• Failz' P2 Chassis Volvo Guide (Reuploaded for archival)
    6 replies, posted
IMPORTANT PLEASE READ: This thread is a copy / modification of my original ranty ass post that I kept going on old-punch, but now with it's own thread for archival reasons as I realized it was a pain in the ass to find this specific post. Although this was originally written for the Pre-facelift (2000-2004) V70 2.4t, much of it will apply to other P2 chassis vehicles as the internals are basically identical. Much of it will sound like it's written for the V70 as such. https://files.facepunch.com/forum/upload/109874/c13c2db6-084b-4b47-afdb-f10a58cbf339/image.png Vehicle tag listfor easy forum searching (as in, this applies to more or less): - V70 (1990s - 2007) (Most engine variants) - S60 (1990s - 2007) (Most engine variants) - R variants of above - V70XC / V70 Cross Country - S70* (probably) - 850 (Not confirmed although being its predecessor and similar its likely) (Most important info and words are highlighted. Probably.) - You will be replacing front control arms on the p2 variants at slightly regular intervals. If you figure out you've got one failing, replace it ASAP lest you enjoy steering wheel tugs and yanks. - What they said about bleeding the brakes is true. Mine have a bit of air in them and it hisses whenever you step on them. Doooo it. - Expect to replace the upper engine mount. If you've got a metric ratchet set it's fairly easy unless you've got downs like me and do it in the middle of the worst snow storm of the year at 6 am without a breaker bar. Seriously though, if you can get your hands on a breaker bar, USE IT. (Seriously though with the right tools, its literally easier in some regards than changing the oil (as far as not needing to jack the car or go under it). - Lots of peripherals and subsystems make use of plastic parts. A decade or two and engine bay heat will turn that shit more brittle than a windshield about to be hit by porcelain chips. Big ones include the coolant tank, power steering reservoir, and especially the headlight connectors. Fortunately replacements are fairly cheap and plentiful and the headlight connectors if broken will work just fine by sliding the now-separated prong sockets onto the bulb's prongs. Also, the power steering reservoir will likely crack like mine and begin seeping fluid. Get this replaced and the fluid changed, because the steering wheel is butter smooth when it's all said and done. - Heavy use of rubber in some areas. Most control arms fail due to the rubber used in them becoming similar to chalk. Upper engine mount will fail due to the same problem. Thankfully it's non critical. - Change the transmission fluid if you can't find any history of it being done. As said earlier, it needs to be done several times to fully clean it. Failure to do so will cause janky shifting at times which with a dead upper engine mount becomes painful at times. - Gauge cluster failures are more common than in many other cars due to shotty soldering (thanks a lot asia...). Thankfully replacement is piss easy and only requires a couple of torx screwdrivers. You don't even have to open up the dash board. Be warned, sometimes the mileage shown on the dash will change with the cluster. On mine I went from ~170k miles to ~165k although that may be due to some ebay seller nonsense. - Always always always always ALWAYS change the oil to synthetic, and at every 5k miles. The Turbo will thank you and the car feels waaaay smoother as a result. https://files.facepunch.com/forum/upload/109874/18628c32-e4e9-4351-ad02-1a11a229bb86/image.png - Model years 2000-2002 have a reputation for being "problem years" and have some issues with electrics and most notably transmission funk. Apparently there's like a weird solenoid or valve thing that is prone to crapping out (moreso with old fluid) causing the weirdness with shifting. I believe my car probably has this. Also, don't believe the "ul keel ur trans man!" meme, because if that happens I got bad news man: It was already on it's way out. - Model years >2004 supposedly had changes to the radio which makes it difficult if not impossible to perfectly swap it (related to the amplifier or something). The control knobs on mine got fried by an alternator failure from the previous owner but regular buttons and the steering wheel stuff still works so I'm thankful I can swap if it gets worse. - Apparently the "low pressure turbo" is capable of putting out quite a bit more pressure if needed for ecu tunes. - Somewhere in between 2003 and 2005 they started putting out 2.5t variants with a tad bit more horsepower to put them over the 200hp mark. Check the badging. - If you plan on tuning a 2000 ish or newer, expect bad times and empty wallets. Home grown tuning doesn't really exist for these like the older ones so you'll either need to dyno tune it from people specializing in volvos or buy kits off the net from people like Hilton Tuning or ARD. Good news is though that you can put some wack ass numbers out up to 300 ish or more if you're willing to do some other mods. https://files.facepunch.com/forum/upload/109874/a7eabe25-f71d-414b-a7dc-717ef59734b6/image.png Clunk when shifting D/R/P/N/etc.: Engine mount is dead, possibly transmission silliness. Mysterious black goop all over on the left side: Power steering tank is cracked. Takes two hands to crank the damn wheel at low speed and is noisy as all hell: See above. Weird dash squeaks with any amount of fan: Worn blower fan bearings. Not worth fixing imo. Warning light for trunk being open when turning on defrosters: LOL mine does this but idk why. Doesn't seem to be a problem. Generally hard shifting while driving (not when moving the stick): Fluid likely needs changing, possible transmission silliness related to that solenoid or whatever. Engine bay sounds comparable to a swarm of angry clicky typewriters: This is just what happens with the injectors and what not with age. Nothing bad. X window wont open or gets stuck regularly: Don't remember what specifically causes this but it was mentioned in an earlier response and is just something you'll live with like me (driver's window). Vents smell like honey or a sweet substance while running: Coolant leak somewhere bro. Possibly in the heater core. SRS light: Someone either fucked with the battery and did some silly nonsense or the gauge got swapped. Likely hood of the airbags actually being shot is low. Can be reset with a somewhat expensive $100 something USD OBD2 scanner / debug / diagnostics tool. AFAIK there is only a few specific ones that can do this. I got it for inspection reasons. Notable turbo lag at times: Either normal operation or if exceptionally bad from dirty air filters. Steering wheel squeaks loudly at certain points of rotation: Bushing failure at point point of the shaft. Not a really big issue, supposedly can be replaced with ease (as i'm told). Probably won't cause any issue if not touched. Floor mats are always wet on the driver's side: Heater core connections are busted, needs replacement of the entire unit. Not a huge issue, can be done by yourself somewhat easily if you aren't a retard. General comments: Can be decently sporty for a wagon and when upgraded makes for a sick sleeper. Stick to the turbo versions. Avoid the cross country version as the AWD system is prone to complete failure (will still FWD usually though). The front seats are the most comfortable seats I have ever and probably will ever sit in hands down as far as cars go. I seriously recommend the wagon over the sedan version because you only gain like a hundred pounds and have a seriously good amount of storage space. Keep your filters (especially air) clean, because dirty filters choke the engine harder than a neck beard chokes his chicken. Don't floor it constantly, because the i5 is a hella hungry demon when under hard acceleration. Also, expect hardcore turbo lag from standstills if you atom bomb the pedal. Get mudflaps if you can, because the rear wheels like to kick up stuff and my rear bumper is suffering from paint chips as a result. If you keep the trunk empty expect it to let loose under hard fast turns. Lots of people bitch about turning radius and there is some truth to that, because it will let you down hard when you need a tight radius most. Useful youtube stuff: Robert DIY - Your god for fixing literally anything. Focuses namely on the 850's but much of it applies to the P2. Scotty Kilmer - Not a volvo guy but he's got plenty of fun info on car stuff and has been around so long he knows what it's like to do an oil change on a flintstone mobile. TL:DR: Would I recommend it? Probably. Just keep in mind that old birds have their aging pains. Don't settle for anything other than the best example you can find in your market given a price point and also, a lot of things are easy to do yourself and under no circumstances should you pay someone to do it unless you really really hate your wallet. Stick to that and you should be good.
I have fully committed to getting a 2006~ V70R. This will be valuable info.
Not having any issues yet in my 2005 S60 D5 so far, though to be honest I don't know what's normal or not. The steering wheel is indeed hard to turn, nearly requiring two hands and sometimes easy as hell to turn (even when stopped), especially when I compare it to the old berlingo, though I'm noticing no noise. Is it normal? The manual shifter feels a bit stiff, almost slow to press into the gear, again, much harder when I compare it to the berlingo. Is this the transmission fluid that needs replacing or is it normally like this? Also, at what RPM does the turbo kick in? How do I know when it has? I can't tell if it lags or not as this is my first time ever driving a car with a turbo. Also I'm also getting that drivers window issue lol. It only works on auto mode, otherwise it stops halfway and then doesn't go up or down anymore. Thanks for this guide though, this is awesome!
On my on my car and keep in mind I have the 2.4 l with the low pressure Turbo it really goes ham at about 3,500 RPM. Like no joke right on the dot it basically goes oh hey warmode now.
Ah right. I don't rev it that high normally so I'll give it a try. Just checked my power steering fluid and the levels seem fine. There's a bit of goop on the top thing next to it though, at the top of the accessory belt, is that the power steering pump? Is it normal? Also, how hard is it for you to shift? I'm not sure if this is a lot of resistance or not from the shifter
Mines an autopotato. Trust me, hard or not the auto and geartronic are a million times worse. Honest to god the worst part of the p2 chassis is the gearboxes as the auto is kinda wack on the shifting abd the geartronic has reliability issues.
Can't seem to find the stick, I'll try and go to my local mechanic and ask if he can just check it all over, it might interest him with the guarantee and all
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