1998 V70XC "Saskia" - Introduction, Story, and Repairs

Post by **abscate** » 16 Apr 2026, 17:43

Definitely hold out for the heated jump or third seat. Its real- its been spotted in posts many times here...

(I am definitely going to get banned someday)

VolvoOwl98 · Post by **VolvoOwl98** » 19 Apr 2026, 18:12

Discussing P0455 and fuel pressure issues in more details here: viewtopic.php?t=107994

Long story short, pulled injectors and some of them have cracks, and one has an entire chunk taken out. New O-rings helped a bit as a temporary addition, and I’m going to order new injectors to install.

VolvoOwl98 · Post by **VolvoOwl98** » 27 Apr 2026, 02:42

Updated fuel/EVAP thread posted earlier.

Replaced the engine oil yesterday as the 5k mark had arrived (and the service light was also starting to let me know about it. VOL-FCR being able to clear the service light is such a great feature!). Got into quite the fight against the drain plug bolt… the last time its oil had been changed was right after a local Euro car shop had done the PCV system, and suffice to say the replacement drain plug bolt did not want to go anywhere at all. After trying a multitude of strategies, what eventually worked was the MVP DeWalt socket driver and a floor jack.

(By no intention meaning to start a brand war here lol. I’m only saying that it’s held up incredibly well considering what it’s handled.)

The basic setup was as so: car up on ramps with the front and back of the rear wheels chocked, the socket driver (17mm bit) over the bolt with there being two opposing sides that were still flat, and a wrench with a small enough head to fit between the socket and the bevel gear balancing mass box (purely to keep the socket from jumping off). Using the jack to push up on the socket, the bolt eventually broke free, with the car settling down again by about 2 inches once the drain plug bolt freed up… yikes

Socket showed no signs of damage and felt as good as when it was new (couldn’t even tell where the floor jack had been putting pressure, no scratch to the finish or anything)

Hopefully this helps if anyone else encounters the same issue. If you have a breaker bar that’s a low enough profile that would also work (probably even better than the socket, or at least safer).

For today the bevel gear and rear differential got their oil fluid changed (75W-90 that meets API GL 5 specs and is non-foaming, I personally used Mobil 1, as I use them for my engine oil too). The front drain bolt came off pretty easily, but the rear bolt being just close enough in proximity to the exhaust before it arches over the rear suspension warranted a trip to the store for a 3/8” drive breaker bar (absolutely recommend and would say is required unless you have an impact-driven socket that can fit in the space), there’s not a terribly large amount of clearance and the extra leverage makes a huge difference. My 1/2” drive bar with an adapter was too large to fit properly over the bolt due to the exhaust). It took a bit, but eventually with free-all and the breaker bar the bolt came off. There was about 1.3L of fluid in the rear, but it definitely was old and long overdue…

The bevel gear scared me when I went to take the fluid out. The hose was a little fickle with where it would be to get the fluid, but after a few tries a total of ≈0.25L were withdrawn. I thought I was missing some, as by my understanding the minimum is 0.5L, but fishing around with an even longer hose didn’t yield any more.

After my transfer tool had been cleaned I was aiming to get 0.75L in, and right as I hit that mark a small dribble came out from the fill hole, which implied that I hadn’t missed any old fluid. Not sure how it’s made it so far on that little without creating a ruckus or grenading, but I’m incredibly thankful it seems to be doing fine. The rear diff took about 1.5L before it started to dribble out of the hole, which was right in line with expectations.

Color comparison between the old (no metal bits/shinies thankfully)and the new fluid:

: Old diff oil

: New diff oil

PatternFlyer · Post by **PatternFlyer** » 01 May 2026, 22:28

I have a question to ask about the 175K work you did.

"Done at late 175k miles

Rear springs and struts (rear Nivomat conversion kit to non-Nivomat)"

How is the ride witha that Nivomat Conversion?
https://www.ipdusa.com/products/56840/N ... crumbs=987

I have one that I am about to put in.
Any suggestions on putting them on?

VolvoOwl98 · Post by **VolvoOwl98** » 01 May 2026, 23:13

I have a question to ask about the 175K work you did.

"Done at late 175k miles

Rear springs and struts (rear Nivomat conversion kit to non-Nivomat)"

How is the ride witha that Nivomat Conversion?
https://www.ipdusa.com/products/56840/N ... crumbs=987

I have one that I am about to put in.
Any suggestions on putting them on?

Well, being perfectly honest my rear Nivomats and springs were very tired to the point they were sagging around an inch and the back end got a little squirrely if there was a bump while going through a tighter turn, so the improvement was pretty drastic.

Though in a little more detail, it rides a lot better with the Nivomat conversion than before, and I assume the case will be similar for you since you're considering the replacement. The ride definitely has a bit of that European firmness, but personally I think that makes it feel very planted, and it takes well to having weight in the back. (Heaviest thing I've hauled so far is a pressure washer, and I didn't notice any suspension sag.)

I ordered my conversion kit from FCP Euro (cheaper and shipped faster at the time I was looking for them), the shocks that they come with are the 'blues' (marked with a blue band) and come with a beefier spring that's the same as what was used in the non-Nivomat cars of the same era. It's the same setup from IPD, and either option is a good choice.

Regarding installation, that, along with the other things listed in that section of servicing, I had done at a shop because the number of things to do I didn't have enough time to get done. However, there are multiple guides for how to replace the rear springs and struts, and as long as you're careful of things it should go fairly smoothly.

Here's some resources:
Robert's video on how to do this in a FWD car https://youtu.be/CHPOR8o2JMA?si=xr3qGk9te3rhkygj
MVS write-up for the FWD https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/1998- ... ar-shocks/
Steve's Garage doing it on an AWD P80 (he is installing the same spacer lift kit I had put in, but it's the same process as without) https://youtu.be/gp6PrI20RkE?si=c5TTzUqGwVk6LdOC

Along with the Nivomat kit you'll also likely want to get new bump stop retaining pins (p/n: 9157631 | https://www.ipdusa.com/products/5838/Re ... vo-9157631), a new rear bump stops (p/n: 3516327 | https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... in-3516327), and a new flange lock nut for the top of the strut (p/n for a 1998 V70XC being any of the following: 985909; 969494; 9481637; 8628965)

Have some sort of freeing spray like Free-All, PB Blaster, or Liquid Wrench to spray on the bolts and let it sit for at least a few hours beforehand. Given the condition of rust that can be on these cars depending on the roads they've been on, it can save a lot of time and reduce the likelihood of broken parts).

Having a breaker bar and/or torque wrench I'd recommend, but you shouldn't need a spring compressor tool. If you want or need the factory torque specs for something I have a copy of VIDA and can look that up for you. Here's a diagram of what the rear looks like on both an AWD and FWD:

: AWD rear suspension dealing with the springs/struts; Screenshot 2026-05-01 at 22-09-59 1998 Volvo V70 XC 2.5l 5 cylinder Turbo Rear suspension.png (94.75 KiB) Viewed 1514 times

: FWD rear suspension dealing with the springs/struts; Screenshot 2026-05-01 at 22-11-03 1998 Volvo S70 2.5l 5 cylinder Turbo Rear suspension.png (100.65 KiB) Viewed 1514 times

PatternFlyer · Post by **PatternFlyer** » 02 May 2026, 12:44

VolvoOwl98

Thank you for the reply. I am working on 99 V70XC that's sat for nearly 10 years with around 158K on it.
TPS, SRS, Fuel Pump, Nivomats etc.
Throttle Body/TPS solved by Xemodex.
Fuel pump replaced last night and engine started right up.
Seen smoke coming up fromt back of engine, but couldn't see where it is from. Will have to check it later today.
Will have to finish the fuel pump related stuffs today by adding bullet connectors to the 4 wires for easy removal. and put the cutout plate back with rivets or self tapping screws.

Would you mind looking up torque rating for the 99 XC rear suspension ? I already have the IPD version of Nivomat substitute that I bought 2 years ago. Just didn't have any time to work.
Thank you,

Ihncheol Park

VolvoOwl98 · Post by **VolvoOwl98** » 02 May 2026, 13:56

I can do that, I'll get a list and some diagrams to you tonight.

Regarding the smoke behind the engine, does it also come out of the oil dipstick if you pull the dipstick out with the engine running, and have you done the glove test yet? (Glove over oil fill cap hole (cap removed of course) with the engine running, inflates=bad, slight vacuum=good). When I bought Saskia she had the same issue, with an inflating glove, smoke from the oil dipstick and the back of the engine around the turbocharger area, all of which was caused by a clogged PCV (positive crankcase ventilation) system. To replace that, go with the Volvo OEM kit, some components in the aftermarket kit are known to have a very short lifespan in comparison.

There's a very good PCV repair write-up here: https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/pcv-s ... -cylinder/

VolvoOwl98 · Post by **VolvoOwl98** » 02 May 2026, 23:22

Here's the torque specs for the rear suspension of a 1999 V70XC.
Since it makes references to the types of bolts and not so much the actual components, I included diagrams of the rear suspension and their parts list:

1999 V70XC Torque Specs - Suspension.pdf: (249.56 KiB) Downloaded 44 times

1999 V70XC Torque Specs.pdf: (256.03 KiB) Downloaded 54 times

1999 V70XC Rear Suspension Diagram - Most Parts.pdf: (727.84 KiB) Downloaded 44 times

1999 V70XC Rear Suspension Diagram - Struts, Springs, Sway Bar.pdf: (377 KiB) Downloaded 50 times

If it doesn't specify, usually a quick web search for "Volvo [part number]" will tell you what type of bolt/nut it is (M8, M12, etc.)

PatternFlyer · Post by **PatternFlyer** » 03 May 2026, 21:40

VolvoOwl98,

Where do those 9157631 Retaining Pin & 3516327 Bump Stop go?
Attached picture is the IPD Nivomat Replacement (non-Nivomat Conversion) for 99 V70XC.

VolvoOwl98 · Post by **VolvoOwl98** » 04 May 2026, 00:00

They don’t connect to the shock or spring, they attach to a part that hangs down inside the coils of the spring. In the PDF diagram of the spring, strut, and sway bar, it’s part #9 in the diagram (p/n: 9475852, labelled “buffer”).

It’s tricky to get a good photo of them, but I just snapped these of what it looks like on Saskia (left side, so mirrored for the right):

: Viewed from the back looking towards the front

: Viewed from the back looking towards the front

: Viewed from the front looking towards the back