Phase 1 S70/V70 Engines

[Dave200]

Hi guys. About to start shopping for a ph1 V70/S70, and there seem to be a number of engine options available at my price range. Which of the below is the best choice for smoothness and reliability/longevity?
- 2.4 (140/170 variants)
- 2.5 (10v/20v variants)
- 2.5T (struggling for info on this one)

Apols for all the questions, but I'm starting from pretty much scratch with info here...

[Timberwolf]

I'm pretty sure the 2.4 vs 2.5 is the same engine, but confused by Volvo badging a ~2420cc (or whatever it is) as a 2.5 - as of the 850 the 10v unit is 140bhp and the 20v 170, but I don't know about the phase 1 V70. (In the P2s they're both 20v and the difference is only down to ECU, I don't know when that change happened though).

The 170bhp unit and the low-pressure turbo are nicer to drive by far. The 10v 2.5 is a bit of a gruff old bus and isn't as responsive. Electronic throttles are the only major malady, I've not heard of the five cylinder having turbo problems unless severely abused. The N/A 170 is still a decent enough drive if you'd rather avoid even the faint possibility of a turbo rebuild, though.

[Finlandia]

Depends what you want it for. T5 for the hooligan in you or the 140 for the sensible family father.

The 140 is not slow in any way, but it will not get you excited either, the 170 is a nice compromise (and as said it avoids any possible turbo issues), the 2.5t is a nice compromise plus some and finally the T5 will scare you when you press on

The 140, 170 and 2.5t are all quite close when it comes to cost for the go-juice, the T5 will rape your wallet not only with big petrol bills but it eats front tyres at pace too.

That said, I would go for the T5

[Dave200]

Timberwolf said:

I'm pretty sure the 2.4 vs 2.5 is the same engine, but confused by Volvo badging

I had suspected this. But why are some badged as 2.4 and some as 2.5? What is driving the difference?

[Lanceb]

Little I guess but the 20v unit is better than the 10v, and the t5 is reliable and won't eat tyres if your carefull, I got 12k out of my last set of fronts and it included 2 track days although it is a newer v50 variant. I used to get reasnoble wear out the fronts when I wasnt drag racing

[Finlandia]

Lanceb said:

Little I guess but the 20v unit is better than the 10v, and the t5 is reliable and won't eat tyres if your carefull, I got 12k out of my last set of fronts and it included 2 track days although it is a newer v50 variant. I used to get reasnoble wear out the fronts when I wasnt drag racing

The V50 is not a newer variant but an entirely different car that is much lighter than the V70, approx. 1400kg vs 1700kg

[morgrp]

The 2.4 and 2.5 are the same engine. early models are called 2.5 and The later models 2.4 - They're all good engines naturally, the non turbos are slightly more robust but the turbos are tough as old boots too. It's more down to your driving habits and what you want from an engine. 10valves seem to deliver their power and torque lower down the rev range where as the 20valves require more revs. The 2.4/ 2.5 20v turbo is a great engine with not a great deal less performance than the full blown 2.3 T5 - they have a great spread of power and are less laggy than the t5.

I currently run two volvo 5cylinders - an early 2.0 20valve and a full blown 240bhp t5 model and they couldn't be more different. The 2.0 20v needs lots of revs but sounds glorious and delivers the goods right up to it 7200rpm redline, the t5 in comparison is very gutsy and rarely revs above 4500 rpm as the power is there much lower down.

Really the best compromise is the 2.5 20valve but the 2.4/2.5 turbo is a cracking motor and with a lag free 193bhp, the one I would go for. Just remember if you like the 5pot noise the turbos are much quieter as the turbocharger mutes the sound and takes the edge off the exhaust note.
Avoid the 2.0 10valve - with only 126bhp it is sluggish and a bit of a pensioner special. The best sounding and sweetest revving unit is the 143bhp 2.0 20v - it's smaller pistons and lack of turbo means its revs really freely and sounds razor sharp but they can feel a bit gutless bottom end and need to be worked hard

You can tell a 20v by its wider cylinder head and will say "Volvo 20v" on the spark plug cover, the 10v engine is narrower and says "Volvo DOHC" on the plug cover.

[corvus]

morgrp said:

The 2.4 and 2.5 are the same engine. early models are called 2.5 and The later models 2.4 - They're all good engines naturally, the non turbos are slightly more robust but the turbos are tough as old boots too.

morgrp - which of those engines has the Magneti Marelli and Bosch ETM's?

[Lanceb]

Sorry I didn't mention I have owned 4 850s a v70 and a phase 2 v70 and yes the v50 is a newer car than a phase 1 or 2 v70 and was intoduced in 2004 and you can still buy a new one just the v70 phase 2 was introduced on 2000 and phased out around 08 for the current phase 3 no t5 version available. Your quite right it's lighter but not much lighter than an 854t5 both come in at around 1480 kg irrc. What I was trying to say is if the car is correctly balance and you don't drag race tyre can last quite well even on the turbo charged variants its just folks find it hard not too boot em!

[morgrp]

corvus said:

morgrp - which of those engines has the Magneti Marelli and Bosch ETM's?

All the earlier have Bosch injection and no ETM and run a throttle cable - later models around 99 onwards run ETM and look very different under the bonnet. The one to avoid is the "denso " engine which is a 2.4 20valve it ran for a relatively short space of time and was available in the v70, c70 and the s80. It runs a different injection system and ancilery parts - they're not useless but more troublesome than the Bosch injected cars - the parts for them are also far more expensive. With regards to ETMs they are generally sound if well serviced - most people dont service them as they are difficult to do and they consequently fail because of this. I'm not sure of exact models but most if not all turbos I've serviced run Bosch. The classic shape v/s70s are less troublesome in general so I wouldn't worry hugely

[corvus]

Thanks for the info morgrp. One thing that puts me off these cars is the fact that any problems seem to require diagnostic software that is only available at the dealers or specialists if you are lucky enough to be near one, but I guess with these older models its not such an issue, or is it. Whenever I read reviews about Volvo V70 ownership the one thing owners seem to point out is horrendous service costs, but maybe they are all taking their cars to the expensive main dealers who charge a fortune to change a light bulb

[morgrp]

Nah - most decent obd 2 readers will fault find on the "classic" shape - 40quid on amazon should see you right - service lights can be put out without a tool

[Finlandia]

morgrp said:

Nah - most decent obd 2 readers will fault find on the "classic" shape - 40quid on amazon should see you right - service lights can be put out without a tool

What about the bluetooth obd2 readers? The ones going for £7 on ebay, to be used with torque app, can the read codes and put out service lights?