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I have a 98 S70 (non-turbo), 116,000 miles. I just found out that a bearing wore out, causing the timing belt to fall off, bending all my valves! I'm trying to decide whether to have it repaired or just sell it for parts and find something else. I had one quote for $4500 to replace the cylinder head. Another indpendent mechanic (I've had good success with him in the past) quoted around $2500 to repair the current valves. That guy said he'd give me around $1000 if I just wanted to junk it and sell it to him.
Independent of the money, I'm leaning toward just repairing the bent valves, since I love the way the car drives (or drove!) and don't want to deal with searching for a new car. The one thing leading me toward junking is that I bought the car used at 80,000 miles - it had been in a front end accident before I got it. I have already replaced battery/alternator and then the exhaust manifold. That makes me a little wary of fixing this problem, just to have something else go wrong 6 months from now.
Not expecting anyone to make the decision for me, just looking for some advice and opinions from you veterans out there. Thanks for any help!
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Hi Everyone. Thank you for all the input. I'm finally getting time to reply since I've been busy coordinating rides to work the last two weeks while I had the repair work done! Yes, I decided to keep the car. As you guys alluded to, I decided I wouldn't be able to get a comparable car for $4K (sale price plus saved repair cost). The final repair cost was just under $2800. I just got it back yesterday, and it seems back to normal.
As for exactly what went wrong (and you can tell me if this doesn't make complete sense since I'm not sure I fully understand) but the tensioner and/or idler pulley failed, and the timing belt started to slide off. It actually carved a belt shaped hole in the plastic cover, which I think I could hear happening, but didn't take the time to fully investigate before the drastic consequences. I guess that will probably make me extra paranoid about every little noise for a while, but it should work out.
Anyway, I appreciate everyone taking the time to respond, and now I'm ready for 200K more miles! (Hopefully!)
Thanks again,
Matt
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Hi Matt. This should be a bit sobering to those people who asked recently about when to change their tensioner and pulley.
Glad to hear yours is fixed.
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Yeah, you're right. As far as I'm concerned now, you can never change too often. I might switch to an every 10,000 mile schedule! (Just kidding).
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Let your indie have it for $1500. The cost of the repair is mostly labor, and he can just replace the valves that were bent, hopefully not all 24. And valve guides, etc.
Then look around for a 1998 that hasn't been bent up :)
Klaus
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The 164 has a new home, all I am left with are a 95 854T and a 98 V70R :)
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Hi, A couple things to consider; $2500 doesn't sound that bad to get your car back, 116K is very young and you've driven it for 36K. Things are not going to start breaking immediately (that said have the PCV system checked and preferably replaced as part of the job as insurance against the rear main seal that happens a lot with these cars) other than an oil leak the AC is the other big item to worry about. If you get $1000-$1500 for your car plus $2500, what new car does that get you in your area? Have you been wanting a turbo or are you happy with your model? There might be a lot of XC's available, but they have potential problems. You do have a buyer right now which saves some trouble. Whether he'll come up in price is another question. I think it boils down to your budget. Also, if $2500 is the top price or a little more might be added to that once they get in there for the rebuild. Anyone out there on the Board done one before? Good luck. Let us know what happens.
What was that bearing? or did the Timing belt just break because it had not been replaced after 116K?
Bill
'97 855na 176K, Mobil 1, K&N, various IPD's and eBay's
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posted by
someone claiming to be ksg
on
Wed Jan 2 15:58 CST 2008 [ RELATED]
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The 3 problems you mention seem unrelated and random occurrences that wouldn't by themselves indicate the car is not worth keeping.
I would keep this car under the following conditions:
all or almost all of the regular maintenance is up to date
interior and body are in good to excellent condition
all accessories & comfort items - climate ocntrol, etc. are working properly
engine was not using excessive oil and gearbox not slipping, etc., before failure.
It also depends if you are philosophically oriented to keeping things like cars for a long time, and of course your budget and obligations, and finally whether you are confident the technician you are working with will do a good job.
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Nobody can answer your question except you. I agree with ksg's observations. The other things you mentioned aren't related and can be considered to be maintenance items. You always have those. How many you have depends on how the car has been maintained, as ksg says.
You say you liked the way the car drove. That's a big factor for me. The fact it had been in an accident, assuming it was fixed competently, doesn't mean much. The paint will nick easier; how important is that to you? I had a 280ZX turbo that was in a major front end accident. It drove like new when I got it back. The body specialist told me "you're lucky you GOT into this accidient." I found this rather absurd until I drove the car. I never considered myself "lucky" to have had the accident, but the car did drive great.
I defer to Klaus' wisdom usually, and he gave you very good advice. However, I am willing to venture my own road on this one. *If* it were I, I would probably repair it using the guy you trust.
Good luck, whatever you decide.
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