Decision time with my S60R

[Sean B]

Good afternoon,

My 2005 S60R GT (6sp) has reached a fork in the road. She is drinking coolant so I took her in and she failed a pressure test. Suspected gasket, or liners. Cost to fix is £1,943 (gasket), or worst case £3,200 (liners).

I was offered £1,000 today by a dealer who will unceremoneously cut the gearbox out :-( and that's it for the car.

She has 132,000 on the clock and the gearbox was reconditioned 2yrs ago by a specialist when I bought her.

This is the 6 speed auto model with the stronger angle gear also - which worked beautifully in the snow the other day!!. Would be a pity to break her.
Any advice for me??
Regards
Sean

[Lerichard]

A difficult position to be in and one with no right answer, but a few things to consider:
Can you afford the repairs?
What is the car worth at the moment vs. its value fully repaired and where does the balance sit when the cost of repair is factored in?
How much to you like the car?
What would you replace it with?
How much would you spend on a replacement?

The argument to keep and repair the car might not make financial sense, but nor does owning a S60R I suspect!

[IC]

Originally Posted by Sean B

Good afternoon,

My 2005 S60R GT (6sp) has reached a fork in the road. She is drinking coolant so I took her in and she failed a pressure test. Suspected gasket, or liners. Cost to fix is £1,943 (gasket), or worst case £3,200 (liners).

I was offered £1,000 today by a dealer who will unceremoneously cut the gearbox out :-( and that's it for the car.

She has 132,000 on the clock and the gearbox was reconditioned 2yrs ago by a specialist when I bought her.

This is the 6 speed auto model with the stronger angle gear also - which worked beautifully in the snow the other day!!. Would be a pity to break her.
Any advice for me??
Regards
Sean

Hi Sean, it may be worth contacting Tim Williams for advice (he's based near Coalville in Leicestershire).Tim has done a lot of work on Rs over the years and is very knowledgeable! - if the head gasket has gone or there is a chance of fitting liners Tim is a good man to advise you!

[Sean B]

Originally Posted by Lerichard

A difficult position to be in and one with no right answer, but a few things to consider:
Can you afford the repairs?
What is the car worth at the moment vs. its value fully repaired and where does the balance sit when the cost of repair is factored in?
How much to you like the car?
What would you replace it with?
How much would you spend on a replacement?

The argument to keep and repair the car might not make financial sense, but nor does owning a S60R I suspect!

Thank you Sir! Exactly right, especially the last sentence! I've turned down the offer, so she still has a future!

[Sean B]

Originally Posted by IC

Hi Sean, it may be worth contacting Tim Williams for advice (he's based near Coalville in Leicestershire).Tim has done a lot of work on Rs over the years and is very knowledgeable! - if the head gasket has gone or there is a chance of fitting liners Tim is a good man to advise you!

Thank you IC! I have contacted Tim Williams via facebook, no reply yet, will keep trying and keep this thead updated. My wife is not very happy that I turned down the offer yesterday - so I'm lying low at the moment LOL!

[harveys]

Any oil in the coolant as have known the oil cooler to fail at back of sump.
no coolant leaks near radiator . Did they do hydrocarbons test or just a pressure test.
Inside front carpets dry ?.

Has the car got a miss f
ire when started from cold, does the exhaust smell sweet on startup that's only if you have anti freeze in system.

[Sean B]

Originally Posted by harveys

Any oil in the coolant as have known the oil cooler to fail at back of sump.
no coolant leaks near radiator . Did they do hydrocarbons test or just a pressure test.
Inside front carpets dry ?.

Has the car got a miss f
ire when started from cold, does the exhaust smell sweet on startup that's only if you have anti freeze in system.

Hi Harveys,
- No oil in the coolant and the overflow tank is clean
- No coolant leaks anywhere, and I have replaced the cap
- No, the garage didn't do a hydrocarbons test
- Carpets dry
- No missfire, in fact she sounds perfect and can get up to full power
- Doesn't smell sweet on start up.

Since the R has a steel gasket, I'm pretty sure this must be liners.

[Sean B]

Update from me:

I threw in some K-seal Ultimate, idled for 30min. Took for a test drive the next day, and she is still drinking coolant, so the issue is almost definitely liners.

I don't want a project so if anyone is interested in buying my R, please let me know.
Points to consider with the car:
- Suspected split liner(s). But still drives and doesn't overheat. Needle stays in middle
- One bulb needs replacement which illuminates the climate control, folding mirror button
- She has a cloned ECU. I still have the original. She came with a bad tune, which I tried to remove, but ended up getting a cloned ECU from Shemtek
- The alloys are after market. Dealer insisted they are originals, but they are not in my opinion.
- Service history: A retired Volvo mechanic (25yrs with Volvo) has been doing my services.
- Has dual MPH/KMH dial. Online checks state she isn't imported, but why the dual dial?

Let me know - next step is ebay. £2,000 will be the minimum. If I can't achieve that I might wrap her up and fix in the future.

[Sean B]

Pic:Forum gallary pic.jpg

[Sean B]

I forgot to mention that the gearbox was reconditioned at a cost of £900 before I agreed to buy her.
The AWD works perfectly - I've got a video of driving in the snow from just a few days ago that demonstrates this really well. Can Whatsapp loads of pics also.