My 99 V70-T5M has 81,000 miles of mostly local driving, and there is not a lot of free play left at the top of the clutch travel. While it is not slipping, I take this as a sign that the clutch doesn't have a lot more life.

My questions:
1. Is Sachs the original equipment maker for Volvo clutches?
2. www.carparts.com has Sachs & AC Delco listed, both with an identical note:
"SN44 upgrade for SN39". What does that mean? Should I take the fact that they both have the same note as an indication that AC Delco is selling Sachs clutches repackaged in AC Delco boxes? (Sachs kit = $441, AC Delco kit = $411)
3. www.clutchcityonline.com has a kit with the Sachs number (K70255-1) listed for $382. Has anyone heard of this company? Do you trust them?
4. Anybody out there actually done a clutch job on a V70? It looks like a really involved, strenuous job. The last time I did a clutch on a front wheel drive car (Acura Legend), I felt like I was getting too old to wrestle with transaxles on the garage floor. (That was 7 years ago, and I have not gotten younger since then.) But the retail price of these parts (over $700) really makes it an expensive proposition to have someone else do it.

I don't have any answers for you, but...

I've read replacing the clutch requires removing the motor and it's about a day-and-a-half job.

It's suggested that you replace the main seal while everything is apart because that requires the same amount of disassembly and it's a $20 part.

My clutch (original) has been kinda funky for the last 2 years.

-BTC

'98 V70 T5 5-speed, 170k mi, front IPD stabilizer bar, Volvo strut tower brace and skidplate, XC grill, C70 jewel E-Codes, V-1, Lidatek, Mobil-1 since new.

"Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so."-Douglas Noel Adams (1952-2001)

I have some answers to my own questions. SN39 and SN44 are Sachs part numbers for clutch pilot bushings. I don't know if the "upgrade" represents a Volvo upgrade or a Sachs upgrade. This information strongly suggests that the AC Delco kit is, indeed, and rebranded Sachs kit.

I e-mailed clutchcityonline.com to ask if their kit was new or rebuilt and if it was Sachs or somebody else. They answered me within minutes to say that it is a new Sachs kit. If speed of answer on a Saturday night means anything, I'm impressed.