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School me on older Volvos

Lee said:
My folks have 3 XC90s, a pair of '05s (one is for their vacation property) the other is a '13, I think. The '05s are turbo I5s, the '13 is a NA I6. All AWD, all well over 100K miles, one of the '05s is pushing 250K miles. They bought the '13 used to replace the higher mileage '05, but knew it wasn't worth the effort to try and sell it, so it's been part of the "farm fleet" for 3 or 4 years now, and still going strong.

Yeah, the AWD can be problematic, but it's not hard to fix, usually the coupler between the trans and the angle gear (transfer case) strips. A competent shade tree mechanic can fix, Youtube & FCP Euro are your friends.

Whiteblocks will run forever, change the oil, and don't forget the timing belt every ~100K miles/5 years.

As others have stated, avoid the V8 and the T6, you'll be fine.
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Also, use synthetic oil, not dino. It holds up better and causes less sludge in the PCV system.
See: https://www.robdiesel.com/wordpress/2016/05/p2-volvo-v70-and-s60-buyers-guide/ for some things to look at, a lot of things cross over from the wagons to the XC90.

Aaron Z
 
Thread title fail.

1.jpg
 
aczlan said:
Works for me on several computers, not sure why it wouldn't be working for you?

Aaron Z
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Fails from Chrome for me. I put it in the AVG Secure browser and it says contains malware. I click advanced - proceed anyway, and it fails the same way:
This site can’t be reached
The connection was reset.
Try:

Checking the connection
Checking the proxy and the firewall
Running Windows Network Diagnostics
ERR_CONNECTION_RESET
 
subybaja said:
Thread title fail.

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My '76 242
20180126214258-ec5d87be-me.jpg


My '87 744 Turbo I bought for parts for the 242, but it's got a title so I've made up my mind to swap something large into it and put it back on the road, sick of all the LS swaps, I'm pretty well set on an M70 swap.

20180624213008-80076680-me.jpg


My '95 850 GLT was my DD until about 4 years ago.
P7120066.jpg
 
DRTDEVL said:
Ok, I'll bite. What's wrong with the V8?
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it's just fucking in there, and it doesn't offer enough performance over the turbo 2.5 to deal with the headache.
especially since you can just tune your i5 one and get more boost on all the stock shit without issues.

but everything on it, in it or bolted to it was done that way to save space in te engine bay, and fuck everything else.
 
I pulled out all the door wiring and the wiring under the driver's floor carpet and looked through it... I found a broken ground wire, and the main power lead to the door had chafed itself bare. A little liquid tape, and some rearrangement and protection of the harness later, when I reassembled it all of the electrical Gremlins went away.

Now I just need to get a Volvo specific scan tool to get into the SRS and traction control module and find out why they are giving error messages.
 
DRTDEVL said:
I pulled out all the door wiring and the wiring under the driver's floor carpet and looked through it... I found a broken ground wire, and the main power lead to the door had chafed itself bare. A little liquid tape, and some rearrangement and protection of the harness later, when I reassembled it all of the electrical Gremlins went away.

Now I just need to get a Volvo specific scan tool to get into the SRS and traction control module and find out why they are giving error messages.
Click to expand...

I have had good luck with the bluetooth scanners from ebay to pull those codes.

If no go on that then there is an Altel scanner that you can load one car to for $99 that works awesome for all those codes.

I own a couple of them each with a different car brand on them
 
Wait, your wife and sometimes kid have a 1, sometimes 3 mile commute, and you're not buying her a full-size 4wd v8 suv? Instead you're looking at complicated expensive to repair fuel efficient cars, that makes no sense to me
 
DRTDEVL said:
I pulled out all the door wiring and the wiring under the driver's floor carpet and looked through it... I found a broken ground wire, and the main power lead to the door had chafed itself bare. A little liquid tape, and some rearrangement and protection of the harness later, when I reassembled it all of the electrical Gremlins went away.

Now I just need to get a Volvo specific scan tool to get into the SRS and traction control module and find out why they are giving error messages.
Click to expand...

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/400...earchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_

that's the same people I got mine from years ago and it looks the same.

I can help you with the software. you need a PC or mac that can run virtualbox.
 
Projectjunkie said:
Wait, your wife and sometimes kid have a 1, sometimes 3 mile commute, and you're not buying her a full-size 4wd v8 suv? Instead you're looking at complicated expensive to repair fuel efficient cars, that makes no sense to me
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That's your idea of efficient? Huh.
 
Projectjunkie said:
Wait, your wife and sometimes kid have a 1, sometimes 3 mile commute, and you're not buying her a full-size 4wd v8 suv? Instead you're looking at complicated expensive to repair fuel efficient cars, that makes no sense to me
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It's a midsize V8 SUV, and if I needed to go on a job before roads were good enough for my Prius, I'd take it for the day.
 
subybaja said:
That's your idea of efficient? Huh.
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DRTDEVL said:
It's a midsize V8 SUV, and if I needed to go on a job before roads were good enough for my Prius, I'd take it for the day.
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I'm saying, why aren't you buying her a gas guzzling tahoe suburban expedition or crew cab pickup for relatively cheap, easy to repair, cheap to repair, and cost maybe $15mo more in fuel for a truck that will be driven a couple hundred miles a month.

It just doesn't make any damn sense to me
 
Projectjunkie said:
I'm saying, why aren't you buying her a gas guzzling tahoe suburban expedition or crew cab pickup for relatively cheap, easy to repair, cheap to repair, and cost maybe $15mo more in fuel for a truck that will be driven a couple hundred miles a month.

It just doesn't make any damn sense to me
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He drives a prius, wants a volvo for the family. I think he's lost?
 
DRTDEVL said:
Fails from Chrome for me. I put it in the AVG Secure browser and it says contains malware. I click advanced - proceed anyway, and it fails the same way:
This site can’t be reached
The connection was reset.
Try:

Checking the connection
Checking the proxy and the firewall
Running Windows Network Diagnostics
ERR_CONNECTION_RESET
Click to expand...

Odd, it works for me in Chrome and Firefox.
Here is the PDF version:
View attachment P2 Volvo V70 (and S60) buyer’s guide – RobDiesel.com.pdf

Aaron Z
 
Projectjunkie said:
I'm saying, why aren't you buying her a gas guzzling tahoe suburban expedition or crew cab pickup for relatively cheap, easy to repair, cheap to repair, and cost maybe $15mo more in fuel for a truck that will be driven a couple hundred miles a month.

It just doesn't make any damn sense to me
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I wouldn't expect someone from AZ to understand, so I will spell it out:

ALL OF THE ABOVE NAMED ROTTED IN HALF ALREADY!!!

It's to be a winter beater, sure, but I don't need the frame breaking along the way. Every GM, Ford, or Dodge older than about 2012 is totally rotten to the core. No rockers, minimal frame remaining, etc. These Volvos, however, were properly treated for corrosion protection before leaving the factory, and usually the first yuppie owner leased them and sent them through heated car washes all winter long.

Find me a $750 4WD/AWD this far north that doesn't already have a broken frame or body mounts rusted through, or is obviously on the verge of said happening.
 
DRTDEVL said:
I wouldn't expect someone from AZ to understand, so I will spell it out:

ALL OF THE ABOVE NAMED ROTTED IN HALF ALREADY!!!

It's to be a winter beater, sure, but I don't need the frame breaking along the way. Every GM, Ford, or Dodge older than about 2012 is totally rotten to the core. No rockers, minimal frame remaining, etc. These Volvos, however, were properly treated for corrosion protection before leaving the factory, and usually the first yuppie owner leased them and sent them through heated car washes all winter long.

Find me a $750 4WD/AWD this far north that doesn't already have a broken frame or body mounts rusted through, or is obviously on the verge of said happening.
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Well I'm from Iowa, so I understand rust, I also grew up with my grandfather bringing cars from the south, and nowhere did you post a budget, just that you wound up buying a 750$ car for your wife and kids, but you've got a Harley.

We're probably not gonna see eye to eye
 
DRTDEVL said:
Find me a $750 4WD/AWD this far north that doesn't already have a broken frame or body mounts rusted through, or is obviously on the verge of said happening.
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My Legacy's were $250, $250 and $800 :flipoff2:

But yeah, '00s Volvo for $750 is a no brainier if it's not rusted the fuck out. Just fix as you go.
 
Projectjunkie said:
Well I'm from Iowa, so I understand rust, I also grew up with my grandfather bringing cars from the south, and nowhere did you post a budget, just that you wound up buying a 750$ car for your wife and kids, but you've got a Harley.

We're probably not gonna see eye to eye
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Not for her and the kid to drive extensively, but for a winter beater. We already have a crew cab 4x4 dually, but it's too big for her to maneuver in tight spaces. She bought her Passat in NC, brought it to TX and NM before we moved here, and it's rarely seen snow in it's life. She loves her car, so this is just a cheap winter vehicle to keep her car hiding in the shop for a few months per year to keep it rust free. If we're road tripping, it's either in the dually, the RV, or in the Prius, depending upon the trip, time of year, and weather.

Could I buy her the latest, greatest 4x4? Sure... But that makes no sense for a vehicle to be driven exclusively in the worst months of the year.
 
I'm not saying latest and greatest by any stretch, I'm saying a $3500 tahoe or similar, I've rocked $500 cars to save a buck before, but if i lost half an overtime shift because my lady's car needed a jump or a you're aired up, I'm losing money, doesn't matter if she's only a mile from home, she's not walking in the snow, or blazing heat in my case.
I just have no desire to be the end of life consumer for vehicles anymore, and never did for my wife and kids.
I've found that being the 2nd or 3rd owner of something clean and putting 50k+ miles on it and selling it around 200k with minimal repairs, while it still has value, gets me the lowest overall cost of ownership and lowest stress level
I also see no reason to own anything but a full size 4wd suv for a 1 mile winter commute
maybe your cheap Volvo works great, maybe it's a time bomb, I'd unload it, YMMV
 
Projectjunkie said:
being the 2nd or 3rd owner of something clean and putting 50k+ miles on it and selling it around 200k with minimal repairs, while it still has value, gets me the lowest overall cost of ownership and lowest stress level
I also see no reason to own anything but a full size 4wd suv for a 1 mile winter commute
maybe your cheap Volvo works great, maybe it's a time bomb, I'd unload it, YMMV
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I bought it from the second owner... More miles, but runs like a top. Just fiddly broken plastics and some electrical quirks that I am quickly working out.

I'm pretty good with euro stuff, just never had a Volvo before so it's a learning curve.
 
Projectjunkie said:
I'm not saying latest and greatest by any stretch, I'm saying a $3500 tahoe or similar, I've rocked $500 cars to save a buck before, but if i lost half an overtime shift because my lady's car needed a jump or a you're aired up, I'm losing money, doesn't matter if she's only a mile from home, she's not walking in the snow, or blazing heat in my case.
I just have no desire to be the end of life consumer for vehicles anymore, and never did for my wife and kids.
I've found that being the 2nd or 3rd owner of something clean and putting 50k+ miles on it and selling it around 200k with minimal repairs, while it still has value, gets me the lowest overall cost of ownership and lowest stress level
I also see no reason to own anything but a full size 4wd suv for a 1 mile winter commute
maybe your cheap Volvo works great, maybe it's a time bomb, I'd unload it, YMMV
Click to expand...

Maybe you should get a real job that pays salary. :flipoff2:
 
arse_sidewards said:
Maybe you should get a real job that pays salary. :flipoff2:
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Or get a good insurance policy with roadside assistance provided (towing and labor) for a couple bucks per month? USAA is cheap for it, and they contract through Agero. When I was a tow operator, USAA gave the least restrictions on a tow through Agero than any other company, hands down.
 
DRTDEVL said:
Or get a good insurance policy with roadside assistance provided (
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Ok, so it's 15 degrees where your wife and kids are, the hoopty won't start, no heater, or alternately, it's 115 here, and no air conditioning, the tow truck is 90 minutes away, when it gets there, there isn't room for all the crotch fruit, so you're leaving work anyway. Oh, the hoopty is home now, now you've gotta fix it in 15deg weather, or 115 deg for me.

I've owned junk, and all my trucks are "old" 96, 03,04,05, all paid for, but I'm done with junk, it doesn't pencil out.

We're not gonna see eye to eye on this, it's ok.

*I have roadside on all of them

arse_sidewards said:
Maybe you should get a real job that pays salary. :flipoff2:
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See above, it doesn't pencil out. Hourly was more money better benefits better quality of life. Maybe someday I'll go salary, but it won't be so I can drive unreliable shit boxes:laughing:
 
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