1998 S70 T5M 240k the Road to Stage 0

[abscate]

I was under the belief that turbo=synthetic oil, no?

You should definitely run synthetic with turbos to avoid sludge. The synthetic does not break down and coke up like dino oil at turbo temperatures.

[bmdubya1198]

I agree. Don't know why Volvo used dino oil from the factory.

[WhatAmIDoing]

I had the opposite experience, I moved all the cars to synthetic and lowered oil consumption. My T5 is the only one that uses appreciable amounts, about 1 liter every 2000 miles. It's more seep than burning I believe.

The BMW uses about 1 liter every 7500 miles. I top off with free synthetic provided by my low mileage use turbo Beetle.

A working e-brake is a requirement to maintain your MVS subscription. Sommerfeldt flies in from Norway and audits these regularly. ( MVS humor...but seriously, this needs to go on the list if to dos, especially with a stick shift)

Your cruise control is vacuum actuated and that sounds like a. Bad hose or leaking vacuum in that System. I think it lives under the battery in your car

Well, based on what everyone's saying about the oil, next oil change I'll try synthetic if I can find some synthetic highmilage oil on sale. 3,000 miles since the last oil change is already coming up fast, and the level is still sitting around mid dipstick. I've never used synthetic in a vehicle before, but know the service interval is longer than conventional, so every 5000mi, or more than that?

Looking for the parts to fix the hand brake right now (currently have a brick filling in). Based on some of the sounds I've been hearing from the left-rear, something's rolling around, bouncing, grinding back there when braking and turning (at one point resembled the sound of a handful of coins in a clothes dryer). From what I've read sounds like the brake shoes have broken loose and are now turning to dust in the drum. Going to order new brake shoes (and pads if I'm feeling that adventurous) and the related hardware. Think I'll hold off on drums and rotors until I can get things torn down and inspect them. How can I check and see if the e-brake cable is still good?

Going to pull the battery and inspect the the vacuum lines after running the voltage test. Hopefully the anti-theft code for the stereo given to me by the previous owner is correct.

[theWIFES_S70]

I can't wait to see pictures of her at Stage 0. That kind of car gives you a lot more street cred than driving a measly ol' N/A, even if she is a 5-speed!

Before you embark on your parking brake job. Make sure you check out your parking brake cable. Check out this part of the parking brake system.

It sometimes brakes here and will necessitate a parking brake cable job. Cheap in terms of parts (approx $35 for two cables), but a whole lotta grunting and swearing! I still haven't gotten to it but the cables are sitting on top of my toolboxes, beckoning me!

Here's the tutorial:
https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... =1&t=61043

Also, I don't think this qualifies as a stage 0 kind of thing, but you gotta swap out those old crusty shifter bushings. It makes the gearbox feel so much smoother!! https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... hp?t=76272 Also, don't be afraid to dump out the old gearbox oil out and refresh it...

[Sommerfeldt]

Sommerfeldt flies in from Norway and audits these regularly.

With my horned helmet on.

Another member recently had a lot of oil leaks, puffs of smoke from turbo area, etc. Turned out to be cam seals, so if those haven't been changed yet, that's a good (and easy!) place to start looking.

- S

[abscate]

I go 7500 mile intervals on synthetic but I'm almost all town/ highway driving. Synthetic routinely sells here for 25 USD for 5 quart bottle on Sale, name brand.

I'm going to have a look at the shift bushing link Marco, thanks

[bmdubya1198]

I usually go 5,000 miles, even on synthetic. I could probably push it to 7,500, but I like a good round number. And I sure as hell don't trust the Mobil 1 bottle that says I could do 15k.

[zhenya]

You might want to pull the rear brakes apart before you order anything for the parking brake stuff to see for yourself what's going on. That way you can order everything you need at once, plus you'll know how it all works when you go to fix it for real. The parking brake has two adjustment points - one is inside the rear disc and adjusts the pad position against the drum, the other is at the lever end inside the cabin, and adjusts the slack in the cable. Neither of these will help if the cable is seized internally, which will be obvious if you take it apart. There is a cam inside the rear brake that the cable pulls against to engage the brake pads. This should move freely when you pull the lever. If not, you probably need a new cable. FCP sells a kit that includes everything you need for a rear brake job. Service or replace the slider pins that hold the pads in place if they are the least bit corroded.

I agree that your cruise issue sounds vacuum related, but another common failure point is the wiring at the turn signal stalk where you turn it on. The wire in there breaks - it's easy to inspect so you might look there if you don't find any vacuum issues.

[abscate]

You might want to pull the rear brakes apart before you order anything for the parking brake stuff to see for yourself what's going on. That way you can order everything you need at once, plus you'll know how it all works when you go to fix it for real. The parking brake has two adjustment points - one is inside the rear disc and adjusts the pad position against the drum, the other is at the lever end inside the cabin, and adjusts the slack in the cable. Neither of these will help if the cable is seized internally, which will be obvious if you take it apart. There is a cam inside the rear brake that the cable pulls against to engage the brake pads. This should move freely when you pull the lever. If not, you probably need a new cable. FCP sells a kit that includes everything you need for a rear brake job. Service or replace the slider pins that hold the pads in place if they are the least bit corroded.

I agree that your cruise issue sounds vacuum related, but another common failure point is the wiring at the turn signal stalk where you turn it on. The wire in there breaks - it's easy to inspect so you might look there if you don't find any vacuum issues.

You need sophisticated equipment to diagnose the broken wire in the cruise control stalk - shown here...(somehow it got into a front wheel bearing thread and the moderators missed it)

warning..bring a sense of humor to my posts or live dangerously.

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... se#p372624

[zhenya]

You might want to pull the rear brakes apart before you order anything for the parking brake stuff to see for yourself what's going on. That way you can order everything you need at once, plus you'll know how it all works when you go to fix it for real. The parking brake has two adjustment points - one is inside the rear disc and adjusts the pad position against the drum, the other is at the lever end inside the cabin, and adjusts the slack in the cable. Neither of these will help if the cable is seized internally, which will be obvious if you take it apart. There is a cam inside the rear brake that the cable pulls against to engage the brake pads. This should move freely when you pull the lever. If not, you probably need a new cable. FCP sells a kit that includes everything you need for a rear brake job. Service or replace the slider pins that hold the pads in place if they are the least bit corroded.

I agree that your cruise issue sounds vacuum related, but another common failure point is the wiring at the turn signal stalk where you turn it on. The wire in there breaks - it's easy to inspect so you might look there if you don't find any vacuum issues.

You need sophisticated equipment to diagnose the broken wire in the cruise control stalk - shown here...(somehow it got into a front wheel bearing thread and the moderators missed it)

warning..bring a sense of humor to my posts or live dangerously.

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums ... se#p372624

Exactly how mine looked! Doesn't function at all like that though, so probably not the issue, but worth checking if it's on its way out.