Volvo service... new throttle body or ETM?

Randygwatkins · Post by **Randygwatkins** » 23 Apr 2005, 17:00

My 99 S-70 recently began to die now and then when coming to a full stop. The RPMs would drop to 3-400, the car would shudder and die, then immediately restart. I have taken it to the dealer and he tells me the 2 codes read something about a vacuum leak at the crankcase, and some cannister which vents fuel vapors has been damaged by overfilling the tank, and needs to be replaced. For these 2 things, the "parts and labor" is 575 dollars! I wouldn't expect much in parts to fix a vacuum leak, but maybe I'm wrong. I need some other repairs done to it but the prices he quoted seem too expensive to me! They want to hand-clean my engine for $200!

This is my first experience with Volvo service, what do you experts think about it? Am I just hopelessly outdated in the area of car repair costs?

Thanks!

Jot · Post by **Jot** » 23 Apr 2005, 17:48

A vacuum leak can usually be found with an UNLIT propane torch when the gas is sucked in the engine speed will increase. Does the dealer include windows and carpets when he does the engine?

Randygwatkins · Post by **Randygwatkins** » 23 Apr 2005, 18:11

Thanks, Jot! One other thing that makes me suspicious is that I heard him tell a lady on the phone her throttle body needed cleaning, and the charge for "parts and labor" would be $575! Seems to be a common number there...

White850Turbo · Post by **White850Turbo** » 24 Apr 2005, 07:31

The cause of the drop in idle is the ETM. Cleaning the throttle body can be done yourself with a gas soaked rag and 20 minutes. It will at least prolong the life of the ETM, which when it finally dies, can cost $1000 to replace at the dealer. I do know of some alternate sources for the module. PM me if interested.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 28 Apr 2005, 11:33

WhiteTurbo,

You could be a very rich person right now if you did volvo repairs for a living.

Just exactly where is this throttle valve body that needs cleaning that you speak of located?

Under the black cover that is hel in place by that 1 screw (mine seems to be stripped however and the cover just "lays" on there).

And $1k for a replaced ETM, just where is that?

White850Turbo · Post by **White850Turbo** » 29 Apr 2005, 06:18

Guest wrote:WhiteTurbo,

You could be a very rich person right now if you did volvo repairs for a living.

Just exactly where is this throttle valve body that needs cleaning that you speak of located?

Under the black cover that is hel in place by that 1 screw (mine seems to be stripped however and the cover just "lays" on there).

And $1k for a replaced ETM, just where is that?

LOL. I like working on Volvo's, but not enough to do it for a living

.

The throttle body can be found under that black cover, which is normally held in by one torx screw.

Here is a rough diagram of what you should see under the cover:

Now, number 7 is the ETM. It is held on to the intake manifold by four 10 mm bolts. Unhook the electrical connection there first before unbolting though. You may be able to reuse the original gasket ( part # 8 ) if you're careful when removing the ETM. If not, it shouldn't be any more than $3 or $4 at the dealer. Once the module is removed, use a clean rag with some denatured alcohol to clean the unit up real good. You can use isopropyl alcohol if you don't have denatured alcohol or gasoline if you don't have that. On second thought though, I would avoid using gasoline due to the number of solvents it contains, which could be harsh on the plastic pieces. After cleaning it up, reinstall it with the gasket and if you have a torque wrench, the 4 bolts should be torqued to no more than 15 ft. lbs as the intake manifold is made of aluminum. If you don't have a torque wrench, just make sure you don't use too much force on the bolts. Also, don't forget to hook the electrical bit back up. I will warn you that this is a temporary fix and should keep the unit operating pretty well for 10k miles or so, and then you'll have to clean it again, until it just stops working.

The dealer charges $1000 for replacement of the unit. It can only be installed by dealers or independent shops that specialize in servicing Volvo's because software must be loaded onto the unit once it is installed on the car. You can get the actual ETM itself for $400 if you know the right people and install it on the car yourself, but you won't be able to drive it until the software is loaded. So, you'll have to get a tow up to the dealer, which might cost $65 or so depending on distance, and from what I've heard, they charge a half hour labor to load the software. So... that makes the total cost of repair closer to $500 than the normal $1000. If you need sources for an affordable ETM, PM me and I'll give you some names, numbers, and e-mail addy's.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 29 Apr 2005, 08:04

WhiteTurbo,

Thanks for your help. This diagram is perfect. Just for clarification, so the ETM is part of the throttle body or is it one in the same?

Will take this thing apart and clean it on Sunday if i don't rearend someone or get rearened before then. Let me think about PMing you. My paranoia just might be overcome by my cheapskatedness, however. I should probably spring for the gaskets at least. Assume I can get them anywhere? as I don't really like going to the dealer after stuff like this comes to light.

While researching on other sites, I came across this where victims of newer Volvos (say '99 on have even bigger problems with the ETMs since Volvo swithced suppliers from Germany to Italy. At least mine got to 125k miles (well, I can't confirm that since not the orig. owner, bought with 43k miles, I hope no OD rollback, fuzzy stuff producing a title as different states involved) but apparently they are only getting 10-20k miles for their $1,000 dealer repair. This really is a defect to me. And a "life threatening" one to boot. Should be a recall. I will be sending letter to Volva of America or should I just send it to Ford now? ; )

http://www.v70xc.com/forums/showthread. ... #post47755

White850Turbo · Post by **White850Turbo** » 29 Apr 2005, 21:11

ETM is the same thing as the throttle body. Consider yourself lucky though. Most of them tend to start acting up around 100k. When Volvo replaces the unit, it should be good for another 100k miles or so. I just verified this earlier this evening with a Volvo master mechanic.

'99 was the year that Volvo completely revamped the electrical systems in all of their cars. S70's didn't get it too bad, other than the ignition switch (not real common), key transponder (not real common), ETM (Happens to all of them), and light bulb carbon arcing. Just be glad you don't have a '99 or '00 S80. I like to call them headaches on wheels.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 30 Apr 2005, 20:04

So I took the black cover off to clean the ETM unit. What I noticed though was that one of the three small off-white tubes connected to the thottle unit was completely torn off at the right angle boot. It's the bottom tube of the three and the one that looks to have some sort of filter attached further down the line. Can anyone tell me what this is and could it be the culprit of no restart for a few minutes after turning off the car??

Frails · Post by **Frails** » 30 Apr 2005, 20:07

So I took the black cover off to clean the ETM unit. What I noticed though was that one of the three small off-white tubes connected to the thottle unit was completely torn off at the right angle boot. It's the bottom tube of the three and the one that looks to have some sort of filter attached further down the line. Can anyone tell me what this is and could it be the culprit of no restart for a few minutes after turning off the car??