1987 Volvo 740 GLE - 196,000 miles - $500

Hi, I am brand new to this forum and brand new to Volvos. I just bought
a 1987 740 GLE for $500 from a Professor of Business at the university
where I work. He bought it new and I picked it up today. He has service
records for I think about the first 150,000 miles. I was happy to see
that.

The car is gold, the exterior body integrity is solid, no dings, pings
or dents. The paint is faded badly in several spots on the hood, roof
and trunk. The headliner is gone, the right headlight hood is missing.
Half of his white long-haired dog's hair is still in the car along with
1/8" of dander/dust.

One tire is about to peel off, the window weatherstripping is shot. One
windshield wiper is dead and the a/c doesn't work. Sometimes the speedo
works, sometimes the radio works. The seats are dirty.

Now to the engine - looks good except just below the top of the timing
belt cover on the passenger side, between the cover and the block the
engine is leaking oil like a burst artery. Mechanic I talked to says
probably bad camshaft seal and we'll change the timing belt and crank
seal. Or maybe a bad valve gasket. The oil smells like gas and there
was a residue of white film on the gas cap.

The best part - I bought this car today and LOVE IT! I read so many
stories of how great this car is, and if I can stop the leak and there
is no major engine damage - I am going to have fun whipping this old
tank into shape!

If anyone has any tips on this model - please feel free to drop me a
line.

Jamie
Commerce, TX

 

Make sure you clean the flame trap, that's probably why the camshaft
seal blew out. I would just replace the assembly, it's cheap.

For the rest of the car, it sounds like you've got your work cut out for
you, it's a great car for someone who likes to do their own mechanical
work, if you can find a U-pull yard with Volvos you'll be all set.

 

Thanks! I was reading up on those flame traps. I'll try and locate it
and see about replacing the assembly. I am going into Dallas for parts
on Saturday.

 

Go to www.ipdusa.com and request a catalog, that's one of the first
things any new Volvo owner should do.

 

Great, thanks! I dropped the car off at the mechanic's this morning to
assess the oil leak. After this I can buy the seals/parts I need for
him to do next week. Because I just got the car, I am going to have a
mechanic give it a 'once over' and go ahead and replace the crank and
camshaft seals, along with a timing belt for about $200 labor. I
probably could tackle this myself, but I'll let the guy do it in case
he uncovers other things.

When I drove the car home last night the headlights worked. Then a
light came on the dash that I guess means a light is burned, because
the headlights stopped working.

The wipers don't work either. I think I need to check fuses. As soon as
it stops raining, I am going to clean and detail the car, clean the
engine, and go over every inch of this car.

 

In addition to the flame trap, the ventilation hose connects to a plastic
oil-air separator box at the block, under the intake manifold. That also
becomes sludged and is better replaced than cleaned, at least every 200K
miles. ;-)

It is very possible that cleaning out the engine ventilation and pushing the
cam seal back in place will fix the leak, but since the timing belt is
likely overdue for replacement you may as well replace the seal and change
the belt. The good news is that the engine is non-interference and timing
belt failure doesn't damage anything. There aren't many timing belts that
are as easy to replace as the one on the B230F, either. That is one rugged
engine.

Mike

 

I forgot to mention - the dead wiper is usually where the wiper arm attaches
to the post. Unscrew the nut at the base of the arm and you will probably
see the tiny splines are stripped on the post. You can get a replacement
from a wrecking yard and put a couple hour's work into it or you can try
cleaning the mating surfaces with brake cleaner and putting Lok-Tite on the
joint. My Lok-Tited wiper has worked for a few years, but now I'm cautious
not to turn the wipers on until I'm certain they aren't going to fight ice.

Mike

 

The bulb failure warning is a bit pesky, if the headlights quit working
then aside from the fuses, the first thing I'd check is the bulb failure
sensor. If you pull out the fuse panel (the whole thing slides forward
and lifts out) you'll find a big red can plugged into it. Pull that out
and you can pop the cover off with a small flathead screwdriver. Inside
you'll find a set of round circuit boards which occasionally crack the
solder joints and cause lights to stop working. If you resolder those,
or find a TV repairman to do it for you you can save a lot of money over
buying a new $$$ sensor.

Cleaning the engine is a worthwhile project, it's often a nasty job on a
neglected car but when you're done it's much easier to spot leaks and
other problems and oil degrades plastic and rubber parts including
wiring insulation. Check the condition of the engine harness, the ones
made in the 80's tend to rot out, it's the sort of thing that will
suddenly leave you dead in your tracks if it happens, it's the only big
problem I've ever had with mine.

 

OK, we're in good shape!

Update:
Headlights and wipers -- blown fuses. Replaced those. Yes, the wiper
arm nut was loose, I tightened that and replaced the blades/brackets.

Replaced 1 high-beam headlight.

Changed spark plugs! Oh what a difference!

Changed plug wires.

Replaced Flame Trap Assembly -- gooey, gunky white stuff and grease.

Degreased engine and blasted with car wash hose. Started right up!

Cleaned dash board and console. Looks VERY sharp!

Washed exterior.

Here's the cool part. I rented a Rug Doctor and upholstery attachment
and cleaned seats and carpet. WOW! They look brand new!

----take bucket of warm water and add 1 capful laundry liquid. Don't
wet fabric, but scrub every square inch creating a foam on the surface.
Use the rug doctor with hot clear water to rinse until water is clear.
For the carpets I diluted degreaser with water, pre-sprayed and rinsed
clear. Talk about an interior that looks brand new!

I removed the old tint and glue. I can see outside now.

Lubricated sun roof - works fine.

Replaced dying battery.

I think that's all I have done this weekend. Whew!

Oh - got up at 5:00 AM and drove 1 hour to Dallas to buy seals from the
dealer. Came home, started car and noticed the leak was coming from the
BACK of the engine too! Rear main seal! Why didn't the mechanic see
this??????????

Now I have to go BACK and get another seal. I have a mechanic going to
change all seals mentioned plus timing belt and tensioner for $320. +
parts.

I am whooped, but now she's one clean machine.

 

Amazing how fast those things fix up isn't it? If you keep it up, you
might just get another 200K out of it, maybe more.

 

Question:
One mechanic I talked too said I can get a timing belt and other things
after market, but be sure to get my crankcase seal, camshaft seal and
intermediate seal from the dealer. That's fine, but the dealer is over
an hour away.

Is it critical to get seals from a dealer? I don't want to risk my
engine on cheap-o parts, but if seals are seals...

Please advise.

Thanks!

PS: Pics to come tomorrow.

 

The rear seal normally just gets pushed out by the crankcase pressure. Now
that is fixed, I think it is possible to push the seal back in with a long
screwdriver through one of those screened openings in the bottom of the bell
housing IIRC. I helped a friend do it once but I wasn't close enough to the
action to see just what he was doing. But I did a bang-up job of holding the
flashlight!

Mike

 

I haven't fixed the seals yet, going to do that this week.

I removed the oil/air separator this morning, I poured degreaser in it,
then used hot soapy water to rinse it. I shook so much gunk and chunks
out.

I let it dry a short while then re-installed it.

Question: Is there anything inside of this box that could trap water? I
was 99% sure it was dry when I put it back on, but then the car began
to run funny. It would idle then die. Then I couldn't give it gas
without killing it.

I had a bad plug wire yesterday that could be a problem, I am swapping
out today. If anyone knows about this oil/air box and cleaning it with
soap and water - please advise.

If it's just a hollow box I am OK.

 

I've never had a problem with getting seals elsewhere, I believe the
ones that IPD and a few of the online places sell are the OEM brand.

 

It's just a hollow box with some baffles in it. How are the vacuum
lines? If they're dried out you may have cracked one by disturbing it.

 

That's very possible. I replaced the plug wires (again), since they
were under warranty. One was bad out of the box so I made sure those
were replaced.

Still bad idle, I can give it gas and it runs OK, but no idle and
sputters when I pump the pedal.

I agree I could have disturbed a vacuum hose. But, I can't see
anything.

Here's a good one: while removing the breather box I accidently started
the car! Can you believe that because the wire housing on the starter
wires was broken, they touched and I hotwired the thing! She didn't
completely start- I moved my arm when I heard the noise. So, I
unplugged the negative battery cable.

Tomorrow I'l get a new breather box and see what happens. If nothing,
then I'll ask the mechanic to look at the vacuum lines.

I was so scared I trapped water in the breather box and sent it into
the engine. Well, after we change the seals I'll change the oil and
filter.

 

Also, I noticed there was no O-ring under the breather box, so when I
replaced it it might not seal like it should.. Still, I don't know if
that would cause a problem.

We'll see with the new box.