Back in February, I received a 2001 Volvo V70 T5 M56 with 236k miles from a good friend of mine in the PDX area. He pointed out he had to get it off his property because the city was doing some developments and the car was burning/leaking oil. I checked oil and coolant levels which were a little low but topped them off (this car sat for almost 10 years, making the mileage a bit shocking. 236k in 15 years.)
Once the vital fluids were good, we hooked up a jump box to it and turned the engine over. It took a few tries to get it running solid, but after a few minutes, it was idling smooth at about 900rpm, nothing too crazy. There was a check engine light, and a message about some bulbs, and brake failure – stop safely. Got the car to move under its own power with no concerns with the clutch or transmission making sounds or feeling heavy. I was excited for this as I’ve been dreaming of owning a 2.3 T5 for a couple years (since I started driving my S60 2.5T and researching the P2 platform)
The very next day, I changed all the fluids and did front and rear brake jobs, replaced all the bulbs, and had to patch one tire. Tires were in surprisingly good condition considering their age – Polarbear studless tires with 11/32″ tread still and no visible cracking.
After a few weeks of driving the car, I came back to work from my lunch break to find a snail trail behind my car and found that the intake front cam seal went ejecto-seato mode and so I replaced all the cam seals, and went ahead and replaced the timing belt and components.
Fast forward to 2 months after I got the car, putting over 3,000 miles on it in that time, I was driving to work going 60 on the freeway when suddenly I started hearing knocking. Oh boy. Pulled into the closest parking lot, got it towed to work and got a ride from a coworker. After work, I pushed the car into my stall and brought it in the air to look at the oil. More sparkles than a girl’s birthday party. Out of curiosity, pulled the cam cover and was met with a horrifying sight – RTV and oil sludged up and occupying the oil channel in the cam cover. Cam bearings didn’t look destroyed but didn’t look great. So off to search for an engine, which I sourced from a busted 2001 C70 T5 with a seized convertible top at 112k miles, for $700. The guy offered the M56 trans as well, not knowing mine is factory manual.
Once I got the engine, I tackled the replacement. Swapped over the necessary parts: intercooler hoses, motor mounts, clutch and flywheel (the guy held onto the one that was there to keep with the M56), timing belt, and replaced cam and crank seals, spark plugs, PCV and engine covers.
Got the engine in, filled oil and coolant, and connected the battery and pulled the fuel pump fuse to get a dry crank of the engine to build oil and coolant circulation and check for leaks. All was good, so in went the fuel pump fuse and cranking to build fuel pressure before she finally roared to life. No abnormal sounds, no immediate check engine lights or warning messages, idling smooth.
Fast forward 2 weeks, I park my car to grab my phone and bag from my workbench, and I started smelling fuel. Under my car, a small puddle of fuel was sitting under the front, right next to the right wheel. Long story short, the P80 hard fuel line on the engine is slightly different from the P2, and the axle wore a hole into the fuel line. 6 grumpy, hangry hours later, I had it back together and ready to start again after swapping the hard fuel line over from the blown engine. Made sure to check clearance between the line and the axle, and all was looking well. Finally, a solid driving car.
I also got rid of the (in my opinion) ugly 16″ Metis wheels and bought a set of black 17″ Canisto wheels that were on another C70 the engine donor guy had.
Approximate cost breakdown so far:
Car – free+registration ($200)
Engine – $700
Engine service before installing – $300
Radio and amp – $700
Wheels and Tires – $500
Brakes and fluids – $200
Labor – about 28 hours my own time
For a rare factory M56 V70 T5, $2,400 aint too shabby.
Also, this was a factory delivery center car, so the original owner actually travelled to Gothenburg to take delivery of this car. And it has stayed mostly in the Seattle area for it’s life.
Next on the board for this car are a fuel pump, chasing an EVAP code, fixing the sunroof carrier, and refreshing the interior.