'98 V70 Engine Swap

[E Showell]

Mechanic said he'd only seen one original clutch last longer. It was on a Honda Civic that went back and forth to NYC -- mostly highway miles -- and the original clutch had nearly 300K miles on it when replaced.

[E Showell]

So, I took the test drive a couple minutes ago. Engine seems pretty smooth and the clutch feels like it's not even there. Real light and smooth. Now that's going to take some getting used to. Not that it was stiff before, but I replaced all of the clutch hydraulics and the pedal travel is so light.

Of course, just as I was parking I got a check engine light and pulled a PO172 code -- System too rich (bank 1). Anyone got an English translation for that & possible cause?

Other than that, feels like a new car. Should be good to go for another 200K miles.

[jblackburn]

Start looking for a loose vacuum hose!

[E Showell]

Bingo -- Justin gets the prize. I mentioned it to the mechanic this morning and he realized that he had loosened the vacuum elbow by the power steering pump to tighten a bolt and had not gotten it fully reseated. 30 sec. this morning and good as new.

Interestingly, I'm getting a little plastic/tar smell, which I attribute to the new clutch surface wearing in and 70 mph in 5th is now coming up at about 2,850 RPM as opposed to 3,000 on the old engine (Is that just likely due to the newer engine being a little tighter given the lower mileage than the old engine?). Idle is rock steady at 900 RPM. Feels like I have a new car.

[jblackburn]

That's awesome news! How many miles on the "new" engine?

My new car smelled like that for the first week or so. I figured it was all the plastics (and the clutch) wearing in to the heat.

The old clutch may have been slipping a little bit - it starts in the higher gears before progressing to 1 and 2 (did you ever floor it in 3rd or 4th and notice the RPMs hang for a bit before the speed caught up?), or the RPM sensor just shows it differently on the dash. The tachometers are never 100% accurate.

[E Showell]

No slipping before even in the higher gears and no funny business on the tach. I was told the old pressure plate had sprung on one side of the old clutch though and I used to get a bit of a groan when starting in first on a very steep hill that is part of my daily commute. I'm told the "new" engine had fewer than 60k miles on it and my mechanic said he believes that from how it looked. I saw it before it went in and it looked pretty fresh to my untrained eye. I used regular gas in the old engine exclusively. Think I'm moving to 89 for this one as the burned valve could have been from overly lean running (although my mechanic thinks it was a broken valve spring and not a burned valve).

I'm using Mobil -1 10W30 in the "new" engine and will change same about every 6K miles and I replaced the transmission oil with Volvo stuff (a/k/a liquid gold for what it cost).

[E Showell]

Thus far, pretty bullish on the engine replacement. A new problem develops . . . it is so nice, my wife want to drive it now instead of her car.

Seriously, for anyone considering walking away from a late 90s V70 because of engine problems, if you've otherwise kept up with the car and know it to be in good shape, based on my own experience thus far, I would recommend an engine swap before the viking funeral.

[erikv11]

And if you are convinced the funeral is in order then let me know first! I've got a completely rebuilt NA engine sitting in a wagon with a wrecked body, engine is just looking for a transplant ...

[E Showell]

Just a little follow up a couple weeks in -- the clutch pedal has firmed up a little. I think all of the tiny bubble in the fluid have finally settled out so it is back to its original feel.

Gas mileage for the first tank of 89 that I kept track of appears to be 25.26 mpg for principally stop and go driving below 50 mph using number of gallons purcashased since last fill versus odometer reading.

Still very please with the result.