Previously Unloved Volvo Advice/Help

[Robbie]

I bought a 2001 Volvo V70 2.4T, knowing it had some issues, but I didn’t find out how unloved it was til it was too late. Of the 157k miles on it, I can only guess the tranny fluid was NEVER changed until I got it, where I’ve been doing small fluid changes (2 Quarts at a time, every few months, so as not to cause more issues) as the initial fluid was somehow about a quart overfilled, and was dead black, and only smelled slightly burnt odd enough. Still had some lubricity to it, but was so full of crap that a flashlight could not penetrate a clear bottle of that stuff. And, the tranny still shifts, and as I did small fluid changes, it went from harsh shifting, to just harsh drive engagements, to an occasional temper tantrum with 3rd gear flares, and right now is behaving almost normally (sometimes delayed shifts into 3rd when cold still). Still needs more fluid changes, but as winter is hitting, I’m more worried about my bald rear tires first. The guy also dumped in a quart of CONVENTIONAL right before the test drive, and during the test drive I didn’t see smoke, but after I bought it, I figured out that the valve stem seals are in trouble. Whenever I feather the gas in town, to maintain around 30 MPH or so, after 20 seconds or more, it sometimes smokes, and giving it some gas clears it up. If the guy added conventional before test driving (then tells me it doesn’t burn oil) what’s to say he hasn’t used conventional it’s entire life? I mean, conventional is fine for some cars, but a turbocharged vehicle is demanding of it’s oil, and therefore should use a synthetic blend, or full synthetic if possible. So I’ll have to change the oil with some high-mileage synthetic oil when I can afford it, as the oil is relatively clean for now. I just need to recondition those seals somehow for now, as, my current money situation, and a lack of a garage to do it myself (in the winter) leaves me unable to change the stem seals any time soon, but my cat and O2 sensors are composing a letter to their barrister, stating their dislike for the current working conditions….that will be even more expensive if I can’t reduce oil burning to a tolerable level sooner. The Lucas additives, have seemed to help a bit, as it does burn less than before, but still need a better way with what I can afford, as, I’ve listed it for sale and am honest about it’s issues (unlike the last guy who lied to me) but the stem seals are what’s shutting everyone down.

In short, the guy who sold it to me abused it, failed to properly maintain it, then, when it couldn’t take it anymore, fixed it up just enough to survive a test drive and sell it. I checked the oil before I bought it and it seemed clean, but it wasn’t until days after I bought it that I checked the tranny fluid (dipstick was well hidden under the radiator hose, hard to see) and man I’m surprised it still shifts as good as it does now, let alone at all. I still can’t afford the software update to the transmission, to disable the neutral-shift-at-stop “feature” (nice feature in theory, I’ve put my cars into neutral at long stoplights, trains, drive thru, etc. but not at EVERY complete stop) that Volvo saw it tended to wear out the valve bodies of the 2001’s that were used in town a lot, and released a software update to improve shift quality, and disable that feature, which mine clearly hasn’t had done yet. The dealer wants $60 – $75 software cost (maybe understandable, I guess) and $140 labor….They won’t even be loosening a single bolt on my car, nor should it take a full hour, it’s a computer software update! I can’t afford $200 for a software update, that’s kinda ridiculous. Any ideas how I can get the price down?
Any recommendations for me? I’ll take all the help I can get. I’m trying to fix her up, but given the broke student I am with no garage, and unable to really sell for lower than $1400, I’m kinda screwed.

Also, this is a copy/paste of my comment from ETCG1’s “Working on Unloved Cars” video, but it contains the story and most the info I wanted to explain.

So, The transmission software update, it is available for my car, and is said to improve shift quality, improve diagnosis of errors and how the transmission adjusts to work with any said errors, and the big one, disables the feature where it disengages the torque converter on most complete stops (and re-engages it when you let off the brake). I feel this update would help my transmission from putting any more stress/work on it than it needs to, especially as I do a lot of in-town driving, but I can’t afford the $200 ballpark price for what is mostly “labor”. Any ideas how I can get this update at a more affordable price? I live in Vincennes, Indiana, if you know of places within a 100-mile radius that can do it cheaper, as I’m having a hard time finding anything.

Also, I get that depending on the health of your transmission and it’s fluid, flushing it can sometimes lead to other issues. I’m not flushing it, but have done minor fluid changes (2 – 3 quarts at a time, every month or so) and used Lucas Multi-vehicle ATF, as Lucas is a brand that has proven itself to me many times over, and it was one of few fluid options that met the specifications my Volvo calls for. Also used small amount of SeaFoam Trans-Tune (rest of bottle went into Taurus Transmission, and into my Volvo’s Power steering to clean the sticky steering rack) and Lucas Transmission Fix. It’s seemed to only improved the transmissions operation, to the point where it behaves properly 99% of the time (although 1 tranny code comes up: Clutch Position Control Error.) Leaving it with only nasty fluid wouldn’t have helped things, from what I saw. Still pretty dark fluid, as I’m far from done with the fluid changes. Any other recommendations (that I can do easily or cheap) would be appreciated, but keep in mind I have no garage and it’s next to winter.

Finally, about the oil burning. My catalytic converter and O2 sensor isn’t liking it, and neither is my gas mileage. I cannot afford to have a shop change the valve stem seals any time soon that I can see, nor do I have a garage to do it myself. Any additives or seal conditioners that anyone has had miracle success with? I’ll do a full synthetic oil change soon, and Lucas additives have helped some, but valve stem seals are somewhat difficult to condition. I don’t expect anything unrealistic like an “engine overhaul in-a-can!” type of response, but, anything in particular that might help? It only seems to burn sometimes, when feathering the gas at city speeds, where oil is sucked past the stem seals. Giving her some more throttle, spools the turbo up, and the positive intake pressure seems to be what clears up the smoke. It also never really smokes on the highway, and at idle, only does the slightest amount, only noticeable by the smell, no real clouds.

Sorry for the book I wrote, but there’s as clear of a view of my situation as I can give before I now go to lunch. I’ve listed it fr sale, but can;t really go below $1400, maybe $1200 absolute minimum, and the valve stem seals are what’s turning everyone off. I’m honest about the car, unlike the guy I bought it from. It could be such an awesome car, so, any advice? Thanks in advance.

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