Throwing the towel in , for now

[Johnboy78]

Hi guys ,would like to thank the folks that have helped on the c70 journey,I've had enough for now with repair bills and steering rack issues !going to store car and go back to it when funds allow, and find the enjoyment in it again ,cheers

John

[Orca2]

When you do start back on it , you do know the Volvo graveyard is just up the road from Boness dont you ? Slamannan to be precise.

[Johnboy78]

Thanks mate I used to pass it when I drove buses out of larbert depot so know the one your on about mate ,its steering racks I'm sick of putting in it ,admittedly out of scrappers ,going to save for proper recon one from steering direct ,are you local to me ? Another Volvo fan close by would be cool for advice and maybee going to meets ?,I have had a visit from ayrshore on here ,top lad drove up with a set of mats for me and think flying banana is up round here ,I used to be into mk2 escorts and there was plenty guys here in boness to compare notes with

Thanks for reply / advice

John

[MoleT-5R]

Sorry to here of your troubles, sometimes a break from these cars is all we need to come back with bit more enthusiasm and a tad more hard earned, best of luck and look forward to hearing about your c70 when you get back to it

[Orca2]

Thanks mate I used to pass it when I drove buses out of larbert depot so know the one your on about mate ,its steering racks I'm sick of putting in it ,admittedly out of scrappers ,going to save for proper recon one from steering direct ,are you local to me ? Another Volvo fan close by would be cool for advice and maybee going to meets ?,I have had a visit from ayrshore on here ,top lad drove up with a set of mats for me and think flying banana is up round here ,I used to be into mk2 escorts and there was plenty guys here in boness to compare notes with

Thanks for reply / advice

John


Sadly not mate,im in Glasgow, but I get about a lot , I found the graveyard on the way back from a place called California, a beautiful wee place it was too.
I biught a Mini frim a guy in boness last year .
Were you at the Forth Bridge meet , it was good fun , lots of deeply loved Volvos there .
There are lots of Volvo nutters in your area .

[Johnboy78]

No sadly I wasn't mate ,yeah California is a lovley wee ex coal mining village again used to go through it on buses ,yeah there does seem to be a few round here but never in right place at right time to talk to them ,still on the busses so I get about too mate and stirling has its fair share of them too

[Johnboy78]

Yeah thanks mole just got sick of steering rack issues then the other wee jobs add up you know how it is ,so its away for winter till I've got proper funds to sort all issues at once

[Johnboy78]

Just a quick question on the c70/ do you guys think this is a car worth saving and keeping for future or is it just another Volvo ? I've made mistake of selling cars that are now worth a small fortune ! In the past just trying to figure out what to do with it as would really like older preferable rwd ,but if its worth keeping would most likely put money into it some thoughts from you guys would help with that decision, I do really like the c70/but have that itch for something a bit older ,not shure if its because I'm a bit fed up disappointed with its unreliability in the steering dept

[MoleT-5R]

Just a quick question on the c70/ do you guys think this is a car worth saving and keeping for future or is it just another Volvo ? I've made mistake of selling cars that are now worth a small fortune ! In the past just trying to figure out what to do with it as would really like older preferable rwd ,but if its worth keeping would most likely put money into it some thoughts from you guys would help with that decision, I do really like the c70/but have that itch for something a bit older ,not shure if its because I'm a bit fed up disappointed with its unreliability in the steering dept

A re manufactured rack should clear up all your troubles and with a warranty give you some peace of mind, keeping the c70 has to be the cheapest option. I from time to time fancy something else but then think what I've all ready sunk into my cars and how much I'd land up spending on getting the next up to what I'd want, then I stick with what I have. Good luck in your decision.

[Johnboy78]

Thanks mole ,I get what your saying mate ,to date I've spent around 1k sorting out previous owners botches at the time I got the car for next to nothing ,then the steering issues started ,but like you say a re manufactured one instead of a scrappy one would be the best option after that its a strong case for keeping it ,and there's a decent bunch of lads on here too ,it would be great to put faces to names,but,there's not much meets up here , but thanks for comments ,defo food for thought

[Orca2]

Just out of interest , what steering fluid are you using , there was a change from atf type fluid to CHF111 at one point and using the wrong fluid causes problems with the rack seals.

[foammanmark]

Just out of interest , what steering fluid are you using , there was a change from atf type fluid to CHF111 at one point and using the wrong fluid causes problems with the rack seals.

Yeap, I can back this up. My year 2000 C70 T5 came with the red stuff in her. Groaning on lock, couple of leaks, but then I changed her to the green stuff(which should have been in her), and as quiet/smooth as can be now.

[Orca2]

I wondered if Johnboy had got a secondhand rack that needed the red atf stuff and his car had the green CHF stuff . If so or vice versa it could explain why the replacement rack had failed too.

PS Johnboy , keep your C70 if you can mate , they are worth feck all money but they are a really good fun motor to drive, I’ve got a c70 softop and it’s never getting sold it’s just too bleeding much fun on the three days a year you can get the top down in Glesga.

Pps there is a good meet at the Forth bridge every year all the usual suspects usually turn up . Watch out for it next year .

[Johnboy78]

Hi guys , I totally get what youse are saying ,first owner pretty much put any old crap in ,it was defo red when I got it ,but,when I ordered it from Volvo it was green ,so that would have done for rack 1 ,rack two come to think of it had red dripping out once unpacked from courier and didn't think at the time ,put green back in once fitted ,so have prob helped its demise ! Makes sense now ! So what would go in a re manufactured one ? Thanks for info on bridges meet ,its only 9 miles from me ,will look out for it ,cheers ,

[Orca2]

I reckon wrong fluid might have been your problem all along, wrong fluid kills them pretty quickly , i would ask the remanufacturer what fluid they recommend , they will know what seals they have in there and what is compatible.
You might have to purge the pump and the hoses if you have chf ( green ) and the new rack needs atf ( red ) .
Make sure the supplier knows there is an issue with fluid type cos they are probably just going to give you the stock answer , make them check with whoever reconditioned the rack.

Ps you might be able to revive your existing rack by changing the fluid , if it was dripping red and you fed it green you might just be able to drain it and refill with red , its worth a try all its going to cost you is a few litres of atf , which for Volvos is JWS 3309 , or atf u .

[Johnboy78]

Thanks mate ,I will keep it in mind when ordering new one ,it is a good car apart from that fun to drive etc still plenty room for improvement mines only the 163 bhp one but you can't beat that turbo pull ,something I'm now finding out driving a 1.6 focus ! There just no torque compared to the c70/ just steering rack issues that scunnered me as it a pain to change ,but as I prob contributed to its demise its only fair I give it another go eh

[Tee5alive]

Hi Johnboy

I completely sympathise with you on this! My C70 has gone the same route and I have also laid mine up for now hoping to keep the V70 going! I just CANNOT find steering racks for this car, the welds have broken on 2 of the brackets. So when I calm down and stop being angry with the car and beating it with a branch.......I'll remove it and recon it myself with new seals. I'll have to buy a MiG welder as all my garage equipment was lost years ago (long story)!

Driving the 'tank' as I call the estate - hasnt got the fun or acceleration. Mine is the T5 and I LOVE the 5 pot roar driving with the top down!

I spent ages trying to get her MOT'd but missed the cracked mounting bracket on the rack. :( Hope all goes well for you!