I recently posted a whine about maintaining all our older vehicles. We solved one issue by finally updating my wife's car (a 10 year old, 160K mile BMW X3). Above, I mentioned considering a pivot away from the German SUVs she has had recently back to a Volvo. So, we test drove a 2026 Volvo XC 60 plug-in hybrid. We liked it enough that we bought it.Automotive rock bottom? No, but man am I sick of it.
I recently posted about my stroker issues (rear main and front harmonic balancer seal leaks with extruded cam bearings noted upon inspection after pulling the oil pan). More to come on that, hopefully with minimal drama.
I have 3 or 4 rigs I drive regularly (TJ, Dodge pickup, Mustang GT and ‘94 GMC flat bed). My wife’s car makes 5 that I maintain. At this point, I have fully bought into the vehicle maintenance thing. Partially because I enjoy the challenge and the work and a little bit because it’s better economically for me, because new cars are so ridiculously products of government and customer requirements for over-the-top electronic BS (@Zorba) and because buying less new cars is better for the planet.
Regardless of how I got here, here I am:
The TJ is likely going to need a rebuilt or new motor. That sucks because: A) I bought a new motor from Golen 20K miles ago. B) I have other more interesting things to do on the Jeep so I can do this stuff:
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C) wheeling season is still underway. D) My wife, or anyone else, could rightly say “how much F-ing money are you going to spend on that thing!”. She, to her credit, has NOT said that.
Then there are the other 4 vehicles…
1) My tow rig, an ‘08 Dodge 3500 CTD got an ATS Allison swap several years ago which is STILL having issues. I don’t have time to mess with it so its at a local shop that I trust to either sort it out or I’m selling it. I thought it might be TCM tune related, but it seems to be the torque converter. That was replaced under warranty not too long ago but apparently there is a new ATS TC that will fix itT. The TC is a $2K part that ATS will warranty (3 years later, despite 1 warranty) but I will pay the labor.
2) The GMC flat bed is a water truck on the property during fire season and an extra truck otherwise. Its old and had 277K when the OD stopped working but I try to keep it up. In that vein, I drove it out to the shop where the tow rig is getting transmission work on Friday (you know, to keep the fluids moving around, plus I like it). In the parking lot, this happened:
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The passenger front CV axle exploded and fell all over the parking lot (red arrows). New last year. So I replaced it with another Chinese part from Autozone in the lot. NOT how I had planned to spend my afternoon. When I was done, the truck wouldn’t start. I recently replaced the 4 year old battery (which had a bad cell) for this problem. I’m guessing I have a ground leak draining the battery as it always starts right up at home where it sits on a trickle charger. Luckily, the shop lot is at the top of a hill and I could start it by rolling downhill and popping the clutch. I’ll figure that out later.
3) My wife’s ‘17 BMW X3 has been a great car but it has 160K on it so we have been looking for a replacement for a year. Here she is when we traded the ‘13 (Right) for the ‘17 (Left).
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She really likes this one but we both agree the new BMWs look awful. I’ve driven comparable Mercedes, Audi and Porsche SUVs and none seem worth the money and all are over burdened with electronics. Maybe a Volvo? We had an ‘85 245DL wagon which we both loved back in the day but ever since Geely (China) bought Volvo, I have been turned off. This should be easy but its not!
4) The ‘12 Mustang GT
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is my most reliable vehicle but It needs a new rear end (whine is really loud at freeway speeds/80 mph). Certainly in my wheelhouse now but I don’t have time!
Should I sell the Mustang , buy a new tow rig, use the tow rig for a fire truck and get a CRV for my wife? NO. But it’s tempting.
Styling is subjective, but we both like the conservative understated looks of the old X3 and the current XC 60. The new Germans seem gaudy to our senses, and over priced. Compared to our X3, the XC 60 is ever so slightly larger and 600lbs heavier. Neither car has communicative steering, but both are precise. Both have adequate brakes. I like the suspension more on the BMW. While the turbo straight 6 in the BMW is a sweet motor, the XC 60 hybrid drivetrain is much quicker. Combined output is an impressive for a grocery getter 455hp/523ft.lbs. which is good for 0-60 in 4.4sec (as fast as my Mustang GT). Gas mileage is also way better with the Volvo. The BMW gets about 21 city and 27 hwy for us (the Mustang gets 15 city/ 24 hwy with a lead footed driver). After 800 miles, the Volvo will give a 40 mile all EV range which means for most daily driving it uses no gas at all. Charging from 0 to full takes under 5 hours with a 220V, 20 amp plug-in. On the hwy, in hybrid mode, we are seeing about 39mpg. The Volvo is also much quieter on the highway and electric/ICE transitions are quite seamless.
Of course, because its new and because its our first hybrid, I had to poke around some. Love that high hood opening:
Once the cover is off, except for the orange stuff, a pretty standard modern 2.0L turbo 4 is in view (sort of):
This set up uses the 312hp/295ft.lb transverse mounted turbo 4 with an 8 speed transmission for the front axle and a 143hp/228ft.lb direct drive electric motor for the rear axle powered by a 15 kWh battery in what would normally be the trans tunnel. There is also a starter/generator motor between the ICE and transmission which can charge the battery and add some torque when necessary.
Underneath its a pretty flat belly:
And after pulling the cover, oil changes don’t look hard:
Front suspension is multi link with upper wishbone and lower A-arm controlled by a standard strut. Check out the single pot caliper (red circle). The rotor is a fairly large 13.6” with a wide swept area and brakes feel better than one piston might suggest.
If you can look past that giant skid plate of a muffler, the rear suspension is interesting. A big fiberglass mono-leaf controlled by conventional shocks. Reminds me of a model-T (or a Corvette).
It’s definitely not our old 245 DL wagon, though I think there are some parallels. Time will tell how it holds up.
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It's typically abbreviated "C'BORE" on drawings (and countersunk is "C'SINK"). If talking with a machine shop, it's important to know the difference, lest you get a bit of a surprise.
. So for reasons unknown, I went over to the other side to check the threads of the other 5/16”-18 rivnut with the supplied M8x1.25 cap screw (I think I was thinking maybe I had damaged the threads of the rivnut when inserting it with too much pressure-I really don’t like rivnuts, btw…). By the time I figured out that side wasn’t going in smoothly, I had spun it too. No pics. Walked away mad to settle down and think about how I was going to get out 2 spun rivnuts with stainless bolts stuck in them, one of which was behind the aluminum rail and armor…
