Maintenance Log: 205k-270k s70 rebuild before being totaled Topic is solved

[smacknab]

This is a great post. I'm in a similar position having just bought a 200k mi 2000 V70. I want to make it solid, not perfect, for $3000 in order to get another 100k mi out of it. This post is a good list of work for me to consider.

But i also could make that case that my 9k could've gotten me something much newer or lower miles

Perhaps not with a stick shift and a reputation for reliability that the P80 Volvo has.

Thanks! Sounds reasonable, depending on the condition of the car. i think 3k is about the going rate for the stage zero if you're buying new parts.

Some of my bigger expenditures was stuff i would catch if inspecting the car again: the low compression due to burnt valves, the rusted suspension that actually meant one of my back springs had snapped, realizing the clutch had never been replaced. Then there's plenty of high milage car stuff that catches you by surprise but seems like you own a couple old volvos so they shouldn't catch you by surprise.

[FireFox31]

Which of your work items were the most worthwhile? In other words, which gave you the most improvement in gas mileage, ride quality, reliability, etc, perhaps with respect to their cost? This could be helpful information for anyone wanting to do a similar overhaul, helping people focus on the best cost/benefit items. Thanks.

[smacknab]

Which of your work items were the most worthwhile? In other words, which gave you the most improvement in gas mileage, ride quality, reliability, etc, perhaps with respect to their cost? This could be helpful information for anyone wanting to do a similar overhaul, helping people focus on the best cost/benefit items. Thanks.

When I bought the car I immediately jumped into fixing it up, so I don't have a great memory on what it ran like before. I think #1 for cost to benefit is inspecting every Vacuum and Evap line, including the PCV system. The normal vacuum lines you can buy by the foot for cheap and the specialty ones like around the carbon canister are cheap enough. The PCV kits aren't that expensive either. Other tune up stuff like the fuel filter, air filter and spark plugs are easy and cheap enough too.

There's other free stuff like dealing with the common problem of broken dash mounts. It's a big job to rip the dash out, but fixing them can be nearly free if you read up on some of the diy approaches to doing it. It won't physically improve your ride, but the ride will be more enjoyable if your dash isnt shaking and bouncing over every road imperfection. For this I'd either wait till the AC evaporator goes bad to do this or replace it while the dash is open since it's cheap and they're known to fail.

Reliability wise, the one time I had the car towed was because of an engine misfire from a bad ignition coil. The bosch ones from FCP are about $50, so $250 for the 5, which can be a big purchase. There's a date code printed on the top of the ignition coil (atleast on my distributorless 99) so those are worth checking to see if they're original or have been replaced. I had a 3 original 20+ year old coils on the car so i replaced all of them for peace of mind. These are the types of things are why many insist on 'Stage Zeroing' the car if it's high mileage and new to you. https://www.google.com/amp/s/blog.fcpeu ... s_amp=true

Any electrical sensor issues are pretty cheap to deal with too if you have a junkyard nearby or find someone parting a car out. I had a bunch of codes for sensors and replaced them with Junkyard sourced ones, in one example my fuel tank pressure sensor was either $180 new or $5 from the junkyard. My ETS (~$500 for a new throttle body plus cost to have a shop program it) light was caused by brake pedal position sensor. So taking time to diagnose and try using junkyard parts before shooting brand new parts will also save a ton of money, and you won't constantly be driving around with check engine lights, which will help you know when something is really wrong.

[FireFox31]

This is hugely valuable information. I was going to skip the coils but will check the date codes. Thanks and best of luck with yours.

[abscate]

This is hugely valuable information. I was going to skip the coils but will check the date codes. Thanks and best of luck with yours.

You can run coil packs to fail Firefox , because you get a clear code pointing you to the cylinder and an easy check of pulling the plug. I think it helps coil life if you keep the plugs fresh , gapping to 028 at 15k, replacing at 30k

I had a coil fail and was back on the road in 8 minutes flat



Story here
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=91347&p=520304&hili ... 90#p520304

[volvolugnut]

If you have a turbo with intake tube over the head, changing a coli will take longer. You may be able to change some of the coils without intake tube removal if you always leave the coil/head splash covers off. Those under the tube may not be possible to remove
without tube removal.
volvolugnut

[abscate]

If you have a turbo with intake tube over the head, changing a coli will take longer. You may be able to change some of the coils without intake tube removal if you always leave the coil/head splash covers off. Those under the tube may not be possible to remove
without tube removal.
volvolugnut

Easy to get off with a extender and a wobble or UJ socket extension on the turbo motors

The failure linked above was on myT5 HPT

[smacknab]

Small Update: The car is at 248k now over 3 years of ownership and hasn't needed much if anything since this post.

Since March 21:
-Bushings on the control arms were bad (I probably didn't get it to ride height properly when I torqued the bolts) so I warrantied them through FCP and brought it in for an alignment with my firestone lifetime alignment, so didn't really cost me anything.
-AC had been a bit weak so i got a recharge, but i need to track down the leak.
-Clockspring went and gave me an SRS light again. Had a brief moment where I could not find any in the US and got worried. Managed to find one out of a later c70 for about $30. Anyone with a 99+ should hoard clocksprings as they are nla.
-Original coolant reservoir started leaking so I replaced that
-Shift knob soft plastic wore off so i swapped that. Not much for aftermarket options so i splurged for the stock replacement.

Future concerns:
-rust at the top of the windshield and some water leaking through somewhere in the roof. During a really bad storm it will drip out of infront of the rear view mirror. Still trying to figure out if this is the job i pay to have done right or let it ride as New England winters return its body to nature.
-small coolant leak somewhere, build up/fogging on interior of windshield. I suspect the heater core or its piping. I can warranty the heater core back to FCP and replace with new for $0, but i should inspect deeper.
-interior rattles a bit more again, but Providence roads are terrible.

Otherwise, mechanically its had 0 issues and feels great to drive. It pulls about as fast as a NA s70 will go and sounds pretty good doing it.

[scot850]

See if you can check the 'O' ring seals on the heater core pipes. Depending on the brand you use, some of them are a little thin and start to leak after a while. You may only have to replace with OE seals.

The leak may be sunroof drains blocked, drain tube broken (usually near where the connect to the tray around it at the 4 corners) or possibly a leak around the windshield seal if there is rust above the windshield.

Thanks for the update!

Neil.

[abscate]

50k miles and 10k USD in

20 CENTS per mile without gas. That’s really good.