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I wanted to share my recent experience with our 1998 S70 (80K miles) that should be a cautionary tale for fellow owners. During a cold snap here in Dallas my thermostat failed and caused the car to overheat on the highway. The gauge was pegged on high for about 10 minutes of highway driving. Shame on me...I know. The weather was in the low 20’s so I figured enough cold air was circulating in the engine compartment. I took it to a local independent shop for thermostat replacement. Total cost $150. Unfortunately over the next three weeks the car lost enough coolant to require the reservoir to be topped up every day. Fearing the worst (blown head gasket or warped head), I took it to the dealership (Point West Volvo, Irving, Texas) for proper inspection. Even though I told them about extreme overheating, they only replaced the coolant reservoir which was cracked and leaking ($150, again). Well the coolant loss continued so back to Point West Volvo the car went. Sure enough, a blown head gasket! Milky oil on the dipstick. (Why didn’t they check this the first time??) I was told to expect $2,300 to replace gasket and machine the head. But wait it gets better. When removing the head, the Point West mechanic broke a stud into the block. So I get a call from the service advisor telling me the cost of a new/used engine...at least $6,000. I ended up selling the car to a mechanic friend for $2500...fortunately it was paid off. My point? IF YOUR S70 IS OVERHEATING, PULL OVER IMMEDIATLEY…DO NOT TEMPT THE SWEDISH GODS.
P.S. I ended up buying another 98 S70 with 38K miles for only $8K. Guess I really like those comfy seats.
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