Anyone in Scotland help a silly student with my PVC system?

[JohnMacQueen]

I recently purchased a 1998 V70XC for £1000 with 125k miles on it and no history. It had been sitting for a couple years not doing a whole lot in someone's drive, and since that purchase I've had to pay out £480 to get the throttle body refurbished, amongst general maintenance parts. The dreaded ABS issue also popped up, so I pulled the fuse. I feel like I've been pretty unlucky with this car, but its also partly down to my own stupidity in not doing the proper checks. The car has not developed an oil leak, and I'm suspecting it has something to do with a blocked up PVC system as I've done the 'glove test' and I'm getting blow back through the glove, rather than it trying to suck it in.

I'm a student and this was probably a terrible decision on my part to buy such a car and get rid of my old faithful 1.4 civic, but a decision I nonetheless made. I do love driving her but the stress everyday of something else possibly going wrong is just getting too much. I have the money to buy a new PVC system but labour costs is just going to bankrupt me after forking out for the throttle body refurb.

If there are any members here from Scotland who could help a guy out (I could also drive to you) I'd be eternally grateful.

[amazondean]

I don't suppose it was the one on ebay a couple of Months ago, as it was way up North. If it is, that one looked spot on in the photo's

[4x4]

Lot of guys in your area on the Facebook VOS pages, might be worth asking there Link...

[Turbodave]

It's actually not that difficult to do... just a couple of awkward bolts, namely a bracket on the underside of the inlet manifold and really that's it. A basic socket set and some screwdrivers and about 2hrs work perhaps but yes, there is a knack to it... but there's lot's a YouTube videos and "How To" guides. I do echo what has been said though, there's a fairly active crowd up north on VOS so perhaps an appeal there and supply some beer and somebody may help.

[Dibble]

Perhaps, because the car has been sitting for a couple of years is the cause of your problems. Once you get them rectified and use your car daily you will be a happy chappy!

[byootox]

I've had my 70 nearly six years now but there's one thing I have to admit is that there not a cheap car to run really.
Especially if you've come from a civic.
PCV system isn't a bad job if the port from the block down to the sump is clear of carbon.
I would agree with Dibble about your problems being the car has lain about for a while.
There a decent car but not easy running one on a shoe string.

[Turbodave]

The ABS issue could be any number of things from a sensor to a cracked ABS ring or a faulty control unit (bolted to the underside of the ABS pump) however the good news is that the sensors can be had for a couple of quid from a breaker and are easy to swap and the rings are also a couple of quid new from J&R Transmissions, however a bit more involved to replace and the control units can be had second hand and easily swapped. I'd check the rings first, if it's sat a few years, corrosion could be factor, more so in the north east.

Later x70 models are more involved then early ones, ie those with throttle cables and thus no ETM issues to worry about and whilst early XC's have a viscous coupling 4x4 set up, rather then the later Haldex unit... they can still have issues, more so with age and plus the rear suspension is more complex (and thus costly) They are good but yes, refurbishing an unloved one can be very expensive... for cheap, reliable Volvo motoring an 850 or earlier V70, both in 2wd guise are a bit more cost effective though that's of little consolation but it may be worth getting the XC fully checked over, get a "worst case" estimate of what it needs and decide if it's worth continuing or whether getting out now would be a shrewd move.

As for the PCV, if it's totally blocked then I'd be wary of doing too many miles as the build up of pressure can start to force oil past assorted seals, the worst being the crank seal as when that goes, it's generally a bad day... you can run a temporary catch tank, ie remove the breather than connects to the rocker cover by the filler cap, stick a bit pipe on and run it to a suitable container secured in the engine bay... total bodge but I did this on a £200 T5 I had years ago, wasn't worth the investment to fix "properly" so a length of hose and an old 1 litre bottle and it did many many miles like that... just need to empty the bottle periodically. As said, absolute bodge but short term it may help.

Hate to see people stuck, I'd help where possible but I'm a couple of hours away and up to my arse in car / house / life related issues so struggling just now to free up time but as mentioned, plenty good guys up that way frequent VOS so worth a post and I'm sure somebody could try and help you.

Cheers

[JohnMacQueen]

Originally Posted by amazondean

I don't suppose it was the one on ebay a couple of Months ago, as it was way up North. If it is, that one looked spot on in the photo's

Nah, this one was from a guy off gumtree that I travelled down to Peebles to pick up. Drove it back up to aberdeen during our encounter with the "beast from the east" with the abs kicking in every five minutes..

Originally Posted by 4x4

Lot of guys in your area on the Facebook VOS pages, might be worth asking there Link...

Cheers pal.

Originally Posted by Turbodave

The ABS issue could be any number of things from a sensor to a cracked ABS ring or a faulty control unit (bolted to the underside of the ABS pump) however the good news is that the sensors can be had for a couple of quid from a breaker and are easy to swap and the rings are also a couple of quid new from J&R Transmissions, however a bit more involved to replace and the control units can be had second hand and easily swapped. I'd check the rings first, if it's sat a few years, corrosion could be factor, more so in the north east.

Later x70 models are more involved then early ones, ie those with throttle cables and thus no ETM issues to worry about and whilst early XC's have a viscous coupling 4x4 set up, rather then the later Haldex unit... they can still have issues, more so with age and plus the rear suspension is more complex (and thus costly) They are good but yes, refurbishing an unloved one can be very expensive... for cheap, reliable Volvo motoring an 850 or earlier V70, both in 2wd guise are a bit more cost effective though that's of little consolation but it may be worth getting the XC fully checked over, get a "worst case" estimate of what it needs and decide if it's worth continuing or whether getting out now would be a shrewd move.

As for the PCV, if it's totally blocked then I'd be wary of doing too many miles as the build up of pressure can start to force oil past assorted seals, the worst being the crank seal as when that goes, it's generally a bad day... you can run a temporary catch tank, ie remove the breather than connects to the rocker cover by the filler cap, stick a bit pipe on and run it to a suitable container secured in the engine bay... total bodge but I did this on a £200 T5 I had years ago, wasn't worth the investment to fix "properly" so a length of hose and an old 1 litre bottle and it did many many miles like that... just need to empty the bottle periodically. As said, absolute bodge but short term it may help.

Hate to see people stuck, I'd help where possible but I'm a couple of hours away and up to my arse in car / house / life related issues so struggling just now to free up time but as mentioned, plenty good guys up that way frequent VOS so worth a post and I'm sure somebody could try and help you.

Cheers

Yeah I was kind of thinking it could be a cracked ring. I actually just ordered two new outer CV axles because I noticed one of the boots is torn, and seems easier/cheaper to just replace the whole outer axle. I don't actually get an ABS warning light on the dash so maybe a corroded ring would make sense.

As for the PCV, yeah it's definately blocked. The wee hose that pops out above the inlet manifold is rock solid, and the glove is trying to blow up when I put it over the oil filler. No smoke from the dipstick though, which could mean its super blocked up maybe.

But yeah, no worries at all bud. I realise other people have busy and stressful lives too. Welcome to the real world I guess. I'll try out the VOS page.

[JohnMacQueen]

+ YouTube Video

Here is a video of the oil leak I noticed the other day.

[The Flying Banana]

Way up north for Amazondean is Peebles as he is way down south .. i saw it in Gumtree too and was close to going to see it as it looks a cracker .. infact worth getting sorted as its clean looking

i see it on Gumtree just now ( i take it its yours .. same description ) .. i wouldnt be surrised if it sold again as i think they are desirable and if its only the PCV someone will come for it i am sure

Do what turbodave says and re route into a plastic bottle .. i bought an old one years ago with a blocked PCV ( seller was honest ) and i did the bypass thing and ran it for a year like that before selling it and it didnt miss a beat

Let us know how it goes