Willie’s question:
I’ve got a 97 turbo Volvo and now it’s smoking like a chimney. When I step on the gas, a white plume emits from my tailpipe. It’s really embarrassing. What do you think it is?”
Answer:
Well, I just fixed one like that last year. Odds are the turbo charger is leaking internally. The turbo itself is lubricated by oil feed lines and cooled by water feed lines. The oil seals go bad, then the turbo sucks a ton of oil into the engine intake. When it burns, your Volvo turns into a giant mosquito fogger. Different Volvos use different turbo chargers. Some can be purchased rebuilt and work fine. But some like the Mitsubishi turbos, really can’t be rebuilt and must be purchased new (close to two thousand dollars.) SO, find out what kind of turbo yours has and start searching for a good rebuilt unit if possible.
Tommy’s question:
“My 97 Volvo Turbo is smoking like mad out the tailpipe. The engine is consuming a large amount of oil. I’ve been told it’s the turbo charger going out and that it will cost about 2 thousand dollars to fix. Is there anything else I can do?”
Answer:
Well, you could sell your Volvo to the city to use as a mosquito fogger (I’ve seen a bunch of Volvos do that wild smoking.) Your turbo charger has seals inside it, because it is water cooled and oil lubricated. The oil seal section of the turbo is breaking down, so oil gets sucked into the engine intake system. Then it burns and makes smoke EVERYWHERE. Many of those Volvos have Japanese turbo chargers which are VERY expensive to replace (and from what I’ve seen they really aren’t rebuildable so you have to buy a brand new one.) BUT, if you want to try to save money, you can attempt a trick a Volvo mechanic showed me years ago. You can have a mechanic remove the turbo blades from the turbocharger. Then have him disconnect both the oil feed lines to the turbo and the water cooling lines. Your Volvo will be MUCH slower than it was, not having a working turbo charger on it anymore. BUT, if everything else on the car is OK, it can run for years that way. It just won’t have the zip you’ve become accustomed to.
Larry’s question:
” I’ve got a leak in the front main seal of the automatic transmission in my Volvo. I realize the transmission has to be removed to replace this seal. Is there anything else I can do?”
Answer:
Yes, there is something else you can try first. I’ve been using ATP 205 Reseal polymer for years. Just go to www.atp-inc.com and you can read all about it. You pour a bottle into the transmission and drive it around. The ATP 205 rejuvenates the rubber in the transmission seals (it doesn’t swell them up like other “sealer” that can damage components.) I’ve seen it stop quite a few leaks in cars I was working on in the last three decades. Give it a try and keep your fingers crossed.
Al’s question:
My 03 Volvo C 70 had the warning light come on. I had it scanned and the code was P1550. I’ve been quoted a LOT of money to replace the ABS module. If this is the problem, can’t I get the module fixed instead?
Answer:
Yes, the last one I repaired was done so with a rebuilt unit. I used a company called BBM in Massachussetts and the rebuilt unit cost only about a hundred dollars. If you can’t wait the time it takes to ship one, you might try locally where you are for a closer one (but who knows, maybe you live in Boston.)
Mark Question: Help me quick. my 2000 Volvo C70 convertible top is stuck open and won’t go back up. We had a few warm days and I put the top down. Now I need it up so I don’t freeze. HELP!
volvo-c70-convertible
Answer: Of course check the fuses to make sure none are blown. BUT, to get it up in an emergency, go to the trunk. Inside is the convertible top motor.There is a slotted screw top there which you turn clockwise. This will crank the convertible top back up so you can latch it back on. It’ll take a lot of screwing to get it the whole way up, but at least then you won’t freeze.
