What to do with my 2000 Volvo S70?

You Folks always have great ideas and solutions, so I felt I should get an idea of what ya’ll thought.

I have a 2000 Volvo s70 that has blow-by pressuring the crankcase.

I can rebuild the engine, but I really am not that interested in the car any more, so I was thinking about making it into project…like turbocharging etc. But, I see turbo s70’s and v70’s all day long for less than what I could turbo this car for. So, turbo’ing it makes no sense – since I could go out and just pick up a turbo car for $2500.

Even with a rebuild it’s as boring as a cup of plain yogurt.

What would you do with it?

Any engine swap ideas? Other ideas?

Thanks

Its probably a useless hunk at this point, not really any sense in trying to save it. I really don’t have the space, but I feel bad for you and want to help put a fellow GRMer, so I will do you a huge favor, and take it off your hands. Let me know where I can pick it up. I wont charge you, this time, for any of my effort or time. No need to thank me. .

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In reply to 4cylndrfury:

LOL. It's actual quite a nice car...but borrrrrring. I have been DD'ing my LS1 E34 Touring -- which puts a smile on my face every day.

What kind of shape is the PCV system in?

As you've noted, N/A Whiteblock performance mods aren't that common, nor are they a very good return on investment. There's a handful of +T builds, but they fall squarely into the "why bother" category in my opinion.

Engine swaps aren't all that involved, basically any Whiteblock I5 from '93 to ~'07 (maybe later) will work, I'd stick with earlier engines, or be swapping heads to avoid VVT.

I've had a N/A 850 sedan for a long time, it is, what it is, a reliable, cheap, secondary appliance. I've done some suspension stuff, Eibachs and Konis, and it's got some engine mods. I've got an early VVIS equipped 2.4l I swapped in place of the original engine (long story), VVIS working, a 960 throttle blade, Turbo air filter box, and stainless eBay/CS Racing header. It's better than stock, but just.

I just recently put a set of Cooper CS5 Ultras on it, and bought a complete timing kit from FCP. I've essentially spent more in maintenance in just the tires and timing, than I could ever make back if I sold it.

I admittedly have some sentimental attachment to the car, and it does a great job of being there when we need it a few times a month, it's cheap to insure (liability) and long, long, long ago paid for, so it remains in our fleet.

I have occasional, delusional, day dreams of it someday becoming a T5-R clone, but there's at least a dozen equally delusional projects in the queue ahead of it.

If you've got the room to keep it in the fleet, they're great, cheap, back-up cars.

bigdaddylee82 wrote: What kind of shape is the PCV system in? As you've noted, N/A Whiteblock performance mods aren't that common, nor are they a very good return on investment. There's a handful of +T builds, but they fall squarely into the "why bother" category in my opinion...

The top end, cooling system and PCV are all new. I have the room, so I may just rebuild (when I feel like messing with it) and let it be another car in the pack. S70s aren't worth much around ATL. It's a great car...for doing average car things. But, like you said I also have 1000 crazy delusional projects in my mind

The engine bay is rather large on them

uh, take it off some sweet jumps.

first, where's the build thread for the ls1 e34 wagon?!!?

second, known good jy motor and swap over the good/new bits from yours?

bluej wrote: first, where's the build thread for the ls1 e34 wagon?!!? second, known good jy motor and swap over the good/new bits from yours?

The GRM Build Thread

BMW 53 E34 Ls1 Vid

Part out the body/interior bits for big $$$, then rebuild the motor and put it in an older RWD brick like a 240.

It's such a nice...I hate to part it out. That's not a bad idea...but I am thinking I want an Vette-Kart, E30 or old Jag project over an old Volvo.

pointofdeparture wrote: Part out the body/interior bits for big $$$, then rebuild the motor and put it in an older RWD brick like a 240.

I vote 240, I've got two turbo ones and they are much more fun than a na whiteblock. And more character

I bet! How much power are they putting out?

chiodos wrote: I vote 240, I've got two turbo ones and they are much more fun than a na whiteblock. And more character

Sorry I linked to the wrong GRM build thread on the E34 LS1 swap. Here's the correct one:

The GRM Build Thread

Robbie wrote: uh, take it off some sweet jumps.

Speaking from experience, they do jump pretty well

I vote T5 swap and crank the boost till the rods bend.

I like...but T5s seems to be around $1500 - 2500 around here...so I could just buy one for the cost of building one.

Furious_E wrote:

Robbie wrote: uh, take it off some sweet jumps.

Speaking from experience, they do jump pretty well I vote T5 swap and crank the boost till the rods bend.

Never would I willingly endorse someone going to Volvospeed, but you know their web banner S70 is a N/A car, was, I assume it still is. If ya took that argyle nonsense of the front, I wouldn't be embarrassed to cruise around in it. That's one sharp looking Swede.

That's cosmetics, wheels, and suspension. Nothing really done in the name of "performance."

vazbmw wrote: I bet! How much power are they putting out?

chiodos wrote: I vote 240, I've got two turbo ones and they are much more fun than a na whiteblock. And more character

Ones a stock 85 turbo with only a full exhaust and more boost so probably 160 or so to the wheels, the other is a work in progress with 220whp 250ft lbs but it's about to get a much much bigger turbo. Can you turbo swap the na motors as easy as you can the redblocks? I honestly never looked into it but that's what I'd do if I had a na whiteblock lying around just strap a turbo to the existing motor

vazbmw wrote: You Folks always have great ideas and solutions, so I felt I should get an idea of what ya’ll thought. I have a 2000 Volvo s70 that has blow-by pressuring the crankcase.

Your flame trap is clogged, probably. It's a Volvo whiteblock rite of passage to pull the intake manifold and replace the whole crankcase ventilation system. Get thee to ipd and they probably have a kit of parts for you that includes all of the gaskets you need, as well as the hoses you don't think you need but will probably crack and break when you try to move them.

My S40 (same engine, one fewer cylinder) would blow the dipstick out of the tube when I got it. Flame trap gunked up. A nice side effect of desludging the engine is that it no longer blows the dipstick out. I am a realist and don't expect this to be permanent, since I've done so many of them on customer cars. Not an if problem but a when problem.

In reply to Knurled:

He said his PCV system was all new, that was my first thought too. Vazbmw, if it still has a an actual flame trap in the PCV elbow by the throttle body, pull it out and throw it away.

My car does have a little extra blow-by as it is up there in miles, I replaced the upper PCV vent tube from the top of the oil separator to the flame trap elbow with some 5/8" heater hose, and removed the flame trap. I had long ago removed the flame trap, but going to a larger vent hose made a huge reduction in crank case pressure. The plume of vapor out the dip stick tube at idle almost disappeared.

Damn they still put flame traps in the whiteblocks too?

Did you run a needle through that tiny orifice in the intake tube that the PCV system connects to? That's where the blockage normally actually lives.

I agree with you regarding the current prices of the turbo models. If that's the route you want to go, it would be far cheaper to sell yours and buy a turbo for similar money.

If you're willing to spend a bit more, shop more carefully for a T5 or R model. Though I would suggest driving those to see how astonished you are by their increased performance. Personally, I was not impressed by it while testing out C70s of similar era to yours.

And in the end, any Volvo will be a rather squishy marshmallowy drive. So you might want to consider wasting money on a BMW of Saab instead if you want a more sporty car.

Good feedback.

Yup the PCV system is new. I don't have a flame trap. I have been looking for clogs and have not found one. @Foxtrapper: when you say needle through orifice in the intake tube...where is this orifice? The hose that goes from my PCV trap to the intake is pretty big. I was thinking about putting a catch can on the other valve cover to vent the crankcase pressure.

Mine have been turbo models, not naturally aspirated, so the location is likely slightly different.

Here's two pictures showing where I'm talking about. It's where the PCV line joins the air intake line.

Pull the air intake hose off the car so you can better work with it. That PCV fitting can indeed be pulled out of the air intake hose, but you probably won't need to. The thing has tiny air passage(s) that plug up easily and subtly. Unless you try to blow through it you probably won't realize it's actually plugged up. Some time with a thin pick and some solvent (mostly the pick) will open it up.

These things are regularly plugged on Volvo's and are hardly mentioned in the instructions that come with the kits (that you generally don't need). There's a darn good chance that this is what is blocked on your car.

In reply to vazbmw:

You probably already know this, but you're car's air cleaner box has a valve in the bottom to select where it draws intake air from. There's a snorkel to the grill for fresh air, and a long metal flex tube to the heat shield on the exhaust manifold. It draws air from around the exhaust manifold for quicker warm up, and to prevent throttle body icing.

There's a simple mechanical thermostat that controls flapper valve. When the thermostat fails, and it will, if it hasn't already, it fails to the hot side. So you're driving around with your engine sucking hot air from a long ~1.5" ID tube.

Best "mod" I did to my car was realizing that the flapper valve had failed, removing it, and blocking off the hot side, where it could only draw fresh air from the ~3" snorkel. Amazing increase in throttle response, and dropped hwy cursing speed by 500 RPM. The engine was no longer breathing through a straw.

I eventually replaced the bottom half of my modded air cleaner box with the bottom half from a turbo car, since turbos don't have the flapper valve.

I daily drove the car in Columbus OH for 3 years, and never had a throttle body icing issue, and if it took longer to warm up, I didn't notice, I put remote start on it anyway, I hate the cold.