[capt jack]

Thanks Dave. Yes, I'm going to change the oil every 5,000 come what may, and use a Mann filter. Previously the car had been serviced by Volvo, with every serviced from new recorded. But at just 89,000 when I bought it, that's only 4,500 per year, and I reckon it's probably suffered from under-use a bit. However, I'd like to keep it for a good long time, so a 5k interval with fully-synth 5w-30 is what it'll get from here on. I'll try the ATF trick too, although the top end doesn't really rattle at all now.

The other thing I've "cured" is the squeaky front suspension. A squirt of PTFE spray on the wishbone bushes, and on the ARB ones as well, seems to have sorted it. I'm going to get some poly bushes for the ARB though, as the originals certainly don't look to be in good shape. The bushes themselves are not available from Volvo, but there is a SuperFlex alternative listed. The car has a hefty 24mm ARB, the bushes for which look to be a special order from Superflex.

But it's a fabulous car!

Sadly I managed to clip the rear bumper on a low gate post, but I'm sorting it out myself. The damage is very low down on the OSR quarter of the bumper, and well within my rattle-can capabilities.

Last on the list for now is a possible LPG conversion. I was made redundant last month, so the luxury of a 6-mile commute has been lost. Am starting a new job tomorrow but it's 25 miles away, so the fuel bill is going to climb a bit. I had a p1 V70 on LPG for 10 years and 250,000 miles, and so I'm perfectly happy with doing the same to the S90. I might just include a top-end lube kit though. The V70 had the 10v engine and was very happy on LPG, but this 24v beastie might just do a bit better with the lube kit. We shall see.

Cheers

Jack