Just bought an '87 740, need advice

I bought a 1987 740 Turbo from someone a few days ago. It was only $300
and I really needed a car, having just been in an accident with my only
other means of transportation.

The can (a wagon) is mechanically in reasonably good shape. The engine
purrs, and moves well. The previous owner was a proficient mechanic who
did most of the work himself. He did recently replace most of the wiring
under the hood himself.

There are a few problems I have with it, all of which I would like to
work on myself. I'm not a mechanic, and I don't do much hands on with
cars, but I'm eager to try (my skills end at tire changes, battery
issues and simple oil changes).
If anyone can answer these questions, I would appreciate it a lot.

1) The most annoying problem, is I think, and electrical short somewhere
between the door switch and the dome light. Even with the door closed,
if the key is in the ignition it will constantly sound the wanting bell
(DING DING DING DING DING... I can sometimes get it to stop if I
jiggle the dome light housing. I've tried completely disconnecting the
housing, bulbs, even removing fuse #5, but with no luck.
When I bought it, all the bulbs had burnt out. I'm going to replace them
tonight.

2) If I don't let the engine warm up for 30sec to 1min, it stalls as
soon as I put it into gear. Is there a way to help this? Better oil? I
believe the current owner used regular 10w40.
I live in Los Angeles, so it's a fairly warm temperature, but not
excessively hot at this time of year (maybe 90's, but I only drive at
night/early morning). Would a colder temperature oil like 5w30 help?

3) The gas pedel is a lot stiffer than my last vehicle, any way to slick
this up a little?

4) The owner removed the old stereo. I want to pull the one from my
wrecked Plymouth Voyager and hood it up, but I don't know how
complicated the wiring would be.
All that is left, are two bundles of wires which have been cut at the
end. The bundles each lead back to a plug, which is hooked up to the
cars internal wiring. Might the new radio be able to plug directly into
that plug? Or would I need to do some splicing/soldering?

I certainly plan on investing some money over time in this car, I like
it a lot. It's sadly going to need a lot of new upholstry due to years
of wear.


I love this car, I wish I'd bought one sooner. Thanks for the help

 

Sounds like you got a steal.

Even better

Not sure about that one, sounds like a loose connection in the dome light
though.

Clean the throttle body and the idle speed regulator, check carefully for
vacuum leaks, that should help a lot.

See above, also squirt some lube into the cable housing from under the hood.

Buy an installation kit from Crutchfield or a stereo shop, it should come
with a wiring harness that plugs right into the stock plug and instructions.
Actually sounds like you already have that bit in there but you'll have to
do some investigation to figure out which wire is what.

Once you start fixing it up I think you'll be pleased, they're wonderful
cars in so many ways.

 

You may want to start with this URL, a wealth of Volvo information.

http://www.brickboard.com/FAQ/700-900/

Joe

 

Just bought an '87 740, need advice


1) The most annoying problem, is I think, and electrical short somewhere
between the door switch and the dome light. Even with the door closed,
if the key is in the ignition it will constantly sound the wanting bell
(DING DING DING DING DING... I can sometimes get it to stop if I
jiggle the dome light housing. I've tried completely disconnecting the
housing, bulbs, even removing fuse #5, but with no luck. When I bought
it, all the bulbs had burnt out. I'm going to replace them tonight
////////////////////////////////
Remove the DINGER!

 

I don't really think his gas pedal needs lubrictation (tho it might)...
Volvo pedals are just stiff... Much more so then a Plymouth Voyagers. And as
another point, the brake pedals in the old Volvo's (at least our 93 960, and
apparantly it's always been like that) feels like you really have to push
against the weight of the car when stopping (reminds me of my friends Chevy
Lumina... except when you really press into the Volvo's brakes the car can
stop hard, where the Lumina isn't quite as responsive) - It's a huge
changeover going from the new body style VW Golf TDI with its super touchy
brakes and fairly light and short travel throttle to the old Volvo with its
long heavy throttle and firm (but much easier to modulate) brakes.... You
get used to it.

 

Did you receive my e-mail regarding the radio?
Peter

 

I did yes, and replied. I guess the reply didn't get there
I'm very interested. Is there another address I can email you at? MSN?
ICQ? Yahoo IM?

 

I agree, particularly about vacuum leaks. My '98 V70 started stalling
at idle shortly after we bought it - turned out one of the vacuum
hoses that affect the idle (from the idler air control valve, maybe?
I didn't fix this one myself) had worked loose. Mechanic reconnected
it and the problem went away. This sounds similar.

 

What would be the best way, to check for vacuum leaks? I read somewhere
that using a spray bottle to create a mist around the engine should
work.

 

I haven't tried the spray-bottle method myself, but I've seen it
recommended more than once.

I'd start with a visual inspection, though. Look at each of the
hoses and their connectors for cracks and so forth. (In the case of
my car, the hose apparently had come right off. I had an appointment
with the mechanic that day anyway, so I didn't look into it myself,
but if I had I probably would have spotted it right off.)

Haynes suggests the "stethoscope" method: take a spare piece of
vacuum hose, hold one end to your ear, and probe around the hoses in
the car listening for a hissing sound. That would probably work too.
They warn about getting caught in moving parts, though - poking
around a running engine is always dangerous, so be careful. (Remove
jewelry and watches; hold the stethoscope hose near the middle rather
than the end, so your hand isn't so close to the engine; watch what
you're doing.)

 

Well yes and no. You want a bit more than a mist - you are trying to
see if water can be drawn into the inlet tract. If it is, it will
affect the engine speed.

The trouble with using a spray bottle on a car with a belt driven fan,
is that the spray gets blown everywhere except where you want it to
go; you want something that will deliver a better stream. I use a
plastic mineral water bottle, the type with the squirty top. A washing
up liquid bottle or even a bottle with a hole punched in its top would
do.

Squirt the water liberally around the fuel injector seats, and around
the inlet manifold gasket. These are both favourite places for air
leaks. Keep it away from the spark plugs and other ignition parts, or
you may get a false result.

--

Stewart Hargrave


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