What to watch for V70 T5

The motor and the turbo are generally good for at least 250-300,000 miles if well maintained. It's a popular motor used in quite a few different models and has been holding up pretty well. Maintenance is a little more than the non-turbo, but not a lot, but you do have to be a bit more meticulous. Can't really speak for the rest of the car since I've never owned one personally.

USD1,200 for a steering rack.

You should determine if the car was serviced at least accoring to the manufacturers schedule.

Bit extreme to do a $1200 rack replacement for a small leak don't you think? Personally I would find the particular cause of the leak and replace the seal, gasket, etc, not just blindly change out the whole rack.

Have you actually changed one? Alot of work. Trust me when I say you don't want to be dismantling it again to have another go at fixing the leak.

(Engine, gearbox, suspension, exhaust, front subframe down, bleeding knuckles etc...)

Tim.

Only on 240s and 740s, never tried on one of the FWD cars. Depending where the leak is, it might not even have to be removed or dismantled, I've replaced seals in racks on other cars without taking much apart.

Given that he is asking how much it costs it is probably a safe assumption that he does not have the tools and skills to undertake such a repair. It is not a simple task. Rack replacement is what most shops will do when faced with leaking seals.

I foolishly spent the big bucks replacing the one on my 245 when I first got it. Years later it developed another leak. I put ATF with seal swell in the power steering tank and it hasn't dripped a drop in since.

Greetings (and sorry using my other email server) the conversation has been helpful to me in terms of the power steering on my older V70 - I might look at some stop leak stuff....

But at the moment more interested in any further info about things to be careful of with a 2000 model V70 T5. The owner tells me that when he bought it it had an issue with the gear box and they replaced some solenoids he thinks before he got it and he hasn't had any issues .... is this likely to present as a problem, or reoccurring problem. I have heard of boxes needing to be replaced at a cost of $4000 or so.

After anything info that might be helpful. I think it is the 5 speed auto. Getting it checked out next week thoroughly.

Also on the towing front, while it has the horsepower, being only 2.3 litre is this a problem, for the likes of towing a boat as described below.

Thanks Jeff

I've towed a 19' boat with my 2.1T 240 and that did fine, however it's also a manual gearbox. I'd be much more concerned about the gearbox than the engine, those engines are tough, I don't know how strong the transmission is and automatics run hotter to begin with.

Auto boxes can be weak, mainly becuase there is no specified fluid change. Have it done and flushed every ~25k and it will last.

Careful with towing for any distance or in hills- the trans cooler will need supplimenting if you are to avoid cooking the box.

Tim.

Should not be a problem towing that boat. Just take it easy on the speed when climbing hills.