Learn me: 2nd Gen V70R

I've figured out the 2nd generation V70R is the perfect compromise for SWMBO and I (can hold a a whole pit crew of mini-humans, stick, turbo, long roof, cool, etc). What do I need to know? Anybody got one for sale?

cons - head gaskets SUCK ASS to change. the run of the mill machine shop wont touch the head, and the one that will, will charge about $450 to mill .0001 off of it. parts are expensive. the inter-cooler will puddle with oil over time because they are top-to-bottom flow, not side to side. the coolant reservoir is pressurized with the rest of the cooling system, and it likes to crack at the little tube inlet on the back. its also not cheap. the turbos leak oil after about 120k. they are REALLY not cheap. mine is an auto, so no experience with the manual, but the auto workes with the turbo, instead of against it, which is nice. the dash squeaks terribly. DONT EVER USE ARMORALL. it will eat the dash plastics, some kind of reaction with sun and armorall and the type of plastic used. uses specific coolant, which (you guessed it) isn't cheap. rear doors could open 10 more degrees, and it would be 10X easier to get in the back, which may be a concern for you with small children.

pros - absolutely CAVERNOUS interior. we run about 50 band instruments in it, weekly for delivery's and pickups (tubas, horns, etc). the sound it makes with a borla exhaust is sublime. it cruises at about 90 and feels like 35. the headlights have replaceable glass covers, so thats nice not to have to change the whole thing. the A/C is in the top 10 i've ever used, and thats in AZ when its 120*. factory radio sounds great. leather quality is really good, in fact all of the interior BUT the dash is really good. oil filter is semi-easy to get to for a euro-car. fuel filter is easy, too.

overall, once the headgasket was repaired, which was bad when we purchased it, it was great. we have had a few issues since, nothing huge, but it hasn't been rock solid. we like the car well enough, but i don't think i'd buy another. certainly not one that needed the head removed...GOD that sucked...

-J0N

i decided to elaborate on the head. heres why it sucked. the head is two peice, top and bottom, with the cams squished in between. with the HLA's and spring pressure, its a BITCH to get the cams in their grooves, the gears under the belt, the dowels in their holes, and the bolts cinched down. it took me 4 tries. and a lot of beer. the fun part is the two halves are coated with this volvo glue crap that you have to clean back off and re-apply every time you fail at lining everything up. and you have to remove everything. i mean everything. it MIGHT have been easier/faster to drop the subframe and pull the engine as a unit, and repair it on the stand. all told i had $750 in parts, $450 in shop fees, and 25 hours of work, over 3 days. never again!

-J0N

One of the weak links is the AWD system. Check swedespeed.com for more info. The 4C shocks are relatively expensive to replace. Make sure you know the button press sequence to search for all codes in the car you are looking at rather than going by the CEL which for the most part will just light for emissions problems. Many people say to avoid the '04s if possible, which is kind of hard since there are the most of them. Bonus points for good maintenance records and timing belt change history.

Don't worry about the head, you won't likely ever have to fix it. Take the exhaust bracket of death off as soon as you get it home. Finally, I'd buy a regular one, not the R. They are too low, too harsh, and Volvo can't make shifters and clutch pedals that feel good. Volvos are not supposed to be sporty- they are boxy, but good.

A V70 T5 is 90% the car an R is with 50% of the hassle, it seems. And there is always iPd to close the gap...

Got it, check out the T5, too.

A guy on Corner-Carvers recently picked one up and has a thread documenting his rehab and repair work on it: http://forums.corner-carvers.com/showthread.php?t=48025

when i ask my volvo mechanic the same question he recommended the 08 or newer v70 or xc 70 over r70 or any 2nd gen wagon, said s80 based cars less issues. so i've been looking for a xc 70 t6 as my r fix. YMMV. Lee will probably be the one to chime in

One of my friends had a T5, and it was a really nice car. So much fun to drive I thought about buying it. While I wouldn't consider it to be an out and out sports car in terms of feel, it was awfully close and could hold way more cargo than it's exterior would leave you to believe.

Javelin,

You're looking at a lot of the same cars that I am (I'm looking for a little cheaper though). In fact, I went and test drove a very well maintained 1999 Volvo V70R two days ago. I really loved it, but even the owner told me to do more reading regarding the awd system and issues before purchasing. That kind of concerned me! I'm quite wary with the awd Volvo wagons now, which really sucks because I really want one! My wife really wants awd too, so a nice 960 might be out of the question (I don't like fwd).

-Hamid

The gripes listed are volvo generic, not R model specific.

I would say expect by now any R model to have been owned by at least one clod who drove it stupid hard with negligible maintenance. Look it over accordingly.

I work for a parts store and own an AMC. The maintenance issues don't sound that bad. R's are surprisingly more common than T5's up here.

Tom_Spangler wrote: A guy on Corner-Carvers recently picked one up and has a thread documenting his rehab and repair work on it: http://forums.corner-carvers.com/showthread.php?t=48025

He's quite an idiot too. :)

I'm pretty happy with it so far. Basically, I like learning new-to-me cars and I've never had a Volvo. The huge interior (fits a fully assembled 29er mountain bike) in a technically interesting, somewhat sporty package sucked me in. A T5M would have been a smarter choice for sure, but I've not seen a single one for sale within any reasonable distance. R's pop up with semi-regularity, though manual transmission cars get snapped up.

I like the shift/clutch action just fine. I like that it doesn't torque steer at all. It's kind of quick. Reasonably solid. My car is a little rough cosmetically but it's a one-owner car and the Volvo dealer faxed me a bunch of records. It was maintained in a by-the-book fashion. With a little effort, you can source the factory technician computer system for < $150 which I really like.

I'm finding parts prices reasonable compared to BMW. A factory painted front bumper was $680. Rear was $550.

Argh. Again with the paragraph breaks. It looks fine in preview...

Want to sell it?

ex-gf has this car and it's really nice. It however has that really E36 M3ty haldex awd system that doesn't actually drive all the wheels. They can turn into a 1wd card fairly easily. I would say if you can get a Subaru Outback turbo it would be better. Much more can be down with a turbo outback as well.

Really the only reason to get a V70R is is you REALLY like Volvos. If you are looking for a sporty vehicle, avoid.

you should move across the border and get one of these instead, lol

That car is how you build an awd performance wagon. (stagea 260rs, basically a GTR with a wagon body)

foxtrapper wrote: The gripes listed are volvo generic, not R model specific.

Well, the T5 lacks the Haldex AWD and electronic 4C shocks, so that's a lot less to go wrong right there...

That 2.5 l 5 banger is by the mid 2000's 10 years into being turbocharged. No much goes wrong with them. The manual versions all have a internal slave cylender that fails and takes the clutch with it. Volve upgraded the slave. Many people ditch the dual mass flywheel with the repair. I've never read of the manual box failing. The first two years of the slushbox (2003-2004) have a five speed box that is over matched. The 2005 2006 and the handful of 2007's have a six speed box that is more stout (they ditched the touque limiting in 1 and 2nd gear), and very critically- have a stronger angle gear and output collar. The angle gears are not cheap, but they are easy to replace. If I were buying one, and I would like to, I'd go for any year of the manual or the 2005-7 slush box. The 2005-7 has the next rev of the Haldex system as well.

I recently read folks have figured out how to ditch the active suspension and use standard dampers without disabling important stuff or throwing a bunch or codes.

Manual t5 m's are very scarce compared to the R's. The 2005-07 v70 t5 (hard to find) makes 256 hp 258 lb·ft. out of the box. Very similar motor to the R. Bolt ons and a remap and its makeing well over 300hp and 300 ft lbs this is quite a package if one does not need the AWD. When these pop up, they are surprisingly cheap compared to the R and they have similar seats. The seats... those seats are the whole point.

Found a 125K mile 04 R MT6 115 miles away, dealer's closed. Aaaaaagh!

Javelin wrote: ...a whole pit crew of mini-humans, stick, turbo, long roof, cool, etc).

I thought these were the nicknames of your kids. Or their real names.

"Hey, Stick! Go help Long Roof clean the basement. Cool, you and Turbo are on window washing duty."

Awesome, awesome cars. I loved my 04 6MT. Unfortunately, I could never quite swallow the maintenance so I didn't keep it long... I'm used to my simple '90s stuff. Mine also had like 145k and an unknown/slightly questionable history, and was pretty rough around the edges.

Probably the best seats I've ever sat in, power, sound, etc etc. One thing that's stayed with me is how the gauges looked at night... loved that.

I'll have another...

confuZion3 wrote:

Javelin wrote: ...a whole pit crew of mini-humans, stick, turbo, long roof, cool, etc).

I thought these were the nicknames of your kids. Or their real names. "Hey, Stick! Go help Long Roof clean the basement. Cool, you and Turbo are on window washing duty."

Even SWMBO laughed!

If anyone wants to build a wicked 960 Wagon, mine is up for sale. It will even come with two T6 Core engines that can be made into 1 engine, I would imagine and a Toyota w58 to dump the auto (Aisin unit, same as the Lexus LS400 1UZ)

racerdave600 wrote: ...While I wouldn't consider it to be an out and out sports car in terms of feel, it was awfully close and could hold way more cargo than it's exterior would leave you to believe...

It is definitely NOT a sports car. I had a '98 V70 T5, and while it was a beast of a 240hp FWD car, it was certainly not a sports car. It was an awesome wagon that could swallow huge amounts of stuff and was absolutely wonderful for camping, but certainly no sports car.