My "New" 240

Hi,
My wife finally let me purchase a 1990 Volvo 240 DL for a commuter car
because she won't give up her V70. I have a few questions about the
240.

I'm going to be commuting about 400 miles a week and it already has
152,000 on it. What sort of issues should I be on the look out for,
such as electrical, mechanical?

Also, what type of oil are you other 240 owners using and on what type
of schedule are your performing these changes?

If I've forgotten something please feel free to include any comments.

Thanks in advance!

 

Mechanicals will last a looooong time, which leaves electrical
problems as the biggest worry, by default. Chafing insulation, that
kind of thing. The worst problem would seem to be the heater/AC blower
motor, first getting noisy, then seizing; apparently they are not very
easy to access. Next thing, as I discovered, is if you don't maintain
the flame trap, all your seals and gaskets will blow out. You don't
want that. Look it up.

I use one of those oils for older engines, No particular hard evidence
or reason, it just seems appropriate. I forget the brand? probably
either castrol or valvoline, i would be unlikely to use quaker state
or some other brand. Change every three months, mostly because that's
easy to remember rather than trying to keep track of the mileage to
save a few bucks per month.

 

Thanks, I never would have know about the flame trap. I've read that
it may not even be necessary, but I'll ask a mechanic.

 

There's a FAQ on this. Clean/replace the flame trap, check all the
vacuum hoses, change the coolant, transmission fluid, rear end lube, and
power steering fluid if you want to get fancy.

Use quality ordinary 10W30 motor oil and more importantly, a *good*
filter such as Volvo or Mann. Change the oil every 4,000-5,000 miles and
you'll be fine. If you drive it very hard or in dusty conditions you
might wish to do 3,000 mile intervals but even if you changed it at
15,000 miles the interior will probably crumble before the motor dies,
those B230F engines are tougher than cockroaches.

 

Don't chance it, it takes 10 minutes to clean the flame trap or 10 bucks
to replace it and you don't even need any tools. Do it yearly and rest
easy. If it clogs it will cost you anywhere from $300-$2,500 to have a
mechanic replace the oil seals, depending on how many blow out, the rear
main requires removal of the transmission to get at. When the seals blow
you lose oil so fast you'll think the drain plug fell out.

 

I appreciate all the info and will definitely keep it clean.

 

If you're lucky. Cost me a cool grand; not including the rear main
seal.

 

Things to keep an eye on:

Wiring harness in engine compartment. If it begins to fail, wierd
symptoms can develop.

Water pumps seem to go out more frequently than I would expect.

Alternator: if it is original, prepare for issues.

 

Also, the power steering pump runs off the A/C compressor pulley, so
if you intend to keep your power steering, you will be needing to fix
the compressor if it ever goes.

 

Well if the AC clutch fails you lose power steering, of course you can
get a bracket to relocate the pump and not use the AC but it's nice to
have working AC anyway.

Almost every alternator failure I've ever seen has been the replaceable
regulator/brushpack on the back of it.