2001 V70 2.4T Road Trip Begins!

[tryingbe]

Enjoy your trip!

[prwood]

Road trip updates:

I'm still at home in MA, starting my last week at work before I head out on Friday. Wife and kids left OH today in The TARDIS to head to MI.

In positive news about the car, wife reports it's been driving very smoothly. Latest MPG is 25, with the roof box and trunk fully loaded.

In negative news, my wife reports a definite oil leak. Symptoms are dropping oil level on the dipstick, oil spotting in parking space, and greasy film on tailgate. Right now I'm having my wife keep the oil topped off until I get out there and have a chance to diagnose where it's coming from. It did have excessive crankcase pressure and I had replaced the whole PCV system before they left, so that underlying issue is gone, but the excessive crankcase pressure may have left other issues in its wake such as blown seals. If it turns out to be a cam seal, I could probably fix it when we get out to Seattle as we'll be staying with family for a few days. If it's the rear main seal, we'll probably just keep topping off the oil for the rest of the trip and then get rid of the car when we get back as that's definitely not a job I want to take on. :-\ I had already replaced the oil filler cap and turbo oil drain seal and gasket before they left, so I'm fairly certain those aren't the issue.

[abscate]

Let me know if you want my cam lock kit on location for the seal. I don't think its a must have, but might be a nice to have..

[jonesg]

Could very well be that oil drain pipe o ring.
it's a blind install, easy to get out of place.

[prwood]

We (and the V70) made it safely out to Seattle! 4,511 miles driven so far. The trip itself has been great. We've visited the Ingalls Homestead, Minuteman Missile National Historic site, Badlands, and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota; Devil's Tower and Yellowstone in Wyoming. We canceled our planned two nights' stay in Glacier due to the fires. Now we're at my brother-in-law's house in Seattle.

The car has been very comfortable to drive and sit in. Our longest stretch was about 14 hours yesterday between Yellowstone and Seattle and I had no complaints. Overall the engine has been running very smoothly. We've been running the AC with recirculated air ever since the Badlands due to all of the smoke from the fires in the Northwest.

The two biggest car-related issues have been tires and oil leaks.

Before we left, I had inflated the tires to 36psi for a blend of comfort and fuel efficiency. However, this was before we loaded down the car with two adults, two kids, one tent, three cots, clothes, food, etc. I believe I should have started at a higher pressure, because:

1. We blew out the right rear tire on I-90 just east of Badlands. The tread became separated from the sidewalls and shredded up in a fairly dramatic way. I suspect the reason the right side blew out is that we had unevenly weighted the car on the right side with two very heavy steel collapsible cots and the tent, combined with under-inflated tires.
2. The front two tires, which were newly installed before the trip, had worn down to the steel belt on the outside edges by the time we reached South Dakota, while the treads in the middle looked practically new. I'm also suspecting this was due to being underinflated.

We replaced the blown out tire with the full sized spare, and replaced the front two tires with equivalents at Walmart. I have since been keeping all the tires inflated to 44psi, which is the maximum rated on their sidewalls. It makes the ride harsher, but I believe it is better suited to the load we are carrying. I have been inspecting the tires since then and I don't see any issues. 1,608 miles on the new front tires so far. Once the car is unloaded I'll bring the psi back down to 36-38.

Now that we're in Seattle and parked in a driveway, I'm going to have a look to see if I can isolate the oil leak. I have a pretty strong suspicion that it's the front cam seals, because I have seen oil spots when we park on concrete directly under those spots, and also because there's an oil slick on the underside of the top timing belt cover. I'll take the front cover off and check things out and also check under the car to see if it might be the turbo oil seal. In the meantime I have been topping off the oil with 10W30 Mobil 1 Full Synthetic High Mileage.

Any recommendations on where to get a camshaft locking tool and a camshaft seal press? Hoping to be able to borrow them from somewhere, but I can't seem to find them at AutoZone. I should be able to get the seals themselves from a local Volvo dealer.

Our best fuel economy was 28.3 mpg on the stretch between Yellowstone and Kingston, Idaho. We set cruise control at 60mph and there was no traffic on the highways.

Also ran into a low coolant level once and topped up with a bit of prediluted coolant. The coolant level has been dropping very very slowly for a while - I had re-tightened the upper radiator hose a couple of months ago, but every time I feel it there is a slight bit of wetness underneath the connection on the radiator. I tightened it down just a few more ratchets, but I still feel like it could use more. I just have no idea when to stop tightening.

[abscate]

I've got the tool here and could ship to you if that fits your timetable

The seal can be pressed in with PVC Pipe. Buy a couple in case you Charlie Foxtrot one

I'll pm you contact ibfo

Outside tire edge wear is alignment issues, not inflation. Get that checked

[jonesg]

That's a nice trip, did that 3 times myself, badlands is an interesting sidetrip if you take the scenic drive through. Yellowstone is a treasure.
Sounds like a Volvo workout.

You'll be fine, attitude (can do) is everything.
I've moved already. Maine.
Good luck and good speed.

[Rattnalle]

Sounds like a great road trip!

44 psi is what I always keep in my tyres. It's the "high speed and or heavy load" recommendation for 205/55-16 on the inside of the filler cap lid. Recommended normal pressure on my car is 40-41. So it sounds like you were a bit low to begin with.

[abscate]

One of the common failure mechanisms of the Volvo radiator is the motor mount fails, which gives engine movement, then the upper radiator hose or the radiator snout fail from the action. The culprit is the upper torque rod bushing which lets the engine rock each time you accelerate or decelerate, stressing the hose/snout.

If it's just a seep let it go until you are home, then take the hose off and look for cracks. The other thing it can do is open the joint on the side plastic to aluminum joint on the radiator which takes an afternoon to repair with a new radiator

[prwood]

Started a gallery with photos of The TARDIS at various locations:

http://gallery.prwdot.org/Cars/WoodTrek ... lvo-Photos

Using public transit in Seattle today while The TARDIS takes a load off.