V70 engine blown - Help solve the mystery

Post by **FireFox31** » 11 Oct 2009, 14:55

Please help! My V70 engine is supposedly blown, and I have only a few days to decide what to do. Can you help solve the mysterious death so I know my recovery options?? I loved that car and am willing to save it if possible.

Saturday, while driving on the highway, my V70 degraded from running fine to dead with a warped cylinder head and damaged engine block. This happened in only 23 minutes, spanning 21 miles. Here are the facts:

- 2000 V70, non-turbo, manual, USA spec, unmodified
- 160k miles
- Dealership performed all scheduled maintenance on time
- No major problems before this

Saturday morning, I drove 40 miles just fine. Around noon, I drove 18 miles to a store, again trouble free.

12:45pm - Left the store and got on the highway.

12:53pm, 6 miles in - Noticed I had slightly less power trying to accelerate from 65 to 75 going up a long, gradual hill on the highway. Typically, acceleration there is fine. Down shifted to 4th and reached 75.

12:58pm, 12 miles in - Noticed a quiet, slightly irregular ticking sound emitting near my feet. Happened only when the gas pedal was pushed "1 inch" down. I started troubleshooting: Ticking stopped with the pedal pushed further or off entirely. Ticking also triggered by cruise control when it needed throttle and hit that "sweet spot". Bad fuel pump? Driving 80 mph. No other symptoms.

1:01pm, 15 miles in - Ticking sound occurred over a wider range of gas pedal depression, from "0.5 inches to 2 inches" down. Stopped with pedal further or off entirely. Planned to drive to my dealership a few miles away. No other symptoms. Driving 75 mph.

1:05pm, 20 miles in - Ticking had quickly worsened to occur over the entire gas pedal depression range. Gradual loss of power; now 50 mph. Excess smoke from the tailpipe. Check Engine Light started flashing. Didn't notice engine temp gauge increase. 4-ways on, in slow lane; just trying to reach the dealership. That desperate goal overrode my sense to stop.

1:08pm, 21 miles in - Got off dealership's exit, car stalled, coasted to the shoulder. Lifted the hood and not much smoke came out; smoking from lower rear of the engine. Coolant tank empty!! Rear window covered in liquid; coolant? Turned on accessory power and temp gauge was just two ticks above normal.

I got a tow to the dealership. Though they'd just closed, they diagnosed:
- Lower radiator hose blew off.
- Engine has no compression on any cylinder.
- Warped head, drastically.
- Lower portion of engine was damaged.
- Back of the car is covered in coolant.

I'm curious to know what caused this 23 minute death of my reliable car:
- What caused the radiator hose to blow off? Pressure build up?
- What was that ticking sound? Coolant pump pushing air?
- How many minutes before death did the hose blow off?

Now the car is stuck at the dealership and I have a few days before I must remove it. Please help me consider the viability of these options:
- Rebuild the engine.
- Replace the engine with a junkyard pull. Reliable?
- Sell the car for parts. Hard to find a buyer?
- Take it to the junkyard. A waste?
- Donate the car.
- Get another 2000 V70 manual.
- Move on and get a different car.

I had planned to drive this car for 200k miles or more; keep driving it till it fell apart. I didn't think it would end like this, and so suddenly. If the car is rebuilt or engine swapped, is it really "the same"? Might a replacement V70 be unreliable and a money pit? Thanks in advance for any help, clues, solutions, or ideas for what caused this problem and what I can do with my dead shell of a car.

Post by **JRL** » 11 Oct 2009, 15:34

Let this be a lesson to everyone, BELTS AND HOSES are replacement items, THEY BREAK. This is life, you drive an old car with many miles.
Replace hoses every 4 years and you probably won't have blown up engine like this unfortunate person did.

To the OP, unfortuneately it sounds right.
The minute you felt something wrong you should have shut it off, that would have saved your motor.

So, the next lesson to everyone is this: do not drive your car when something starts to be or sound "off" a bit!
More engines are terminated by people not just shutting them off at the FIRST sign of trouble.

Craigd2599 · Post by **Craigd2599** » 11 Oct 2009, 15:34

I'd go with a used engine. Call Erie or Tom's. The scenario sounds mysterious. Don't know why it clattered only at certain RPM's unless it might have been the water pump letting go, but 160 seems like a premature failure. And losing all your coolant and not seeing an increase in engine temp...I'd say your gauge failed as well. Your car has 160K on it now so it isn't like a used motor would devalue it at all. I'd keep it. A motor might set you back a grand, and you'll have a car you know and love. You sure won't be able to replace it for that much

wolfspiritky · Post by **wolfspiritky** » 11 Oct 2009, 15:40

Sounds like you blew a head gasket. Some times this happens with little or no warning.
Warning signs: Having to add coolant every now and then with no visible leaks.
"Sweet" smell inside or outside the car.
Excessive moister from the tailpipe.

If the coolant isn't changed regularly or the car is driven under "harsh" condition, letting the coolant drop below safe freeze/boil over levels (old/won out).....all can cause break down in the properties of the coolant resulting in rust/corrosion of the head gasket. Even water pump failure could be a factor.
I would say it initially "blew" while climbing the hill under acceleration.

I doubt the block is damaged; I would say there is a possibility the head could have some warping. If the head gasket job is done....replace timing belt and water pump, the head should be trued/milled to remove any warp in it.

"I" would take this gamble...I do my own work so, only labor cost involved would be at the machine shop.

I would do an engine swap. I love both my 850's....super safe and very reliable. If the rest of the car is in good condition, find one that has been wrecked and get the engine. As to the lower hose coming off.....when was the last time it was at the dealer for maint. work......they should have found a bad or loose hose!!!

Good Luck in what ever you decide to do!!!

Terry

Post by **tjts1** » 11 Oct 2009, 16:53

I'm sorry for your loss. You should have shut off the engine the moment your low coolant light went on and the temp gauge started rising which probably happened a few minutes before you noticed any of the weird noises. I'm actually surprised the engine went that long with no coolant in it. Driving the car with the low coolant light ON overheated and killed the engine. The noise you heard was the over heated bearings and rings eating each other at insane temperatures. As previously mentioned, coolant hoses, belts bushings and mounts and ALL rubber parts are just like your tires. They age with time and need to be replaced. This is normal preventative maintenance.
If you want to keep the car your best option at this point is to replace the entire long block in one piece with another one from a similar car. These show up on ebay all the time. Also check your local auto recyclers. My guess is that you'll spend somewhere in the region of $2000 when all is said and done. 5 speed wagons are very rare and so I would want to keep the car.
good luck
Justin

Post by **FireFox31** » 11 Oct 2009, 18:28

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. I underestimated the age of the car, and "bought lazyness" by paying the dealership instead of thinking through maintenance myself. Maybe the coolant was low or old, but I wouldn't know since I blindly paid them to manage it. I blame myself more than them. My hard-learned caution will benefit the family 245 that I help care for.

No warning lights came on until the CEL, very late in the process. The temp gauge works, but I didn't notice it rising during the problem. I only made a point to check after I'd stalled out (it was two ticks above mid). A friend suggested that the gauge measures coolant temp, but since there was no coolant, it saw no problem.

I'm considering the engine swap, but my clutch is pretty worn (original, 160k mi) and trans synchros are apparently beat too. Maybe I should just let this car go.

By the way, what shop is "Tom's"?

So a subjective question:
If you replace the engine in your favorite car, is it still "the same" car? It's not the engine you cared for, you don't know its problems, it may not drive the same, etc.

Thanks again.

iselloil · Post by **iselloil** » 11 Oct 2009, 18:35

Check EBAY, Toms always has listings as do other yards. Also check
Used car-parts.com. They list a ton of yards with parts.

Post by **JDS60R** » 11 Oct 2009, 19:17

I've seen this with a bad radiator cap. Cap doesn't hold pressure, coolant slowly boils casuing detonation and then thermostat closes (bubbles do not carry heat as well as coolant) next the hose blows off.

Test the radiator cap.

Is a new motor in your favorite car worse - nope - its better. My replacement engine was much better than the original. Nothing wrong with a used engine either.

Make sure the replacement motor gets a new radiator cap and bottle, thermostat, plugs, timing belt and timing belt pulleys/tensioner while it is still out of the car. Use Volvo coolant and mineral free or distilled water and enjoy.

Post by **jblackburn** » 11 Oct 2009, 20:17

A friend suggested that the gauge measures coolant temp, but since there was no coolant, it saw no problem.

True.

So a subjective question:
If you replace the engine in your favorite car, is it still "the same" car? It's not the engine you cared for, you don't know its problems, it may not drive the same, etc.

Really depends...my dad's Saab's engine tore itself apart after a dead oil pump that the mechanic said was a 'short' and the replacement engine, while it had less miles, and drove more or less the same, never seemed quite right to any of us, and 50,000 miles later (and 3 weeks after it was "mine") ended up throwing a rod just driving down I-40 in heavy traffic. At that point, it was just too old to fix again.

Hoses should definitely be replaced at that age; my 88 Honda had what I think were still the originals on it, and I had all 3 of the radiator hoses go at some point or another, luckily never where I couldn't get the car back home and fix them. I replaced both of the Volvo's as soon as I realized it was losing antifreeze, and haven't had that problem since.

The best way to get to know the car you drive better is to do the work and maintenance on it yourself, even just the easy things like checking fluids & changing your oil. Dealers/mechanics see hundreds of cars a day, and can easily miss things wrong with your car that you would spot if you worked on it yourself and would be able to see 'hey, that looks/sounds different'.

Post by **FireFox31** » 12 Oct 2009, 10:15

Does anyone know a good mechanic in NY/NJ/PA area to do an engine swap (and clutch replacement while we're at it)?

The dealership might replace my engine with a factory new one. Any idea what a new 2000 V70 engine would cost?? I can't find it online.

Thanks again for all of your advice, I will work to implement the suggestions. AutoTrader shows one used V70 manual in the entire USA right now, and overpriced at that. I'm really considering fixing up the brick!