Hey all,
I just moved to the New Port Richey area and after weeks of hunting, I finally found a 240 in the Clearwater area. It's a beautiful looking 1983 242 with no rust! However I'm very skeptical about buying this car for a few reasons. I am concious that it is indeed a 22 year old car, but I want some fellow brickboarders insight about these problems that the car has. I was test driving it today and the car kept "bucking". At 1st I thought this would be a mass airflow sensor problem but the mechanic (Who buys old Volvos, Saabs and VWs) said that there was probably condensation inside of the distributor cap because it's Florida and it's insanely humid down here, and the car has been sitting since the 4th of July because no one has wanted this car. Thus water probably found its way into the cap? But it def. felt like the M.A.F. sensor unit was going unless you guys aree with this seller/mechanic? Anyways the last problem with the car is that (He says it's the OD Relay) the O.D. is a bit screwy. When I'm shifting gears (It's an m46 4spd of course) the "5" light flickers on and off, and the 5th gear intermittently works. He said that it's "probably the relay" but I think it's the O.D. solenoid? He wants $2200 for the car, but I really want to know about the problems that this car has and if these are the correct diagnoseses. Thanks!!

Condensation in the distributor causes bucking? My 74 144, bought new has been in the tropics all its life. It lives in an environment where papaya and coconut and mango trees thrive, with 90% humidity and temps above 80 all year round, but it has never bucked due to condensation in the distributor!

..and yes, the beaches are full all year round over here !
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...and the bricks keep on rolling

This one?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NO-RUST-SOUTHERN-242-GA-FL-history-Check-it-out_W0QQitemZ330016791044QQihZ014QQcategoryZ31877QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


Check this one out.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Volvo-240-DL-1987_W0QQitemZ330023768935QQihZ014QQcategoryZ31877QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Yes the 1st one is the 242 I looked at!!!!

Yes the 1st one is the 242 I looked at!!!!

That's a lot of dough....

We got a mint 745. Leather, all options. Lot's of fancy parts.... and about 10 years newer... for a lot less than $2200.

Throw him a bone and walk if he doesn't bite. Try eBay (gasp!) or Auto Trader. Maybe a fellow BrickBoarder could check it out if it's far away... then grab a bus (even a plane) or con a friend into driving you to pick it up.

Good luck!
-Ryan
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Athens, Ohio
1990 245 DL 130k M47, E-codes
1991 745 GL 280k (Girlfriend-mobile)
Buckeye Volvo Club

I think he is full of shit on the bucking, that is in-tank pump, I would bet. He is probably right on the relay for OD. He wants way too much.

Hi Robert.
we got lucky on that storm for once.
:^)
good luck
mike
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25 by 25 sways, HD bils, B&G springs, strut & firewall braces, turbo cam & gear, exaust mods,14psi boost, E-codes, and more

That guy is full of crap. I don't care WHAT the problem is, $2200 should buy a nearly perfect example of an '83 240. At the very least it should run perfectly.

Sure, rust free is nice, and 242's are less common than 244's and 245's, but 240's were at the height of their production in the early 80's. You can find a less "beautiful" - but probably better running - 240 of the same era for $500 and spend the difference on restoring it. That way you'll know every inch of the car, inside and out, and nothing will be a surprise.

Even if you find a car with a little rust in the common places like wheel wells, spare tire wells, rear quarters, etc. patch panels are available for all of those places. Weld on new panels - so you KNOW that it isn't held together by nothing but Bondo - and get a Maaco paint job. You can have a car that looks nearly brand new for the same price, and one that you know is sound.

Thank you so much Sven I really appreciate it! Unfortunately there's NOTHING in New Port Richey for Volvos except for this one and I'm probably going to be stuck driving a Ford Escort ZX2 because of it! Ugh oh well I guess I'll have to wait to get a Volvo!

As Click and Clack say on the "Car Talk" radio show,
"BOoOoOoOoGUS!

For that selling price he should have fixed whatever the problem is - either new cap/rotor/plugs/wires or AMM as you suspect, or needs a new air intake hose into the throttle body or fuel pump relay or filter or in-tank pump or Oxy sensor or even an airflow sensor if that's what it needs. Or all of the above if needed. I can't believe he would have paid much more than $500 for a 22-year old car that apparently nobody wants in that area. So he should have money to fix it. Or let him out from under the car by buying it for 1/3 the asking price. Offer less than that.

Come on, if he's that sure it's just water under the dizzy cap he could open it up and aim a hair dryer at it after giving it a quick wipe.

If it's got a rotten wire harness then a full fix could be a big pain, and expensive.

Overdrive??
My guess is that if intermittent, it's most likely a bad relay or must maybe a wire problem below the floor plan. Both easy fixes. But my experience is on auto-tranny cars.

In our experience with bad solenoids, it was just plain not working. And I'm pretty sure the light would not flicker if the solenoid was getting proper voltage from the rest of the system. The light is run by the relay. Um, intermittent power cutout to relay due to bad fuse or bad fuse contact would also cause flicker. Should be an easy fix but he's lazy. Shouldn't get lots of money as a reward for being lazy.

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DAMHIK: Don't Ask Me How I Know - - - Sven: '89 245, IPD sways, electric rad. fan conversion, e-codes, 28+ mpg - auto tranny. 500 mi/week commute. '89 245 #2 (wifemobile). '90 244 (spare, runs).