In need of turbo Volvo advice 

"Autofixation" (Autofixation) 09/08/2015 at 22:30 • Filed to: Volvo, xc, 70, v70, used, car, buying, turbo

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So I have been helping my girlfriend’s mom by volunteering my time to look at used cars and give them a thumbs up or down. She is on a tight budget, so she has been looking for cheap vehicles

Today I came across a pretty decent looking 2001 Volvo V70 XC with a turbo engine and 155k on the odometer. The only problem with this car is that there is a bunch of oil splattered around where the turbo piping enters the intercooler. I thought that this may indicate a blown turbo, so I had the seller pull off a clamp where the rubber hose meets the hard pipe going across the top of the engine. Sure enough there was some oil inside. The seller is asking $2000.

I will admit that my experience with turbo engines is limited, I am fully aware of how they work, but less so on the intricacies of their maintenance.

My questions are:

Does oil in the intake piping indicate a blown turbo?

If the turbo is bad, how difficult is it to change on this vehicle?

Are junkyard turbos any good?

If I do get a turbo from a junkyard, what are the crucial things to check for?

Amoore100 > Autofixation 09/08/2015 at 22:48

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Is this the only choice? Turbo issues can be kind of troublesome to fix and somewhat costly...in our area Volvo wagons are dime a dozen so nice ones are easy to find...not sure about your area although if you really want something bulletproof the NA models are pretty solid, if you get a well maintained example...turbo models are reliable too under the same condition but can be pricier to fix and will go wrong a bit more often than the NA (Source: my dad’s ‘01 V70 T5 with 205K miles and my ‘05 V50 2.4 with 150K miles)

Slant6 > Autofixation 09/08/2015 at 23:10

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I would not recommend anything Swedish on a budget. Sure you’ll probably be fine but when something breaks it’s going to be expensive unless you do it yourself. This really goes for most European cars. Not as bad as everyone says, chances are your experience wont be a horror story but it’s still a looming possibility.

EL_ULY > Autofixation 09/08/2015 at 23:36

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That hose is always wet. Even when those were new.

-Volvo Master Tech

Autofixation > EL_ULY 09/08/2015 at 23:50

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OK, I guess I was just over analyzing. I have a bad habit of that.

twochevrons > Autofixation 09/09/2015 at 18:55

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There’s always going to be some oil in the turbo piping – while under boost, suction from the turbocharger is used to ventilate the crankcase, so you’ll have oil mist drawn in through the intake plumbing. Excessive amounts – more than just a bit of wetness – are something to worry about, but if there’s just a bit of splatter around the hose joints, it’s probably just a loose or cracked hose.

Some things to check:

Get the engine warmed up, and with it idling, pull the dipstick out. If you see puffs of smoke coming from the dipstick tube, the crankcase breather system is clogged, which will cause oil leaks if it isn’t fixed promptly.

Idle for 10 minutes or so, then gently rev the engine. If you get smoke out of the exhaust, the valve stem seals are worn, causing oil to leak down into the cylinders. Not a huge deal, but it’ll make it hard to pass emissions.

Check that the transmission shifts smoothly both warm and cold, especially from second to third. The 5-speed auto was known for problems with its solenoid valves, but I imagine that most will have either failed totally or been repaired by now.

See if the driveshaft to the rear of the car is actually present: the viscous coupling system used in early Volvo XCs is prone to expensive failure if mistreated, so many people just remove the driveshaft if it breaks. If it does still work, just make sure that your tires wear evenly, and only replace them as whole sets, and it’ll be fine.

Autofixation > twochevrons 09/09/2015 at 20:19

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Thanks a bunch for the advice. Unfortunately it was a private seller and it didn’t have current plates so I couldn’t take it for a test drive. And that’s nuts that people would just up and remove the rear driveshaft.