I am undertaking replacement of my water pump. For those who have followed my railing against my mechanic, let me just preface this thread by saying, I went back and checked my invoices: 3 pumps in 3 years.

I've read the brick board FAQs and think I should be able to do this. I've also appreciated the comment by John Sargent in response to my complaints about oil leaks. He was right. On two of my three 940's there are noticeable drips of oil when I put my hand under the distributor. As soon as I get the water pump replaced, I'll be onto the distributor. (John, if you are listening, what's the deal with your replacing seals? You can email me off thread at robertmfranklin@gmail.com)

I began the replacement process and ran into this totally embarrassing stall. I removed the belly pan and I'm fairly certain which of the pulley devices is the power steering pump. I recognize the crank shaft. I am very familiar with the alternator. But I want to be sure I'm not mixing up the power steering pump with the air conditioning compressor. The power steering pump is low down on the passenger side. The air conditioning compressor is low on the drivers side and it has several discs on the pulley face. The only reason I ask, is, if I'm right the pumps respectively are opposite the rest of the systems that operate in conjunction with the pumps. For example the power steering reservoir is next to the drivers side fender and the pump is about as far away as you can get. Same for the air conditioning compressor, the refrigerant container and the piping are at the fire wall in front of the passenger compartment. its neither logical or efficient to my way of thinking, but I think that's the way it is.

May I have some confirmation. I searched high and low, both Brickboard and generally on line and could find no pictures of the general layout of the engine and its components.

Where could I acquire such a thing. Maybe its about time to buy a Volvo manual (Chiltons, etc.) Problem is when I went looking for one several years ago, there was nothing available that was any good, or maybe nothing available period.

Sometimes you just want a picture of the simplest and most obvious things that are not obvious to you.

A good example: If you were driving a friends Volvo, for the first time and you had to open the hood, you'd have a hard time figuring out where the pull was, I guarantee. But, we don't think twice about it, because we've done it at least once before.

I've never done a water pump replacement before.

Bob Franklin

There are some Haynes manuals available; one is for 82-88 740 US cars, softcover. Many of the procedures apply to your car. One is for 82-91 models so covers lh2.4 fuel system that you have. It's a British manual so covers right hand drive, but has many of the same procedures. It's hardcover and more difficult to use, but worth it IMO.
And the last is one I recently learned of; a 940 manual that Haynes own site does not list. It is also hardcover. I posted the Haynes number here not too long ago. I think it covers 91-96-7; in Europe the 940 lived til 98.

Here's my earlier post with ISBN and where to get it. lucid isn't impressed but if it has one nugget it's worth it to me.
940 Haynes

Water pump's easy. Check the faq and have at it.
I've got a big Bentley manual for 240s, but lots of the procedures are similar for the 940. The Haynes 940 manual is ok. Actually, the best resource is Brickboard. Matts volvo site is also pretty good.
Reinstalling the belts can be a little tricky. Send me a pm and I'll talk you through it if you ned any help.
Phil C

Great offer, Phil.

What's a pm?

Bob Franklin

with a wife and 4 daughters, my 1st guess would be the start of something unpleasant...p m s :) Actually, it's private message.
I just replaced the alternator belt on the 940 and learned a few tricks that make it a much easier process.

Loosening the high pressure fitting to the pump, and also getting a sealed fit when reassembling can be troublesome.
A pipe wrench, or even better, really high quality pipe wrenches help a lot.

HTH
mila

Dear robertmfranklin,

Hope you're well. As you face the engine, the power steering pump is on your left (the passenger side of the engine), towards the bottom of the engine. It has a 6" diameter, smooth-face pulley. The pulley has a single groove, for a "V" belt. The air-conditioning compressor is on your right, towards the bottom of the engine. It has two large hoses that connect at the back of the unit. The compressor's pulley is 4" in diameter, with three small "wheels" on the face. This pulley has two grooves on it. The alternator is on your right, at the top of the engine. The pulley is about 2.5" in diameter, and has two grooves. The alternator's case has many ventilation slots, and you can see the copper windings through those slots.

The alternator is mounted towards the top of the engine, to help keep it dry, i.e., as far away as possible from on-road standing water. If the car is driven through standing water, the alternator is not likely to get wet. The air-conditioning compressor, being a sealed unit, will not be affected by splashing water (or even by being submerged briefly). The power steering pump, a sealed unit, also will not be affected by splashing water or even being submerged. Note: if a road is completely covered in water, it is hard to gauge the water's depth or how fast it is moving. It is thus very risky to drive through such water. The same is true of a bridge, that is submerged.

It is a good idea to mark each belt (e.g., ALT = alternator; PS = power steering, AC = air-conditioning) before removal. Inspect the belts. To do this, gently grasp the belt in each hand, with the narrow edge upwards, leaving about 3" between each hand. Bend the belt gently downwards. If cracks appear on the edge of the belt that is closest to the center of the pulley, on which the belt rides, the belt is failing. Rubber deteriorates with heat and time, losing flexibility. The cracks on the inner circumference of the belt indicate a belt that is at the end of its service life.

A broken belt means, for example, that the alternator ceases to charge the battery. The car will run, until the battery gives out. This can ruin a battery. Belts are cheap. Batteries aren't.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook