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Potentially new XC90 owner, couple questions (05 2.5T AWD)

551 views 3 replies 2 participants last post by  95WanderWagen 
G
#1 ·
Couple quick questions for those of you XC90 owners in the know :)

I'm coming into my first non P80 purchase with this, completely unfamiliar with the P2 platform (but very much mechanically inclined). or any Volvo newer than 1997 for that matter...My 850 days are pretty limited now that the tranny is dying, and I'm getting too old/grouchy to be daily driving a lowered brick. Not to mention I want something newer with less miles and better towing/cargo capacity. XC90 seems to fit the bill there.

So that said, here goes:

I'm going to look at a 2005 2.5T AWD on wednesday. Owner says it feels like its lacking power and that it is smoking (BLACK smoke). My first thoughts on this are boost leak or MAF sensor has gone belly up. No CEL ever in time of him owning the car.

Has anyone run into this issue before? From what I've been able to dig up, its not uncommon for them to belch out smoke under heavy load/WOT, but the current owner says (from what I can gather) it does it all the time. Just happened while he was driving one day. He pulled over and parked the car, and stopped driving it. The 90 in question has anywhere from 147k-153k miles on it (carfax says the latter, owner's ad states former) and is a 2 owner vehicle. From what I can tell its been pretty well maintained, was a fleet vehicle the first 2-3 years of its life and has been with the second owner since.

What are some of the major things I should look for on top of this black smoke/power issue? I know standard Volvo buying rules apply here (timing belt, stage 0, and in this case the angle gear/bevel gear service), but what are some of the more common XC90 specific issues?

Asking price as it sits is $2k. Still runs and drives fine he says, just feels low on power. Given that he did state that he has no records of timing belt, angle gear, or bevel gear being serviced, and the issue with the smoke, I suspect that I may be able to get it for half of what he's asking, possibly less (he listed it as being "fair" condition in his ad, carfax states $1500 is the private party pricing). Honestly thats about the only way I would take it, expecting to put another 3k into it at that point.

Any info/resources/links you guys can provide is much appreciated :) Thanks!!!!
 
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#2 ·
To be honest, I have not seen any xc90s on the road with black smoke coming out. I would do a compression test and go from there. I think $2000 is a bit high for a car that is smoking. I once did buy a 99V70 t5 that would smoke a bit on WOT. a few years after I sold it, I saw it on sale locally with the ad stating it needed a new cylinder head. Perhaps the smoke is oil getting past the piston rings, or a clogged pcv, or a leaking turbo.



Aside from the smoking issue with that xc90, I have found the xc90 2.5t to be one of the most reliable volvos I have owned. I have owned 10-12 over the last 10 years and am pleased with mine.
 
G
#4 ·
To be honest, I have not seen any xc90s on the road with black smoke coming out. I would do a compression test and go from there. I think $2000 is a bit high for a car that is smoking. I once did buy a 99V70 t5 that would smoke a bit on WOT. a few years after I sold it, I saw it on sale locally with the ad stating it needed a new cylinder head. Perhaps the smoke is oil getting past the piston rings, or a clogged pcv, or a leaking turbo.

Aside from the smoking issue with that xc90, I have found the xc90 2.5t to be one of the most reliable volvos I have owned. I have owned 10-12 over the last 10 years and am pleased with mine.
PCV system is another thing that crossed my mind, and something I expect to do as part of "Stage 0" if I end up buying it. Black smoke usually indicates that its running rich though, which is why I'm leaning more towards a spark/fuel trim issue (bad maf, boost leak, bad FPR, leaky injectors, etc). Timing belt service is also on my list with stage 0. I figure if I can get a few more years out of it while I save to buy a v8 model, I'm already ahead of the game. Otherwise I'm looking at XC70's...and I'd prefer the 90 over a 70 because it suits my needs better (ride height is a big thing, getting in and out of lower(ed) cars isnt as easy as it used to be).

I agree completely that $2k is definitely a bit much. Seller describes it as "fair" condition, and carfax puts it at $1500-$1700 value without the smoking condition taken into consideration, depending on the dealer options installed. My thoughts are, if I can get it for $1k or less I'll take it, as I have a feeling he will be hard pressed to get $2k without parting it out (and that won't happen I'm sure, the seller stated he's finishing his masters at MIT and doesn't have much time, nor mechanical ability). Its my understanding that the 2.5T isn't much different than my 2.3T in the 850, so I should in theory be able to work on it without any major issues (other than the lack of VIDA/DICE)

I've got a compression test gauge incoming from a buddy before I go, and he is also going to lend me a fuel pressure gauge set if he can find it. That'd be a start at least. From there all I can do is hope that it didnt jump time.

What turbo is factory on the 2.5T? And what flange does it have? I'm thinking about keeping the 850, and honestly if the XC90 will allow, I could swap my 16T over from the 850.

How well do these cars respond to a slight (3-4psi) increase in boost? Its my understanding that factory they run at 6 psi, correct?
 
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