1999 V70 T5‹needs engine transplant

Got the news yesterday that my T5 needs a new connecting rod
bearing‹metal shavings found in oil during routine 90,000 mile service.
Lifters seem OK. Oil level low‹no evidence of leak, which is true. I had
detected none.

I¹m not a mechanic, nor do I play one on TV. Have semi-religiously
replaced oil every 3-4K since I bought new. Sometimes go out to 5K or a
little more. Last done at 84.6. Now 90.5. About a month ago, I detected
a change in the engine sound and drove it by the service dept. Louder
pinging sound. Manager comes out, listens, and says it¹s OK. Nothing to
worry about. Could probably use one of the over the counter additives.
Didn¹t ask me about last oil change. I¹m a busy guy, so OK. On to work.
Over the next week or so, the CHECK ENGINE light comes on and, in contrast
to previous times in the past,, stays on. Everything else seems OK, so I
continue to drive. Say maybe another 100 or so miles over the next week
or so. Then the hammer drops when I put it in for service. (BTW, engine
light due to faulty Cam Shaft Control. I assume this is not related to
the rod deterioration)

Questions:

Do I get the Darwin award? In my previous car (BMW 533i), the oil light
came on and whenever oil levels dropped. Never been told with this car
that levels were low during routine maintenance, which has occasionally
stretched to 5K. How often should it be changed when you hit 80K or
85K?

Cart vs. horse? I assume the deteriorating rod caused the low oil? What
are the chances the dye was cast by the time the sound changed?

I have a good relationship with service folks at this dealership. Can¹t
help but wonder, however, if I should have been asked about the oil, or at
least suggested that levels be checked when I brought it by for a sound
check. Engine light was not on at the time as I said.

Car was worth about 9K Blue Book before this happened. Need a second car
for my soon-to-be-driving teenager, thus was keeping the T5 when I
purchased a second car. Replacing engine with a "remanufactured" one will
be $9.7K in addition to other odds and ends for $3K. On paper it makes no
sense. Good used cars for same, although not as ³safe² as Volvo perhaps.
Thoughts?

Thanks. Going through Kubler-Ross 4 stages of grieving. Still in denialŠ

George

 

George, were you mechanically inclined, I'd say pull the engine and
rebuild it yourself.

Do not put the car in the hands of the dealer; what a rip-off, $9.7K
plus $3K? Bend over...

If you want to keep the car, check around to find a used engine, e.g.
craigslist, wrecking yard, and find some private party to R&R it.
Total should come in less than $4K.

If that isn't feasible or attractive, dump the car on craigslist and
get something else.

 

1--you brought the car in for an engine noise, told them the light is on and
was told go away little boy?? They did not check the oil level?

THEY get to pay for the repair!

2-- a con rod bearing costs 12k??!!

Drop the pan and pop in new bearings after they plastigauge the crank. If
the path is clear they might milk you for 3 hrs and bearings at any shop.
Perhaps 5 if its a bear to get at.

3-- its an old car now, it does not need kid glove care anymore.

4-- good relationship??!! Does that mean they use K-Y and are gareful of
the Santorum?

 

OK to be fair the rod bearings could fail due to over reving too, or lugging
the engine. I still feel there is a matter of liability that attaches when
you bring the car to a specialist expert and ask them to address the problem
and then they blow you off.

Rod bearings are not a huge deal, and do not cost 13K

 

(Sorry for top posting for those who know the rules but that's been
the standard to this point.)

Only a dealer could ask $13k for the more-than-needed work. An
independent shop who knows Volvo will do the work for a fair price.
The ONLY times I have gone to the dealer arewhen the (exorbitantly
priced) gen-u-wine VOLVO parts are the major part of the cost.

Chuck Fiedler
Nothing but Volvo since 1974

 

Well checking the oil would have been a good idea, but it ought to have
to be *really* low before anything bad happens. If the Check Engine
light comes on that isn't an emergency, but if the red oil light comes
on for more than a brief moment, that means STOP NOW. Going a bit over
schedule on the oil change shouldn't be a big deal, so long as it isn't
leaking or consuming oil.

Unlikely, deteriorating rod bearing won't cause the oil to go anywhere,
my guess is it leaked out or was burned before that happened and lack of
lubrication caused the bearing to fail. By the time the sound changed,
the engine was probably ruined.

They should *always* check the oil any time a car is brought in for
anything, especially anything engine related. It's so easy to do, and so
important.

Ouch!! For that kinda money I would expect a *brand new* engine, not
reman. Go find an independant auto machinist and have them rebuild the
motor, or find a good used one and have that installed. Never go to a
dealer unless the car is under warranty, to do so is just throwing away
money.

 

Thanks for the responses. To be clear, the dealership is asking $9.7K for
the remanuf engine replacement. They mentioned perhaps a break on the
$12K figure if I go through with it. Say perhaps down a thousand or so.
The other $3K was for brake pads, water pump leak, 90K service, various
other things that sounded reasonable.

I like the idea of a second opinion, and an independent shop sounds like
the way to go. Anyone know of something in the Maryland-DC area, or of a
way to get a good lead through a website? If you wish, please email me
directly at .

Cheers...

George

________________________________________

 

Hello George:

This sounds rather odd as you had changed the oil at reasonable
intervals.

That said, if you need a good used engine a friend of mine most likely
has one (say with 40K or so on the ODO.) He's a nice guy I've know
for years, was born in Scandinavia and has been working on Volvos only
since 1955.

Like me, he is located in Central NY and now specialises in
rebuilding late model Volvos that have been wrecked, and does all the
work himself.

I have no idea what he would charge for the engine you need but will
ask on Monday if you are interested.

Whatever he wants for it--if he has the engine you need--will require
an additional (but reasonable) fee for having me build a crate and
arrange shipping by truck. At his age he has no interest in selling
items on E Bay or anywhere but locally with pickup by the buyer.

I noticed you are a Comcast subscriber, and recall they are generally
East Coast only but could be wrong.


Shipping costs could be high on an item like an engine if you were on
the West Coast of the US, but probably not more than $200 or so if you
were closer. I'm only guessing here, but imagine I'd ask for anywhere
from $50 to $75 for building the crate and arranging shipping. I don't
do that sort of thing for a living, but know what materials cost and
how long it would take me to do the job.

Now, you wrote <snippet>:

"Car was worth about 9K Blue Book before this happened.
Replacing engine with a "remanufactured" one will
be $9.7K in addition to other odds and ends for $3K. On paper it
makes nosense. Good used cars for same, although not as ³safe² as
Volvo perhaps.
Thoughts?"

Yes, I do indeed have a thought. My friend just sold a 2000 V70 T5
with 38K on the ODO for $13,000 USD to a client.

The vehicle had been in a front end collision and the PO did not want
to have it repaired and bought a new Volvo, then sold this one to my
friend. It looked just like it had rolled off an assembly line in
Sweden when he finished with it--and frame etc are perfect and had
been corrected to better than original specs.

Doing the math it seems clear that $12,700 for a new engine and other
bits is rather insane.


Let me know if you are interested in the engine. I seem to recall he
may have one in a car that had run under the back of an 18 wheeler,
and that he bought that car for the front clip but could be wrong.

In any case, even if we do not have an engine now one will be
available in the near future.

Regards,

Doc

 

I would say that the camshaft control problem is a symptom of the other
problems. The camshaft timing is varied by a mechanism that uses high
pressure oil - any problem that puts metal shavings in the oil is going
to cause the camshaft control problem.

I second the recommendations to get a used engine, there are lots of
these in good shape in recycling yards. These engines are pretty tricky
to rebuild, hence the expense.

--
Mike F.
Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont.

Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly.
(But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.)