2007 V70 needs new engine

dphoss · Post by **dphoss** » 01 Jun 2016, 16:39

So my wife has a 2007 V70 (blue 5 cylinder non turbo) we bought used in 2011 (39K miles at the time).
I think it has ~129k miles on it.
She went on a trip ~500 miles round trip and comes home ... car starts making a chirping sound and a clacking sound.
Short story, we towed it to a Volvo repair shop and they said it needs a new engine. Looks like a rod is going bad.

Other info:
I changed the oil on it ~3 weeks ago (Castrol European Synthetic 0w-30) but wasn't able to do the filter at that time (needed the wrench).
I was planning on doing that soon.
She probably put ~1500 miles on it since the oil change, as we made a trip a couple weekends ago another ~550 miles round trip.
When I changed it, it looked a little thick.

The shop says about $4800 for a replacement motor (not new, not rebuilt, but one salvaged but fully tested). It includes full testing new timing belt, seals, etc.
So what to do....~$1000 if I don't repair it, and if I do, ~$4800 out the door for a 9 year old car. It is in good shape (in Tx but in the garage).

She never received any oil light, service light, check engine etc. and the car ran fine until this.
I have 3 other cars and 2 of them have over 180,000 miles (non Volvos) without issue.
This bites!

Thoughts out of the Volvo community?

Post by **tryingbe** » 01 Jun 2016, 19:47

Older cars tend to use oil. When oil level is not checked regularly, engine damage can occur.

Do you need this car? If not, cut your losses and move on.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 01 Jun 2016, 21:57

Get a second opinion- I smell something fishy here. 1500 miles, you shouldn't have to check oil level...did you see any leaks?

Post by **jimmy57** » 01 Jun 2016, 23:34

The oil filter housing needs to be unscrewed and filter inspected. If the paper filter tattered and scattered into oil system then that caused local starvation but not it will not necessarily drop oil pressure below the 8 psi or so that it takes to keep oil light off. The oil ffilter is upstream of oil pump and the paper can go into oil passage and plug one branch and starve a main bearing and thus the rod bearing that is in turn supplied through that main bearing into crankshaft.

I have seen the paper element in can oil filters and the loose insert type like in this engine both fail. Rare but it happens. How long had the oil filter been in there before this last oil change w/o filter replacement?

Post by **oragex** » 02 Jun 2016, 06:19

dphoss wrote:The shop says about $4800 for a replacement motor (not new, not rebuilt, but one salvaged but fully tested). It includes full testing new timing belt, seals, etc.

Whoa... as japan says, smells like the fish market here. A lot. First, the chirping makes me think of a pulley about to die, very common at these miles. Bring the car to a different (more trusted) place and ask them for a maintenance/check about all pulleys especially on the serpentine belt.

Reason I say about the fish market, is the crock asking $5000 for a used engine install. Run from there. A used 2007 engine is no more than $700 and why would they put new seals on it?? A timing belt original Volvo kit is no more than $200 and installing a new engine is no more than $700. Their are friendly asking only a $3000 too much. Besides, replacing an engine on such fishy place with surely lead to other mechanical/electrical issues because some things must be done in a certain way known by Volvo specialists.

The oil filter socket sells cheap off Ebay.

Post by **MadeInJapan** » 02 Jun 2016, 06:25

I wouldn't think it would be $700 + $200 = $900. I would have guessed $1500 or so..give or take about $100. That said, you need a second opinion. Never heard of the filter busting up inside, but I suppose it's possible. I would agree with oragex- more likely is a bad pulley, and not the engine!!

dphoss · Post by **dphoss** » 02 Jun 2016, 08:45

Thanks for all the quick replies. I will ask about the filter and also possibly the oil pan to see if there are metal shavings.
From some online research, it sounds like a rod/bearing is bad. There is the clanking noise so it is more than a tensioner or belt.
The $4800 is labor included but he said it could be a little less ($4500). It does sound high looking at the used engine costs. I think it is wise though to put a new timing belt, etc. on a used engine before installing it as well as the seals. Since the replacement engine will have 70k-120k miles why not take care of those things. I will call around and ask labor rates to replace an engine. I haven't used this place before as my wife used to go to the dealer (shutdown), but they get 5 stars from yelp/customer reviews.

I have a mechanic who I trust but I don't know how much Volvo experience he has. He does a lot of Toyota/Honda. I may ask him. He is ASE certified.

dphoss · Post by **dphoss** » 02 Jun 2016, 08:51

This is an online video of what her car sounded like. (This isn't her car but the sound is the same).

Post by **oragex** » 02 Jun 2016, 09:50

I meant if bought off Ebay like this one. In all cases, for a shop that fishy, their engine 'fully tested' seems to already need new seals, not to mention the 'certified' low miles

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2007-Volvo-60-S ... CB&vxp=mtr

Post by **oragex** » 02 Jun 2016, 09:54

dphoss wrote:This is an online video of what her car sounded like. (This isn't her car but the sound is the same).

yup, sounds busted, just to mention, it's highly unusual on this engine, unless there was an issue with the oil/filter (the Castrol 0W30 is an excellent oil)