What did you do to your 850/X70 today???

[Dippydog]

Step daughters C70 failed test on a bottom balljoint[n/s]so fitted a new control arm[a FAI one]this afternoon ready for retest Friday morning.With its 4 bolt system a lot more complicated than the 2 bolt version on my V70.

[ITSv40]

Originally Posted by Dippydog

Step daughters C70 failed test on a bottom balljoint[n/s]so fitted a new control arm[a FAI one]this afternoon ready for retest Friday morning.Withh its 4 bolt system a lot more complicated than the 2 bolt version on my V70.

Good luck with the retest. The offside is worse: you have to lift the engine slightly to get the last bolt out.

[Dippydog]

May be it was me doing something wrong but I found only the very front bolt would come out "cleanly" and the other three would hit the gearbox without a slight lift.

[Dippydog]

Pass on C70 gained today.

[cyclogenesis]

MOT day today and as expected, I got the call that it had failed. Outer CV boot so not so bad and not too expensive to resolve. All good in other areas and at 246,000 miles I am quite pleased.

I do note however, that this car seems to eat CV boots for breakfast. They have been replaced so often, so I don't know if its the quality of components that the garages are using that means they keep failing or something else. Any thoughts?

[ITSv40]

Originally Posted by cyclogenesis

MOT day today and as expected, I got the call that it had failed. Outer CV boot so not so bad and not too expensive to resolve. All good in other areas and at 246,000 miles I am quite pleased.

I do note however, that this car seems to eat CV boots for breakfast. They have been replaced so often, so I don't know if its the quality of components that the garages are using that means they keep failing or something else. Any thoughts?

Most likely cheapo boots if they keep failing. Genuine Volvo are substantial bits of kit and not prone to failure.

[rabbituk]

I took the carpets out of the drivers footwell after a snail lodged itself in the scuttle drain hole causing the water to back up whilst there was torrential rain last week and I didn't think to check on the car at all that day! Arrived to find 1 inch of water in both front and back driver side footwells. I won't make that mistake again. Tried to take the sound proofing rubber/foam out too but it was breaking up so decided to leave it in place and just put some thin wood strips underneath to allow circulation. Have a dehumidifier running and this is also a reminder to get the AC working again to aid the drying out, had it working last year after replacing the receiver dryer thing but now I don't hear the clutch engaging anymore even though low side pressure is in the 'green' area according to my DIY refill gauge.

[RollingThunder]

As you may recall, I bought a 2013 Honda Civic to be our daily driver, relieving the 850R from this task - partly to keep the mileage down a bit, but also to minimise it's exposure to car park knocks.

Good thing I did really, as the Honda's bumper was ripped off two weeks ago in the car park - looks like someone tried to get into a space alongside me, changed their mind and caught the front of the car when reversing out again... The end result was that the front bumper was pulled off, deeply scraped and cracked, along with a chunk being taken out of the front wheel - it must have made one hell of a racket so they definitely knew about it - but drove off anyway. Sadly the carpark CCTV didn't catch anything

Coincidentally (?) the Honda's front spring and strut bearing failed last week - the same side as the bumper and wheel damage, so it was left in our local garage to be repaired, leaving the 850R to step up again

Now I do give the 850R a run every now and then to keep everything lubricated and the battery charged, but all the same, it performed perfectly. It started at the hint of a key turn, everything worked fine even the CD changer in the boot It was an absolute joy to drive and felt like old comfy slippers

The Honda on the other hand has cost a fortune in repairs - DPF repair, rear brakes, a rear window regulator, and now the spring and bearing I've also just bought a replacement set of wheels for it as the front tyre now has a leak - not surpring really!

So its entirely possible that the Honda will be sold in the spring - it may be returning 65-70mpg but its cost over £1500 in repairs in 3 months, so that kind of swamps any savings in road tax and fuel costs!

Which means the 850R will probably return to DD duties next year Either that, or I'll sell the Honda, the 850R AND the 940 - and get an 850R/T5 saloon to play with. If I do, it won't be remaining standard - I've seen a few modified Swedish saloons that I absolutely adore...

And No, the wife doesn't know yet

[Luxobarge]

Originally Posted by RollingThunder

It was an absolute joy to drive and felt like old comfy slippers

Perfectly put - exactly the feeling I get driving mine.

[Dippydog]

On Tuesday the o/s front caliper was found to be seizing on my V70[it does tend to get rather neglected in favour of working on step daughters C70 and helping her daughter and boyfriend with their 960 and VW Golf]anyway a quick look showed the dust boot had not only split completely at the circumference but also the bit you can see had completely separated from the lip inside the caliper.New repair kit ordered on same day and arrived yesterday so weather permitting will see about sorting that tomorrow and see how it goes,but as a last resort might need to buy a new caliper for it.Then next spring/summer a new clutch and timing/auxilliary belt change too.