Hi all, I've always had my 2002 S60 2.4T auto dealer serviced. With 115K on the odo now I'm spending far more than I want to and justify keeping the car. With that said I still love it need some advice and technical support! I am a little mechanically inclined and used to work on my A1 and A2 VW Gti's (including engine/trans swaps) back in the day. They were much simpler than wht I see under the hood of this one.
So my issues are as follows:
1) at 60 MPH with a light throttle the car seems to vibrate pretty significantly. Like the wheel the wheels were massively out of balance. Under hard throttle from the same speed it still exists but is much less. If I coast (get off the gas) there is no vibration. I had the tires rebalance and the issue still exists. Suggestions? Motor mounts? Dirty MAF or throttle body? PCV? In the back of my head I am thinking trans converter but who knows if this car even has one.
2) this may be related,- at around 35 MPH cruizing through town between 1,500 and 1,800 RPMs the car feels like it is hunting between the current and gear below it. Otherwise it shifts and drives normally aside from the awfl clicking sounds that have always been there when starting off or backing up. Maybe this is somehow related to #1 above>?
I took it to the dealer and they checked out the transmission and fluid levels and said it is acting normally and no trouble codes. Funny thing is it did not do this before. I am about 60k mi. on a factory reman trans.
3) I purchased new spark plugs and attempted to replace them. I believe mine are original to the car despite full dealer servicing and recent big service with timing belt. I waited til the next morning when the car was cold after finally getting to them they were so tight I stopped attempting to take them out for fear of snapping them off in the head. Any tricks I should know about before lowering my head and taking it back to he dealer?
4) yesterday while sitting in traffic I look in my door rearview mirror and see a little bit of light blue/white smoke. It happened a couple times but I can't seem to reproduce it. It just passed smog with flying colors and
produced way below average particulates. After searching the forums I am beginning to suspect my PCV as a easy first fix. Now where the heck is the PCV on these cars? Is it the white dealio just by the head and above the transmission top?
5) Ball Joints- my dealer said my ball joints were bad and needed replacing $750 of course. Is this a realistic price? Seems a little high to me and inspection by my tire shop says they are just fine. Related to #1 above?
Thank you all for any feedback or advice you can give me.
DH
So my issues are as follows:
1) at 60 MPH with a light throttle the car seems to vibrate pretty significantly. Like the wheel the wheels were massively out of balance. Under hard throttle from the same speed it still exists but is much less. If I coast (get off the gas) there is no vibration. I had the tires rebalance and the issue still exists. Suggestions? Motor mounts? Dirty MAF or throttle body? PCV? In the back of my head I am thinking trans converter but who knows if this car even has one.
2) this may be related,- at around 35 MPH cruizing through town between 1,500 and 1,800 RPMs the car feels like it is hunting between the current and gear below it. Otherwise it shifts and drives normally aside from the awfl clicking sounds that have always been there when starting off or backing up. Maybe this is somehow related to #1 above>?
I took it to the dealer and they checked out the transmission and fluid levels and said it is acting normally and no trouble codes. Funny thing is it did not do this before. I am about 60k mi. on a factory reman trans.
3) I purchased new spark plugs and attempted to replace them. I believe mine are original to the car despite full dealer servicing and recent big service with timing belt. I waited til the next morning when the car was cold after finally getting to them they were so tight I stopped attempting to take them out for fear of snapping them off in the head. Any tricks I should know about before lowering my head and taking it back to he dealer?
4) yesterday while sitting in traffic I look in my door rearview mirror and see a little bit of light blue/white smoke. It happened a couple times but I can't seem to reproduce it. It just passed smog with flying colors and
produced way below average particulates. After searching the forums I am beginning to suspect my PCV as a easy first fix. Now where the heck is the PCV on these cars? Is it the white dealio just by the head and above the transmission top?
5) Ball Joints- my dealer said my ball joints were bad and needed replacing $750 of course. Is this a realistic price? Seems a little high to me and inspection by my tire shop says they are just fine. Related to #1 above?
Thank you all for any feedback or advice you can give me.
DH
