Buy either one. Very nice cars, and solid. I have owned '95 850 T5, '98 S70 T5, '05 V70 2.5T. Now I added a '14 XC70 Turbo. I changed the timing belt on my '98 for the very first time a week ago, at 72,000 miles. It had no cracks, but was a bit stiffer than new. I believe the recommendation was 90k miles or 10 years. Volvo's claims of lifetime tranny fluid are BUNK. My Indy mechanic warned me to change my V70 at 60k miles, or my tranny would likely fail. That happened to a lot of owners. 7 QUARTS OF OIL? Never! I don't know where you poured the other 1.5 quarts. 5.5 quarts is what they take.
You may have selected by the time you see this, but: The SE is one of the last ones made. Production of the S70 ended in 2000, with the S60 taking over in 2001. The GLT does have the light pressure turbo, which is fun, but thirsty and will need maintenance when aged. Even though the 98 does not have the side-marker turn signals, you can add them as the hole is behind the “Volvo” emblem on both sides. The kit is easy and available from IPD for a good price. Both are 20 valve engines. The GLT has the older cover from when used on the 850. 850s in other markets could come in either 10- or 20-valves, hence the reason the cover tells which one (USA only got 20-valves). On both cars, the transmission dipstick is there, it’s just hidden. There’s generally no reason to change the fluid as that has historically led to bad things on the 850s. Change the filter if it bothers you, but do NOT have the transmission flushed. You’ve been warned 😂 Also the GLT has a 4-speed auto while the SE has a 5-speed auto. The GLT has a traditional throttle body while the SE is the more modern “drive-by-wire.” Note the absence of the throttle cable on the SE. The service light is on a timer. Thats no issue. The “Check Engine” light is the one to be concerned about. Both are great cars, but there are more differences than you think. Personally I like the SE because it’s kind of cool knowing you have one of the last ones off the assembly line and because the fuel-injection & emissions systems are the most advanced available on that vehicle - a lot of which are still in use. The GLT has a lot of “carryovers” from the 96 850 GLT (as the big news in 98 was the brand new S80) and uses the older systems that are becoming harder to find parts for.
Fantastic information! Thanks for your invaluable input. So, yes I have since unfortunately had a pretty bad crash with the SE which was very unfortunate as that vehicle was one of the cleanest surviving S70s. I got a V70 2004 Titanium edition (Have a video on that) and more recently a 2008 XC 70 (also in a video). I'm planning on keeping the V70 with the 2.5 although the XC70 with the 3.2 is sooooo smooth. Would love to have your take on these two. Thanks again 😊
In Sweden, the Glt does not have a turbo. The Glt has the same engine as the 850 basically with a distributor cap with ignition cables. Medans se has 5 ignition coils and electronic throttle body. The sensitive on se Are the ignition coils and the throttle body
The 98 has the 4 speed trans, the 2000 has 5 speed auto trans. The 4 speeds are made by gm, and they suck pretty much. The 5 speeds are absolutely bulletproof as long as you use the correct Volvo atf and change at interval. These cars are great 2000-newer
Buy either one. Very nice cars, and solid. I have owned '95 850 T5, '98 S70 T5, '05 V70 2.5T. Now I added a '14 XC70 Turbo. I changed the timing belt on my '98 for the very first time a week ago, at 72,000 miles. It had no cracks, but was a bit stiffer than new. I believe the recommendation was 90k miles or 10 years. Volvo's claims of lifetime tranny fluid are BUNK. My Indy mechanic warned me to change my V70 at 60k miles, or my tranny would likely fail. That happened to a lot of owners. 7 QUARTS OF OIL? Never! I don't know where you poured the other 1.5 quarts. 5.5 quarts is what they take.
You may have selected by the time you see this, but:
The SE is one of the last ones made. Production of the S70 ended in 2000, with the S60 taking over in 2001.
The GLT does have the light pressure turbo, which is fun, but thirsty and will need maintenance when aged. Even though the 98 does not have the side-marker turn signals, you can add them as the hole is behind the “Volvo” emblem on both sides. The kit is easy and available from IPD for a good price.
Both are 20 valve engines. The GLT has the older cover from when used on the 850. 850s in other markets could come in either 10- or 20-valves, hence the reason the cover tells which one (USA only got 20-valves).
On both cars, the transmission dipstick is there, it’s just hidden. There’s generally no reason to change the fluid as that has historically led to bad things on the 850s. Change the filter if it bothers you, but do NOT have the transmission flushed. You’ve been warned 😂
Also the GLT has a 4-speed auto while the SE has a 5-speed auto.
The GLT has a traditional throttle body while the SE is the more modern “drive-by-wire.” Note the absence of the throttle cable on the SE.
The service light is on a timer. Thats no issue. The “Check Engine” light is the one to be concerned about.
Both are great cars, but there are more differences than you think. Personally I like the SE because it’s kind of cool knowing you have one of the last ones off the assembly line and because the fuel-injection & emissions systems are the most advanced available on that vehicle - a lot of which are still in use. The GLT has a lot of “carryovers” from the 96 850 GLT (as the big news in 98 was the brand new S80) and uses the older systems that are becoming harder to find parts for.
Fantastic information! Thanks for your invaluable input. So, yes I have since unfortunately had a pretty bad crash with the SE which was very unfortunate as that vehicle was one of the cleanest surviving S70s. I got a V70 2004 Titanium edition (Have a video on that) and more recently a 2008 XC 70 (also in a video). I'm planning on keeping the V70 with the 2.5 although the XC70 with the 3.2 is sooooo smooth. Would love to have your take on these two. Thanks again 😊
Man, i thought this was a drag race. Hahaha would have been nice to see that
🤣🤣🤣🤣
In Sweden, the Glt does not have a turbo. The Glt has the same engine as the 850 basically with a distributor cap with ignition cables. Medans se has 5 ignition coils and electronic throttle body. The sensitive on se Are the ignition coils and the throttle body
Very interesting. Which models have the turbo in Sweden?
Ahh! Interesting
@@taxmanabii We have 2.5t and t5 and the R model which has turbo and diesel has turbo as well.
Medans 😂 nice🇸🇪
The 98 has the 4 speed trans, the 2000 has 5 speed auto trans. The 4 speeds are made by gm, and they suck pretty much. The 5 speeds are absolutely bulletproof as long as you use the correct Volvo atf and change at interval. These cars are great 2000-newer
Great info! No wonder, I see quite a few 98 models with bad transmissions. Also see a lot of early S80's with the 2.9 engine with bad transmissions
My 99 turbo XC has a trans dip stick
Turbos are more fun but use more fuel
I love the GLT Turbo
In Italia il glt era la 850 da 143 cv. La 70 era aspirato da 126 cv ovvero il motore gle del 850. Turbo della 70 T dà 180cv. Il 70t5 da 220 cv