Xc70 with galactic mileage - am I mad?

[bqf]

Looking for a new daily/snotter. 177,000 mile xc70 has popped up...

Should I? It's the diesel. Are they unburstable? I had a v70 that had done 130,000 and it was fresh as a daisy

[Jazzer77]

If its a manual with full history, confirmed timing & aux belt changes then I wouldn't worry too much.
Have heard the geartronic can give issues at higher mileages.

Is it a D5?

Edited by Jazzer77 on Saturday 17th May 18:28

[Buff Mchugelarge]

The way I see it,

If a cars made it to 150K miles + then it's got to have been looked after at some point. They don't get that far without at least some tlc ?

[wiliferus]

Any Geartronic of that vintage over about 100k is a ticking bomb.

[James_N]

If its cheap enough why not? Some of these go on for mega miles.

[Fartgalen]

Friend of mine's got a D5 Auto with 250,000 miles on. Drives fine.

[bqf]

It's a manual, thanks for the info. I reckon it's fairly bomb proof

[MG0o]

177k isnt that much really (or remotely galactic the moon is only 238k away), especially if it has been looked after, these days with modern cars 200k is the new 100k.
This aint the 80's no more

[nct001]

wiliferus said:

Any Geartronic of that vintage over about 100k is a ticking bomb.

Why... isn't this the same as the standard v70 automatic with a solenoid to allow sequential changes?



And most likely same as found in 5 series early A6 etc?

[wiliferus]

nct001 said:

wiliferus said:

Any Geartronic of that vintage over about 100k is a ticking bomb.

Why... isn't this the same as the standard v70 automatic with a solenoid to allow sequential changes?



And most likely same as found in 5 series early A6 etc?

Really useful info here -

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=126...

And here -
http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=381...

Edited by wiliferus on Saturday 17th May 20:32

[Spare tyre]

I sold my 406 with 330 on the clock, was still going perfectly, still is for the new owner

Buy on condition not mileage

[nct001]

wiliferus said:

Really useful info here -

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=126...

And here -
http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=381...

Edited by wiliferus on Saturday 17th May 20:32

It is the same box but with a solenoid... no reason additional failure... I buy these as a trader and like to know any factual reason why the geartronic is less reliable than standard auto?

[the_lone_wolf]

wiliferus said:

Any Geartronic of that vintage over about 100k is a ticking bomb.

A common myth regarding the P2 Volvo auto boxes...

With regular gearbox oil changes (that should have been specified by Volvo but weren't, which is the mistake) they are no less reliable than any other auto box

That's coming from a "galactic" mileage XC70 owner, bought with 122,000, now done another 8000 without incidence, and it's an auto

[wiliferus]

the_lone_wolf said:

With regular gearbox oil changes (that should have been specified by Volvo but weren't, which is the mistake) they are no less reliable than any other auto box

But surely that's the problem? If Volvo didn't specify oil changes, the average owner who knows diddly squat about mechanics etc will just service it as Volvo say, so a large proportion of them will have never had an oil change?

I'm only passing on the info I found when considering an S60 D5. The amount of info out there on gearbox problems was enough for me to strike it off the list.

[dave_s13]

Sample size of one but my previous v70 d5 auto had gearbox problems at 113k miles.

I'd still have another but would check carefully there are no problems. You need to drive the car for at least 30mins for the box to get to temp, only then will any problems let themselves known.

If it was all good then I would likely do a fluid change.

[bqf]

Thanks for the replies - this is a manual version though. Any engine problems at big miles?

[Morningside]

Dunno about the newer Volvos but older ones at this sort of mileage it will still be running in.

[wiliferus]

bqf said:

Thanks for the replies - this is a manual version though. Any engine problems at big miles?

You're laughing then. Great bit of kit. Get it on your drive.

[corvus]

nct001 said:

wiliferus said:

Really useful info here -

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=126...

And here -
http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=381...

Edited by wiliferus on Saturday 17th May 20:32

It is the same box but with a solenoid... no reason additional failure... I buy these as a trader and like to know any factual reason why the geartronic is less reliable than standard auto?

Interesting thread from that second link saying that changing the solenoid on the 'box cured the problem for a couple of people without changing the whole transmission.

I have an old copy of Car Mechanics magazine where a guy wrote in as an S60 owner saying that 'the problems with these gearboxes is caused by two main things, one being irregular oil changes and the software that Volvo used incorporating the 'stop neutral' function'.

'The gearboxes contain linear solenoids which are magnetic, and if the oil isn't changed, then any metal particles in the oil will stick to the solenoids which causing them to jam up, leading to harsh shifting and flaring. But if you change the fluid regularly and either clean or replace the solenoids(which can be bought for £250) the changes are smooth'.

The guy also said that 'you need to go to a Volvo dealers for a software upgrade, which smoothes out the changes, alters the speeds at which the gearbox changes down, and also removes the 'stop neutral' function which even Volvo admitted was a bad move in the first place'.

I don't know how true any of this is and I'm not a Volvo owner, but I like to keep informed on future purchases. I do wonder how many gearboxes could have been saved with these procedures instead of replacing the whole transmission, which, according to another thread in that link, are used in other manufacturers models with no problems. The difference? Regular oil changes in the service schedule.

[the_lone_wolf]

wiliferus said:

But surely that's the problem? If Volvo didn't specify oil changes, the average owner who knows diddly squat about mechanics etc will just service it as Volvo say, so a large proportion of them will have never had an oil change?

I'm only passing on the info I found when considering an S60 D5. The amount of info out there on gearbox problems was enough for me to strike it off the list.

Your loss, the gearbox and engine suit each other better than the manual IMO having owned both...

Unless you're having problems already with a high mileage gearbox, picking one up and then beginning good maintenance will have no perceivable impact on the likelihood of problems or the longevity of the box - there isn't any "hidden damage" occurring before the symptoms begin

wiliferus said:

bqf said:

Thanks for the replies - this is a manual version though. Any engine problems at big miles?

You're laughing then.

Until the clutch/DMF/slave cylinder get replaced...

By the mileage quoted it should have been done once, but while it's a big and expensive job in isolation, over the lifetime of the clutch it's peanuts...

Great cars, you'll love it I'm sure