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Advice

529 views 12 replies 8 participants last post by  rockstarjake79  
#1 ·
So yesterday I bought a 2005 s60R with the 6 speed manual. This is my first Volvo and foreign car so I don’t know a lot about these cars yet.

I bought the car for 4000$ it has the B5254T4 engine with I bought the car from a 18 year old kid who just bought it this last August on the 6th, he was looking to get rid of it because he has a chance to buy his dream car .

The Volvo has 272K on it but he gave me a handful of paperwork from the previous owner which included engine swap, trans and clutch, the four c suspension was replaced and has around 50k miles on it, it has a lot more work he said the previous owner put 32K into this car. When I bought it I checked coolant, oil, and tested the pcv system with a bag it passed, it shifts through all 6 gears good, the 2hr 30 min drive home went really good.

but there are a couple issues I noted. The turbo looks like it’s leaking a very very small amount of oil like 2 drops from the turbo oil return line gasket , the steering wheel had a slight shake to it I’m guessing a wheel may be out of balance, the check engine light on it and says “anti skid service required” also when I get to on the gas heavy in it seems to be breaking up which I think it related to the anti skid light, FM radio doesn’t work but the AM radio does do it isn’t a problem with the speakers so I couldn’t use my FM transmitter.

I have never owned a Volvo before or any foreign and I know I am starting myself on hard mode by getting an S60R with the inline 5 what are some things I should know about this car, do you guys think I should buy a laptop and dice tool to use vida? Or can I get by just using an OBD reader?
I also want to ask, I am only 18 years old and not super mechanically inclined my dad is master mechanic and taught me pretty well, do you guys think I’m in over my head with this car should I get rid of it or should I try and give it some love.
and also some help to fix the issues I stated some help and advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading.
 
Discussion starter · #5 ·
Congrats on the R. They are fun cars to drive.
Your Check Engine and ABS/Anti Skid light are not related. You'll need to pull codes for both. Likely culprit of the Anti Skid light is a failed Steering Angle Sensor or Clockspring as some refer to it but can be a host of other issues including failed 4C shock/struts or lack of them if they were replaced with Non-4C components.
Shaking steering wheel could be out of balance tire, more likely a bent wheel.
Getting a Dice and VIDA setup will help as many aftermarket scan tools, even if they can scan all systems, don't offer the diagnostics help that VIDA will. Especially if they just report generic codes.
R's originally had the B5254t4 engine. If it was replaced, it may not have the same engine. Original B5254t4's have issues with cracking cylinder liners, many first think its a head gasket but majority of R's will suffer from cracked cylinder sleeves. You may want to investigate exactly what engine is in it. Many have replaced that engine with the B5244t5 engine found in 2005-2008 S60 T5's. Its a more robust engine with thicker cylinder sleeves. Stock 2.5L has 83mm pistons, 2.4L T5 has 81mm pistons. The 2.4 T5 variant of the years I listed also has the same cylinder head of the R which differs from the more generic 2.5L head, it has a higher height. That head requires longer spark plugs and I have found many cases in which the short plugs are installed by mistake. While they may run, they do not run very well. The coil boots are also longer in the 'R' head by about a half inch. In some cases some have just replaced the R engine with the generic 2.5L So you'll want to see exactly what engine you have.
All Turbos will leak some oil, usually noticed as a seep and can form a drip but not necessarily a "leak". Determining if its truly leaking excessively, I would clean the area of said leak very well. Then drive a bit and reinspect for leak. Easier to see the leak with dirty oil vs just changed. So if you haven't changed the oil yet, hold off to look for leaks. After cleaning and driving, oil should not be dripping onto the ground while its running, a slight haze or moisture type "leak" is considered normal, just no dripping.
These cars are money pits, there is no way around that. Prepare for many unforeseen issues.
Thank you for all the advice, I’ve come up with a plan I’m going to attempt to fix all the issues then I’m going to sell it. this is my first fast car and not gonna lie it scares me and I don’t want to get into trouble with it.