V70 TDi, keep it going or trade it in?

[MikeS100]

I know it's bad to overfill, but I didn't realise it was that bad I will try to get something done about it over the next couple of days.

I know what you mean about buying another car, it would probably cost a lot more than £500 to buy it and do any jobs that need doing. Hopefully when I get the extra oil out it will stop smoking

[MikeS100]

Just stumbled across this old thread while looking for something else. Just thought I would add a quick post to say the V70 that I considered trading in back in 2013 is still going strong 6 years and 60k miles later. Just shy of 210k on the clock now and I am using it as my daily driver to work. The decision to keep it going 6 years ago was definitely the right one, yes I've spent a bit of money on it since then on maintenance but it is still such a nice car to drive. I'm privileged to own 3 Volvo's now, the C70 is the quickest and the XC90 is the family car and load lugger but for an easy relaxing drive with a bit of fun thrown in to the mix it has to be the V70. Whilst I take a lot of pride in the appearance of the C70 and XC90 I quite like the beaten up look of the V70. It's still got the accident damage down the side from the previous owner and the interior is pretty tatty now but it's all part of it's character. It doesn't look great but mechanically it is still a fantastic car to drive. Someone I work with traded in their Renault recently as it was getting "really old" with 90k miles on it, she nearly had a heart attack when I said I had over 200k on the Volvo and I'm aiming for quarter of a million!

[Clan]

Originally Posted by MikeS100

Hi all,

After a bit of advice on the V70. It's a few miles short of 150,000 now and I've been running it for the last 50,000. When I got it the previous owner had neglected it and it hadn't had an oil change for about 2 years/20,000 miles. It's got accident damage down the side and is pretty basic spec. The plan was to just run it into the ground for as long as it would last. To be honest I didn't really bother with it too much to begin with and left it a bit long between services myself only doing it once a year instead of the 6 months I think it should be. The thing is I've become rather fond of it now and even with it being neglected a bit it's been very reliable in the time I've had it and much more than my previous Mondeo which I traded in for the C70 recently.

But here's my issue, the previous neglect has obviously taken it's toll, it wasn't so bad before on cheap castrol gtx 5w30 oil but since I serviced it a couple of weeks ago and put in decent shell helix hx7 10w40 it's smoking constantly. It seems to be a mixture of blue and black but is there all the time on tick over and driving along whereas before it was only really noticeable on start up. The timing belt is due on it and I've been qouted £508, but I'm wondering if it's worth it. Does it matter if it's smoking all the time or is it past it's best in which case I should spend that £500 towards a newer version? It still drives really nicely and has masses of power and low down torque, it's just the constant smoking that has got me worried. I've also noticed the oil pressure light stays on for a couple of seconds at start up now whereas before it would go out straight away.

So what do you think? Get the timing belt done and not worry about the smoke? Get the timing belt done and change the oil back to 5w30? Or trade it in while it still runs and get something newer?

Smoke is now a killer on an MOT , I think now is a good time to update to a newer generation mid 2000's D5 or even a 5 cylinder petrol if you don't do so many miles ,you can find one cheap enough and you will find your driving experience greatly improved .

[MikeS100]

Originally Posted by Clan

Smoke is now a killer on an MOT , I think now is a good time to update to a newer generation mid 2000's D5 or even a 5 cylinder petrol if you don't do so many miles ,you can find one cheap enough and you will find your driving experience greatly improved .

Cruised through it's MOT with no advisories last month. It doesn't really smoke anymore, bit of black smoke when you boot it but not much and that's to be expected

[amazondean]

I actually own three 850 diesels, one of them I have owned for over ten years now, one early v70 diesel and a more modern v70 diesel on a 55 plate. Out of all of them I despise the 55 plate Volvo. In fact it will soon be going to a new home. I feel claustrophobic in it. The dashboard feels like it is trying to consume me. The six gears aren't necessary. Bigger, clumsier and the turning circle compared to the earlier model is crap. It is smoother on very long motorway cruises, but that's about the only positive I can think of. Changing light bulbs in the modern car becomes a highly skilled job, and one that once you have finished, you feel like you have achieved something quite special. Then eventually the dreaded DPF gives up the ghost!

Regarding getting a diesel through an MOT. take it for a couple of miles to warm up and then accelerate hard, on and off until it clears, then some more. You will find a massive difference in the smoke test if it is done immediately after this process.

[Martin Cox]

Thanks for bringing us up to date. Somehow I doubt this is the end of the story...

Martin

1998 V70 Tdi Auto 224,000 miles

[SwedishBus]

It's good to get an update like this.

I rescued my 2.5TDI last Summer- utterly broken by the garage that serviced it for the 1st and only owners. It was fit for scrap, and that was how I bought it.

I did what I needed to do to get the engine back running again, and that involved a considerable outlay of cash for a secondhand cylinder head from a breaker down in Derbyshire, plus loads of bits and pieces from all the specialist suppliers of such Volvo TDI parts.

I don't regret one minute of time, or one penny of expenditure. It is a fantastic car, sailed through its MoT just after the rebuild (expired whilst the car was dead) and gives outstanding fuel economy. It's a fairly high-spec car, so it has the leather seats and sunroof, etc. and doesn't look too bad at a distance....

Yes, it smokes out on the road under higher engine speeds under full-load, and I believe they all do that, Sir. I'm going to try to fix it, when I have time, but if you don't plant the pedal when driving, it's clean, and it went through on its MoT like that, so it's just a full-load smoke limitation problem in the ECU calibration.

I'm going to give it a really good thrash down the length of the UK in the next few weeks, and I don't expect it to go through much diesel in that time..... I also don't have to worry about all the issues the 2.4D has on the Ph.2 V70 (injectors are the worst on the planet for failing expensively and at short-notice if the fuel is contaminated in any way) so I also expect to get back on-time as well !!