Found one that I'm seriously considering buying from a guy that fixes up and sells older Volvo's for a hobby. What interests me the most about this car over others I've found is that this guy has all the service records since it was bought new. He says all the maintenance has been kept up with, and he's done some things himself recently before selling such as new brakes, and tires, charging ac, etc... The engine has 200k miles on it, so I'm a little curious what you guys who are more familiar with these cars might know about what to look for, and what else to ask about besides the obvious info I got from him, and the information I asked about?

I would stay away from anything that has rust ...

There is no rust on the vehicle.

The 8 valve 740 (b230f engine) non-turbo has a lot in common with the 240. The 740 was supposed to replace the 240 but production of the 740 ended one year before the 240. Volvo tried to give the 740 a "modern" look, compared to the 240.

Does it leak oil? Usually that is a sign that the "flame trap" has been neglected, causing high crankcase pressure.

The headliner is a problem on the 740's - so I've heard.

The cars were well made, and the engines last a long time if maintained.

The rubber being ~20 years old tends to be an issue .. motor mounts, control arm bushings, etc ...

the b series engines used in the 240's carried on throughout the 740 series, and some instance you could get the 8+8 engine, effectively 16v. also on a side note, the same engines are used in 940's up to around 93/94 time i believe. another interesting fact the 8v head (so my research tells me) seems to have some hisotry with porsche giving a helping hand with the flowing. though that might be restricted to the 531 series 8v head (less common) as opposed to the 530. Think also the cylinder block has many a thing in common with some used on the ford crossflow engines too (so research leads me to believe)

the flame trap can easily be fixed, one thing to look out for though, if the flame trap has been blocked for a long period of time, you may see oil leaking out (from where seams to be the distributor) - in this case it wont be, it will be more likely the pressure has mis-shaped and ruined the rear crank case seal. you will see oil on the bottom of the engine where the gearbox is attached to the engine block - also known as the bell housing.

a good thing to look out for, is infact the bushes. probably going to be a bit knackered, but these arent hard jobs to do and you can replace them with modern polyeurethane bushings which help handling immensely!

colour of the brake fluid!! dark brown black ... it hasnt been changed/inspected in a while, a good thorough clean out of the system will be in order and you will suddenly find that the brakes come spurting back to life!

rust - under the wheel arches, the floor pans of front drivers side and passenger side, rear wheel arches, spare tyre well inside and out. places where the most water hits the car when driving, especially places where stones are likely to attack at high speed.

if its automatic look for hard shifting, look for late shifting (3500-4000rpm) under normal driving. check the colour and level of the auto fluid, it should be just under full, around 3/4 and a nice pinkish colour. it shouldnt use any oil, if it does, you may have a leak so check the condition of the radiator expansion tank - it will be all frothy. if the oil is slightly browned or really brown its burnt and is a tell tail sign that it has been pushed too hard and/or been used as a heavy towing vehicle (tow bar is also a tell tale sign!)

if its a manual, look for a throbbing of the clutch pedal when driving, are the gear changes smooth? is the clutch high up, does it feel like the engine is revving like nuts and the car isnt really going as fast as you expected? can be signs of clutch, clutch fork, flywheel damage (believe me i know all about that one!)

hope this helps guys!

Matt

Hey SyKo --

What about the headliner? The radio suppresion relay? Which cars used Bosch LH vs. Regina, and why? The blower motor (fan)? Any other 740 dirty laundry? I only know about the 240's ...

oh yeah the headliner is a problem in some, especially high humidtity area's i find. it falls down and gets messy with all the old orange foam backed stuff coming off. horrid stuff!

the radio suppresion relay isnt much of a big thing in all honesty, i have never changed one in my life. they should rarely go wrong, i have found that most times what people think to be that its just a bad grounding problem - which can be the reason of a lot of electrical problems in all honesty.

i wouldnt know about the injection type and why tbh, so i cant comment on that.

blower motors - only heard of 3 or 4 times that these have gone, electric motors burn out all the time, its their nature tbh. you cant help it - sometimes the switch system for it is the problem too.

other dirty laundry hmmmm not really much i can think of other than the ignition control relay. when that starts to play up you'll prob notice rough idling, cutting out randomly, hard to start afterwards when hot, leave it to cool and it runs fine, wobbly rev needle when sat at idle.

Matt

I have an '89 wagon that I have rebuilt and I love her!

1) the headliner will fall, count on it, it is a matter of when, not if.

2) Radio suppression relays are cheap and easy to replace so no worries there.

3) I would talk to the guy and have him tell you whether it has Regina or Bosch fuel/ignition system, it will save you some hassle down the road when diagnosing problems. Also, in some cases, replacement costs for Regina equipment can be almost double compared to Bosch.

All in all, I have only had minor electrical issues which have been easily solved,but for a car that has 214,000mi. it is still running well.

Well I picked her up today. Drove like a dream for a car with 203k miles on it. The owner had a manilla folder 2 inches thick with all the service records since 1990 when the car was brand new. All regular maintenace and then some was kept up on. A lot of money was spent keeping that car running perfectly. Everything checked out great on the car, and the headliner is perfect. Just a little stainded. The paint is starting to lose it's clearcoat in some spots on the hood, and top of the car. The leather on the front driver and passenger seats were coming apart at the seams, but the back seat is great. Even has the 3rd row seat.