Volvo 240, 242, 244 & 245 Forum

Feature my ride Mark forum as read and return

Hello, I am a new member as of about ten minites ago. I own three Volvos right now but have a lifetime total of eleven.

I am having a sputtering problem with my 84. It was running perfectly until yesterday when I was pulling a hill and it cut out badly then started sputtering. I limped home and changed the fuel filter. It didn't help. I have read that cleaning the throttle body but I'm not sure what this animal looks like or where it is. Any help.

Thanks.

Don

Hi, This is my first post but Ive been a 240 driver for many moons. Now Im stumped with a problem that sadly has a history. Im sorry, this is a little long.

About 6 years ago, the transmission started slipping and shortly thereafter, the car stopped moving. I had it fixed at a local shop that has been in the tranny fixin business for, well, at least 30 years. A guy I havent seen in 20 years but knew in HS fixed it. He was a nice enough guy then. He was an employee at this family owned shop. A few days later it was fixed, I paid $1200, got a 1 year/12K warranty, and off I went. All is right with the world.

The twist: The problem (that I describe next) began about 18mos later. I talked to the owner, real nice guy, told him about the initial repair, that my friend worked on it, and right then, before I could describe the current situation, he said "******, isnt any friend of mine!! He's gone! When he was working here, he was fixing MY customers cars, giving them MY warranty, and KEEPING all of the money!"

Well OK then...here are the symptoms, Volvo Drs:

The car was (and still is) shifting correctly until its OD time. This is the unusual part: Depending upon the temperature of "something", of which Im POSITIVE involves the time of year, it will eventually shift into OD, and once there, it will shift great all the time. Starts, stops, highway, hills, town...but once that "thing" cools down, always due to it being parked for some amount of time, , its back to no OD. The OD button/switch also has no effect when the thing isnt shifting right, and works perfectly well when it is. I can hear the relay clicking regardless of what the OD seems to be doing and the "up" arrow" lights/unlights quickly whenever the switch is pressed. I had to replace that about 8 years ago.

Summertime is the shortest running time for everything to work, followed by spring and fall, last is winter. Im talking about the amount of time, distance, and speed I have to drive before it shifts into OD Sometimes in winter, on really cold days, it wont ever hit OD. Other than those rare frigid days, it will ALWAYS end up working properly, sooner or later. And even when the OD finally kicks in, it will be a smooth shift, no jerks, noises, or anything unusual, it engages and continues to work just as though it always did.

The car, including the tranny, drips nothing, burns nothing, and the tranny fluid isnt mysteriously disapearring nor does it look cloudy or smell funny. Except for the air conditioning and minor electrical issues (Yep, typical 240) this car is very reliable, even with this problem that Ive had for about 4 years. The problem is just as reliable, every time, no OD, just drive a while, you get OD.

So here are my ideas:

The OD soleniod (or wires)
The OD relay
My buddy goofed something up inside the tranny.
He used the wrong viscosity of tranny fluid.

The fact that the temp is affecting this makes me think the fluid is wrong. But I also dont know what the solinoid touches or slides into (does it move at all)? If not, could it be the thing that is activated by it? Is there any oil/lubricant in the solinoid that might warm as driving continues? I have a new soliniod coming but Id rather not have to play a guessing game.

Thanks again for your ideas.

I was looking for parts for my 1986 240, and none of the listings said 240?

I'm new to the list, just learning how to use it. I've done a search on this topic and spotted a few areas to check. Will be drilling drain holes in LF/LR floorboards today. I'm wondering if anyone has thoughts on this problem other than clogged air intake at base of windshield, bad grommets through firewall, and windsheild seal. windshield trim is loose and held down with tape. This car is my "farm truck" and used only on weekends, or to commute in snow to preserve my daily driver, an '89 Jaguar XJ-6.

Any further thoughts re this problem gratefully accepted, and direct replies to "eliotb@cox.net) are welcome.

I'm in Virginia just outside of DC. Previous Volvos include a '63 122s, '70 164, '72 142, '83 240 and now this '89 DL. Given my daily driver, I can turn wrenches. Professionally: reformed ex reporter, speechwriter and PR type to government and business sorts.

With thanks.

Eliot Brenner
Annandale, Va
89 DL at 119k (busted a/c, blower motor screams like a banshee, needs front pads and rotors and an exhaust system. Other than that, nothing else wrong with it!)

hey. i own an 87 240 dl wagon. and when i am accelerating in 1st and 2nd gear. sometimes it makes slight grinding noise in the rear of the car. nothing bad, but just a slight grinding noise. it doesn't do it in any gear except for those two and it only happens about 40% of the time. any ideas of what it might be?

Hiya yall i was wondering what is a good tire for a 1989 volvo 240 dl
~Travis

Hi everyone,

I picked up a '87 240 DL in Oct. 2003, and the entire time it takes several attempts to start the engine when it's cold. After its warmed up this doesn't occur. In late Oct. - Dec. 2003, I took it in a local shop 3 times for repair, including leaving it overnight for the shop to correctly evaluate similar cold starting conditions. The first time was to repair the suspension and added a preheat tube & fuel filter. The 2nd time a head temp sensor (out of range) was replaced. This didn't help. The third time the shop replaced the idle speed regulator (not idling up but decent fuel pressure). I continued to tell the owner it still didn't start up much better in cold conditions like it supposed to, but he kept blowing me off and giving me wishy washy answers.

I took the vehicle on a 15 hour roadtrip in Jan. 2004, and once to the city it died completely. Another repair shop reinstalled a used mass air flow sensor, and reconnected a wire from the fuse box to relay. Also cleaned out the fuel injectors. This fixed the problem but not the cold start issue.

In Aug. 2004 I replaced the starter contraption.

This December I simply could not start the vehicle with a charged battery & eager starter. I'm guessing it not starting may be related to the cold start issue. The spark plugs we're checked last in Jan. 2004.

Please post if you have any idea how to solve this issue.

Regards, numek

Was wondering if anyone else has experienced this.
Will be traveling on Expressway. Car will just die for no apparent reason.
Had in shop repeatedly for this. Finally was told it needed a new computer.
I ordered a rebuilt on line had it sent and installed. Now car runs without cutting out. Has anyone else had this problem with their Volvo's? Was it the computer?

Hi all.

Just a quickie. I'm due to leave work in a couple of hours, just one prob.
During lunch hour, I got the dist cap, rotor and all the leads off my 240 DL to give them a clean up.

Like a complete plank I've forgotton where cyl one plug lead was on the dist' cap, and the rotor direction (clockwise or counter clockwise).

I can remember the 1 3 4 2 firing order though.

Any help within the next two hours will save me from getting home late, and will be greatly appreciated.

Durh!!!!

Stu.

Whoops! Meant Coolant...

On a 1980 244... I have noticed a large amount of coolant under the front, right side of the engine compartment. I noted the expansion tank was quite low. I see a white, crusty substance on the expansion tank and down the hose which leads to the radiator. I also see some of this accumulated on the very leading edge of the lower radiator hose right under where the host from the expansion tank reaches the radiator. When the tank has been refilled and the engine is hot, I can hear some form of leak in the cap on the expansion tank.

So I am wondering if these caps fail and begin to leak. If so, what causes this - could there be something else that leads to the cap's failure? Should I do anything other than replace the cap? What should I do to disolve/remove the white crust?

Thanks.

Good Day Fellow Volvorites.

Has anyone had experiences with using Platinum+4 for a 240 DL- 86.

I searched the forum for previous postings regarding the use of Platinum plugs but wasn't able to get a clear answer. Some people said that there are problem with the platinum plugs in cold weather.

Personally, I don't know much about these plugs and how it might affect my 240DL. My brother told me that he is using the platinum+4 in his VW siroco - 90 and he thinks they are great. However, a mechanic today told me that these plugs will cause higher Carbon exhaust and evidently, have caused some to fail their smog tests.

With the mixed reviews, I am quite confused.

If anyone has an opinion on this, please give me your 2cents.

Cheers,

Tim

hey. i bought a 1985 recently but it didnt have the radio in it. all the wires are sticking through the dash but i have no clue what wires go to what. if anybody has a wiring diagram they could send me or knows where i could find a wiring diagram for it please post.

Hello new friends,

I am the "proud" owner of three 240's: '79 242; '83 245GL; '84 242 Turbo Intercooler. I desperately need this forum. My biggest problem right now is wiring under the instrument panel/dash. Basically, it is a mess. This car is a project to get ready for my youngest daughter to have in July. My older daughters drive 240s also. When I got the car (free) it was not running, the wiring harnesses under the hood were rotted, and just about everything else. Body and engine/trans were OK. I corrected all that and the car runs well. But the lighting would not work, front or back or inside or instruments. Fuses were fine. SOOO, I looked under the dash and ahrgggg, what a mess! Wires were pulled out of plugs, wires were melted together. Awful. Spaghetti from hell. I have seen the schematics in Chilton, Haynes, and Bentley, BUT, is there anywhere I can see a picture or drawing showing what wires plug where? Does anything like that exist? I am going out of my mind and feeling the pressure to get this done. Any help would be greatly appreciated. -- jgreenwood

My wagon isn't starting...when I turn the key it doesn't do a thing and it doesn't spring back from III to II like it should. I know that the ignition switch is quite a ways behind where the actual key goes in, so my question is this: does the actual ignition switch have the mechanism to spring your key back, or it that in the bigger piece that holds the ignition switch itself? I'd hate to replace just the switch to find out it's something else that is wrong...thanks--

think I'd like longer walking legs under my 4 speed 79 wagon

I don't know what ratio the differential is, but I'm sure it could pull more

any facts, ideas, or opinions on changing to a 5 speed? Is top gear an actual overdrive? Adding the electric overdrive?

Changing rear end units?

Thanks

Time to get some doughnuts and I was curious as to what other potential donor cars have the same bolt..... and even close enough offset patterns..... to work on the 240 series.

What non-standard wheels and/or tire combos have you people successfully used and what have you found not to work?

It appears that my '87 245's windshield wipers are malfunctioning - they don't work on low or delay, and when on high they work but the blades keep sticking wherever they are when I switch it away from high. I'd like to get to the wiper motor(s?) to see if I can alleviate the problem by replacing them or whatever, but they appear to be buried. Anyone know how to access them? Is the repair of this sort of thing covered in the off-the-shelves repair manuals?

hey i got a 90 240 and the fuse thats for the interior lights and rear tailights (which is the last one) keeps on blowing. everytime i put in a new one and start the car it blows. im using the white ceramic fuse. wrong fuse maybe? thanks

Hello all, I am new to this forum. This following problem is what prompted me to join:

My girlfriend and I were given a 1988 Volvo 240 GL that we have grown quite fond of and are in the process of fixing up. Our most daunting problem is keeping the battery charged. When we first got it (about 5 months ago) I had to buy a new battery to even get it started. The old one could not be jumped. It had been sitting in the Arizona summer sun for a couple of months, which I do not believe that batteries like. Well, I got the new battery and drove it a little bit, with no problems. The car then set for a few months (in the shade) and when I came back it wouldn't start. I bought a battery charger and charged the battery and we drove it a couple times, then when we were driving it it died, precisely when I was rolling up the power windows. It could be jumped with no problem, but would die again very shortly thereafter. I charged the battery again and decided to check the alternator. (keep in mind I have little idea of what I am doing) I took out the alternator and brought it to an auto parts store and they tested it and said it was bad, so I replaced it. Voila, I drove the car for a week with no problems. Then once when I tried to start it it would not start. I brought my other car out and tried to jump it and it could be jumped but would die again very quickly. I could accelerate the car's dying by either turning on the lights, or trying to roll up the windows. I took both the alternator and the battery back to the store and had them checked and they both checked out OK. I bought a electronic multimeter to try to get to the bottom of the problem. We charged the car and took it to get new tires. It drove home fine, but then when we tried to roll the windows up, the speedometer started going crazy, seemingly in concert with the noise the engine was making. I checked the voltage on the battery and it said it was at 18 volts with the engine off. As I understand it this is high. I checked it in the morning and it was over 20. I came home from work and it was at about 12.4, where it is supposed to be, if I am not mistaken. I started the engine and with the multimeter hooked up I watched the voltage drop from 12.4 to under 7 in about 3 minutes, then the car stalled and couldn't be started again. Well, to make a long story short, anybody have any idea what gives?

Not sure what is happening but the car is sometimes stalls while driving and usually at low speed when I am not applying gas, like approaching a stop light or pulling into driveway. The car seems to idle okay when not in motion, the stalling seems to only occur when moving but not applying gas... Thanks for any insight. George

My mother just got this car and its a 1993 Volvo 240. My father's friend looked at it and found out that it was getting too much fuel. Anyone here know what could cuz it to get too much fuel???? Any info will be greatly welcomed....thanks

It was running perfectly, then yesterday morning, it wouldn't start. Turns over fine, but no indication that it will catch. It gets spark. I'm thinking fuel pump relay, but I don't know where it is located. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

howdy yall ive got two problems
the 1st my odometer still isnt working after i replaced the odometer gear in it. finaly after driving an estitmated 25 miles the odo finaly rolled 000.1 miles but it did it over the corse of the 25 miles. so if anybody has an soultions to that lemme know
and the 2nd is my Dashlight is no longer working which is a pain in the rear when driving at night, when i pulled the cluster out to replace the odo gear it was working, since i reconnected everything to the correct locations the light dosent work anymore.

~Travis

What does the grille fit? I just bought it off ebay but it says that Its a 240 grille, but I am not sure. The person I bought it from doesnt know what it came off of. heres a link.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...RK%3AMEWA%3APIC

I just picked up a manual mirror for my 91 volvo 240 to replace the broken one I have... how do I go about installing this? Any good instructions online, or is it easy enough to describe briefly and I can figure the rest out?

Also... this isn't so much a problem with my volvo as it is the cd changer I have. I bought my car and it came with an alpine chm-s655rf 6-cd changer. It uses an fm modulator, so first thing I had to do was get a new antenna since it came with a broke one. I replaced the antenna no problem. Radio works great, but when I turn on the CD-changer, the radio gives out. It says that the cd changer should make the radio signal weaker, but not become completely overwhelmed with static. When I program the CD-changer to a frequency I want, nothing but static comes through. It says the CD-changer has to be hooked up to the antenna... anyone got any ideas on how to look into this and/or fix it?

Thanks!

I just recently bought a 1991 volvo 240. It's my second one. (my first got rear-ended ) Anyways. Everything's seemed great until recently I heard a loud screech. It happens after I start the car, back out, change to drive, and then accelerate. It's only during the first few hundred feet of acceleration that it makes the noise. After that it couldn't be quieter. And on top of that, it only happens sometimes. What could it be?

Less importantly... the glass on my passenger side mirror shattered. After I pick up a new piece of glass, how do I attach it? Is there a certain type of adhesive to use? Thank you so much to anyone who responds!

Can anyone tell me where the fuel pump relay is on a '90 240 DL? The manual I have talks about it but doesn't say exactly where it is. I've been having intermittent bouts where the car won't start because it is not getting any fuel. After 3-20 attepts at starting, it will magically fire up and run great. There's no rhyme nor reason to when it does this...hot/cold, etc. Most times it just starts right up on the first turn of the key. Any ideas?

Thanks!

Hi Folks,
I stripped one of the rear wheel studs on passenger's side of my daughter's 1988 240. It had suffered previous abuse with an air-wrench, so replacing all 5 studs and lug nuts is recommended.
The same thing happened to my wife's 740 several years ago and replacing the front wheel studs on the 740 was easy. The rear of the 240 is a different story as it looks like I have to strip down the parking brake assembly to get to the hub. When I looked at the 240 rear axleshaft assembly in the Haynes manual, it looks like there may not be enough space to remove the stud without removing the axleshaft assembly from the rear axle.
Since there is a taper-roller bearing on this assembly, using a hammer with the axle in situ is not an option. The Haynes manual doesn't describe the procedure for removing the rear wheel studs.
What is the best method to remove these studs? Can I press them out using a C-clamp without removing the axleshaft or do I have to remove the axleshaft to get them out?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated,
EMT

Hey guys i own a 244gl volvo and iheard that the b230ft or et out of a 720 volvo fits in with out modificaitons to a 240 series.. can anyone confirm this?

does engine mounts fit?? and bellhousing fit what parts will i need for the swap besides

the 720 ecu loom, motor and mounts...


cheers

CHristian

Hi everyone I have a 1984 volvo 240 gl, and it has been parked now for over 3 months as when i was out i started it and it did a toot and i got to get home but it was jumping all the way and trying to stall. and since then i cant start it, i noticed a wire popped out. and that day it died also had to buy a new battery and got a few new plugs in b/c my lights,whipers and so on werent working. i cant afford a mechanic at all. and i would like to know what I can do to try and fix it myself. i do have a digital cam and can take a picture of the engine with wire out. the car sounds like it was going to start but it gave up. sorry if i am not making much sence. thanks take care

I was driving the other day and my 240 just died, luckily I was able to coast into a parking lot and get out of traffic. When I tried to restart the car it just kept turning over but nothing happened. I tried tapping on the fuel pump relay, no help, checked for loose grounds and such, all ok. After about 15 min and cursing at my cellphone I pulled the fuse cover and checked the fuses. All looked ok and I noticed one for the fuel pump. I tried to pull it out with my fingers but I have large ones so when I would grab the fuse my side was against the metal door threshold and I would shock the #@$% out of myself. So I dug through my tool bag and found some needle nose pliers and took out the fuse for the fuel pump and inspected it and put it back in. Well what do you know it cranked. I hate those crappy fuses with a passion my 67 beetle had the same ones. Does anyone know of a conversion kit to convert it to blade type fuses or should I grin and bear it.



Thanks

How do can I get the SRS light to turn off and if I take it in to a mechanic what kind of costs are we talking about to check with the computer? Is it a serious problem or not? Any advice?

Having an intermittent problem with my 92 wagon. Began around Mid-December of '05, I was sitting at a light after having driven the car from cold to warm at 55mph for about 6 minutes. She is sitting there in idle, running smoothly, and rather spontaneously stalls. It doesn't shutter or make noise--it just drops out. I might not have noticed if I hadn't been looking at the dash at that moment. But she restarts immediately afterwards and runs fine for the rest of the evening.

Week and a half later, I'm sitting at a drive-through [also after having driven the car from cold to warm at 55mph for about 6 minutes as it's roughly in the same area], and she dies again in the same manner. Just completely drops out. But this time she doesn't restart immediately. I try and try to turn her over, and it just doesn't kick in. I switch everything off and try a few more times and she starts back up again. I pull forward, try to grab my food and get the hell out of there, but she dies yet again--this time shuttering a bit before dying. Once again I have the same problems getting her back up, but eventually it works and I manage to make it home by "two-footing" it.

Two-footing seems to be the only way to avoid a repeat of the stall, but I only do this after it's stalled. There doesn't seem to be a way to predict when she'll stall [other than At The Worst Possible Moment]. She almost always runs smoothly, minus the moments after a stall.

It's stalled several times after these incidences. At one point, I took some diagnostic readings of the ECU and received 2-3-2 and 3-1-1 [fuel system and vehicle speed signal missing, respectively]. Since then, however, we've replaced the ECU with a completely rebuilt and functional unit, and these codes have not reappeared. Even after stalling today, there are no codes present.

Since December, my dad, a Volvo addict, took it under his wing and tried to replicate it to no avail. Prior to changing the ECU unit, he was driving home and happened to hit a minor bump going about 35mph. This knocked the car out, and he had to pull over and start it up again. Another bump, another death about 2 minutes later. But after starting things up again, he never had another problem. This is 4 weeks ago.

We're in South Carolina, so we have a mix of weather at this time of year. It can be 30 degrees or 70 degrees, and the problem has appeared in both situations.

I was actually convinced that the new ECU had fixed the situation and was taking the car back today, until it died about 10 seconds into waiting at a light.

Perhaps I'm just a Typhoid Mary of 240s. :-/

Would love any suggestions!

Okay so I just bought this car for 120 dollars, and it runs fine I suppose, but I want to make it a daily comuter. So I want to get rid of the metal on metal sound in the rear brakes, get the front driver side door as well as the back driver side door opening from the outside. Also I have no heater, it blows cold air, and its winter so i'd like some hot air.

The previous owner bought the brake pads for the front and rear, and installed the front ones, but said he did not do the back because it was a bit more complicated. I've done some work on cars, and I don't mind getting my hands dirty but I just don't know anything about Volvos.

We also talked about the heater core being the problem with the heat. I did some research on this, and the way I understand this I have to remove the air conditioning, and the glove box to work on the heater core. I have also heard it may be possible to just flush the old core to get it rolling again, will that work, and how is that done?

Anywho I hope I can get some advice, and i'm looking forward to getting into this..

Cheers