Silver C70 T5 - Manual - 400BHP

**Wobbly Dave** · Tuesday 18th October 2011, 23:14

Well it has been a damn depressing 2.5 months but finally the C70 is back on the road.

The full "breakdown" goes as follows.
Bought a 2nd hand gearbox in January & sent it to Competitive Transmission Services in Markyate. They fitted a quaiffe diff & were supposed to refurbish the box.
This box never made it out of the garage - bearly down the road actually before it started playing up. It was notchy & kept dropping out of 2nd gear.
In April after some long winded discussions this box was returned to CTS, who refused to bear the consequential losses (of dropping & shipping the gearbox back).
The original gearbox was then used once the fault was found in the first replacement box. This box had run for over 150K without issue. The LSD was transferred & the box built back up again.
The 2nd attempt lasted from late April to near the end of July (only 1 drag race meeting attended) - before grinding noises in the 1st 4 gears started to manifest.
There have been some arguements over who is responsible for what bits within the box. The internals had overheated somewhat & that friction has cooked it. Debate will continue for sometime as to why & what - but ultimately I don't think I got a fair deal or what I asked for originally.
The upshot of this was I didn't get what I paid for from CTS & eventually just asked for my money back & return of the parts. CTS asked for a stripping charge & return postage but not without making me wait just shy of 4 weeks to return the parts.
In the meantime I decided enough was enough - bought another new quaiffe diff & another 2nd hand gearbox & sent it elsewhere to get the job done properly.

the transmission project must be running close to 3K since Januar. I hope to pursue and recover at least some of this outlay. This may require some additional hassle with a small claims court but I hope for a more amicable solution.

However I am very pleased to have the C70 home. I forgot how quick she is. I felt initially like this isnt my car. Drove quite gingerly home - listening intently for any untoward sounds. I am looking forward to the Oulton Park track day.

It is very cool having 2 Volvos on the driveway.

**t5_monkey** · Tuesday 18th October 2011, 23:26

Originally Posted by Wobbly Dave

Well it has been a damn depressing 2.5 months but finally the C70 is back on the road.

The full "breakdown" goes as follows.
Bought a 2nd hand gearbox in January & sent it to Competitive Transmission Services in Markyate. They fitted a quaiffe diff & were supposed to refurbish the box.
This box never made it out of the garage - bearly down the road actually before it started playing up. It was notchy & kept dropping out of 2nd gear.
In April after some long winded discussions this box was returned to CTS, who refused to bear the consequential losses (of dropping & shipping the gearbox back).
The original gearbox was then used once the fault was found in the first replacement box. This box had run for over 150K without issue. The LSD was transferred & the box built back up again.
The 2nd attempt lasted from late April to near the end of July (only 1 drag race meeting attended) - before grinding noises in the 1st 4 gears started to manifest.
There have been some arguements over who is responsible for what bits within the box. The internals had overheated somewhat & that friction has cooked it. Debate will continue for sometime as to why & what - but ultimately I don't think I got a fair deal or what I asked for originally.
The upshot of this was I didn't get what I paid for from CTS & eventually just asked for my money back & return of the parts. CTS asked for a stripping charge & return postage but not without making me wait just shy of 4 weeks to return the parts.
In the meantime I decided enough was enough - bought another new quaiffe diff & another 2nd hand gearbox & sent it elsewhere to get the job done properly.

the transmission project must be running close to 3K since Januar. I hope to pursue and recover at least some of this outlay. This may require some additional hassle with a small claims court but I hope for a more amicable solution.

However I am very pleased to have the C70 home. I forgot how quick she is. I felt initially like this isnt my car. Drove quite gingerly home - listening intently for any untoward sounds. I am looking forward to the Oulton Park track day.

It is very cool having 2 Volvos on the driveway.

Pull the directors report on their company to get their full names.

Use the electoral roll to find out where they live from their full name.

Send a polite letter saying you unfortunately must insist on a full refund - to their home address.

That usually works

Failing that - hope you get it all sorted - keep the faith as your C70 is awesome

**jardon** · Tuesday 18th October 2011, 23:39

Glad it's up and running again Dave. What gearbox oil are you running?

**Wobbly Dave** · Tuesday 18th October 2011, 23:52

I'd have to look it up or ask Hamish. I believe it is OEM Volvo gearbox oil.

**jardon** · Wednesday 19th October 2011, 00:15

You may wish to canvas opinion on gear/transmission oils for high performance applications. I run Redline Heavyweight Shockproof because of the Gripper but their 75/90NS may be an option. Quaife say use the manufacturers recommended oil. Just be sure it's not a budget oem. It's going to be hard to determine why it overheated but some oils stay stable to higher temps than others. I know how anal you are about engine oil (as am I) so thought I'd mention it.

**Wobbly Dave** · Wednesday 19th October 2011, 09:44

I only ever use top quality lubricants. oo er!

**p fandango** · Wednesday 19th October 2011, 10:18

do you think their was any issues with the diff itself? I've never heard of any previous problems with Quaife

**Wobbly Dave** · Wednesday 19th October 2011, 11:07

The quaiffe diff is fine. There were a number of opinions expressed about the 2nd demise - none of them diff related - it was more to do with the reconstruction & principally the alignment of bearings (which were supposed to be new) being incorrectly installed. TBH it is a little beyond my level of engineering knowledge but I think the consensus was it was put together too tightly - which would explain the additional friction.

This is neither here nor there - fact is it failed within 2 months of a refurb & even with the dozen or so drag strip runs, I don't believe it was completed with due skill or care.

**lance** · Wednesday 19th October 2011, 11:09

Good luck with the claim and looking forward to seeing her in action at Olton park

**Wobbly Dave** · Wednesday 19th October 2011, 11:23

Gonna be a fantastic day - just praying everything hold together.

**smithy** · Wednesday 19th October 2011, 11:41

Originally Posted by Wobbly Dave

The quaiffe diff is fine. There were a number of opinions expressed about the 2nd demise - none of them diff related - it was more to do with the reconstruction & principally the alignment of bearings (which were supposed to be new) being incorrectly installed. TBH it is a little beyond my level of engineering knowledge but I think the consensus was it was put together too tightly - which would explain the additional friction.

This is neither here nor there - fact is it failed within 2 months of a refurb & even with the dozen or so drag strip runs, I don't believe it was completed with due skill or care.

im glad you have your car mate you have had alot of hassle and expense .now enjoy yourself and stop breaking it lol.now i want my car back on the road now boo hoo ,ive forgot what its like to drive a turbo

**Wobbly Dave** · Wednesday 19th October 2011, 11:48

I saw yours being mapped yesterday. Anyway you are a fine one to talk when it comes to breaking Volvos LOL.

**smithy** · Wednesday 19th October 2011, 12:14

Originally Posted by Wobbly Dave

I saw yours being mapped yesterday. Anyway you are a fine one to talk when it comes to breaking Volvos LOL.

i have not broken my car mate i am improving it by mapping the fuel system so i dont overfuel it .but it it did drive everyday though .lets see what happens when i get the car back to see if i have power on boost .then no one will beat the oldtech 940 .

**Wobbly Dave** · Wednesday 19th October 2011, 12:33

There was a mention that you'd blown the bottom out of it? However I am keen to see the full potential of the old skool RWD

**smithy** · Wednesday 19th October 2011, 16:39

Originally Posted by Wobbly Dave

There was a mention that you'd blown the bottom out of it? However I am keen to see the full potential of the old skool RWD

no i didnot blow the bottom end out i built a new forged bottom end but it was not right so i took it back out and put another engine in for now till i find what the problem is with the forged one and then that baby will be back in .the engine in the car at mo is totally standard, the big valve head and cam is bolted to the forged engine .

**Wobbly Dave** · Tuesday 22nd November 2011, 01:15

End of last week Betsy began to develop a rotational humming noise coming from the N/S. Bear in mind the gearbox drama I've had all year - with version 3 of the Quaiffe LSD/M56L combo now up & running for not much more than a month. The noise - which was most prevalent at 35 - 40mph was directly proportional to the rotation speed of the wheel, was not that loud - but it is one of the "o-oh" noises that you know will only get worse with age.

Took Betsy to HLM - the guys were not sure if it was a diff bearing or the wheel bearing. So starting with the easiest fix first - we changed the OSF hub & we went out again. To say I had my heart in my mouth would be an understatement.

To my great relief the noise had gone - & the gearbox can stay where it is for now. Cheers to Hamish & the guys for sorting me out at such short notice. I am sure they were as relieved as I that the box wasn't coming out again for the 4th time this year.

**Murphy** · Tuesday 22nd November 2011, 10:27

Great news Dave - lucky boy!

**lance** · Tuesday 22nd November 2011, 11:32

Have to say I was impressed with Betsy when I went in her at Oulton, just a shame the coolant light came on

**Wobbly Dave** · Tuesday 22nd November 2011, 12:59

I think I may have a leaky heater matrix - it has never been changed. I seem to get from the max to min/warning light more often & usually takes 3 weeks. There is no oil/water mix - I doubt the cylinder head gasket is on its way. Well at least I hope so.