verified the injector is bad?

- there is a leak in the side of the radiator-It will need a new radiator, there is no fix that is worth dealing with.

- there is a small oil leak around the crankshaft seal- Is it from the front seal or the rear seal?

- it has not had a new timing belt in 85k-I wouldn't drive it unless you are taking it to the shop to have the belt, tensioner, and water pump replaced.

It's a good car, but you will be spending decent money on a regular basis on this vehicle with this many miles. If you live in an area where the weather is an issue, It may be worth it.

B

bekko · Post by **bekko** » 26 Nov 2007, 04:49

- the #5 cylinder is not firing-I would suspect the coil before the injector, have you verified the injector is bad?

I figured out the #5 cylinder was not firing by pulling the spark plug caps off one at a time while the car was running. On #1 through 4 the engine would bog down when the cap was removed. On #5, the engine continued to run the way it had with the plug wire removed. I tried switching plugs between #1 and #5 to verify the plug was OK. Same result. However, I could feel and hear the plug wire sparking against the head and assumed the plug must be sparking. Is that a reasonable assumption?

- there is a leak in the side of the radiator-It will need a new radiator, there is no fix that is worth dealing with.

OK, thanks.

- there is a small oil leak around the crankshaft seal- Is it from the front seal or the rear seal?

Front.

- it has not had a new timing belt in 85k-I wouldn't drive it unless you are taking it to the shop to have the belt, tensioner, and water pump replaced.

I sort of freaked out when I saw that on the sticker too and don't plan to drive it until it is dealt with. I just ordered the serpentine, timing, PCV and water pump parts from FCP Groton. I did not get the crank shaft pulley or pulley gear, idler pulley, tensioner pulley or tensioner rollers, but can pick them up at the dealer later if they look worn when I get inside. I did spring for the $110 tensioner piston - thinking that I wouldn't know a good one from a bad one. If there is no wobble in the pulleys will it be safe to use the old ones? Do the dealers and repair shops replace the pulleys every time they replace the belt?

It's a good car, but you will be spending decent money on a regular basis on this vehicle with this many miles. If you live in an area where the weather is an issue, It may be worth it.

My wife advertised this on Craig's List for several months at five grand - despite me saying that we should keep it for the kids. No one would touch it because of the miles and she finally gave up. Our kids will use it for three to four years and then move to the mainland to go to college, If we can keep it running that long without needing a new engine or transmission, then I'm happy. We are in Hawaii so the only weather issue is the daily showers and a steep, slippery driveway.

Perhaps equally important, I may learn enough to do the service on the wife's '04 V70. It seemed like she spent a bundle having the '98 serviced and it turns out some key elements were neglected.

Thank you for your help.

-steve

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bekko · Post by **bekko** » 14 Dec 2007, 21:12

I put a new injector on the #5 cylinder and the car purred like a kitten. I erased the misfire code and let it idle for about 30 minutes. Took it out on the highway and within a few minutes it started running rough, the "spend money" light came on, and it threw a code for misfire on #5 cylinder.

I installed new OEM plug wires and plugs. Again, it ran fine at idle but as soon as I pulled out on the highway it began missing on the #5 cylinder.

Is there anything else it could be besides the distributor cap and/or rotor? The compression was OK on that cylinder when I checked it. Is it possible that it has compression when turning it over with the starter but does not have enough compression to fire when running hard?

One coil serves all cylinders on this model.

Thanks,
-steve

Arbelac · Post by **Arbelac** » 14 Dec 2007, 21:22

Do cap and rotor. My wife's 98 V70XC would run fine at idle and light load, but if you pushed it at all, it would misfire... cap and rotor looked original. Replaced plugs/wires/cap/rotor and it ran fine afterwards.

bekko · Post by **bekko** » 14 Dec 2007, 21:31

Thanks Arbelac.