D5 (D5244T to 2005) What to look out for on an '04 D5?

[A lex]

Hello folks,

I recently abandoned ship from my 2001 P2 V70 T5. The economy was painful and it had a few mechanical problems on the horizon - I still managed to sell for more than I bought it for though :hehe:

In my traditional way I have just bought another V70 from eBay sight unseen, to pick up on Wednesday. This time around its a facelift D5 SE (163) on a late 04 plate. It has most of the spec I want; including leather and 7 seats and its a manual

It is cheap, very very cheap, perhaps worrysomely cheap. Then again I may have just scored myself another great eBay bargain. Its 150k miles, FSH, taken as a PX against something newer, sold by the same dealer 5yrs ago to the previous owner. I won the auction at 2350 GBP, so its a good 1k cheaper than any other facelift D5 I have seen......

What to look for? I know V70s reasonably well now, so its really the engine im looking for hints on. Internet reading can scare the wits out of you, so a few pointed helpers would be appreciated Beyond the basics of checking the oil, coolant, PAS, idle, ETM, and then for leaks etc around the inter-cooler is there anything else specific I should be looking at?

Heres the car:





Cheers!

[outnumbered]

welcome.
have a read at this
http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=132443
buy or aquire a vac gauge.
if it goes into limp mode get the codes read.
change the fuel filter even tho it has full service history.
it has no ETM
enjoy it and think about a few more horses.
mike

[Bernard333]

Second cam belt not due until 192 000 miles but worth checking if it still has the original tensioner , mine is still original at 160k and thinking I have been lucky so far , I have looked at a lot of D5s where cambelt has been changed on schedule but not the tensioner . I agree looks to be a great price but as you are buying from a dealer you have a bit more protection than from a private sale even if its sold as seen . Would be interested to see your comments on it once you have picked it up and checked it over .

[A lex]

Thanks for the replys. No ETM is a good start

Ive read that you should check for 'pulsing' when driving at lower speeds (sign of injector problems), oil / coolant around the intercooler at the front, engine mounts as per any V70 and then basic 'buying precautions' as per any other car....

The dealer seems a nice enough chap on the phone - car has tax til end September too He was valeting/checking it over today and has agreed not to move it/start it until I arrive on Weds, so I should be able to perform cold start checks.

Its always fun to try and spot little un-mentioned things in the advert, such as it seems to be sporting 4 matching (decent) tyres. A good sign of a decent owner.

[DieselDoNicely]

Cam belt and tensioner change regardless asap, tensioners shear and destroy the engine. £200 against £3000 plus.

Intercooler, could get it leak tested, a u/s one will hit you mpg and cause smoking and lossof power.

CHANGE THE HANDBRAKE SHOES regardless - £30 against Hundreds.
(yes I did mean uppercase)

Wishbone bushes.

Change all the filters.

DDN