1998 V70 New Purchase and "punch list" of things needed

[SonicAdventure]

Hello, and thanks for the cool forum.

I just recently bought my first Volvo, a 1998 V70 base model. It’s a high mileage fixer-upper second car, but in general its running good. It’s got 232,000 on a N/A 2.5L, engine code is B5254S. I have been enjoying the car so far, and it was only $800.

All the major things seem to work well, like brakes, decent power, goes down the road pretty good, not smoking or stumbling under acceleration, no ODB codes being thrown, all the lights and stuff work, prior owner just spent $1800 in September of 2014 having a new AC compressor installed along with a radiator and other stuff.

However, there are a lot of “little” things that will likely need to be addressed. However, I have no plans to “restore” this car into a daily driver. Mainly, I just want to keep it running as-is as long as possible, and learn about Volvos along the way.

Here is a list of some of my initial concerns. If anyone can chime in and shed light on any of the points I’ve made please feel free to do so, and thanks for the forum.

1. Steering shifts slightly to the driver’s side when braking hard, esp. if going down a hill. Feels like there is a shift in a steering component in the front passenger side wheel area, and causes the steering to drift slightly towards the driver’s side when braking. No noises or clunks, but you can feel it in the wheel.
2. Headliner – the cloth was coming down so I completely removed the cloth and scraped off all the old foam and now I’m down to the bare substrate. What a mess, it looked like Fozzie the Bear swallowed a grenade and then jumped in the car. Anyway, now I want to find a way to either seal the substrate and paint it, or find the cheapest way to re-cover it. Any suggestions?
3. Engine – when I ran a Carfax off the VIN, it said it has a 2.4L NA engine; however, the engine code seems to suggest it is a 2.5. Is this possible? I’m wondering if the engine has been swapped out. Can I tell from the VIN plate what serial number should match the original motor?
4. A/C issue – the AC works fine (many new parts including compressor and evaporator), however, the AC never seems to shut off. When I press the AC button a green light comes on and I think I hear the compressor click on, but even when the AC is turned off (green light off), it seems like AC air is still coming out. Even when the AC is shut off and the fan is turned to “0”, it seems like refrigerated air is coming out the vents. The heater works fine, by the way.
5. Removing the Seats – I really need to clean the carpet and in order to clean this car right; I need to remove the front seats. I understand there is an airbag safety switch that needs to be put on the sensor, but other than that how difficult is it to remove the front seats? They are manual seats, by the way not power.
6. Driver’s Window off track – The motor works but when it rolls up, it has to be pulled up by hand, as the front of it won’t come up. I assume one of the bolts on the lifter is broken. How hard is this to replace?
7. Passenger’s door handle won’t open from the outside – I assume I will just have to pull the panel and see what’s up. The handle seems to function OK, but it always feels like it is locked (i.e. not engaging the lever).
8. Timing Belt – looks like the belt was replaced at 140K in 2007. At 232K, I’m certainly not going to invest in having someone do the timing belt, but after watching a few videos I see its not as complicated as some timing belts. So, I might consider doing it at some point. Is there any way to tell if it is going bad or about to fail via visual inspection?
9. Washer Fluid Reservoir – the light on the dash is on, so I put some washer fluid in it and it just leaked out. How difficult is this to fix and is it a common problem? The washer squirters work, but it leaks out almost instantly.

Thank you for any help you can provide. Happy motoring.

[kahl]

1. sounds like one of the control arm bushings is worn, I would check left and right front suspension. Inner and outer tie rods, contol arms with ball joint,struts and sway bar links.
2. get a new liner from a bone yard.
5. when you remove the seat controlers you will find a "U" shaped clips that fits into the airbag switch. Remove 4 bolts for the seat and the torex bolt for seat belt attach point.
6. remove door panel and inspect sissors jack and also the guide runner on the actuator side of the door.
7. When this happened to my door I had to replace the actuator
8. 98 timing belt easy, no CVVT, may want to change water pump. let me know if you want to borrow my cam shaft lock kit
9. get a replacement W/W bottle at a bone yard, easy swap

[j-dawg]

1. Steering shifts slightly to the driver’s side when braking hard, esp. if going down a hill. Feels like there is a shift in a steering component in the front passenger side wheel area, and causes the steering to drift slightly towards the driver’s side when braking. No noises or clunks, but you can feel it in the wheel.

Get an alignment - toe is out of spec

2. Headliner – the cloth was coming down so I completely removed the cloth and scraped off all the old foam and now I’m down to the bare substrate. What a mess, it looked like Fozzie the Bear swallowed a grenade and then jumped in the car. Anyway, now I want to find a way to either seal the substrate and paint it, or find the cheapest way to re-cover it. Any suggestions?

Pop the substrate out by removing all the trim holding it in place and re-line it with a headliner fabric, attached using 3M Super 77 spray. Should be easier on a wagon - you can pull the board out of the back door. I have to do this soon.

8. Timing Belt – looks like the belt was replaced at 140K in 2007. At 232K, I’m certainly not going to invest in having someone do the timing belt, but after watching a few videos I see its not as complicated as some timing belts. So, I might consider doing it at some point. Is there any way to tell if it is going bad or about to fail via visual inspection?

You can take off the timing cover and inspect for cracks, but you should just do the belt, as it's past due.

I don't think it'll snap at 100k, but I know it won't at 70k. We should feel free to question the engineers on a great many things, but on this thing we can really only shrug our shoulders and do as we're told. You can keep rolling on an old belt, and probably nothing will happen for a few tens of thousands of miles, but keep in mind that a timing belt failure means valves meeting pistons.

9. Washer Fluid Reservoir – the light on the dash is on, so I put some washer fluid in it and it just leaked out. How difficult is this to fix and is it a common problem? The washer squirters work, but it leaks out almost instantly.

Thank you for any help you can provide. Happy motoring.

How quickly does it leak out? My reservoir leaked out drips at the hose fitting under the front bumper, so I zip-tied the hose on and it stopped leaking for a few months. My friend's BMW 330i does a Windex Exxon Valdez of any time he puts fluid in the reservoir - the whole tank needs replacement on his car.

[obayha]

Let me know if you need help with the washer bottle. I am pulling parts from mine and it never leaked. You probably have good PNP up there,
Shane

[tryingbe]

3. Engine – when I ran a Carfax off the VIN, it said it has a 2.4L NA engine; however, the engine code seems to suggest it is a 2.5. Is this possible? I’m wondering if the engine has been swapped out. Can I tell from the VIN plate what serial number should match the original motor?

What is the serial number on the engine? Does the engine have VVT?

4. A/C issue – the AC works fine (many new parts including compressor and evaporator), however, the AC never seems to shut off. When I press the AC button a green light comes on and I think I hear the compressor click on, but even when the AC is turned off (green light off), it seems like AC air is still coming out. Even when the AC is shut off and the fan is turned to “0”, it seems like refrigerated air is coming out the vents. The heater works fine, by the way.

Is the vent control pointed to defrost?

[JRL]

No VVT in 1998

[j-dawg]

What is the serial number on the engine? Does the engine have VVT?

Another thought - where are you reading the engine type from? The timing belt cover may have been swapped. The number on the engine itself, towards the rear right of the block, should be accurate.

[rspi]

Welcome to the forum.

[rspi]

[erikv11]

No VVT in 1998

Exactly, that is why tryingbe asked.