Well mine did get the used oil treatment, just a little overboard! It was literally peeling from the box sections in several places and with me getting greedy for power I knew the exhaust would cook it over time and maybe to the point of a fire so it was time to eliminate a potential problem. I did blast through the box section holes with the steam cleaner and noted a good pile of sand in the wake along with who knows what. I got the feeling that Volvo used some pretty good steel in the production of the car along with many spot welds and seam sealer to ward off the water. What I have also noted is many of the 700s that Ive seen all seem to have rust rot around those rear sealing plugs that cap the side saddles in the trunk. Maybe its the act of the water spray from the rear tires or just the sharp angle for the plugs themselves but the ones Ive seen all have rust or rot hidden under the coating.

My last inspection under the car was last summer while chasing down a rotten wire for the OD solinoid and everything was in excellent shape. I have no undercoating and so far have driven 2 winters without, the only thing I did find was mud accumulation around the rear fender lips but no rust. I did spray these up with rubber undercoat so it doesn't start looking like a chevy. Other than that everything was good so it makes me wonder if Volvo was going an extra step for "just because" and not because poor metal demanded extra protection. Wish I could say that about chevy...

Brandon