VEA D4 worth a punt?

[100K+]

Would love to know what volvo did to the 215bhp D5 euro 5+ to make it euro 6 compliant...
Cheers Bob

[uknowiama]

Thanks for input from everyone.

Admission of guilt time. Last November I jumped ship from Volvo. I spent £15k on a 16 plate BMW 430d Gran Coupe MSport Xdrive Euro 6. Drives lovely. Am missing the space. Just not sure for me? Feels a little more fragile. Worry about potential big BMW bills in future, no warranty to protect.

Not long after I bought the BMW a 16 plate 220ps xc70 euro 6 senlux came on the market. Before going BMW had been looking at Euro 6 5 cylinder d4 or d5. So like to think aware of all differences SPA, VEA 4.. power output.. emissions .. euro 4, 5, 6.

A working D4 V70 with cheap tax, better fuel economy could justify the jump. Sounds like don’t exist and would cause more worry.

Why do I keep being drawn back to 205ps or 215ps d5 v70, with 120k miles on and not worry about putting miles on, depreciation? A work horse.

Take money out to spend on other things such as doing up the house a bit more .

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by uknowiama

Thanks for input from everyone.

Admission of guilt time. Last November I jumped ship from Volvo. I spent £15k on a 16 plate BMW 430d Gran Coupe MSport Xdrive Euro 6. Drives lovely. Am missing the space. Just not sure for me? Feels a little more fragile. Worry about potential big BMW bills in future, no warranty to protect.

Not long after I bought the BMW a 16 plate 220ps xc70 euro 6 senlux came on the market. Before going BMW had been looking at Euro 6 5 cylinder d4 or d5. So like to think aware of all differences SPA, VEA 4.. power output.. emissions .. euro 4, 5, 6.

A working D4 V70 with cheap tax, better fuel economy could justify the jump. Sounds like don’t exist and would cause more worry.

Why do I keep being drawn back to 205ps or 215ps d5 v70, with 120k miles on and not worry about putting miles on, depreciation? A work horse.

Take money out to spend on other things such as doing up the house a bit more .

That's what I'd go for. The 5 cylinder is the best diesel engine Volvo produced. I've heard many mechanics say the same thing... I'd like to think they all can't be wrong.

The early D4/VEA engines in general are a punt, but it wouldn't be one I'd be willing to take, unless it was under warranty and a Volvo warranty only, not some aftermarket one. I've heard and read enough to stay clear of the newer/early 4 cylinder engines, things like; oil coolers, egr issues, piston issues leading to excessive oil consumption, turbo failure... You could be lucky and buy one with none of these issues, but I suspect that these known issues will one day pop up and cost a fortune to fix, probably when the warranty has expired (if there's even one one those cars to start with, as they're getting on now). I think they made improvements around 2017 in later models, but those cars are still big money.

The 5 cylinder didn't have these issues, although, a known problem with them is snapped auxiliary belts or timing belts which can derail the cam belt = goodbye engine. Make sure you change the belts (timing, aux and aux belt tensioner) if you do buy one, or have records of it being done already.

If you aren't affected by the ULEZ zone or don't go into areas that have it and you want a diesel Volvo, I'd go for the 5 cylinder all day long over any of the VEA stuff. In saying that, if its a euro 6 you want, then it has to be a VEA engine or a very late P3 AWD model that may still have the 5 cylinder engine and ulez complaint, but those are rare.

[Tatsfield]

The 5 cylinder didn't have these issues, although, a known problem with them is snapped auxiliary belts or timing belts which can derail the cam belt = goodbye engine.

The was a mod which shielded the aperture through which the snapped aux belt could pass to derail the timing belt. I was never sure why Volvo didn't ensure that this was carried out to protect all 5 cyl diesel engines in their range.

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by Tatsfield

The 5 cylinder didn't have these issues, although, a known problem with them is snapped auxiliary belts or timing belts which can derail the cam belt = goodbye engine.

The was a mod which shielded the aperture through which the snapped aux belt could pass to derail the timing belt. I was never sure why Volvo didn't ensure that this was carried out to protect all 5 cyl diesel engines in their range.

Is that the mod that was for sale on here a while back, which looked like a metal shield with a few screws? Most of the replies said it was useless and wouldn't do anything.

[GrahamBrown1]

That wasn’t a Volvo modification just something a guy had made. Couldn’t see it doing any harm and it was relatively little cost. But I do wonder why volvo didn’t modify the covers as this entire scenario went on for years with their final fix of having to change the smaller thinner belt more often than previous generations. They call it progress……

[Kev0607]

Originally Posted by GrahamBrown1

That wasn’t a Volvo modification just something a guy had made. Couldn’t see it doing any harm and it was relatively little cost. But I do wonder why volvo didn’t modify the covers as this entire scenario went on for years with their final fix of having to change the smaller thinner belt more often than previous generations. They call it progress……

I agree, I wonder the same... I'm surprised at Volvo. The aux belt failure can cause catastrophic damage, but you'd think they would have tried to create something to at least minimise damage. Like you say, this mod mentioned above wasn't a Volvo one.

Having the aux belt literally next to the cam belt is a stupid idea anyway. Bad design.