I would appreciate any comments anyone may have on the car in this kijiji ad:
http://halifax.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-cars-trucks-1999-Volvo-V70-R-AWD-Wagon-W0QQAdIdZ242555381

All the information I have at this point is the info in the ad. It's located far away from where I live, but my wife and I will be visiting my parents this weekend and they are only ~45 minutes away from the car.

Any ideas about what might be wrong. If I could get it started I would be pretty tempted to pick this up.
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1998 V70 AWD->FWD Turbo 200k+

176,000 miles is young. I would suspect the fuel presure regulator vacuum lines being holy if the check engine light is not on. A blown turbo should make lots of noise, even at idle, and should produce tons of white smoke.

Take a look for a bad elbow near the #1 cylinder. A little electrical tape wrap will work temporarily for any vacuum leak.

1999 has coilovers, VVT, and ETM. All could contribute to running rich.

I wonder why it has 960 wheels?

Klaus
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Always willing to listen, just not able to take direction.

all great comments sir.

I don't suppose you have any ideas on why it won't start?

I wondered if those were RWD wheels myself... he probably just liked how they looked or maybe curb rashed his original wheels to death... worth asking about I guess.

Does anyone know if the R came with ESC?

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1998 V70 AWD->FWD Turbo 200k+

I have a problem with the compression readings. IIRC, turbos should be around 156 - 185psi, not 200+. It is possible that the cylinder chambers are full of carbon which is raising the compression ratio.

There are too many reasons for a no-start, including timing belt slip and a headgasket that has holes in it. Without codes, it is probably a too rich condition brought on by leaks in vacuum system, a plugged vacuum system, leaking exhaust manifold...

For $800, you could have a very nice interior for your car.

Klaus
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Always willing to listen, just not able to take direction.

Thanks again for your comments KlausC.

I noticed the compression readings, but I guess I just figured it could be chalked up to his meter (bad?) or his methods. I guess I never really heard of a car with compression that was too /high/!

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1998 V70 AWD->FWD Turbo 200k+

Even at 185,000 miles, mine still has 180-190 PSI in all the cylinders except the middle one, with 172.

MAF Sensor! Bad ECT sensor. Both strong possibilities.

Many people run RWD rims to mount snow tires. I'll probably find some myself if I end up moving to Michigan next year.

Thanks for the input jablackburn.

IIRC you should be able to get the car started by unplugging these sensors right? I know the car won't work great without a MAF but it should default to some safe value and start right? ditto for ETC?

I do exactly as you suggest for my snow tires - I have them on my old 760 rims alloys and despite their crappy finish they actually looks pretty sweet. Every year when I put them on I think to myself both "man I forgot how good those old wheels look" and "I /do/ miss my old car". Not enough to go back though!

I understand the offset can be a bit of extra strain on the wheel bearings, but I guess I'm gambling a bit. I'll get some proper FWD-era steels sometime but not this year.

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1998 V70 AWD->FWD Turbo 200k+

It won't start with the ECT unplugged, as it will assume the engine is warm and won't give it enough fuel. It will start if it's a bad MAF sensor, and will even be driveable.

Bring a can of starter fluid and spray it in the intake, check for spark, etc.

The running rich points out a bad sensor to me rather than something physically wrong with the engine.

Take some spark plugs too!

Those wheels look awful on there. Snow tires? Fuel pump relay? Is the fuel pump audible? That'd be cool to take a relay with you and be a genius hero (if that were the problem) :)
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'97 855na, Mobil 1, K&N, various IPD's and eBay's