V70 AWD 1998 - Pre-sales inspection questions

[callumalden]

Hello folks, I parted with my 240 (1990) a few months ago. It was a right hand drive and I have recently moved to Spain where import was going to be quite difficult, it had to go although it was my pride and joy. Plan was to replace the car with something much lighter for the short-term, a Fiat Panda 4x4 was the idea. Turns out, on close inspection that second hand cars are ridiculously overpriced here and I don't fancy inheriting a wee 1.2 fiat engine with 250,000 km on the clock and no service history. Which is not unusual here.

Brings me to an interesting opportunity, on my doorstep, a V70 AWD from 1998. I like the idea of it because - on paper - it retains a boxy, roomy, upright feeling of the 240. It seems wonderfully safe. It also seems replacement parts are readily available and there is a good amount of advice online for replacing this or that. It is just shy of 160,000 miles on the odometer and is described as very comfortable and a daily driver. The current owner has driven it for 10 years, its a family car and the ad tells me it has been carefully maintained, I look forward to quizzing him re. the usual second hand things. We shall see.

Regarding mechanics I know nothing other than my 240, repairability is important for me... I like / prefer to do things myself and learn on the job. I don't drive fast. I do not like electronics and funny gadgets in the car, I suspect I can trust the electrics in the 1998 V70 as it is basically an 850, years of tried and tested evolution, right? I live in a fairly mountainous region but I do not intend any routine off roading will take place.

There is the context.

My actual question:
I have never owned a AWD car. I hear that they potentially require a bit more maintenance, which is understandable. I also read that I must be careful with the angle gear, described thusly, "the main role is to transfer power from the engine and transmission to the rear wheels, enabling the vehicle to operate as an AWD rather than just front-wheel drive".

Great.... so how exactly do I go about checking whether I may have a problem, whilst on some fellas driveway? I assume I will go for a test drive. Any tips diagnosing a 1998 mechanical viscous coupling system?

If anyone happens to own/owned a V70 "Cross Country" AWD from 1998 I would be curious to hear if there are any further specific issues to look out for with this model. Many thanks.

[scot850]

I have and recommend don't buy one unless you are going in with your eyes and wallet wide open.

I like the AWD cars, but fuel pumps are NLA from Volvo and it is getting hard to find aftermarket ones that work. To access and fit one requires partial dropping of the whole rear sub-frame and the fuel tank, or careful cutting of the rear floor to get to the pump.

All the fuel pipes are NLA. It requires a lot of ingenuity to find solutions to repair them. See Abscates repairs on his 98 'Kat' S70 AWD and my 'never ending fun' with my 2000 V70R AWD.

The rear brake dust shields that hold the parking brakes in place are NLA and have been for years.

As for the front end, most of the parts are the same as the FWD cars as is the body.

The angle gear if maintained and the car is not beaten to death (check for oil leaks from it) can be good for years. However, watch out for the front prop-shaft bearing and the middle carrier bearing and bush are solid. Also check the Viscous coupling bush (I believe is still available) and the VC front bearing. The bearing let's itself known by a rubbing sound when turning hard, and the bush at the front of the casing by a clunk when going into gear or getting on/off the power.

Several of the rear sub-frame and suspension bushings are NLA. The adjuster bolts for the rear alignment are also NLA.

Just be careful. They can get frustrating and expensive fast. Worst case, you can convert them to FWD!

Neil.

[jonesg]

I would test drive it, check the fluids and buy it if it seems ok.
My awd doesn't work, it makes no difference to me, we get 7 to 10 feet of snow here but they plow the roads and I stay on them.
When I realized my awd doesn't work I pulled the fuse for the haldex pump and forgot all about it.
I could fix it but can't be bothered.
Just sayin, AWD isn't a deal breaker for me, they drive perfectly fine in FWD.

[callumalden]

don't buy one unless you are going in with your eyes and wallet wide open...

Thanks Neil, that's very worthwhile advice from someone who it appears has owned a whole fleet of V70s. Wow. What has been your favourite V70?

The asking price is around 3200 CAD / 1800 GBP. Based on the description I think this is reasonable (taking into consideration the almost non-existent second hand market). This low asking price allows for a decent restoration budget, I will inspect with a critical eye. I am concerned when you say some bushings etc. are not readily available, for my 240 I would easily pick up everything I need from Skandix, Polarparts and eBay in the UK. From mountings and interior bits to fuel tanks and pumps. I have never tried to source a part from Volvo or a dealer.

Fuel Pump - 9470674
https://www.skandix.de/en/spare-parts/e ... t/1022143/

Rear Brake Shields - 9157666 & 9157667
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324367048589

Rear Alignment Bolt - 30741284
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/296016039890
https://www.skandix.de/en/search/?q=30741284

Wealth of parts here:
https://www.skandix.de/en/installationp ... 1/2000377/

Perhaps I am lucky to live in Europe where these parts are readily available, or am I missing something?

[callumalden]

I pulled the fuse for the haldex pump and forgot all about it...

Brilliant! I like that such a common sense fallback is an option. I do not need to rely on AWD as I mentioned, it is not the most important feature. A hardy vehicle is more to the point.



The roads can be quite exciting here in the north of Spain... bonnie view too.

[scot850]

Ok. Sorry to burst your bubble and enthusiasm. None of the parts you list fit a 98 V70 AWD. They are all for P1 (04- S40/V50), P2 (01-), P3 and some SPA cars from later years. The fuel pump is for a FWD car, unless it is the infamous Pro Parts Sweden AWD unit. It lists 850 so maybe it is an AWD part as the first P80 (850) AWD made was the 850 AWD.

Some of the bushes I tried to get made by manufacturers of Polybushes, but none were interested.

With some out the box thinking you can probably make a get around for some of the issues. Rust and rear end parts are the main issues to watch out for.

You are lucky to live in Europe for parts options we don't have easy access to over here. There are some other companies like RandD? and there is a company in the UK that support Volvos. Some like Skandix supply parts they have had remanufactured. Also look to GCP.se in Sweden. They have the -2000 Volvo parts supply (OE Parts) they bought from Volvo. They supply Volvo their Classic parts.

I wish you luck!

Neil.

[callumalden]

@scot850 - that is very helpful. I see... so the 1998 Volvo V70 XC AWD (Cross Country) is built on the P80? I assume parts being harder to come by because there were limited 850s with AWD and then the V70 moved to the P2 platform?

Is it easier to get parts for the V70s AWDs on the P2 platform?

Would be curious to know.

The one I'm going to have a look at has the 2.4L inline-5 turbocharged petrol engine, I believe that is the low pressure turbo. Its a manual, comes from Madrid where vehicles I have seen so far are rust free.

Regarding the UK supplier of parts, I wonder if you were thinking of Brookhouse, who are excellent. R&D Car Parts are in the Netherlands, haven't tried them as they wouldn't post to Scotland. I will make a note of GCP.se, how curious. Anyway. Thanks loads for your thoughts.

[erikv11]

Any AWD Volvo 95-07 (i.e. P80 or P2) can be run as FWD instead, that's indeed not really an issue. It's the other parts Neil mentioned. For example, fuel pumps on old Volvos sometimes burn out like incandescent bulbs.

The 98 V70 is my favorite car but but sadly, I wouldn't own any P80 AWD car now, for any price really. The window has closed on reasonable maintenance unless you are resourceful with your time, tools and money and creative with fixit skills. Yes, the petrol P80 AWD V70s are all LPT. Fantastic that it's a manual.

P2 AWDs are completely serviceable. Less of a car all around IMO, but no issues yet getting parts. I'd strongly recommend an 07 or at least 06 if you're considering one. Yes, those few years make a difference.

Also, I and others posting here are talking US model years, which are shifted by one year from UK releases. If the car you are looking at is the equivalent of a US 99, I'd certainly walk away as 99 is a less desirable, mongrel year for the P80 with other annoying idiosyncrasies, aside from the AWD-related points discussed. For ease of identification, the US 99 has five coil packs, one on each plug, while the 98 has one coil bolted to the fender wall and a distributor cap on the back of the intake cam.

[abscate]

The one I'm going to have a look at has the 2.4L inline-5 turbocharged petrol engine, I believe that is the low pressure turbo. Its a manual, comes from Madrid where vehicles I have seen so far are rust free.

We covert the M58 manual AWD cars over here - we cant get them. Its an LPT , correct.

If its a rust free car from dry Spain, the rear end is probably in good shape.

You cant pull fuses on a 1998-2000 AWD , they are all passive systems.

[scot850]

Just to clarify, P80 = 92-97 850 and V/S70 98-00 + V70XC + C70 98-04 (in North America). P2 = 01-07 V/XC70, 01-09 S60.

From 97 both chassis had an optional AWD. In Europe you got more manual options on most models including the P80 V70R.

As the car came from Spain it has the chance of not being rusty on the underside, however, watch out for rubber parts with the heat they get.

The LPT engines in P80 were about 193 bhp, and in P2 around 208 bhp. I think the engine is the sweet spot.

There are those who hate on the 99-00 cars as they moved from a throttle body to an electronic throttle body. Those were/are known to be problematic as they age as the tracks in the throttle body for throttle position wear out. They can be updated to non-contact units but not cheap. Over here companies like Xemodex do that with a lifetime warranty for the owner who has it done.

The bonus of the 99- cars is they have OBD2 diagnostics which the older cars don't have although you can diagnose with some other products on 95-98 cars. 92-94 cars had a built in basic diagnostic system.

Neil.