Hi everyone!
Can anyone give me any tips before I pull the trigger on a 1998 XC wagon with 128,000 miles on it? I presently own a 1995 854 non-turbo and had to re-build the transmission shortly after purchasing it back in 2001. It had only 92k miles on it at the time and I don't want to do that again.
Are there any weak spots on the XC that I should look for? Is the transmssion a little tougher I hope on these cross country's? Any info would be most appreciated.

Thanks!

My first Cross Country was a 98’, had some small problems with it but in all was a good car. I drove it 98,000 miles with no major repairs. It is my suggestion you get the repair history from the owner if possible. There were some corrections the dealership had to make to the car (recall). I now have a 04’ XC and really love this one. If you do not need a car like the XC you may want to look at a regular wagon. The XC requires a little more up keep than the standard Volvos.

The 1998 tranny is better than the 1995, by far. But the AWD has it's own problems:
Bevel gear fluid needs to be changed every 50K miles.
There is a viscous coupling unit which may work forever, or not.
Center prop shaft bearing.
And, a cv joint just behind the bevel gear box which tends to get cracks in the boot.

The awd makes the XC very costly if it breaks. And if the fuel pump goes... The rear subframe must be lowered along with the tank to replace (think $1K).

If you don't NEED awd, just look for a T5 wagon and a set of snows.
If you NEED awd, look for a 2004+ XC.

Klaus
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Just driving a 1998 V70R :)

Thanks for the tips Klaus on the AWD. No I really do not need it. All the things you mentioned definitely would scare me off as I do not have the budget for those fixes. Is a T5 wagon the same model line as the 850? I think the 850 line was made from 1993-1997. So is the 1998 model T-5 considered a V70 wagon?

The V70 is a rebadged 850, with some improvements. The T5 has the high speed turbo and make it a very nice driving car.
The V/S70 did have one frustrating problem: The vinyl around the inside door pulls lifts off when the car sits in the sun too long. There is no easy fix, but it just looks ugly. The plastic window switches and mirror switches tend to get ugly with age, also no fix, but, at least they aren't under the cup holders. Oh, the rear cup holders were tossed out with the V70.

Klaus
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Just driving a 1998 V70R :)