Volvo XC70 D5 - yet more comfy bargeness
Discussion
That looks great in silver - gives all the plastic bits some contrast.
It's MOT time this week and with an unexpected day of pleasant weather - and not the forecast rain - a chance to give it a once over.
I like to get in the wheel arches to give everything a look, checking bushes, brakes, hoses, bearings, etc.
Whilst doing so I remembered that I didn't grab pics of the new springs and dampers I fitted back in Feb. These have done 8k miles and still look great after a rinse off. At the time I gave them a quick coat of BIlthamber, today I repeated this in prep for the winter salt.
Whilst the wheels are off an opportunity to give them a good scrub and check over the tread and inner sidewalls on the tyres:
And finally a wipe down of the engine bay. The chap I take my cars to for MOTs really appreciates a clean one, so I'm happy to make the small amount of effort for some MOT brownie points.
It's MOT time this week and with an unexpected day of pleasant weather - and not the forecast rain - a chance to give it a once over.
I like to get in the wheel arches to give everything a look, checking bushes, brakes, hoses, bearings, etc.
Whilst doing so I remembered that I didn't grab pics of the new springs and dampers I fitted back in Feb. These have done 8k miles and still look great after a rinse off. At the time I gave them a quick coat of BIlthamber, today I repeated this in prep for the winter salt.
Whilst the wheels are off an opportunity to give them a good scrub and check over the tread and inner sidewalls on the tyres:
And finally a wipe down of the engine bay. The chap I take my cars to for MOTs really appreciates a clean one, so I'm happy to make the small amount of effort for some MOT brownie points.
An oil change at 194k miles today - 7k miles since the last in May:
Hengst filter from GSF and Halfords branded (Comma) 5W40 Fully Synthetic was the order of the day. The filter is about £5 and 7L of oil is just over £35.
All done and dusted inside of 20mins using the vacuum method.
Hengst filter from GSF and Halfords branded (Comma) 5W40 Fully Synthetic was the order of the day. The filter is about £5 and 7L of oil is just over £35.
All done and dusted inside of 20mins using the vacuum method.
Faust66 said:
Tested my Cross Climate 2s on a very, very wet drive back from Scotland (Kinclochleven) earlier this week. I'm very impressed with them, and with my XC
A small amount of snow last weekend turned in to a week of frozen local B-roads - the Michelin CrossClimates and the XC system dealt with it all with minimal fuss. I'm very impressed with them too.Faust66 said:
How do you fund it runs on 5-30 oil?
I only ask as I use 0-30 as recommended by Volvo... I know some people use the thicker grade on higher mileage engines to allow for wear etc. Mine is now on 224k miles, so I was thinking about thicker oil on the next change which I'll be doing in the next couple thousand miles..
This is a very good point you've made here - I'm using 5W40 and have been since getting the car. I can't remember the reason why I choose this grade at the time, but you're right, Volvo now recommend 0W30 not just for the later twin-turbo D5s, but also the earlier single turbo units too.I only ask as I use 0-30 as recommended by Volvo... I know some people use the thicker grade on higher mileage engines to allow for wear etc. Mine is now on 224k miles, so I was thinking about thicker oil on the next change which I'll be doing in the next couple thousand miles..
On the next oil change I'll give 0W30 or 5W30 a go and report back any notable differences!
Three Years In
As January passed it marked three years of having the car in the house.
Carrying on from January 2022...
Servicing (parts required/worn out/at end of life)
Oil and filter change £40
N/S/R caliper (that's all four done!) £73
Rear tyres (pair) £195
Servicing (optional bits; could've left if just running as shed)
An optional oil and filter change £40
Rear springs and shocks £179
Car stood on 194k miles in January, meaning we'd covered 34,000 miles in the three years.
Total = £60/month or 9p/mile in maintenance.
A very cheap car to own/run, and a particularly cheap third year of ownership.
The start of the fourth year isn't looking as cheap...
As January passed it marked three years of having the car in the house.
Carrying on from January 2022...
TurboRob said:
Two Years In
All these are parts cost only as I do the work myself.
Servicing (parts required/worn out/at end of life)
2 x 'basic' services (oil changes, filters, etc) - it's about £80 a time for the bits, so £160 total.
Aux belt and tensioner, £80
Rear brakes, £90
Front brakes, £80
Rr droplinks, £40
O/S/F wheel bearing, £35
3 x brake calipers, £190
Tyres, £430
Total ~£1100
Servicing (optional bits; could've left if just running as shed)
2 x 'additional' services (oil changes, filters, etc) - it's about £80 a time for the bits, so £160 total.
Front suspension, £340
3 x engine mounts, £140
Front undertray, £45
Upgrades/tarting up, about £100
Total ~£800
Divide the above by the miles it's done in that time, or months owned, and it's cost buttons to run.
...I did another tot up of costs on the XC70. Add the below to the above for total ownership costs:All these are parts cost only as I do the work myself.
Servicing (parts required/worn out/at end of life)
2 x 'basic' services (oil changes, filters, etc) - it's about £80 a time for the bits, so £160 total.
Aux belt and tensioner, £80
Rear brakes, £90
Front brakes, £80
Rr droplinks, £40
O/S/F wheel bearing, £35
3 x brake calipers, £190
Tyres, £430
Total ~£1100
Servicing (optional bits; could've left if just running as shed)
2 x 'additional' services (oil changes, filters, etc) - it's about £80 a time for the bits, so £160 total.
Front suspension, £340
3 x engine mounts, £140
Front undertray, £45
Upgrades/tarting up, about £100
Total ~£800
Divide the above by the miles it's done in that time, or months owned, and it's cost buttons to run.
Servicing (parts required/worn out/at end of life)
Oil and filter change £40
N/S/R caliper (that's all four done!) £73
Rear tyres (pair) £195
Servicing (optional bits; could've left if just running as shed)
An optional oil and filter change £40
Rear springs and shocks £179
Car stood on 194k miles in January, meaning we'd covered 34,000 miles in the three years.
Total = £60/month or 9p/mile in maintenance.
A very cheap car to own/run, and a particularly cheap third year of ownership.
The start of the fourth year isn't looking as cheap...
One weekend in late Feb, the girlfriend mentioned that "something weird had happened to the clutch pedal" on the Volvo whilst reversing the car on to the drive a few days before. I had a look, to find the clutch pedal on the floor with no amount of pumping bringing it back. A quick bleed of the slave cylinder revealed this had failed - brake fluid was running from the telltale on the bellhousing every time the pedal was pressed.
The slave cylinder is a concentric type that sits over the input shaft of the gearbox - so it's a gearbox off job to replace. Gearbox off is not the work of a moment on these - a 5cyl engine with a six speed manual gearbox and the front diff/bevel gear assy on the back makes everything a squeeze - it's subframe off, along with engine mounts, coolant pipes off and steering rack out the way then lots of wiggling. With no evidence of a replacement clutch in the car's life, and a moderately noisy DMF at idle, I decided to replace both of these at the same time. A quick look around revealed this to be an expensive kit of bits - in the end a Volvo dealership with an online parts shop came up trumps with the kit, at £600 delivered. This was around £200 cheaper that sourcing aftermarket parts, separately.
It's a very comprehensive kit - with new flywheel and clutch bolts and 1L of brake fluid included too.
The kit arrived and sat in the boot of the car whilst I waited for the opportunity to do the job. The opportunity never arose and with no free weekends in the calendar we elected to get a local mechanic to do the job - he's well known locally and I've used him previously on another car for a smaller job. He initially thought he could do the job on the drive in a day, but in the end took two days at his unit. I think he put himself under a lot of pressure to finish the job - perhaps not wanting to annoy other customers who had jobs booked in - as upon returning the car he said he wasn't 100% happy with the job and wanted to spend more time checking and completing. He knows that I do a lot of my own work so he just billed me for what he'd done (the hard bit!) and I finished the job a couple of days later:
This was fine by me as I would have put the car on stands and done a spanner check for my own piece of mind anyway.
Inspection of the old bits showed a clutch plate with plenty of material left on it, and a clutch cover and flywheel in not too bad nick either:
Nice to see Volvo bits in there, and confirm they are all LUK made parts:
However the release bearing on the end of the slave cylinder had failed catastrophically - the ball bearings were loose, some jammed in the DMF and clutch cover, others rolling around the bottom of the bellhousing. The steel and plastic cage around the balls had more or less disintegrated:
This was marked Volvo and FTE, with a date stamp of 2008, so not original and clearly replaced at some point in the car's life. I suspect this ultimately failed quite quickly, but I wonder if something else exacerbated the failure such as clutch judder and/or lack of mechanical sympathy using the clutch.
The slave cylinder is a concentric type that sits over the input shaft of the gearbox - so it's a gearbox off job to replace. Gearbox off is not the work of a moment on these - a 5cyl engine with a six speed manual gearbox and the front diff/bevel gear assy on the back makes everything a squeeze - it's subframe off, along with engine mounts, coolant pipes off and steering rack out the way then lots of wiggling. With no evidence of a replacement clutch in the car's life, and a moderately noisy DMF at idle, I decided to replace both of these at the same time. A quick look around revealed this to be an expensive kit of bits - in the end a Volvo dealership with an online parts shop came up trumps with the kit, at £600 delivered. This was around £200 cheaper that sourcing aftermarket parts, separately.
It's a very comprehensive kit - with new flywheel and clutch bolts and 1L of brake fluid included too.
The kit arrived and sat in the boot of the car whilst I waited for the opportunity to do the job. The opportunity never arose and with no free weekends in the calendar we elected to get a local mechanic to do the job - he's well known locally and I've used him previously on another car for a smaller job. He initially thought he could do the job on the drive in a day, but in the end took two days at his unit. I think he put himself under a lot of pressure to finish the job - perhaps not wanting to annoy other customers who had jobs booked in - as upon returning the car he said he wasn't 100% happy with the job and wanted to spend more time checking and completing. He knows that I do a lot of my own work so he just billed me for what he'd done (the hard bit!) and I finished the job a couple of days later:
This was fine by me as I would have put the car on stands and done a spanner check for my own piece of mind anyway.
Inspection of the old bits showed a clutch plate with plenty of material left on it, and a clutch cover and flywheel in not too bad nick either:
Nice to see Volvo bits in there, and confirm they are all LUK made parts:
However the release bearing on the end of the slave cylinder had failed catastrophically - the ball bearings were loose, some jammed in the DMF and clutch cover, others rolling around the bottom of the bellhousing. The steel and plastic cage around the balls had more or less disintegrated:
This was marked Volvo and FTE, with a date stamp of 2008, so not original and clearly replaced at some point in the car's life. I suspect this ultimately failed quite quickly, but I wonder if something else exacerbated the failure such as clutch judder and/or lack of mechanical sympathy using the clutch.
Faust66 said:
Are you going to do the clutch yourself? I assume you are, but it's big job on one of these (mine had a clutch and flywheel done at 177k miles, I bought it with 221 showing).
Would be interested in seeing pics etc. That said, I would'tn DIY mine if I had to replace it: I'm getting a bit old to be changing clutches at the side of the road!
A big job with expensive part prices - easy to see why this job is generally quoted as £1500-2000 by garages. Would be interested in seeing pics etc. That said, I would'tn DIY mine if I had to replace it: I'm getting a bit old to be changing clutches at the side of the road!
TurboRob said:
Faust66 said:
How do you fund it runs on 5-30 oil?
I only ask as I use 0-30 as recommended by Volvo... I know some people use the thicker grade on higher mileage engines to allow for wear etc. Mine is now on 224k miles, so I was thinking about thicker oil on the next change which I'll be doing in the next couple thousand miles..
This is a very good point you've made here - I'm using 5W40 and have been since getting the car. I can't remember the reason why I choose this grade at the time, but you're right, Volvo now recommend 0W30 not just for the later twin-turbo D5s, but also the earlier single turbo units too.I only ask as I use 0-30 as recommended by Volvo... I know some people use the thicker grade on higher mileage engines to allow for wear etc. Mine is now on 224k miles, so I was thinking about thicker oil on the next change which I'll be doing in the next couple thousand miles..
On the next oil change I'll give 0W30 or 5W30 a go and report back any notable differences!
This contradicts the handbook, which suggests 0W-30:
But does then come with a table suggesting a change of grades is permissible for different climates:
Reassuring me of the use of 5W-40. Most notable was the ACEA specs (A3/B3/B4) and the statement that these requirements must be met irrespective of grade. I had been using A3/B3 spec oil so all good there too.
However I was keen to commonise the oil used across a couple of cars and set about seeing if the Volvo and Range Rover could use the same. Land Rover dictate the use of a 5W-30 C1 oil in the L322 TDV8, despite my version not having a DPF (C1 is a spec designed for cars with DPFs - it comes about by reducing the sulphur, ash and phosphate anti-wear additives which also happen to knacker DPFs. In place of the SAPs additives they use a more advanced set of anti-wear ingredients apparently).
Reading through the below, I convinced myself that I could run a C1 oil in the Volvo, in place of the A3/B3 specified:
Valvoline low saps lubricants
And so ordered 20L of it to do the Range Rover (9L) and Volvo (7L) from Smith and Allan. Buying in bulk like this gives significant cost benefits.
And gave it the usual vac oil change with new MANN filter.
Its MOT is due shortly, so gave the car it's usual annual checkover. The car's been on maternity leave with the girlf most of this year, so only covered 8k miles since the last. Coupled with the clutch change and work done with that earlier this year, I couldn't find the car wanting for anything so gave it a wash and a general spruce up to make it as presentable as possible for the test.
Fingers crossed for plain sailing.
Faust66 said:
Glad it's all sorted now.
How many miles do you reckon the original clutch lasted? My missus got 220k miles from her factory fitted clutch (she's had the car - 1999 V70 - for 19 years!).
I've just had a quick look on Clickmechanic: they quoted 893 quid for a clutch and DMF replacement on my 2007 P2 D5 XC70. Not as bad as I was expecting to be honest.
Forgot to mention: got a clean pass with no advisories when I MOT'd my car back in March. Very happy with that on a 2 grand car.
Sorry for missing this Faust! I think the clutch was original (194k miles) and found in the service history where the slave cylinder had been replaced just under three years old, covered by warranty. Presumably as it was a warranty job they replace the bare minimum (slave cylinder). How many miles do you reckon the original clutch lasted? My missus got 220k miles from her factory fitted clutch (she's had the car - 1999 V70 - for 19 years!).
I've just had a quick look on Clickmechanic: they quoted 893 quid for a clutch and DMF replacement on my 2007 P2 D5 XC70. Not as bad as I was expecting to be honest.
Forgot to mention: got a clean pass with no advisories when I MOT'd my car back in March. Very happy with that on a 2 grand car.
The wear on the clutch plates at 194k miles was minimal so I can see it easily going to that type of mileage, particularly if a cruiser rather than city or tow car. However what failed was the slave cylinder (catastrophically), and the DMF was not far behind - it rattled lightly on idle but once out had no resistance/springiness left.
Faust66 said:
Congratulations!
Apparently the rear ARB bushes are a pig to swap the 'proper way' as it involves dismantling a lot of bits to get the arm off the car (exhaust, one of the suspension struts etc.). There are also different size ARBs to contend with, so it's easy to order the wrong parts.
This thread might be of interest: https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=32...
My XC70 just went over 228k miles yesterday... barely run in (Volvo Cliché time).
Thanks Faust. Good intel on the ARB bushes - I will definitely be getting some aftermarket ones which are split, that I can slide over, rather than disassembling half the backend of the car.Apparently the rear ARB bushes are a pig to swap the 'proper way' as it involves dismantling a lot of bits to get the arm off the car (exhaust, one of the suspension struts etc.). There are also different size ARBs to contend with, so it's easy to order the wrong parts.
This thread might be of interest: https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=32...
My XC70 just went over 228k miles yesterday... barely run in (Volvo Cliché time).
S100HP said:
Such a great thread. Currently regretting selling mine a few years back. I think I'll be getting another one in the new year, parents are moving 300 miles away so want something more suitable for the journey. Can't decide if I get a very late P2 again, or a ropey P3. I think probably the latter.
Glad you're enjoying - your ownership thread was inspirational to this one. I'd probably do the same now as the P2's are getting a bit long in the tooth and looking like old cars. One thing I did spot for the MOT was a split tie-rod boot, and some corrosion/wear of the balljoint underneath:
(Images after penetration spray and cracking off the nut).
Quite the discrete tear. I suspect it happened during the clutch change earlier in the year. The tie rod that came off was original, so likely to have lasted indefinitely if it wasn't for the boot failure.
I sourced a repair kit from Volvo as couldn't be bothered with the GSF/Eurocarparts lottery on what would actually turn-up. The kit comes with a boot, clips and the tie-rod itself:
And cracked-out the trusty Laser 3829 tie-rod undoer, which makes a job like this painless:
Set the new tie-rod to the same length as the old one, screwed-in and nipped up the boot clips:
All done and dusted inside an hour, including the mandatory mid-way cup of tea and tidying up. I'll recheck the tracking when I have 20mins spare.
(Images after penetration spray and cracking off the nut).
Quite the discrete tear. I suspect it happened during the clutch change earlier in the year. The tie rod that came off was original, so likely to have lasted indefinitely if it wasn't for the boot failure.
I sourced a repair kit from Volvo as couldn't be bothered with the GSF/Eurocarparts lottery on what would actually turn-up. The kit comes with a boot, clips and the tie-rod itself:
And cracked-out the trusty Laser 3829 tie-rod undoer, which makes a job like this painless:
Set the new tie-rod to the same length as the old one, screwed-in and nipped up the boot clips:
All done and dusted inside an hour, including the mandatory mid-way cup of tea and tidying up. I'll recheck the tracking when I have 20mins spare.
klunkT5 said:
I've got to do my 2003 V70 D5 steering rack outer tie rods, Good to know theirs room to keep the track rod end in place and just wind the tie rod out of it.
Yeah I was expecting to need to break the balljoint and wind it off, but in the end plenty of room.keo said:
Hi Rob, great thread I have just read it all the way through. My dad gave me a V40 about 10 years ago. It was a good car and the load lugging ability was greatly appreciated at the time as I was moving into my first house.
Being young and into “sporty” cars I gave it a harsh time really. My mate picked me up in a xc90 on Friday and it made me really miss my Volvo and its heated seats! Funny how you appreciate things more as you get older.
I'm glad you're enjoying it and thanks for the feedback. When I don't use it for a while the first thing I notice is the distinct smell Volvo leather from this era has. Coupled with the comfy seats, great heating system and headlights, make it feel very welcoming this time of year.Being young and into “sporty” cars I gave it a harsh time really. My mate picked me up in a xc90 on Friday and it made me really miss my Volvo and its heated seats! Funny how you appreciate things more as you get older.
I rechecked the tracking on the front axle a couple of hundred miles after doing the inner tie rod. This time I went for the extremely quick Trackace method, which just gives total toe across the axle (and not the individual wheel toes the string method brings):
Just over 15' toe in:
The book figures are 12' +/- 6', so I'm just in. I've leave the tracking like this and assess tyre wear after a few thousand miles.
Just over 15' toe in:
The book figures are 12' +/- 6', so I'm just in. I've leave the tracking like this and assess tyre wear after a few thousand miles.
The mighty Ovlov continues to motor on, and has passed 4 years of ownership* and around 45k miles in our hands.
This particular bit claimed the lives of a few cars over the week or so it was flooded, most notably a newish RS6 that was abandoned in the middle of it for a while. On the same day the XC70 sailed on through.
Onwards!
- prompting me to do another annual tally of ownership costs, coming shortly.
This particular bit claimed the lives of a few cars over the week or so it was flooded, most notably a newish RS6 that was abandoned in the middle of it for a while. On the same day the XC70 sailed on through.
Onwards!
Four Years In
Another tot-up of running costs, averaged out over the period of ownership.
Picking up from January 2023...
Servicing (parts required/worn out/at end of life)
Oil and filter change £32
Clutch, flywheel, oil, slave cylinder, asso. bits and labour £1392
O/S/F trackrod end £35
Servicing (optional bits; could've left if just running as shed)
Some brighter headlamp bulbs £26
Car stands on 205k miles, meaning we've covered 45,000 miles in the four years of ownership.
Total over that period now rises to just over £80/month in maintenance average.
Another tot-up of running costs, averaged out over the period of ownership.
Picking up from January 2023...
TurboRob said:
Three Years In
As January passed it marked three years of having the car in the house.
Carrying on from January 2022...
Servicing (parts required/worn out/at end of life)
Oil and filter change £40
N/S/R caliper (that's all four done!) £73
Rear tyres (pair) £195
Servicing (optional bits; could've left if just running as shed)
An optional oil and filter change £40
Rear springs and shocks £179
Car stood on 194k miles in January, meaning we'd covered 34,000 miles in the three years.
Total = £60/month or 9p/mile in maintenance.
...and this year had a big spend in the name of clutch/flywheel change:As January passed it marked three years of having the car in the house.
Carrying on from January 2022...
TurboRob said:
Two Years In
All these are parts cost only as I do the work myself.
Servicing (parts required/worn out/at end of life)
2 x 'basic' services (oil changes, filters, etc) - it's about £80 a time for the bits, so £160 total.
Aux belt and tensioner, £80
Rear brakes, £90
Front brakes, £80
Rr droplinks, £40
O/S/F wheel bearing, £35
3 x brake calipers, £190
Tyres, £430
Total ~£1100
Servicing (optional bits; could've left if just running as shed)
2 x 'additional' services (oil changes, filters, etc) - it's about £80 a time for the bits, so £160 total.
Front suspension, £340
3 x engine mounts, £140
Front undertray, £45
Upgrades/tarting up, about £100
Total ~£800
Divide the above by the miles it's done in that time, or months owned, and it's cost buttons to run.
...I did another tot up of costs on the XC70. Add the below to the above for total ownership costs:All these are parts cost only as I do the work myself.
Servicing (parts required/worn out/at end of life)
2 x 'basic' services (oil changes, filters, etc) - it's about £80 a time for the bits, so £160 total.
Aux belt and tensioner, £80
Rear brakes, £90
Front brakes, £80
Rr droplinks, £40
O/S/F wheel bearing, £35
3 x brake calipers, £190
Tyres, £430
Total ~£1100
Servicing (optional bits; could've left if just running as shed)
2 x 'additional' services (oil changes, filters, etc) - it's about £80 a time for the bits, so £160 total.
Front suspension, £340
3 x engine mounts, £140
Front undertray, £45
Upgrades/tarting up, about £100
Total ~£800
Divide the above by the miles it's done in that time, or months owned, and it's cost buttons to run.
Servicing (parts required/worn out/at end of life)
Oil and filter change £40
N/S/R caliper (that's all four done!) £73
Rear tyres (pair) £195
Servicing (optional bits; could've left if just running as shed)
An optional oil and filter change £40
Rear springs and shocks £179
Car stood on 194k miles in January, meaning we'd covered 34,000 miles in the three years.
Total = £60/month or 9p/mile in maintenance.
Servicing (parts required/worn out/at end of life)
Oil and filter change £32
Clutch, flywheel, oil, slave cylinder, asso. bits and labour £1392
O/S/F trackrod end £35
Servicing (optional bits; could've left if just running as shed)
Some brighter headlamp bulbs £26
Car stands on 205k miles, meaning we've covered 45,000 miles in the four years of ownership.
Total over that period now rises to just over £80/month in maintenance average.
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