1998 V70 R Manual, lacking power.

[Reegs]

I had previously posted this in another section.

My 1998 V70 R manual, dosent seem to be as pokey as it should be. Its never been all that quick. I had a 97 V70 T5 manual CD for 7 years prior to this one, and it was much faster.

I do however, have an issue with the thermostat. I replaced the coolant temperature sensor, which made no difference, so its gotta be the thermostat. The temp half the time in traffic only reaches half way, but when driving it on 1/4. As advised on here, Im sure this is part of the reason for lack of performance.

I think the reason why the thermostat hasnt been changed is the old chestnut, that the rear thermostat housing bolt has been sheered out...so Im picking up new bolts today. Im just worried I wont be able to get this rear bolt undone. Ive soaked it in WD40 over night, so got 3 options, the first is to try and hammer a slightly larger torque bit into the head, and hope I can undo it that way. 2, is to try and get a hacksaw blade on the top and cut a flat head screw driver notch in it, or 3, which will be to try and grind the head of the bolt off, then once the housing is removed, unscrew the bolt with a pair of mole grips, thats if I can get access to it doing it that way.

I still feel however, when this is done, it will still be lacking in power, it has a flat spot at 3000 revs, and it apparently has new spark plugs in it, so all I can think it can be is a leaking breather pipe. Third gear and up with plenty of aggression does make the turbo kick in, but 1st and 2nd gear no turbo intervention whatsoever...or is that normal?