RIP My 240; Whats the skinny on 740s

Discussion in 'Volvo 740' started by Willie Bannister, Mar 5, 2005.

  1. My 240,1989-2005
    216612 miles
    She drove away from the accident; you shoulda seen the other guy...


    After a bad (really bad) accident, the adjuster has informed me that
    they are writing off my 240 and paying me off.

    So I am off in search of another vehicle. the old school mechanic we
    deal with has a 740 Wagon, circa 1990. and is asking about $1800....

    Another reliable vehicle (with functioning A/C) is a much more
    attractive prospect than the nightmare scenario of a minivan and monthly
    payments....

    Whats the general experience been with the 740 versus say 240?

    Opinions are greatly appreciated.

    Thanks
     
    Willie Bannister, Mar 5, 2005
    #1
  2. Willie Bannister

    James Sweet Guest


    They're mechanically much more similar than they are different. Suspension
    is setup different but in those respects they're equally reliable and about
    the same to work on, more space under the hood though and the hood will open
    fully vertical, nice feature.

    Interior is more complex, has more bells & whistles to break, but the air
    conditioning works better and the blower motor is MUCH easier to replace.
    The only thing I can think of to really watch out for is the headliner, if
    it's starting to sag that can be a big job to re-do, but a wagon is a lot
    easier than a sedan.
     
    James Sweet, Mar 5, 2005
    #2
  3. The '90 should be a good car - I'd go for it. The pre-88s (IIRC) had issues,
    particularly the crumbling wire harnesses. My 765T is an '85 8^(

    If the shocks haven't been replaced they are about due, but I expect a
    mechanic-owner is on top of that.

    Mike
     
    Michael Pardee, Mar 5, 2005
    #3
  4. Willie Bannister

    Roger Levy Guest

    I'd like to follow up on two concerns cited by James and Michael. I
    have an 87 740GL sedan with auto, 159K miles, that I've owned 5+ years.
    It's running very nicely but it has two problems I'd like to fix. 1)
    The roof liner is sagging in the rear, and 2) last week I flicked on the
    high beams and the car immediately downshifted! I flicked them on and
    off a few times and the car downshifted each time then it stalled while
    traveling at 40 MPH. BTW, the car had an alternator problem several
    weeks ago which I fixed by replacing the brush/regulator module and the
    battery was fully charged when the stall occurred.

    You guys said the liner and wiring harness are tough problems. I'm
    guessing that the high beam issue indicates a short. Do you have
    recommendations?

    Roger
     
    Roger Levy, Mar 5, 2005
    #4
  5. Willie Bannister

    don hodgdon Guest

    I'd say the cheapest and easiest things to check would be the grounds. All
    sorts of strange things can happen on a 70 when the grounds start to fail.
    There are strips near the front of each inner fender where many of the
    underhood grounds are attached. Clean all the contacts and check the
    connectors for corrosion.

    You say the car downshifts when you flick the headlights...does the tranny
    actually downshift or is it the overdrive cycling on and off?

    Don
     
    don hodgdon, Mar 5, 2005
    #5
  6. Willie Bannister

    don hodgdon Guest

    First of all, thank goodness you are OK and that your 240 died protecting
    you.

    I have one of each, a 242t and a 744ti, both are great cars and both have
    their good and bad points as outlined in the above posts. The 740, being the
    newer car, is more comfortable, and has a smoother ride, it's my freeway
    cruiser. The 240, after renewing the entire electrical system and wiring
    harness, is nearly as reliable as the 740, but it is an older car, it's
    noisier and the ride is more harsh. I love 'em both and would have a tough
    time deciding if I had to give up one of them, but I would think the 740
    would be the better choice over the long haul.

    Don

    '81 242t, 125000mi
    '89 744ti, 276000mi
     
    don hodgdon, Mar 5, 2005
    #6
  7. Willie Bannister

    James Sweet Guest


    The wiring harness is easy, it can be changed in a couple hours if you take
    your time, no special tools needed.

    The headliner is a several days project, hardest part is getting it in and
    out without breaking it. When they made the car they put it in before the
    windshield or back window were in place, it can be done without taking out
    the glass but it's not easy, you'll have to bend it so far you swear it's
    gonna snap.
     
    James Sweet, Mar 6, 2005
    #7
  8. An awful lot of people have used straight pins to fasten the headliner back
    up. Mine is just sagging for now.

    Mike
     
    Michael Pardee, Mar 6, 2005
    #8
  9. Willie Bannister

    Rob Guenther Guest

    I guess this job is quite a bit easier to do on a wagon then?... Just open
    the back hatch up.
     
    Rob Guenther, Mar 6, 2005
    #9
  10. Not having done this job, I imagine that the headliner fabric has hidden
    sleeves that slide over stiff suspension "ribs" fastened to car ceiling,
    and/or the fabric is otherwise pasted up to the ceiling or stiff suspension.

    Whatever the skeletal structure, a small needle puncture in the fabric at
    the lowest sagging point of the drooping headliner will allow one of those
    small plastic straw barrels to poke through, attached to aim a spray
    adhesive (several 3M brand products and other brands) to shoot a thin and
    spotty sheet of glue up between the headliner and its support system. You
    may even have a few/several very small and unseen puncture points if you
    have several droops or droop is very large area. When tacky enough to hold,
    firmly wedge some flexible objects up against the headliner in several spots
    for the recommended curing period. Pick a glue that does not break down and
    fail under seasonal changes (record heat or cold temperatures in your area).

    Mind you, I've not tried this. Prob'ly very unprofessional, but what do you
    have to lose?
     
    Pat Quadlander, Mar 7, 2005
    #10
  11. Don't know if it applies to Volvo, because I haven't tried to tackle ours
    (it just looks like puffy tan clouds... what's wrong with that?), but I
    tried spray adhesive on a Dodge we had that had a droopy headliner. The
    problem was that the headliner separated at some sort of foam layer that
    broke down. The crumbling foam just kept crumbling, leaving debris glued to
    the cloth.

    Mike
     
    Michael Pardee, Mar 7, 2005
    #11
  12. There is a glassfibre shell that the headlining sticks to.
    I've tried spray adhesive on mine. Unfortunately it is only a
    temporary solution - a few days to a few weeks at best. The headlining
    material is a thin (and very fragile) material bonded to a foam rubber
    backing. When it starts to sag, it is because the foam has started to
    collaps, and it seems there is no going back once it has started.

    Replacing the headliner is nearly at the top of my 'to do' list over
    the next few weeks. But I'm sure glad I have an estate.

    If you need a guide to the job, there is useful .pdf file here

    http://www.ipdusa.com/pdf/PI-240headliner700.pdf

    --

    TSH


    For email, replace 'SpamOnlyToHere' with my initials
     
    Stewart Hargrave, Mar 7, 2005
    #12
  13. Willie Bannister

    James Sweet Guest

    The 700 series headliner is on a molded fiberglass backing. Adhesive alone
    won't do the trick, the problem is that the foam itself between the cloth
    and the backing decomposes, so the only way to fix it is to remove the whole
    thing, painstakingly scrub off all the old foam, then ideally paint the
    backing with something to seal it, then apply new foamed fabric.
     
    James Sweet, Mar 8, 2005
    #13
  14. Willie Bannister

    Roger Levy Guest

    I drove the car today at slow speed, either first or second gear,
    flicked on the high beams and it immediately stalled out so the problem
    seems to have nothing to do with the overdrive relay. The car is
    perfectly normal with headlights, it's only the high beams.

    I looked for ground wires and the only one clearly visible was coming
    directly off the negative battery post and it was attached to a
    structural member near the right front wheel well. Things were a bit
    cluttered on the left side and I didn't see any grounding there or near
    the firewall which is a typical location on other cars. Do I have to
    start removing stuff to see other ground wires?

    Any wire I could see, ground or otherwise, appeared to have completely
    intact insulation and no corrosion at contacts. There's not even a
    trace of corrosion at my battery posts. I know that faulty grounds are
    widely believed to be the root cause of many Volvo problems but thinking
    a bit analytically it doesn't seem like a bad ground, which implies an
    open circuit, could be the cause of this problem, i.e. switch on high
    beams, open circuit in the headlight electrical path => car stalls makes
    no sense. I could see some sense to a short being involved but I would
    expect a fuse to blow in that case.

    Any other ideas group?

    Roger
     
    Roger Levy, Mar 8, 2005
    #14
  15. That sounds like shorts in the harness, all right. The insulation in areas
    where it is protected is usually okay, so the problem is probably going to
    be under the hood. A visual inspection of the small wires where they leave
    the covering of the bundles may show up something. Try not to disturb them
    more than necessary - you don't want to lose more insuation than necessary
    until you reach the point of replacing the harness - but gently separate any
    wires that seem too chummy with wires beside them.

    If still no go, another thought: does the engine still stall if you unplug
    the high beams? If not, I'm thinking the high beams are loading a voltage
    down. I've had a lot of trouble with that separate terminal lug on the
    positive post of the battery - one time it even caused the engine to die
    when making left turns!

    Mike
     
    Michael Pardee, Mar 8, 2005
    #15

  16. They're mechanically much more similar than they are different. Suspension
    is setup different but in those respects they're equally reliable and about
    the same to work on, more space under the hood though and the hood will open
    fully vertical, nice feature.

    Interior is more complex, has more bells & whistles to break, but the air
    conditioning works better and the blower motor is MUCH easier to replace.
    The only thing I can think of to really watch out for is the headliner, if
    it's starting to sag that can be a big job to re-do, but a wagon is a lot
    easier than a sedan.
    [/QUOTE]

    Thanks for the input....I've had conversation as well regarding a '91
    940 wagon with a hair over 200K. this vehicle is, in essesnce, a slight
    refinement of te 740, is it not???
     
    Willie Bannister, Mar 10, 2005
    #16
  17. Willie Bannister

    James Sweet Guest

    Yes the differences between a late 740 and a 940 are trivial, many of the
    body and interior parts are even compatible.
     
    James Sweet, Mar 11, 2005
    #17
Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments (here). After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.