I recently had the timing belt changed on my wife's 1997 T5 wagon (74K miles) at the dealer here (Northwest La.) and asked the dealer to change the thermostat and water pump since they were going to be in that area anyway. They said that Volvo does not recommend changing, that if I just flush the system at the 30K checkup, it should last forever. They also acted like that is an unusual procedure for these cars. Does that sound right? Now that it's gotten a little cooler here, I'm having the same issues Rich G. had in an earlier post. The car puts out heat, but the temp needle is barely above the min. mark. Is that the thermostat?

One more thing (sorry this is so long...): Is the tranny flush part of the 30K service? The dealer says yes, but they leave something to be desired (the folks at the dealer seem very shifty to me). I think they'll say anything after you've given them $450 to change brake fluid!!

Thanks