Please, help a college student!

SlickBrick · Post by **SlickBrick** » 07 May 2009, 18:40

Hi guys, here's my situation...

I currently drive a '96 854T

. The odometer stopped at 144,302 so I'd estimate around 170,000 - 190,000 on it currently. It needs new suspension, tires, front brakes, the timing belt and then the issues I'm not sure about such as the white "foamy" stuff in the oil dipstick tube and the intermittent ticking from around cylinders 1 and 2

. What I am not sure of is this, should I spend what little money I have on fixing the car or should I buy the '99 XC70 that I've recently found that has only 84k miles? I am in college so money is short

. I love Volvo and want to stick with them for as long as I can. Please help with any suggestions!!! Thanks to all!

P.S. This forum has been a lifesaver to me regarding my 854T!

Post by **JDS60R** » 07 May 2009, 19:25

Where are you located?

SlickBrick · Post by **SlickBrick** » 07 May 2009, 19:29

I live in the Lakes Region area of New Hampshire

P.S. I just read the posting about etiquette here, sorry for putting "help" in my post title. I will remember not to anymore

Post by **FlyingVolvo** » 07 May 2009, 21:18

How much for the 99 XC? Might not be a bad deal for 84K, but it depends on the shape it's in, especially concerning some important issues. You want to make sure foremost that the ECM issue has been resolved. The AWD system another big one; you want to make sure if working correctly, if not it could be very expensive to fix.

robocam · Post by **robocam** » 07 May 2009, 22:22

I'm lookin' at consumer reports and the 99 XC70 has black dots all over the place. I'd strongly recommend avoiding it.

What's your budget?

Why do you have to do any suspension work? The only serious concern would be the timing belt. Has it ever been replaced? When you say it needs new brakes, do you mean it needs new rotors and pads, just pads, rotor/pads/calipers?

My brother has an 850 and the brakes are really easy to work on. Would you be comfortable working on them yourself?

SlickBrick · Post by **SlickBrick** » 08 May 2009, 12:55

My budget? Well I have currently save roughly $900 and don't mind getting a very small loan of about $1,000.

I need new front pads and one caliper is sticking so I'd due those at the same time.

The front tires are gone so they have to be done for inspection in June.

The suspension makes alot of thumping, banging and creaking noises and if my observations are correct, it's the original to the car.

The timing belt does needto be done yes, but if I'm not keeping the car i'm not going to waste the money one it.

I have to agree with whoever said the consumer reports stuff about the '99 XC70, I'll probably stay away from it because of that.

Thanks again everyone, this is very helpful!

Post by **vegasjetskier** » 08 May 2009, 16:57

I would be concerned about the white foam on the dipstick. You might have water in your oil. I'd change the oil asap and keep an eye on it.

robocam · Post by **robocam** » 08 May 2009, 17:05

I'd start here.

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/searchres ... 1823270118

But you might just be opening another can of worms. You know your car. You know what's wrong with it. If you get another car, who knows what might fail...unless that's how you feel about your own car =)

For the brakes, I'd remove the calipers, shove the pistons back in, lube them up, install them with new pads and see if they still stick. And what symptoms indicate that one is sticking?

If you need parts, I'd go to autozone. That's where I always get my stuff.

Go to samsclub for tires. You can find the best prices there usually.

If you get one of those used Volvo's, try to find one that's just had its timing belt replaced.

If I were you, I'd look into a Toyota with a timing chain. There's a reason why poor students drive Toyotas =)

And regarding the suspension, get some opinions about its safety. If it's safe, then just live with the noises. One time, the mechanic at our Volvo dealer replaced a ball joint and didn't put it back together properly. I drove for a while and then the front wheel fell off at the ball joint! Thank God I didn't get killed. I had driven at highway speeds for a while too!

And if you don't want to spend any money, just skip the timing belt change and drive it till it dies =) Who knows, it may last for several more years. Just drive gently.

If you must get a Volvo, try to find one that's been taken care of like this one.

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?c ... dard=false

SlickBrick wrote:My budget? Well I have currently save roughly $900 and don't mind getting a very small loan of about $1,000.

I need new front pads and one caliper is sticking so I'd due those at the same time.

The front tires are gone so they have to be done for inspection in June.

The suspension makes alot of thumping, banging and creaking noises and if my observations are correct, it's the original to the car.

The timing belt does needto be done yes, but if I'm not keeping the car i'm not going to waste the money one it.

I have to agree with whoever said the consumer reports stuff about the '99 XC70, I'll probably stay away from it because of that.

Thanks again everyone, this is very helpful!

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 09 May 2009, 05:35

The car isn't a gonner yet if you can wrench it.

NAPA has rebuilt OEM front calipers for around $80.00 each (The core charge matches the part price but you get that money back).

The pads will run you another $35.00 or so (Mintex from FCP Groton which work fine for me).

New front rotors can be had for $35.00 or so each at any auto parts store, they won't be Brembos or Zimmermans but they will work, likely better than the latest cheap versions of the Brembos.

The timing belt can be purchased for under $30.00, there are a lot of writeups floating around on how to change the belt.

The froth on the dipstick is kinda normal for a student in a cold climate. You need to have a good road trip to get the engine up to temperature for a while. My son is in college and he kills his battery every couple of months since his trips average about 4 blocks.

By the time they ding you with the disposal fees, mounting and balancing, etc. the tires are going to run you a $150.00 to $200.00.

The suspension stuff can probably wait if you can get it through inspection. We don't do that crap around here so I'm not sure how intensive it is.

If you can do the work yourself or with some friends you can be back in shape for well under $900.00 and have no debt.

My 2¢,

...Lee

SlickBrick · Post by **SlickBrick** » 09 May 2009, 09:10

Awesome, thank you so much Lee! I was really hoping one of you guys would put your 2 cents in.

I think I'll just get through inspection next month and go from there.

I am very glad to know that the white foam is nothing to be worried about. (I drove roughly 50 miles 3 days a week to/from school. I'm on summer break now)

O btw I forgot to mention that I had the PCV replaced a few months ago, figured that may be useful info.

I will end up doing the brakes myself. I don't need rotors to my knowledge, and I found loaded calipers on FCP including pads for like $56 that I may try.

Tires I'll get from Tirerack, they seem to be the cheapest and as long as my suspension passes than I can do that a few months later.

I do need to focus on the TB though, I have the belt, but I'm not sure if I dare to change it. I'll call a few Volvo shops around and get some quotes.

So it sounds like if I put the work into it, I will have a solid running vehicle?

Oh ya I also noticed that when I run 91/93 octane the ticking almost disappears, thought I'd throw that in here as well.