Good morning all,

Since we lost our lovely '95 940 to a texting driver, I've been shopping for another.

I'm going to look at another '95 this week. A friend of mine is a mechanic, and this one belonged to his mother-in-law. About 200K, and has likely been well maintained.

I think I can buy it dirt cheap (around $500.00) because it either has a bad heater core or control valve. If I buy it, I need to bypass the heater core in order to be able to drive it.

I know that I can pull the inlet and outlet hoses from the firewall, but they're tough to get to. Is there any downside to simply disconnecting those hoses at the engine and running a hose between the outlet and inlet at the engine block?

Monty
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Past: '79 245, '91 240, '88 245. Current: '90 245, '83 245, '95 940

No problem on the bypass. Do not reuse the heater control valve. It may be brittle if it is old/original. Ford Motorcraft supposedly uses the same component & it is cheaper than the Volvo branded parts.

Be aware, if it is a turbo, it is likely to need a new head gasket soon.
Good maintenance will not help the fact of the the aluminum head's expansion & contraction over the past 16 years which are exacerbated by the extra heat generated by a turbo. The engines I have torn down with this problem also need the head milled, a valve job and sometimes cam bearings. About $400- $500 if you supply the labor, double that (at least) if you farm it out.

However, what you will have is a very strong engine afterwards, able to go another 200-250K mi. If the body is good, I would buy it.
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1999 E320 1994 F150 1989 560 SL 1986 560 SL (deceased) 1988 300 TE (departed) 1994 945T (daughter's) 1988 244DL (fallow) 1986 242Ti (fallow) 1968 GT500KR (under restoration)

It's an NA engine; no turbo. This would be the 6th red block Volvo that I've owned over a 30 year period, and I've always avoided turbos. It's tough when shopping for a 940, since it appears that 80% of them were turbo.

Of all those cars we've owned, we've never had single engine-related problem. Alternators, starters, water pumps, all the usual stuff. But, as we all know, those engines were amazing pieces of machinery. Our son's '83 manual tranny wagon is pushing 300K, and... there's really nothing wrong with it.
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Past: '79 245, '91 240, '88 245. Current: '90 245, '83 245, '95 940

I do agree with the previous poster. If it hasnt had a HG job, it will need one shortly, NA or Turbo, IMHO. I Just dont want you to underestimate the scope of the project you are about to embark on. Still a worthwhile project but a biggy.

Yeah, I've done two blower motors, but never a heater core. I know it will suck, but I'm pretty sure I can do it.

The first rule for anyone who chooses to drive older/cheaper cars: always have a spare car. It's amazing what you can do if you're not under the pressure of having to have it ready to drive to work on Monday.
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Past: '79 245, '91 240, '88 245. Current: '90 245, '83 245, '95 940

Ahhh Brick Brotha! You and I preach the same gospel :) Tho I did finally bite the bullet and bought(me and mostly wifey who has 75 mile per day commute) a 2011 Subaru Forester. Now I "only" have a 94 940 and 2001 Malibu to maintain.

Dear montysano,

Hope you're well. The source of the leak makes a lot of difference. If the heater core is leaking, the passenger foot-well carpets likely are damp/wet. The car's interior should be "perfumed" with coolant. If the carpets are dry, and there's no coolant aroma in the cabin, the heater core likely is fine.

If the heater valve is leaking, replace it AT ONCE. I'd not drive the car, until the heater control valve has been replaced. If it fails, all coolant will be lost in under a minute: an overheated engine might require a head-gasket change. On a car with 200K miles, You'll likely need to do that around the 250K mark. No reason to risk having to do it sooner, and the car could go well past 250K with the factory-original head gasket.

If the heater hoses are factory-original, they are at the end of their service life, and don't owe you a nickel. Replace them, using Volvo Brand hoses. As you note, these hoses are hard to get at, so the extra cost for the Volvo item is money well spent. The Volvo Brand hoses should last for at least 12 years (depends on the climate: heat is hard on most rubber/plastic items).

If the heater core has failed, and you can't replace it (or get it replaced) right now - and if you're in a region, where in-cabin heat isn't needed - you can connect the steel tube, that runs from the back of the water pump, to the port on the driver's side of the head.

As you note, these connections are hard-to-access, see the FAQs for a method to cut the heater hoses, that minimizes risk of damage to the metal, where the hoses connect.

If the heater core has failed, and you by-pass it, the time to replace the heater core is when the head gasket needs to be replaced. Head removal requires removal of one end of the by-pass hose. With the head removed, the pipe from the water pump is easily accessed. Once new heater hoses and the heater control valve have been replaced, then the heater core should be replaced.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook

Done this on numerous cars over the years. Just use a quality hose.
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