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El Bastardo


MarkW
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Yup, El Bastardo (aka our XC90) is knackered again. Twenty years of good fortune with second hand cars was more than made up for when I bought the damn thing a couple of years ago, because it has cost a small fortune in repairs. The worst was a bill in the hundreds of pounds to replace a £3 gasket buried somewhere in the bowels of the engine.


Then there all the faults that I haven't got around to fixing yet; the interior lights that come on every time you go over a bump; the CD auto changer that disintegrated internally into a box of jangly metal bits; the electric seat that can't decide what position to be in; the non-functioning remote central locking.


The current problem is the power steering - or lack thereof. I had a small crack in one of the pipes a while ago that squirted fluid out when the wheel was turned, but that was replaced and things were fine for a good while. Now it's back to being very notchy, and turning the wheel more than 45 degrees in either direction is very stiff. I'll have a poke around tomorrow, but I'm guessing that if there are no leaks and the fluid condition and level is OK it's probably a pump problem.


It was particularly bad in the multi-storey this evening, where I was reminded of another odd thing. When turning to go up the ramps between floors the front wheels chatter across the concrete as though they are being pushed sideways. Very odd. It's always done it, with wet tyres and dry, old and new, and regardless of speed. Anyone know what might be causing it? :scratch:

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I would look at tracking first off if its out they will be fighting each other on the front end that will be egsadurated on a tighter lock, if tracking is ok look for play in steering/ suspension joints, although you should get some feedback when on bumpy surfaces

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egsadurated

 

I'm not being a spelling police when I say this, but that is the best way of spelling exaggerated I've ever seen, given it's one of those words I wish was spelt easier :lol:


This chatter noise you hear is one I've heard from a lot of 4X4 hire cars in the states where they keep them in multi-storeys. I'm wondering if it's just rubber on a crap concrete surface but I'd check the tracking still.


Unlucky with this motor, usually Volvos do well!

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Volvos are tanks, even these days (where they seem to have discovered the meaning of the words "styling" and "comfort")


re: the knocking in the multi-storey. That can either be your tracking or your suspension. Take it to a mechanic and see if they can spot anything.

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Volvos are tanks, even these days (where they seem to have discovered the meaning of the words "styling" and "comfort".

I dunno which new Volvos you've been looking at buddy but my 2013 V40 is not particularly good!


Tank - definitely not. Flimsy... Oh yes. Do I regret my purchase? Absolutely.


To the OP - I'm guessing it was the high pressure line on the rack that fractured. My V70 did the same. I replaced the part but the steering was still heavy and groaned a lot. My MOT guy suggested using some power steering conditioner which worked an absolute treat. Lightened up the steering and got rid of the nasty noises.

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egsadurated

 

I'm not being a spelling police when I say this, but that is the best way of spelling exaggerated I've ever seen, given it's one of those words I wish was spelt easier :lol:


This chatter noise you hear is one I've heard from a lot of 4X4 hire cars in the states where they keep them in multi-storeys. I'm wondering if it's just rubber on a crap concrete surface but I'd check the tracking still.


Unlucky with this motor, usually Volvos do well!

 

This is one word i gave up trying to get right years ago lol. I prefer the phonetic spelling half the time. Im sure the spelling police will be here with his red pen soon haha

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My V60 had to have the water pump replaced at the first service.....although I hadn't seen any problems, it was picked up by the technicians. Since then it's been OK......just approaching 50k in a bit under 2 years. Still original tyres. Better than the Beemer I had before, which had all the coil packs replaced at least twice ( and a couple 3 times) in the 3 years I had it......and I was lucky to 20k miles out of a full set of tyres.... :shock:

Overall I'm pretty pleased with it so far..... 8-)

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I have to say I do like Volvo, and bought the XC90 because I'd been so pleased with the S60 I had before. It was an 02 plate that I had from 2006 to 2012, and in six years of high-mileage motoring it cost nothing in repairs. And it was so comfortable on long trips it was like a motorised armchair.


I love everything about the XC90 apart from the reliability of mine, and will definitely have another one - I'll just pay a bit more for a better example next time.


We also have a 2011 S60 which we bought in March, and so far the only issue with that was a failed gasket on the drivers side headlight cluster, which flooded the ballast. Luckily Volvo replaced it free of charge as a manufacturing defect, otherwise we would have been looking at the thick end of £800 for a replacement unit!

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I had a V70 which I liked except for the high charges at Volvo, even compared to other main dealers. The desler nearest, but not close, to me then closed, followed 6 months later by the next closest one. The nearest main dealer is now the other side of Manchester, so I won't be getting another in a hurry.


50K from one set of tyres? you must drive like an angel.

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Could be a damaged rack.

If you was using it before when the pas pipe split you can damage the rack, that causes intermitent asisted steering.

Is the pump electric or hydralic?

Or it could be crap in the fluid, or your drawing air in somewere.

Is anything whining/screeching?

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It was particularly bad in the multi-storey this evening, where I was reminded of another odd thing. When turning to go up the ramps between floors the front wheels chatter across the concrete as though they are being pushed sideways. Very odd. It's always done it, with wet tyres and dry, old and new, and regardless of speed. Anyone know what might be causing it? :scratch:

 

Diff lock on?

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The XC90 has AWD, which apparently means that drive is normally sent to the front wheels until they begin to slip, at which point drive is increased to the rear. Maybe the strange tyre chattering is something to do with this as it goes up and round a tight bend simultaneously. Dunno.


I had a good poke around under the bonnet yesterday, and the power steering fluid level was a tad low, but not near the minimum mark. I topped it up, but as it was a fair bit darker than the stuff I put in I'll probably do a full replacement after Christmas.


I also found a small trail of oily-looking stuff under the pump which may have come from there (in which case the drive shaft off the pulley wheel looks like a likely source) or it could have found its way there from somewhere else. I cleaned it up and will keep and eye on it to see if I can confirm where it's coming from.

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The XC90 has AWD, which apparently means that drive is normally sent to the front wheels until they begin to slip, at which point drive is increased to the rear. Maybe the strange tyre chattering is something to do with this as it goes up and round a tight bend simultaneously. Dunno.

 

 


its common for 4WD or AWD vehicles to scrub the fronts on full lock


older ones where really bad!


4x4's without a central diff and 50 50 split drive where the worst

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