Comfy Volvo Content
Discussion
Shakermaker said:
Definitely an appealing choice for my next car, and plenty seem to appear in my price bracket. Very few are the T5 or T6 models though, which is a shame, though I'm sure the D5 would be more than ideal for my needs..
Unless an average of 28 mpg makes you cry, I can emphatically recommend the T5; I love mine. Stedman said:
28mpg isn't too bad considering the engine, weight etc.
What do the diesels do real world? My parents are looking at these as a stop gap
I don't know as I don't do the devil's fuel, but someone here will know. Regardless of engine though, the V70 in general is a really decent car. What do the diesels do real world? My parents are looking at these as a stop gap
Stedman said:
CharlesdeGaulle said:
Unless an average of 28 mpg makes you cry, I can emphatically recommend the T5; I love mine.
28mpg isn't too bad considering the engine, weight etc.What do the diesels do real world? My parents are looking at these as a stop gap
Anyway, we made it to our hotel and it's very nice. It took 4hrs to get from Southampton to the tunnel due to several crashes on the M25 and then it took 4hrs to get from the tunnel to the hotel due to my darling fiancé taking us to the wrong hotel and onto the peripherique at rush hour. I was not amused. I twigged as we past the Stade de France. It should have been around 6hrs driving, but ended up about 8...
Car was exceptional. Ran very well all the way and as mentioned averaged 38mpg. Sat most of the France bit till Paris at 130kph. Total journey was around 360 miles. I love those seats.
Only photo taken in France. FUN radio and pepsi max. What more do you need for a roadtrip?
Edited by S100HP on Friday 19th October 22:19
Fin. 720 miles door to door, average speed of 31mph and averaged 37.5mpg.
The return journey was much smoother than the outbound. Left Paris at 1100 this morning, stopped in Amiens for around 90mins to stretch the legs and look round the cathedral. 1720 train and back in Southampton at 1930. 3h40 mins in France, 2h30 mins in UK. Bit better than the 8+hrs on the way!
Cathedral was nice
As was this C6 on the tunnel. Still want one. This one had been to Germany.
Volvo was faultless for the whole journey. Really pleased with it, and glad I had the work done last week. Only complaint is that it was pulling to the right in France. Once back in the UK that had gone, something to do with the roads?
The return journey was much smoother than the outbound. Left Paris at 1100 this morning, stopped in Amiens for around 90mins to stretch the legs and look round the cathedral. 1720 train and back in Southampton at 1930. 3h40 mins in France, 2h30 mins in UK. Bit better than the 8+hrs on the way!
Cathedral was nice
As was this C6 on the tunnel. Still want one. This one had been to Germany.
Volvo was faultless for the whole journey. Really pleased with it, and glad I had the work done last week. Only complaint is that it was pulling to the right in France. Once back in the UK that had gone, something to do with the roads?
Boring update time if anyone is interested. Volvo seems to take life in its stride shocker. It just does everything so well without fuss, which I appreciate.
After our French trip I decided it deserved a quick clean, which is exactly what I did. Unfortunately I came home from work the following day and found it covered in concrete dust due to next door having a slab laid. Very grumpy, so I had to give it another clean. Had a bit more time so went to town on it. Wash, polish and waxed. Ready for winter. You'll note my bodged exterior trim repair is still holding too. Great success.
Now, anyone who's owned a Volvo of this vintage will be aware of the next issue. They blow bulbs for fun. Unfortunately mine did it the other evening when I had a 30 mile cross forest drive to do. I now carry spares, but I couldn't change it in the dark. I tried, just couldn't get it unclipped correct. The following morning it became apparent why, I'd unclipped the wrong end of the spring and it got tangled up. I only worked this out after the brainwave of using my camera to show me what was going on. Managed to get it replaced anyway.
This brings me to today. Ever since the work on the mounts I'd complained of more nosie in the cabin and a graunchy noise when rotating the wheel. A little investigation lead me to learn that there is a plastic ring located in the shaft as shown below. Mine had worked loose. A bit of prodding confirmed that when "home" the engine noise was reduced, so I set about fitting it correctly, which was as easy as you'd imagine.
And once fitted
I also covered the joint in spray grease to be doubly sure. Bliss, the graunchy noise was gone, but the difference it's made to the engine noise inside the car is incredible. It's practically silent now. I wish I'd investigated before we went to France, as my main issue was the noise which I called a lack of refinement. It's totally different now. I've no idea how it works, it's probably magic, but I don't care! So happy right now.
And that is where we are now, up to date. Another 500 miles or so and we can join the 150k club. I took this to celebrate, which caused an argument about sun simulation. There are some weird people about.
After our French trip I decided it deserved a quick clean, which is exactly what I did. Unfortunately I came home from work the following day and found it covered in concrete dust due to next door having a slab laid. Very grumpy, so I had to give it another clean. Had a bit more time so went to town on it. Wash, polish and waxed. Ready for winter. You'll note my bodged exterior trim repair is still holding too. Great success.
Now, anyone who's owned a Volvo of this vintage will be aware of the next issue. They blow bulbs for fun. Unfortunately mine did it the other evening when I had a 30 mile cross forest drive to do. I now carry spares, but I couldn't change it in the dark. I tried, just couldn't get it unclipped correct. The following morning it became apparent why, I'd unclipped the wrong end of the spring and it got tangled up. I only worked this out after the brainwave of using my camera to show me what was going on. Managed to get it replaced anyway.
This brings me to today. Ever since the work on the mounts I'd complained of more nosie in the cabin and a graunchy noise when rotating the wheel. A little investigation lead me to learn that there is a plastic ring located in the shaft as shown below. Mine had worked loose. A bit of prodding confirmed that when "home" the engine noise was reduced, so I set about fitting it correctly, which was as easy as you'd imagine.
And once fitted
I also covered the joint in spray grease to be doubly sure. Bliss, the graunchy noise was gone, but the difference it's made to the engine noise inside the car is incredible. It's practically silent now. I wish I'd investigated before we went to France, as my main issue was the noise which I called a lack of refinement. It's totally different now. I've no idea how it works, it's probably magic, but I don't care! So happy right now.
And that is where we are now, up to date. Another 500 miles or so and we can join the 150k club. I took this to celebrate, which caused an argument about sun simulation. There are some weird people about.
Small update from me to me it seems...
Went to Costco. Stocked up for Brexit with 102 tins of beans, 20kg of porridge, 10000 tea bags, 20kg of ketchup and 20kg of HP brown sauce. Stanced yo!
Thankfully the Nivomats work and raised the arse whilst in transit. Very clever stuff actually:
It’s a little known fact that many Volvos have self-leveling rear suspension equipped from the factory. Most owners are unaware of this system as it is fully self-contained and has no external parts such as a compressor or air lines. The Nivomat self-leveling system that Volvo uses is designed and manufactured by Sachs/Boge. The heart of the system is the Nivomat self-leveling shock which works in conjunction with a lightweight coil spring. In simple terms, the Nivomat shock pumps itself up to normal ride height when loaded. For example, if you put a couple of hundred pounds in the trunk or cargo area of your wagon, the back will sag down a couple of inches. It will stay this way until you begin driving. As you drive, the normal movement of the suspension will gradually raise the rear of your car to the normal height, usually within a mile or two.
Once unloaded it looked like a lifted XC70, but soon settled back down. As I said, its a clever system, but it is expensive when they need replacing!
Along with stocking up for Brexit I took an old dining room and 4 chairs to the dump. My life really is thrilling. I've also just had the power steering fluid replaced as I noticed it was full of red ATF fluid, which is not recommend apparently. Something to do with killing the rack. I've no idea how long it had been in there, but thought it worth replacing it with CHF11s fluid which is green. Probably too late to undo any damage that may have been done, but feel better knowing it is correct.
See, thrilling.
Went to Costco. Stocked up for Brexit with 102 tins of beans, 20kg of porridge, 10000 tea bags, 20kg of ketchup and 20kg of HP brown sauce. Stanced yo!
Thankfully the Nivomats work and raised the arse whilst in transit. Very clever stuff actually:
It’s a little known fact that many Volvos have self-leveling rear suspension equipped from the factory. Most owners are unaware of this system as it is fully self-contained and has no external parts such as a compressor or air lines. The Nivomat self-leveling system that Volvo uses is designed and manufactured by Sachs/Boge. The heart of the system is the Nivomat self-leveling shock which works in conjunction with a lightweight coil spring. In simple terms, the Nivomat shock pumps itself up to normal ride height when loaded. For example, if you put a couple of hundred pounds in the trunk or cargo area of your wagon, the back will sag down a couple of inches. It will stay this way until you begin driving. As you drive, the normal movement of the suspension will gradually raise the rear of your car to the normal height, usually within a mile or two.
Once unloaded it looked like a lifted XC70, but soon settled back down. As I said, its a clever system, but it is expensive when they need replacing!
Along with stocking up for Brexit I took an old dining room and 4 chairs to the dump. My life really is thrilling. I've also just had the power steering fluid replaced as I noticed it was full of red ATF fluid, which is not recommend apparently. Something to do with killing the rack. I've no idea how long it had been in there, but thought it worth replacing it with CHF11s fluid which is green. Probably too late to undo any damage that may have been done, but feel better knowing it is correct.
See, thrilling.
Well it's been a since I purchased the XC70. It has now done 151k, meaning I've covered 10k this last year. Very little to report, it's still giving sterling family service.
It has probably cost me around £1000 in maintenance in that time (fag packet calculation) but this includes items that won't need doing again for some time, including engine mounts and cambelt.
He is to another year.
It has probably cost me around £1000 in maintenance in that time (fag packet calculation) but this includes items that won't need doing again for some time, including engine mounts and cambelt.
He is to another year.
Stedman said:
Apologies as I haven't read back through the thread, but did you do the aux belt at the same time as the cambelt?
Yes, and the water pump. Will probably stick some new discs and pads this year along with a new set of tyres. I've run winter tyres since purchase as they were cheap, but they're also old.
Edited by S100HP on Sunday 20th January 17:54
I appreciate this thread isn't the most riveting on Pistonheads, but I find it useful to keep it updated and see where I'm at. So where am I at?
Well I'm just about 13 months of ownership now, and over the last 4/5 months I have had a bit of a challenge with starting. Well I say a challenge, it would always start, just sometimes took a few seconds of cranking over. I may have mentioned it before but a battery tester showed the battery to be around 85% so I went down the fuel filter route and had it changed. Cold starting was a bit better and I just put it down to "one of those things". More recently it has been bugging me again so I bit the bullet and purchased a new Platinum Prestige battery for £100. When did batteries get so expensive?!
Anyway, I fitted it the other night. You might not know, but the battery in a V/XC70 is located in the boot. Out with the pushchair, the boot protector, the boot tray and located with the spare wheel was the original 12 year old battery!
New one was plugged in (just a couple of 10mm bolts) and it now starts on the button each time. I should have just purchased it last year when I noticed the issue!
Next up is the rear lights. It's taken me 13 months, but I noticed my rear lights are different! Clearly one has been replaced at some point.
It turns out the one on the left is a 01-04 tail light, and the one on the right a 05-07. Off to eBay and I purchased the correct rear light for £12 so I now have a matching set of 05-07 lights, although I am yet to fit it.
Finally it's MOT time soon. It is due by the end of March. We are now on 152k and I reckon it might need the lower arm bushes replacing. Will find out in time. In the meantime I've been considering a change of car but really struggling to work out what to replace it with, it just does everything well but part of me fancies a newer car, I've just no idea what!
Well I'm just about 13 months of ownership now, and over the last 4/5 months I have had a bit of a challenge with starting. Well I say a challenge, it would always start, just sometimes took a few seconds of cranking over. I may have mentioned it before but a battery tester showed the battery to be around 85% so I went down the fuel filter route and had it changed. Cold starting was a bit better and I just put it down to "one of those things". More recently it has been bugging me again so I bit the bullet and purchased a new Platinum Prestige battery for £100. When did batteries get so expensive?!
Anyway, I fitted it the other night. You might not know, but the battery in a V/XC70 is located in the boot. Out with the pushchair, the boot protector, the boot tray and located with the spare wheel was the original 12 year old battery!
New one was plugged in (just a couple of 10mm bolts) and it now starts on the button each time. I should have just purchased it last year when I noticed the issue!
Next up is the rear lights. It's taken me 13 months, but I noticed my rear lights are different! Clearly one has been replaced at some point.
It turns out the one on the left is a 01-04 tail light, and the one on the right a 05-07. Off to eBay and I purchased the correct rear light for £12 so I now have a matching set of 05-07 lights, although I am yet to fit it.
Finally it's MOT time soon. It is due by the end of March. We are now on 152k and I reckon it might need the lower arm bushes replacing. Will find out in time. In the meantime I've been considering a change of car but really struggling to work out what to replace it with, it just does everything well but part of me fancies a newer car, I've just no idea what!
Edited by S100HP on Wednesday 20th February 09:12
I'm pretty sure you did the replacement?
S100HP said:
Another small job ticked off the list. Replacement rear light as old had a small crack, water ingress and the led strip that you can see from side on didn't work. The only replacement I found was £95 on eBay, but a post on the XC70 owners club yielded a replacement unit for £15, including postage!
A pig of a job to fit with trim being removed left right and centre but happy now it's back together.
Before
After
A pig of a job to fit with trim being removed left right and centre but happy now it's back together.
Before
After
S100HP said:
Next up is the rear lights. It's taken me 13 months, but I noticed my rear lights are different! Clearly one has been replaced at some point.
Edited by bangerturner on Wednesday 20th February 10:09
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff