I might have a chance to buy a very nice 98 V70 AWD with about 100k from a friend of mine. Can I count on the tranny going bad or is that not necessarily the case? Other than regular tranny fluid changes is there anything else I can do to help prevent such an expensive failure?

Thanks for any feedback!
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93 850GLT 108k, 90 244DL 290k

Jim
I forgot to mention that my ex wife had a 98 AWD that she put a zillion miles on & never had any serious problems. Definitely the tranny & bevel gear stood up to back road travel as she lived in a fairly remote area for several years.
Last year she traded in the 98 for an 06 XC70 which she loves. I doubt she got much of a trade in for the 98.
WE live in an area where we really don`t have much need for an AWD for most of the winter but when you do need it you REALLY need it!!
Good Luck & keep us posted!
Rich

Hey thanks, Rich!

Good info...:)

I live in Mass., so I don't really need the AWD except a few times a year. I do, however, travel to N.H. and northern N.E. fairly often where it would come in handy.

I will continue my search, but I guess I secretly hope she decides to sell!

Jim
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93 850GLT, 90 244DL 290k :)

Hello, What a long thread over one man's purchase torment. Believe me, I can relate. A)You know the history of the car. It probably didn't suffer neglect but remember, the Volvo manual says the transmission fluid is not to be changed. A dealer in Sweden confirmed this to me as well. Noone has explained the reason for this stupid exclusion. The transmission fluid in my 1999 was quite dirty when I changed it. This is a big contributer to drive-train-woe lore. B)Re your needs: A set of mounted snows, or zig-zag cable chains, could be all you need. Remember to rotate them too. C)You're obviously in no rush as your friend hasn't decided to sell. With gas prices back down you can better afford to shop around. D)Jump over the 1999-2001 V70s if you find/want something newer. Yesterday on Cars.com there were 16 2002 V70s listed within 50 miles of Hackensack, NJ under $8,000. There were 32 others with fewer than 100k (priced to $15,000 obo). My point: There is no shortage of V70s. E)There is a shortage of "individual sellers". I've always felt that 850s and S/V70s are kept by their owners. The predominance of XC70s in the listings is probably due to lease returns. You will have to hunt a bit for a FWD; alot for a manual. Your friend's 1998 could be "A bird in the hand ...". Don't forget the usual flurry of inspection/maintenance which accompanies any used car purchase. Timing hardware, suspension and tires, exhaust, A/C, heat/cooling system, removal of Grateful Dead, Phish and Whirlled Peas stickers. Weigh it all and get back to us please. Woof, Kira ps When they can't prove the timing belt was changed, offer them a grand less to start with. It's a DIY. Make it happen. K

KlausC will hopefully chime in on this as he seems to be the resident expert on this. I think the forums at http://www.volvoxc.com/forums/ are good for this kind of info too.

I've got a 1998 V70 AWD with nearly 200k (miles) that doesn't seem to have too many problems. The transmissions do need to have their fluid changed but so do the FWD-only cars.

The angle/bevel gear does need to have it's fluid changed, and it's easy to find instructions on how to do so both here on this forum and over at bay13.


I think it's pretty common for things like u-joints and the carrier bearing to wear out when they get to be old like mine is (age & mileage).

Also, I think the life of the viscous coupling is finite. There doesn't appear to be an easy way to change the fluid, and a new one is probably a couple thousand. That said, mine is now 11 or so years old, and though I have a wobble during low-speed hard turns, otherwise I have no problems with it.

Overall I'd say my impression is that the early AWD systems are not as robust as they could be, or indeed as robust as the newer ones (post 2004?) actually are, but I think they're plenty robust enough to be useful and not a detriment.

As has been suggested to many people on this forum, you can always just disconnect it and go FWDing if it causes too many problems. I haven't looked into it, but you could probably pull the stub axles off a non-AWD brick of a similar year and make the conversion complete... sounds like a lot of work for little gain though.
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1998 V70 AWD Turbo 190k+

The viscous coupling fluid cannot be changed, it is a sealed unit. Mine also "wobbled" during slow, hard turns - at stop signs and parking lots. It did not affect drivability.
The worst expense I had was getting 4 new tires, when the sidewall on one was cut with a nail and only 15K on the tires. The tire shop did give me a small break!
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My name is Klaus and I am a V ♂ lv ♂ holic.

So, I don't necessarily have to run like hell from this car!

Good info, guys. An AWD novice like myself needs all the help he can get....:)

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93 850GLT, 90 244DL 290k :)

Let the seller know that the early AWD costs a lot to fix. Almost as much as the AC evaperator! At least, if the AWD really fails, you can just remove the propeller shaft and have a nice FWD.

Same rule also apply to any Volvo; the oil separator gets clogged, the vacuum lines get old and crack, the EVAP system cracks and sets hard to find codes, and maintenance is required.

Other than that, 100K is low mileage. So if the price is good...
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My name is Klaus and I am a V ♂ lv ♂ holic.

I'm not sure she is going to sell it, but if she does I think I have first dibs.

Second owner, dealer bought and maintained.
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93 850GLT, 90 244DL 290k :)

Just another $.02. There a mostly XC's up for sale in my part of the country. Many more than plain FWD which makes me wonder a little bit. So, if you don't really need AWD, you could pass and maybe save yourself some trouble. Also is your friend super meticulous about brick care? -that's the kind of person you want to buy from.
good luck
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'97 855na, Mobil 1, K&N, various IPD's and eBay's

You make a good point. I see a lot more XC's for sale too. Actually, I would prefer a V70 FWD with its lower cost of ownership.

This car, however, if it became available would be hard to pass on because it is nearly mint, has about 100k, is garaged, and has been maintained at the local Volvo dealership.

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93 850GLT, 90 244DL 290k :)

Hi,
I think it may be misleading to infer that because there mostly XCs for sale that they are on the market because there is something wrong with them. True, there were bevel gear problems on the earlier models.
Here in my local market there are many more XC`s for sale than there V70 models. I think that is reflection of sales numbers for XCs. Anecdotally, I see many more XCs on the road, practically every wagon is an XC.
My wife has an 03 XC & it`s been an excellent car. Before that, she had a 95 850T wagon.
If the car you are looking at is available I`d sure give it serious consideration.
Rich

Hi Rich,

You also make a good point. Maybe more XC's were sold. I have no idea.

My sister has a 2003 V70 XC and she likes it too. OTOH - It didn't start for 3 days this winter. I never did, however, find out why. More concerning to me is that I know a local dealer that had a 98 for sale with about 120k and the tranny went on him after he bought it. My mechanic (I do the smaller jobs myself) has also told me about AWD drivetrain/tranny problems.

In my area there are a lot of AWD's and FWD's, but I would say the FWD's outnumber the AWD's. It seems to me that AWD's are easier to find used. It's difficult to find the car I'm looking for. Specifically, a good 97 850 or 98 V70 wagon.

These cars are still simple enough for me to do some work on them. The 99+'s are more complex. Guess I'm also a little spoiled by the simplicity, low maintenance cost and reliability of my old 240. Starts first time everytime....:)

It is the potential cost of AWD ownership that scares me. They definitely require more maintenance. I must say that 98 AWD is quite tempting, though!

Jim
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93 850GLT, 90 244DL 290k :)

Hi,
I didn't want to make a disparaging point. I was wondering about the many XC's for sale out there -original sales numbers makes sense.
To your original question -no I don't think that you can count on the tranny going bad. My only qualification is reading this board and have paid a reasonable amount of attention to people's complaints. No tranny meltdowns that I could point to.
It sounds like you want it. You're certainly familiar with the 850 'form factor' and have you found that it's that much more complex than the 240?
Some folks question getting a turbo because they fear more complex stuff that might break, but it turns out to be no big deal.
The condition and records sound good.
You'd probably love it
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'97 855na, Mobil 1, K&N, various IPD's and eBay's

LilHelpHere,

Your point was a good one. My very non-scientific gut feeling is that I've seen more XC's for sale than FWD's in this area (Mass). That doesn't necessarily mean people are dumping them, but it should be factored into my evaluation. I appreciate all points of view. That is one of the great things about this board!

In all honesty, I have much less experience with my 850 than my 240. So take this with a grain of salt...:) I am less comfortable with the 850. The 240 is an older design that IMO is less complex and generally, but not always, easier to work on.

Thanks for your input and good wishes!

Jim
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93 850GLT, 90 244DL 290k :)

The 1998 tranny is good. What is the problem spot is the angle gear. That oil must be changed every 50K miles and it still might give you problems.
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My name is Klaus and I am a V ♂ lv ♂ holic.