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Dasgaswolf's 2000 V70 R

28K views 159 replies 32 participants last post by  JaredR 
#1 · (Edited)
thread for 'Heidi', my 2000 V70 R

After 15 years of driving and tinkering with Land Rovers, I purchased a 1993 Volvo 245 from BaT last year. I've had a blast driving it -- however I needed a vehicle more capable of comfortable interstate travel.

I ironed out a modest budget with my wife and began hunting for a wagon. My taste has always trended towards the esoteric and so the field quickly narrowed down to V70R wagons. Other candidates included Acura TSX Sportwagon, BMW E39 wagon, Audi C5, and the XC70.

Maintenance intensity was not really a chief concern of mine, as I'm fond of working on my cars and motorcycles, but service history and provenance were essential. The P2s don't scratch the itch for me in the way P80s do -- and so I began my search in earnest.

Following 6 or 7 weeks of searching, it was clear that the 2000 V70R posted here was the best example of any make meeting my criteria, other than this 535i. After it became clear the Bimmer would exceed my budget, I went to see the V70R and it was in remarkable condition -- even areas that typically belie the age of a vehicle such as seals and stripping looked new. It was a close to a brand new car -- on the inside -- as I've ever seen, and my 245 is pretty minty itself.

The PO is an enthusiastic Volvo owner himself and knew the car back to front. There was a brief negotiation & I took her home the next day. Unfortunately the car's maiden voyage was a little bumpy and she arrived at my garage on the back of a tow truck.

After a brief diagnosis it appeared the ETM was the likely culprit -- in this case I decided to let an R expert in Rockville, MD already familiar with the car sort it out before officially welcoming it home.

In a flash of serendipity, Jalopnik featured the car a day later. Its readers, egged on by a member here apparently both shocked at its asking price and delighted with its ETM failure, excoriated the PO, the car, and myself in the comments: they delivered a "Crack Pipe!" verdict before graciously steering me to the door-dinged 145k P2 I should've bought instead for, um, $2k less. Ah, the internet.

Immediate plans include finishing off the Stage 0 with new pads, rotors, and a bleed. Then I plan to address the only aesthetic sore spot: the hood. It has 2 or 3 noticeable imperfections and some mild chicken scratching. I'm either going to find a new hood or have it professionally repainted.

Look forward to getting to know you guys & thanks for the warm welcome and help so far.
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#2 · (Edited)
New V70R troubleshooting

Sounds like etm.

Got vida? Sweep test it. No? Unplug the etm at its harness location under the intake. See if anything changes.

Don't have vida? Get it and a DiCE. As important as a t25 or 10mm for these me7 platform p80s.

If you need one I have a tested good late Volvo version that fixes the indelicate issues with them for cheap.
 
#3 ·
Do you have the VIDA volvo diagnostic software and Dice code reader ? If not i would purchase it on amazon about 100 bucks. Im going through a similair problem and wish i could help. Ben at Rolling Motors in CT. is a guru on these cars, might be worth giving him a call. Did you call the seller ? Sorry to hear its acting up already.
 
#5 ·
Have a 98 t5m that went through something like this. Ran perfect until it reached operating temp then began to miss until it wouldn't run at all.

For me it turned out to be the crank position sensor.

Only took me 7 months to figure it out.

Good luck!

Sent from my 2PS64 using Tapatalk
 
#7 ·
Have a 98 t5m that went through something like this. Ran perfect until it reached operating temp then began to miss until it wouldn't run at all.

For me it turned out to be the crank position sensor.

Only took me 7 months to figure it out.

Good luck!

Sent from my 2PS64 using Tapatalk
Me4.

Me7 crank sensor issue behaves like an attempted fire while cranking or s random miss while idling it driving.
 
#11 · (Edited)
New V70R troubleshooting



Did you unplug the etm and try that?

You may have tripped the immobilized and that's causing a hard no start issue
 
#22 ·
LOL really getting a kick out of all the haters on the price. Asking price is perfectly in line with recent market trends.
 
#29 ·
Congratulations on the purchase! And don't let people get you down about the price you paid.

We all have a price in mind for when we are selling a car or buying a car. It's your money and have fun with what you buy with it.

I just sold a 93 rx7 that I bought earlier in the year. It needed some work and it was on the low end of the price of what a good example with some miles on it were. After I had it at the house for a few days I took it to a mechanic I know house so he could work on it for a few months with me helping out. Well after a few months of ordering some parts and burning money, I decided to just sell it. I sold it for what I had in it for parts (no labor) plus what I bought it for. I did this because by the time I was done with the car (probably in 18 months) it would be more expensive then finding a good stock example.
 
#32 ·
I almost bought this car. The seller reached out from a thread I made, but at the time, he wasn't committed to selling. By the time he agreed to my price (a bit less than the current owner paid), I had committed to a different car. I still tried to make it work but ultimately have too many cars and absolutely no need for this car.

For what it's worth, I think the new owner bought it well. If you think it's overpriced, find me a cheaper car in similar condition with similar mileage. I'll buy it and kick you a finders fee.

Also, for what it's worth, the seller seemed like a stand up dude, so I'd be surprised if he knew anything of any potential issues.
 
#33 ·
Is this JRL's old car? Maybe he sold it to the person you bought it from? Probably not but thought I'd ask.

Congrats on the purchase dasgaswolf!
 
#35 ·
This is a gorgeous car for sure.

I absolutely love these cars as I've owned 2 in the past a 1998 v70r and a 2000 v70r.

They are smooth , stylish comfortable rides. But make no mistake about it. Even super maintained , them 1998-00 v70rs are just not reliable. Everything that can go , will go.

So I'm not surprised that the owner of this fine ride had issues.

As for the price of the car , I thought it was high. But for different reasons then most. In my mind I'm thinking no matter how well kept this car is. It's got many trips to the shop in it's future.
 
#37 ·
This is a gorgeous car for sure.

I absolutely love these cars as I've owned 2 in the past a 1998 v70r and a 2000 v70r.

They are smooth , stylish comfortable rides. But make no mistake about it. Even super maintained , them 1998-00 v70rs are just not reliable. Everything that can go , will go.

So I'm not surprised that the owner of this fine ride had issues.

As for the price of the car , I thought it was high. But for different reasons then most. In my mind I'm thinking no matter how well kept this car is. It's got many trips to the shop in it's future.
'"
Okay, and my dad has a 98 V70R with 555k kms, original transmission, and no "everything will go" type failures.
My 98 V70R with 171k mi is in the same boat. To claim these are unreliable to that extent is fallacy.
The AWD adds complications when working on it due to tight packaging, but engine wise they're not far gone from other 98-00s. It's like any other car, just stay up to date with maintenance.
 
#41 ·
dasgaswolf - nice buy, man. I'm in MD too - let's meet up. I'd love to see this in person once you get it back running again.
 
#42 ·
Update: it's a bad ETM, as you guys predicted. Potentiometers were locking open at 20deg (vice 5), causing the car to freak out and cut fuel. It's headed to Xemodex tomorrow and should be back on the road in a couple of days.

It lasted 81,000 miles and then fails 65 minutes after I buy it -- what awesome timing... at least I should be good for a while. Welcome to Volvo right?





Yeah for sure -- is there a good cars & coffee you like to go to?
 
#45 ·
you're gonna need a bigger glass....!!
 
#46 · (Edited)
New V70R troubleshooting

Katie's is in Grest Falls.

Congrats on the caR. Honestly that model year is what I alway wanted. As far as price you will get your money's worth out of it much more than you will some new Honda plus all the spirited driving you will do. Nothing wrong with pay a premium if it's what you want.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
#47 · (Edited)
A few questions I've assembled as I knock out more of my Volvo homework. Disclaimer: I've poured over Swedespeed and the larger Volvo community for hours over the last few days (and prior to my purchase) so I wouldn't ask anything that couldn't be answered with a quick forum search. With that said, apologies if I'm covering old ground and I'd love to be pointed in the direction of some solid resources that I may have overlooked.

- why does everyone appear to prefer the XC70 front grille vice the correct one? Purely aesthetic or is there a functional advantage I'm overlooking?

- why was the 2000 V70R so limited? I assume because the P2 was ready to go and Volvo was already re-tooling production?

- vinyl wraps don't seem particularly popular; is that more reflective of a generally older community or is there some other Volvo taboo/cultural reason?

- the Subaru and Mitsubishi communities are fanatic about their AWD; why is it seen as a weakness by so many V70R owners/tuners? (Not just here on SS; common in EU to go perma-FWD from what I understand). Let's face it -- these are fun, charismatic cars, but not high performance cars... is the performance improvement really that dramatic when you shed a hundred pounds of vestigial AWD equipment? Enough to outweigh the convenience/safety of AWD performance in poor conditions?

- Angle Gear. In the Rover community there was an utter fear from outsiders of Rover V8 head-gaskets. The zeitgeist was that they're all gonna fail immediately -- but the reality was far more nuanced and only applied to a very specific set of motors. Is this something I need to watch closely? At intervals? Just f'ing replace immediately under the assumption it's going to fail?

- Volvo made so many engines in so many different configurations. What are the big takeaways a Volvo noob (but not a car noob) needs to know? Here's my understanding: 2000 2.4L was a one-off motor w/higher compression, bigger turbo, and larger injectors -- with a 5 speed vice 4 transmission and electronic throttle (prone to failure). Before was a 2.3L? Why did the the 2000 variant of the 2.4 die? Was it the intro of the P2?

- 740 wagons are the prettiest wagons, IMO; why aren't there more on the road?

- IPD... it seems like this vendor is controversial. Why?

Appreciate your comments and insight. I'm sure I'll have more.
 
#48 · (Edited)
- why does everyone appear to prefer the XC70 front grille vice the correct one? Purely aesthetic or is there a functional advantage I'm overlooking?
Everyone thinks the eggcrate grille looks better, although I think that's partly due to the fact that chromed plastic of the waterfall doesn't age as well. I'm sure the eggcrate flows better too.

- why was the 2000 V70R so limited? I assume because the P2 was ready to go and Volvo was already re-tooling production?
I don't think those production numbers are correct judging from the patterns I see in the market.

- vinyl wraps don't seem particularly popular; is that more reflective of a generally older community or is there some other Volvo taboo/cultural reason?
Why? Volvo paint is really good.

- the Subaru and Mitsubishi communities are fanatic about their AWD; why is it seen as a weakness by so many V70R owners/tuners? (Not just here on SS; common in EU to go perma-FWD from what I understand). Let's face it -- these are fun, charismatic cars, but not high performance cars... is the performance improvement really that dramatic when you shed a hundred pounds of vestigial AWD equipment? Enough to outweigh the convenience/safety of AWD performance in poor conditions?
Uh....it's more like 500-600 lb. So yeah. Modern tires make AWD obsolete in bad weather, too. FWD with a LSD is the way. Ask ScottishBrick about driving circles around 4x4 trucks in his T5a on his Nokian winter tires.

- Angle Gear. In the Rover community there was an utter fear from outsiders of Rover V8 head-gaskets. The zeitgeist was that they're all gonna fail immediately -- but the reality was far more nuanced and only applied to a very specific set of motors. Is this something I need to watch closely? At intervals? Just f'ing replace immediately under the assumption it's going to fail?
Head gaskets don't usually fail. These engines don't take kindly to having the head taken on and off over and over again so don't do it unless you have a good reason. If you ever have the experience of tightening a head bolt on one of these cars, you'll feel why. Torque to yield steel bolts....into aluminum.....and you can really feel the yield.

- Volvo made so many engines in so many different configurations. What are the big takeaways a Volvo noob (but not a car noob) needs to know? Here's my understanding: 2000 2.4L was a one-off motor w/higher compression, bigger turbo, and larger injectors -- with a 5 speed vice 4 transmission and electronic throttle (prone to failure). Before was a 2.3L? Why did the the 2000 variant of the 2.4 die? Was it the intro of the P2?
the B5244T2 is basically a LPT engine with a 8½:1 compression head. Same compression as every other HPT engine. So imagine you took a block out of a XC threw a T5 head on, put it together with the transmission from the base NA cars and then bolted up a 19T and said you built something cool. That's a 2000 V70R in a nutshell. 2000 did get better engine management (yes it's different from 99) and on paper is the best of the three years out of the box. Problem is that piece of paper is rather fragile lol.

The big takeaway is 81mm bore is the way for high boost applications.

- 740 wagons are the prettiest wagons, IMO; why aren't there more on the road?
Because they're 27-37 years old?

- IPD... it seems like this vendor is controversial. Why?
Because the stuff they make for these cars is mostly garbage. The RWD stuff was legit and then quality started falling hard. It's getting worse and worse as time goes by. Volvo's OEM go fast toys for P80 are way better than IPD's. Go look at my 850R and see what that tells you. Almost everything is out of the Volvo parts catalog.
 
#51 ·
The big takeaway is 81mm bore is the way for high boost applications.

Jared, can you please expound on this, i want to learn more and appreciate your knowledge
 
#55 ·
New V70R troubleshooting

I know you're kidding about that 855R picture. I cannot imagine.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#59 ·
It's just a little sad what they do to that poor car - an emerald R nonetheless.
 
#60 ·
yeah it really ticked me off at the time, it was a legitimately rare vehicle they totally trashed. Could have used an XC70 and dominated but that's not as "entertaining"
 
#62 ·
Small suggestion to dasgaswolf. You might consider creating an introduction thread that starts with a brief background, complies a link to and the photos from the previous owners "For Sale" thread, a link to the Jalopnik article, and so on. You could also edit the first post on this thread and ask a moderator to edit the title to whatever you'd like. It would sort of dispel the current, more negative connotation of the thread, "I paid top dollar for a P80 and it broke right away." Or maybe you don't care that much about the car's "online presence". It's your car and your thread. Just a suggestion.
 
#64 ·
it's a good idea -- threads like these are important points of provenance for any potential future owner. i know that i looked at every post of the PO here and anywhere else I could find evidence of the car (Instagram etc.) i certainly don't intend to obfuscate the fact that the ETM died on my drive home, but as this thread will likely grow beyond that ultimately minor issue maybe I should ask for a thread re-title and add some more details in the first post. thanks for the suggestion
 
#66 · (Edited)
My car once was hard to start when warmed up. VIDA scan shows coolant temperature sensor failure. Replaced it and problem is gone.
Well, of course the ETM on it has been replaced also, but before that incident.

The other time, starter is gone, and it becomed harder and harder to start. Replaced starter and it runs fine so far.

Hopefully I don't need to repair it again, as it got tranny error code on freeway..

This engine is quite solid and runs very well even in old age. The thing is for those well known quirks, people usually can't find knowledgeable person to fix it. Many shop doesn't have a VIDA dice. And dealership will charge a lot of course. If you can find a good guy or you can DIY, it is not hard to repair. Once those quirks are fixed, it could run to 200+k miles, that'd be 10 years to go.
 
#67 ·
Once those quirks are fixed, it could run to 200+k miles, that'd be 10 years to go.
Indeed, there is plenty of data to support the P80 as a reliable and long-lived platform; including the high mileage examples found here, in their multitudes.

But while reliability is so often a function of time, money, and interest invested in preventative maintenance, engineering can certainly tip the scales. To that extent I found the number of P80s existing in the world outside the Volvo enthusiast community to be a better bellwether of reliability in the lay conventional sense, i.e. operation sans meaningful maintenance.

Once my ETM is back from Xemodex, the Stage 0 efforts will be nearly complete (according to the incumbent service records) -- my only task over the next couple weeks will be fresh pads/rotors and a bleed. :thumbup:
 
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