Rescuing Geronimo the 2000 V70

[BlackBart]

Some of those electrons are lonely and want to return home, and they are taking enormous risks to jump that gap.

[FireFox31]

Geronimo seems surprisingly well insulated, or its outside air exchange is damaged.

It sat out in the 30 degree cold all day, then I brought it into the garage to work. For two hours, the inside of the car was still freezing compared to the 50 degree garage. After working on it, I moved it back outside. The hot air inside fogged up the windows and they remained fogged for at least 45 minutes.

I haven't driven it enough to know how the MCC system is working.

[FireFox31]

Geronimo rides again! I replaced three brake calipers, all rotors and pads, the power steering fluid and its tank. I'm finally able to drive it faster than a limp. And yeah, it smoked my V70.

I'm thrilled that the engine is strong and the transmission shifts confidently. The suspension feels worn but fine, though I have to check again for those terrible clunks I heard while limping around. The manual climate control is responsive and provides heat for the impending winter.

My recommended replacements are now:
Front snow tires due to tread wear and bad vibration on the highway.
Headlights due to worn reflectors.
Safety issues including a broken tie rod end.
Overdue timing belt, spark plugs, oil change, transmission fluid change.
Windshield to try and pass inspection.

How can I identify other safety issues? I will learn how to check each suspension component and run those tests. What other neglected maintenance could put the owner in danger?

Ultimately, Geronimo has surprised me with its performance despite apparent neglect. Getting it fully stable will have to happen over 6-12 months, but I think it has the potential to be stage 0. There are deep issues like the rusted coolant pipe and steering rack, but maybe those will get fixed too. Thanks for helping me to help the car's owner. She'll be glad to have it back on the road.

[abscate]

Lower control arms. They are about $95 each for Lemforders but a good set of bushings and new ball joints will last 100k miles and tighten up the handling. Geronimo should be on her fourth ones by now, but a shop,will use cheap crappy parts , usually.

Ball joint with new locknut first, then bushings.

Firm up to 10 foot pounds

Load wheel with jack

Final torque
50 Nm on ball joint spindle nut with counter hold
LCA 65 Nm plus 120 degree torque

You want to start hitting the ball joint spindle nut a week before the job, too.

I use all new Volvo hardware, made by BUFO when I do this job. I won’t have it off for another 5 years

Steering rack and coolant pipe have been earmarked for harvesting

[FireFox31]

I failed to mention that Geronimo's ABS module had failed, killing its speedometer and causing most of the dashboard lights and DTC codes. I got a sweet deal from Midwest ABS on a cosmetically damaged unit for $40 (instead of $120). The hardest to reach bolt was stuck so I painstakingly ground it out.

With the rebuilt ABS module installed, the speedometer is back, only the coolant and check engine dash lights are on, and only two DTC codes remain. The ABS is acting up, so I'll research that and the codes before posting more.

A stroke of bad luck hit me today. After doing some simple diagnostics at my local Makerspace, I ran over a chunk of scrap metal and slashed the entire sidewall of one rear tire. Geronimo is wearing studded snow tires. The front two are worn out but the back two were very nice. Now it has only one nice tire which is useless without a match with the same amount of wear. I feel responsible to buy all four studded snow tires, perhaps used if I can find them. This expense is going to hurt.

Despite the bad luck, I had some good luck. Though I slashed the tire, I had just picked up my car's tire from getting a repair, meaning I had a full size spare already in my car. In no time, I swapped my nice spare on to Geronimo and we were back on the road. Here's a picture of my car lending its tire to the cause.

[scot850]

With the ABS issues you still have, I would suggest checking the reluctor/sensor rings on the wheels as well as the ABS resistance values and wiring on the cables, the sensors themselves for damage and crud build up and all the parts.

ABS faults can throw engine check lights as well, so fixing one may help the other.

I am totally amazed at what you have managed to do so far. Well done!

Neil.

[volvolugnut]

Unless those wheel studs are posing for the photo, I would say you are very organized and this is part of the reason you have made great progress on the rescue.
Keep up the good deeds.
volvolugnut

[abscate]

Having met Firefox I was a bit worried that he was stressed, as one of the right hand row is slightly askew. He might have had a bad day.

[BlackBart]

Mine are scattered underneath the car where I kicked them trying to get up!

[FireFox31]

Having met Firefox I was a bit worried that he was stressed, as one of the right hand row is slightly askew. He might have had a bad day.

That is exactly what happened. I just caused $400 in tire damage, was late for dinner, and was wearing decent clothes instead of my nasty work clothes. The lug bolts kept falling over and, alas, that was the best I could do. I'm only half kidding...

I keep the threads of the lug bolts (and all bolts) off the ground so they don't get dirt in them. It's easier to be preventative than to meticulously clean grime out of bolt threads (with a brush, rag, or razor blade, ask me how I know).

I found a used set of Nokian studded snow tires for an almost reasonable price. I hope there are no problems with them when I drive two hours round trip to get them tomorrow.

The current front left snow tire is drastically worn on its inner edge and very nice on its outer edge. I hope they were like that when the owner got them off Craigslist. Otherwise, Geronimo has a suspension weakness that will wreck these new tires. Hopefully not too quickly because there's no budget for suspension work yet.