Volvo S70

volvo240

hi,

i have an old 1988 volvo 240 here in toronto. can you recommend a mechanic ( i believe that i have an oil leak).

thanks

clana

Thx for your reply s70owner. I will be happy to let everyone know if a resolution is found. I have considered another dealer or perhaps an independant mechanic. Just want the problem permanently fixed at this point. Dealer kept my car through the weekend. He says in order to properly trouble shoot, they need the car to fail at every start. Car now fails 50% of the time. He say's he is optimistic... I don't know though. Thx again for your response.

salzo

Greetings Forum Experts!

I just bought a 98 S70 on Ebay for 3900 dollars. After splitting tires with the seller, I have about 4150 in the car now. It's a base S70. Not many options (heated seats, headlight wipers is about it). Some questions/dilemma.

The AC Evaporator (950 to 1350 repair) is said to be shot. I've also got the ABS/TRACs light issue. Otherwise the car seems fairly good! It's got 116k miles on it. It's very clean. I had it up to 90mph enroute to airport yesterday and it ran great! The car had good service records (dealer) up until about 95K miles.

Given what I paid and given the expectant life of this car, is it worth investing in the big repairs like the AC? Will the car go 150 to 200k? When the evaporator is repaired, will I end up with a rattley dash? Or does the car come apart and go back together fairly cleanly?

I think I'm going to send the ABS/TRACs unit to Victor Rocha for repair. SO that will keep some of the expense down.

Windshield - lots of marks from many highway miles apparently. Is there any way to polish a windshield?

Thanks!
Tom

'98 S70 with 116k
'79 244 with 197k

vousavec

Ok, the idling was always a *teeny tiny* bit rough (was eventually going to get to that) - after a day's trip to Atlanta (from Nashville) and back, something is wrong with the car!! The trip was this past Tuesday and yesterday night (Thursday), I noticed this. :confuse:

There is a smell - never smelled it before anywhere, kinda like fireworks (after you shoot them off) mixed in with a mineral spirits/metallic smell. The funny thing is, I can't see smoke and it goes away once you turn the car off. (Why I think something is in the engine...) My boyfriend thinks it's my transmission (changing the fluid was on the to do list - it was very unmaintenenced by the previous owners...), but then if so why would my car idle so rough? It feels like I'm on a boat... seiously! I haven't checked the oil to see if it's a blown head gasket (the temperature gauge points perfectly in the middle when the engine warms up and the engine never over heated in the first place) - I am at work and am heading to my dad's (a 10 minutes drive) as soon as I get off.

Also, today on our way to work, I let off the gas pedal to slow down and it felt like the engine was choking (like it needed spark plugs or something, except when you need spark plugs this usually happens when you push the gas and not let go, right?)

So, here is a list of what could have led to this: (or what I have gathered)
1. Tranny fluid/tranny itself
2. letting the gas tank get empty before I fill it (hey, I am in college... the guy at work said it could be dirty/bad fuel injectors)
3. bad timing belt? timing off (dealer exchanged at 75k, the car is 116k now, could it have gotten messed up with my #6 experience?)
4. throttle body hasn't been cleaned (on the to do list)
5. air pump is out (still haven't replaced that one 'cause I thought it could wait - maybe it's just fried itself completely, but wouldn't that smell after the engine was off and it wouldn't cause the engine to idle rough.... right?)
6. a small incident that I think may have led to this: (no woman jokes please) on our trip back from Atlanta, I stopped at a gas station, but on the off ramp to get there, I took a wrong turn and decided since no one was there I would back up and go the other way - well, as soon as I back up, there is this giant semi coming and I try to stop the car, throw it in drive (like in the good 'ol manual days, without thinking) and the car chokes out and dies (kinda like letting the clutch go while in gear) I restart the car and it is running rough, but then is fine. No problems until Thurs. ...did I throw off the timing? Why does it smell? Did I destory my car? :sick:

Someone please help! I'm afraid to drive anywhere!! Any comments/suggestions will be rewarded with umpteen thank yous and smiles!!!!

qbrozen

Well, up until your story about changing gears like that, everything you were describing sounded like a clogged catalytic converter to me (sulfur smell and rough running).

How many miles are on the car?

qbrozen

Can it go that long? I think any car can with proper maintenance and timely repairs.

If you want AC, I would certainly have it fixed.

Does that service history include a timing belt change? I hope so.

wow. $4K for a base model with 116K miles and broken AC and ABS/TRACS, huh? Man, makes me wonder what I could get for my 110K mile T5 with everything in perfect working order. We've been pondering selling it lately.

vousavec

116k - how much $$ are we talking for that and can you buy the converter and do it yourself? I hope that it's not that...ugh...

qbrozen

hey, 2 S70s with 116k back to back. go figure.

Ummmm.... hmmmm.... I'm really not sure of a price. My wild guess is somewhere around $300-$400. Chances are you can't do yourself. I would go to an exhaust shop like meineke.

s70awdowner

Well, I replaced my throttle body yesterday, it was very expensive but I had to do it:

$752 Throttle body
$ 300 Labor
$ 10 Gasket and seal

Total (Include tax) $1265 CAD

I also contacted VOLVO Canada to see if they are helping me for the cost, they told me there is a class action against this issue in US. But the out come in unknown so far, He said if VOLVO decided to Recall these car then they will reimburse everybody how did the repair. !
Anyway, Painful repair and Now I am thinking that my second car won’t be European, I will switch back to Japanese,

s70awdowner

Hi
I am still waiting for you to give me your Volvo mechanic Address / Phone #

Thanks

pat

No, please don't ask someone to post a name, address and phone number - I will have to remove a post like because we can't know that someone wants that personal contact information posted on a public webpage.

volvomax

$4k reasonable for a private party sale.

Your T5 prob $7-9K private party.

salzo

Regarding timing belt - I assume so because ALL the schedule maintenance thru 95000 is literally stamped by a dealer nearby (in the service booklet). Given that fact, when would the dealer have done the timing belt? 60k? So i'm probably due in the next year.

T5 - From what I've seen, the 7-9 price is probably right. If this was wasn't so clean and obviously maintained, the AC would have turned me off. But for 5k total (with ac fixed), I think I'm still "ok" but not exactly a steal. BUT - it runs great and it's a safe ride for my 17 year old daughter! :-)

Thanks for all the feedback!

Tom

qbrozen

thanks for the numbers, vmax.

qbrozen

well, as long as that belt is recorded in that book somewhere.

around 70K miles is a good interval.

vousavec

Ok - an update on my situation:

1. I talked to a parts guy at the Volvo dealership (both of them in my area are pretty nice - Nashville and Franklin, the one I was at) and when I described what was happening to my car (the choking, uneven boat engine sound of the engine, the shimmying, and the gas mileage, and the smell) he said that his wife's volvo's ECT fuel sensor (something that sounded like this) had gone out and that was kinda what her car was doing until they replaced it... he said that a catalytic converter is sort of unlikely, even with the mileage (they do go out, but it's not common.) :confuse:

2. When we were changing out the spark plugs, my dad said the old ones looked like the engine was getting too much fuel. (That ECT part is only about $60 - a far cry from a catalytic converter...)

3. Weird because now there is smoke coming out of the exhaust... more of a sooty, but grayish black and thin smoke, same smell...

3. BUT First we're going to change out the air pump and the SAS valve (what the check engine code said was wrong), which could also be causing this?

4. The parts guy said to clean the throttle body as well - I was going to anyway, but quick question: what does this part do? Just curious and I don't want to wait 'til my dad gets off of work to find out.

That's about where I stand. If anyone knows where I can find a really good air pump for a really good price, please let me know. Also, I've heard rumors that the S70 and 850 air pumps are the same pump (part #, too) but are priced differently depending on the model of volvo that you ask about. Any info/advice? I'd like to go ahead and get these parts so this can be fixed by the weekend, so I can see if it works - kinda scared to drive the car around like this but I don't have another ride! Arg. I just don't want to screw anything else up by not getting to the root fast enough. :sick:

Oh, and I finally scheduled a transmission fluid change at a local Mr. Transmission - (did you know that they don't do flushes because they think it tears stuff up? How cool - they do it the old-fashioned way... heard good things about them, too... I hope they will do a good job! -comments on experiences will be greatly appreciated!!)

Thanks everyone for dealing with my enourmous posts!

qbrozen

well, i looked it up on alloemautoparts.com and the pump for the '97 850 and '98 S70 indeed have different part numbers. Ouch! About $380!

So... how do they plan to change the tranny fluid? Just drain and replace? Because that doesn't get all the old fluid out, which is why flushes are normally done on these. I'm not sure if its the same "flush" as most cars. Its a machine that is filled with new fluid that, when connected to the tranny cooler line, forces new fluid in place of the old, pushing the old back out into the machine. There was a writeup about it in the most recent IPD newsletter, I believe.

qbrozen

I just realized this past weekend that I've driven this car WAY longer than any other car in my life. I've now put over 80K miles on my Volvo and still really love this car. I think 2nd place behind this is the 48K miles I put on my 4runner back in college before selling it.

vousavec

Yea, I know it's kinda hefty, but I saved a little over $1k when I bought the car because of this. I heard one guy found one for about $300... I have to find that post again I think they do the bucket thing - two quarts at a time or something - I will definately call and ask though. blah. I can't wait 'til school starts and the car is finished (repair -wise).. this is too much stress for a college kid! arg!

vousavec

Hey - I found one for $295 on http://www.fcpgroton.com. They said it was a Volvo part and several people on different forums referred them to me. I found another one somewhere else for $279, (can't remember! sorry!) but they didn't carry the valve or I just couldn't find it, so I just stuck with fcp. I'm pretty excited because I was able to slip the order in before 3pm, so I should get it tomorrow or the day after. I can't wait.

rong642002

sorry , did not check this site for a while, i asked the the guy i am dealing with he said he cannot take too many jobs, cannot blame him , he work at volkwagen at the present time. He been fixing two of the most troublesome on his spare time.

Good luck

vousavec

HEYA!!! I'm VERY happy. (I think this problem will be solved soon!!!!)

I went to Autozone to get a diagnostic - 2 more codes showed up! (I forgot & left 'em at home, but I'll post them tonight!)

It's a bad O2 sensor. (The one infront of the converter.) I think the air pump might have helped it go bad when we went to Atlanta. The air pump and valve should be here any day now and I was going to get the sensor from Autozone. (any comments/ suggestions??) They have two types - a universal ($100) and one 'made for this car' ($170) - both are Bosch brand. Any suggestions? Or should I order it from fcp (similar prices)?

I'm just happy, 'cause now I know what it is now. I just hope everything else is good. I have been trying to avoid driving too much... I'm fixing everything as soon as that air pump comes in!!!!!!!! (hopefully today!)

Thanks everyone for your input! I'll post those codes here asap. ^_-
k.

vousavec

Here are the three codes:

0410 "Secondary air injection system fault"
This one is the air pump...

0172 "Fuel trim bank one condition"
Vacuum leak/O2 sensor

0130 "Cicuit condition" - heated O2 sensor bank 1 sensor 1

So - maybe that'll help someone out.

Air pump didn't come today but that means it will definately be here tomorrow!

volvita

I already have the code but once I put it on, doesnt work, please help me, I dont have any manuals, it shows code but once the number is there doesnt work .thanks.

oilman

Just picked up a 2000 S70 I had a 244GLT years ago it had rear fog lights ( 2 lights ) dose the S70 have one or two? oilman

tmart

It has one, on the driver's side.

fidldd

So how did your ETS replacement turn out? I too had mine replaced in July on a 99 S70 GLT with 105k miles. I got two good months for $1,100. Now the ABS light and check engine light come on sporadically. It hesitates when driving through heavy rains from these hurricanes. I'd like to ignore it, but the ABS light turns off my cruise control. Thanks for your advice.

fchin

Does anyone know how to set remotes for 1998 GLT S70? I tried to turn ignition on and off 5 times, then press the remote buttons: lock, unlock, but does not work. This remotes have lock; unlock; trunk; and panic button. Thank you.

mdwalton1

Hi all,

I nosed around in here trying to find some info., to no avail. Hope someone can tell me what it means when my "off" and the recirculation buttons blink orange when I first start my 1999 S70. I tried calling the dealership and got a recording. After awhile, the lights stop blinking and everything seems fine. The car doesn't do anything funny - no odd sounds or anything like that. Any thoughts? I should note that the car hasn't been driven for two weeks, as I've been out of town.

qbrozen

it means there is a fault in the system. it could be something, it could be nothing. the dealer can pull the codes and tell you.

However, personally, i'd ignore it unless it continues to happen. I had it happen on mine once .... then never again. That was a couple of years ago.

mdwalton1

I turned it off and then restarted it, and it blinked again, so I'll take it in Tuesday to the indie mechanic and see if they can work their magic. Thanks!

lancerfixer

Mine has done it since I bought the car ('98 GLT.) The only discernible "fault" is that the thermometer in the instrument cluster sometimes reads about eight or nine degrees high. I don't know if that's what's throwing the code, but everything else seems to work OK so I just ignore it.

mdwalton1

Cars can be such a hassle. Thanks for your help.

volvomax

Remotes have to be programmed by the dealer.

The process you are talking about only works for older Volvo's.

pinder

MY WIFE HAD JUMP STARTED THE SEDAN.FROM THIS HAPPENED THE AIR CONDITION STOPPED WORKING. I NOTICED THAT IF I DISCONNECT THE BATTERY TERMINAL FOR ABOUT 10 SECONDS AND RECONNECT THE COMPRESSOR COMES ON AND THE AIR CONDITION WORKS FOR 1 DAY.I TOOK THE CAR TO AN AC SPECIALIST AND HE TOLD ME THAT I NEED AN IGNITION SWITCH AND A OVERLOAD RELAY#105.I PURCHASED AND CHANGE THE IGNITION SWITCH BUT THE VOLVO DEALER TOLD ME THAT THE CAR DO NOT HAVE AN OVERLOAD RELAY#105.THE PROBLEM STILL EXIST.CAN ANYONE TELL THE PROBLEM?
THANK YOU,
CRAIG PINDER.

trebreh

I have a '99 S70 T5 manual with 107,000 miles. Love the car - has treated me well on many trips across the midwest...

So my check engine light comes on about a month ago and I notice that I am getting very poor gas mileage. I take it in and I'm told I need a new Oxygen sensor. I do this, and two days later the check engine light is back on and no change in mpg. I am then told that it was actually the Mass Airflow that was out - which caused the Oxygen Sensor to fail. $800 later I think I am fixed - but no. Nothing is changed. They shop (a high end euro-specialty place) is stumped and after doing some research they tell me that there is an update kit from volvo to replace all the wiring between these devices that will cost $800. According to them this is something that happens on some high mileage '98 and '99 S70s. Has anyone heard this? Is it something else? Please help!

fchin

Thank you. I called dealer and found that out. The cost is about $40.00.

qbrozen

Are they telling you what the code is for the CEL?

I just hit around 115k. For the past 5K miles or so, the CEL has been coming on once a week. But the code indicates a loose gas cap each time (i'm going to buy a new one and see if that stops the too-often CEL). I've also had a drop in mileage, as well. But its not all that bad. We went from about 25 mpg down to 23 ... lately we've been back up to 24. I figure its just a part of driving a car over 100k miles.

sedalia

Had the same problem I think in wife's '00 S70. Here's how she fixes it. Remove key and remote control from ignition. Press the lock and unlock buttons on the remote control a couple of times. Put key back in to ignition, turn on. Should start.

sedalia

Need right front headlamp assembly, used is okay, for 2000 S70 SE. Any ideas on good source? By the way, can recommend Bridgeston tires for this car, can suggest that Pirelli's are not a good tire for this car.

qbrozen

I use alloemautoparts.com for pretty much every stock part these days. They've been great for me.

sedalia

Thanks qbrozen. It appears that All OEM Parts is significantly cheaper than for instance www.ipbusa.com on this item, 226 v 275 USD. Well, I guess every place has its strengths and weaknesses. Nice to have another good resource: Tough to catch a local junkyard (excuse me, recycled parts place...) with this item in stock. Again, thank you.

qbrozen

no problem.

i love IPD, but not for OEM parts. Upgrades are more their strong point (although still expensive).

lancerfixer

I like FCP Groton. iPd really knows their stuff, but they're not the cheapest joint around, either.

clana

Thx for your response sedalia. My car is currently at the dealer and has been there for over a month. This it it's fourth visit for this problem. It's frustrating. I have just received a phone call to pick it up as has been the case each time I have brought it in - though the problem has not been fixed. It was failing to start so many times (at least 50%) when I brought it in, I feel the problem should have been identified by now. I'm glad your wife has found a remedy. Thank you for sharing it.

Does anyone have a suggestion as to who I should speak to other than the Service Manager at this dealership? Someone who won't keep bouncing this problem back at me.

sedalia

Our 2000 S70 came with Michelins which were fine but didn't last nearly long enough. Next we tried Pirelli and were very disappointed & dissatisfied - cornering was simply lousy from the beginning, and so was mountain driving on slick roads that winter. However I am happy to report that we have been VERY satisfied and feel much safer with our Bridgestone Torenza tires including during mucho winter and wet mountain driving, and the cornering characteristics are almost back to what we originally got used to when the car was new, way back when. BTW the car now has 75,0000 miles on it.

sedalia

I feel we're lucky here in the Denver area to have a good independent Volvo garage (called Nick's - plug. Nick if you read this I expect a "little something" LOL). Coincidentally while making an appointment there to do some routine maintanance on our 2000 S70 w/75000 miles, I asked Nick about replacing the timing belt (we replaced the serpentive belt at 70000miles as preventive maint.). Nick checked the book and waved us off of replacing the belt as Volvo says to do it at 105,000 miles and based on his experience saw no reason to replace it before then, regardless of the age of the car. Well, I guess he sees a lot of Volvos through his shop, and he has always been honest with me and enjoys an excellent reputation, so we are going to forego this procedure until we get a little closer to that later mileage threshold. I will be looking at that web-site you mentioned - thanks for your input qbrozen. If anyone else has anecdotes about this issue please "weigh in". Thanks.

clana

Has anyone had the unfortunate experience of facing the fact that they may have acquired a lemon car and then be faced with what to do about it. Though the dealer acknowledges the car's problem, it seems the dealer (Volvo tech) cannot duplicate the problem consistently enough for them to trace its exact origin. My car has been in 4 times within 18 months of purchase for the same problem and has been out of commission for two months. I have put very little miles on the car and in the state of California it would qualify for a lemon. The last thing I wish to face is going through arbitration or hiring a lawyer. How awful is this process, does anyone know? Anyone have any experience? Was it bitter or just a tedious process? I'm very disappointed and sad about this. This is my third Volvo and I consider myself a Volvo for lifer. This last experience though has given me pause.

qbrozen

I may be mistaken, but I don't believe a used car qualifies.
The vehicle is 6 years old at this point.

clana

gbrozen, yes used cars do apply to the lemon law in California and other states as well. Doesn't make going down this road any easier whether it is a 2000 or a 2005 model. A car's value is relative to the purchase agreement. I bought the car from the dealer in January '04. Bought it as a certified used car through the dealer with 5 year extended warranty which is up in March '06 (or 100,000 miles whichever comes first). Car only has 65,000 miles. Car began the no-start problem 6 months after I purchased it and has been in 4 times in the last 18 months for the same problem but with no resolution. Car has been at the dealer now for 6 weeks. I have been a customer to this dealer for the past 15 years and have never experienced a problem even as remotely as this. I feel a sense of loyalty but am at a crossroads.

Thx for responding gbrozen.