I own an 82 GLT which I have had for twenty years so I have some familiarity with Volvo cars.

I saw a 1995 944 for sale but the intermediary chap [who rebuilds American engines for a living] thinks that the cylinder head might be cracked. He is not familiar with Volvos however.

The owner apparently spent $1200 trying to fix some kind of overheating issue but the garage failed to fix the car.

The car starts and runs well and there is no water in the oil.

I think the owner had a new head gasket installed but it failed to solve the overheating problem. When the garage installed the head gasket one would think they would have seen a cracked head. Is there something else that could be causing the overheating.


I would like to have a four door Volvo but would like your input as to whether this should be the car.

It has relatively new tires and a professional sound system and looks like a car where the owner just lost interest in maintaining it. Apparently she has bought another car.

Any thoughts?

Bob

volvo thermostats have a single tiny hole with a jiggler in it which allows air to bleed out of the system which prevent hot spots developing when a head gasket is done or coolant flushed.

if the thermostat in there does NOT have that tiny hole there is no way any trapped can easily escape. ergo............hot spot since air does not cool

i nearly smoked a head gasket job i did once by installing the wrong thermostat without the tiny bleed hole.

caught it just in time.

Okay. Start with a stupid question. where is the thermostat located? I expect it is near the engine on the top hose going to the radiator but each car has its differences.

Interesting drive home. The temperature gauge sat right in the middle where it should. No indication of overheating.

I was followed by a friend and he noticed smoke coming from the right front wheel. It was very hot to the touch so I am figuring that it could have a seized caliper. I could also smell it when the car was stopped at a traffic light. The brake light was on for most of the trip but apparently this has been the case for quite some time according to the chap who presided over the sale.

The top hose to the radiator is very hot to the touch as well. You cannot hold your hand to it for more than an instant. Don't know how normal this is however.

Dennis unscrewed the plastic radiator bottle on the right side of the car and it bubbled and overflowed.

He also thought there was traces of steam in the exhaust. He was a heavy duty mechanic in another life. I've seen him do a leak test on a Model T head once and it was quite astonishing to see water emerging from a crack in the head. I asked him if he would do that for the Volvo and he thinks he can but he said it might take a couple of days to really check it out because of the complicated setup in the Volvo.

Thanks for your input. very much appreciated.

Bob

Dear muskox37,

Hope you're well. Should you wish to replace the thermostat, saturate the nuts with PB Blaster or a similar penetrating oil. Do this over a couple of days, so the oil has a chance to work its way into microchannels in any corrosion. Go gently: the studs go into aluminum.

You may want to have a repair shop test for exhaust gases in the coolant. If such gases are present, that's a sign of a failed headgasket.

Also, look for automatic transmission fluid (ATF) in the coolant. If there's a pinkish scum atop the coolant - and/or if the ATF is milky/cloudy - then the in-radiator ATF cooler has failed. At once replace the radiator and flush the tranny: water attacks the glue that adheres the clutch-pack facings. Clutch material fibers will clog fluidways in the tranny and quickly ruin it. Absent coolant contamination, Aisin Warner trannies are quite durable.

The caliper definitely has seized. You may be able to rescue it, if the problem is with the slide pins, rather than with the piston itself. Rebuilding a caliper isn't hard - pulling the piston and replacing the seals - but getting the outer seal to seat properly takes some practice.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook

Hello Spook,

I checked the transmission fluid and it shows no sign of contamination. Ditto the engine oil.

Right now I am taking care of smaller items like the driver's door handle and the stuck brake caliper. I am going for a rebuilt caliper from a local jobber largely because of the convenience of having it delivered quickly. I have it on the garage floor right now. Just a little worried that having a new caliper alongside an old one could produce some pulling to the right when braking.

I will heed your advice on the thermostat. My mechanic friend has an instrument that can measure the temperature of the coolant from outside so we will be doing that in the near future and then we can determine whether the coolant is overly hot or not. Do you know what a standard temperature is for these cars?

I really do need a manual for these elementary questions. I did find an online driver's manual but haven't really perused it yet. I have a Bentley manual for the 240 and a Haynes as well.

The guy at the jobber outlet says that dot three is the right brake fluid. Is that true?

Once again, thanks for your valuable input.

Bob the muskox.

Dear muskox37,

Hope you're well. Most important: the brake fluid should be DOT4 or DOT4+ (not DOT3). Volvo supplies DOT4+, under part #9437434.

As to thermostats, one can use a unit set to open at 87°C (189°F; Volvo Part #273459) or 92°C (197°F; Volvo Part #273307).

The age difference in the calipers should not matter, so long as the brake pads on both sides are the same as to make, type, and install time.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook

Hello again Spook,

Thanks again for your input.

I had a somewhat unnerving discussion with my local unofficial Volvo supplier yesterday. This chap has been running a Volvo wrecking yard for at least twenty years now and I have purchased many items, new and used from him. He has a central wrecking yard and has outlets in Victoria, BC, and Nanaimo, BC, both of which are separate from the wrecking yard. He is not the 'official' Volvo outlet however.

Regardless, he told me that the 940 engine block is prone to cracking because of a casting problem in all 940 cars prior to late production 1995 models and that that was probably behind the overheating issue. I found this astonishing and so I have been checking around in the various forums to see if there is any truth to his commentary. So far I have found nothing and one would think that something that severe would be common knowledge among Volvo afficionados. Have you heard anything like that about 940 Volvos?

Bob aka muskox37

Dear muskox37,

Hope you're well. Your "local unofficial Volvo supplier" indeed has confused the 940 with the '92 960, just as others have suggested. Either that, or he wants to get his fingers on your prize purchase!!!

Either way, he's simply wrong.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook

Never heard of the 940's blocks being prone to cracking. Think your guy has confused the 960's and 940's. Some early 960's (6 cylinder engine) had a porous block that could be prone to leaking.

I wonder what he was thinking too. But he was quite specific. He asked me whether the car was a late 1995 or an early and then proceeded to give me the bad news that the blocks would crack horizontally underneath the intake manifold. The implication was that all 940s were subject to this failing and I had just bought a used door handle from him for fifty bucks [he does not undercharge for his parts]!

I forgot to ask him whether the cracks were internal or external but I took from the comment that they were external because he said you couldn't see them because of the manifold. . . which would mean one would get coolant on the floor I would assume. Or one would see coolant in the oil.

I am going to do a series of checks before I proceed on the engine, following Stephen Ringlee's FAQ suggestions. It will be interesting to take a look at the plugs. Have you heard anything about the rad caps by the way? Trichlee suggested I look at them and Ringlee mentioned them in the FAQ section as potential sources of coolant loss.

the red block engine is among the most reliable engines ever manufactured by anyone anywhere.

AND the later 940 piston oil squirter red blocks 93-95 either turbo or non turbo are the very best of the best.

the guy at the wrecking yard is mistaken about his models....confusing 960 for 940.

have no worries about the red block. short of oil starvation and terrible abuse they never quit.

even running one of these without coolant after a HG failure, say to get of the highway safely, normally results in a smoked warped beyond use head and at worst oil starved, scored rod and or main bearings.

if a rod lets go you'll have a hole in the block same with any engine.

You don't have to convince me. My 240 has been running faithfully for thirty-one years now and before that I ran in 122S cars which were also pretty reliable [except for the fussy SU carburetors]. That is why I was astonished by his commentary.

As any, even casual, follower of this forum will confirm he is dead wrong. 960 crap engine, 940 engine...strong like bull. All you need is a $20 non-contact thermometer(one of the neat little laser pointer thermometers). Look for spots above 220 degrees on the head and block. For a $300 car...keep it full of fluids and run it.

Yes, some (but not all) of the early 960's had porous blocks. Believe it was primarily the 1992-94 models. Supposedly the best model year is 1996. Some of the early engines do have high mileage with no problems, so it isn't all the engines. When properly taken care of these engines can go a long way. See url below for more info.

http://www.brickboard.com/FAQ/700-900/960_90Info.htm#Porous960B6304Blocks

What is strange about the white block engines is that the 5 cylinder version does NOT have this problem. The 5 cylinder is a terrific engine. My 95 855 has 224k and it runs better than my 90 244 did at the same mileage.

Dear jwalker,

Hope you're well. If I recall correctly, the "porous block" problem was found in some '92 960s. In that model/year, some of the engine block castings were defective.

I do not recall posts reporting engine block porosity in later model years of 960s and cannot recall any post reporting engine block porosity in any 940.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook,

From the 700/900 FAQ URL in my previous post:

"[Response: Tim] Click and Clack the tappet brothers had a caller a few weeks ago with a similar problem. Seems there are problems sometimes with the castings on the 960 engine. [Editor's Note: Too many reports of casting porosities in 92-95 B6304s have appeared on the Brickboard to dismiss these as related to a short run of early blocks. If you are considering buying a 92-95 960, do some serious investigating and take a hard look at the engine block for coolant leaks, patches, attempted repairs, service records, etc. to pin down whether the car has this problem.] See the notes above regarding the requirement to change the coolant regularly and use proper coolants."

Note Steve Ringlee's editor's comment.

My retired heavy duty mechanic pal has one of those thermometers that can take a reading from outside the rad hose. When I get the car going I will get that done and then take a sample of the oil to check for contamination at the bottom of the oil pan and then I will check a spark plug and see what I can find. Then I will report my findings. Regardless, thanks again for your input.

http://www.harborfreight.com/infrared-thermometer-with-laser-targeting-non-contact-69465.html

I also use it to find air leaks/cold spots in my basement and attic(then remedy). I drive all my dogs and cats crazy with the laser. They will chase for hours and now get all excited when they even hear the click of the trigger. A truly useful device. You can spend more $ on these units and get additional accuracy/features as well. Neat.
Heres the one I got:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002YE3FS4/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I wonder what he was thinking too. But he was quite specific. He asked me whether the car was a late 1995 or an early and then proceeded to give me the bad news that the blocks would crack horizontally underneath the intake manifold. The implication was that all 940s were subject to this failing and I had just bought a used door handle from him for fifty bucks [he does not undercharge for his parts]!

I forgot to ask him whether the cracks were internal or external but I took from the comment that they were external because he said you couldn't see them because of the manifold. . . which would mean one would get coolant on the floor I would assume. Or one would see coolant in the oil.

I am going to do a series of checks before I proceed on the engine, following Stephen Ringlee's FAQ suggestions. It will be interesting to take a look at the plugs. Have you heard anything about the rad caps by the way? Trichlee suggested I look at them and Ringlee mentioned them in the FAQ section.

http://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo-expansion-tank-cap-green-1-dot-50-bar

this green cap is stock with all 940's and runs at 1.5 atmospheres of pressure. the idea being the coolant will hold more heat. this increases pressure throughout the cooling system and as the car ages makes for potential troubles .

http://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo-expansion-tank-cap-black-075-bar

this cap was stock n 240's and holds .75 atmospheres of pressure. this puts far less stress on your cooling system but also hold less heat as it less than room pressure.

i throwaway every green cap i ever see on any volvo that comes my way and install only the black .75 ones.

Hello Trichard,

I read about caps on Stephen Ringlee's excellent site for maintaining these cars. He talked about grey caps being problematic. I will try to cut and paste his own words:

Per chance, Greg, do you have a Grey plastic pressure cap?? Hmm? If so, you need a Green one. My wifes 940 and my 960, each with grey caps, failed within 6 mos. of each other. They tend to get little hairline cracks in the threaded portion. They spittle and sputter and ooze coolant ONLY when at temp. and pressurized. Check it out carefully. FWIW, Stant company is selling the new green Volvo caps for half what the dealer wants, under their own name.

And you are saying that I should throw away the green cap and use a black 240 one because then the coolant pressure will be less. Do I have that right?

Incidentally, I have cut and pasted a number of his suggestions for tracking down the cooling problems and will implement them next week when I have finished the caliper and door repairs.

Once again, thanks for your input.

yes, i would use the lower pressure .75 black cap.

but, that is your decision to make

At some risk of anguish to myself, here are some suggestions.
Buy a manual, such as a Haynes and/or a Chilton's. Do some reading about the car, such as where things are. Those above will satisfy that.
Read the FAQ here on this site; it is one of the most valuable things in existence for 7/9 cars. It can save you thousands, if not your life also.

The thermostat is at the engine end of the top hose, inside the small 2 bolt housing.
It is normal for the top hose to be hot, the coolant inside it is pretty toasty. Should be about the same as your 240...
The overflow is because the system is under pressure, thus the 'pressure cap' on top of the bottle. When the cap is removed... Voila! Vesuvius. Maybe those from another life didn't know that.
The Volvo head is only a little different than that Model T, btw.
Let me kindly suggest you take it to a radiator shop that can do a pressure test on the cooling system.

Consider following Jerry's suggestions. He knows what he is talking about...:)

That's very kind, but if I know anything it's due to a lot of guys here and elsewhere teaching me over the years. :-)

No rocks it would appear. I bought it yesterday, party because of the very positive comments I received on this forum.

Bob

Solve that overheat first, don't do worse damage. IMO, take out that thermostat and ensure it's correct. I use, and many recommend, Wahler. Spec is for a 92 Cel, 87 will work. But it has to have the 'tickler' and put up top.

It starts well and runs. I just have to bring it home [around thirty kilometres] and then I will see what I can do about the overheating. If it starts to overheat on the journey I will just stop and wait for an hour or so. It does have an automatic transmission which always is a worry but for three hundred I can't go too far wrong.

I just hope it is as good a car as my 242.

Bob

Dear Bob,

Hope you're well. Before driving it even 30 Km, make sure there's no coolant in automatic transmission fluid (ATF) or in the oil.

If either fluid is cloudy/milky, then water contamination is present. Do not drive the car, until the contaminated fluid has been flushed.

Water in the ATF dissolves the glue, that adheres the clutch-pack facings: micro-fibres of clutch material will clog fluidways in the tranny and ruin it. Besides, water turns to steam at normal tranny operating temperatures: water/steam does (do) not lubricate.

The ATF should be a clear, rosy red. If it is brown/black it is old. If it is thin or orange, it likely has been over-heated. You can flush ATF in situ. All you'll need it a funnel (with a long, narrow snout); length of plastic hose and a few large plastic bottles with screw-type caps (to transport used fluid).

If there's water in the oil, the headgasket likely has failed. If so, the car should be towed the 30km.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook

Hello Spook,

I drove the car on a 250 mile trip last weekend and it performed like a Volvo. No overheating and no consumption of coolant and running like a clock. I am beginning to trust it.

My headlight parts have arrived in Victoria and the dealer is sending them up to me so I will be spending a little time with that little project.

ipd sent me a new timing belt and seals so I will be replacing the leaky camshaft seal.

Then I will see about fixing the parking brake and taking a good look at the brakes.

It is coming around. Thanks for your help. Much appreciated.

The (four) volvos I have worked on have had drain plugs on the tranny pan. It makes for an easy oil change! I usually take off the pan and clean out the oil filter screen. I drive a 92 940GL and it has an uncommon tranny (AW-70L, or a42dl by toyota's model nomenclature), and the filter screen/gasket is really hard to find so I just re-use everything (I put some hylomar on the gasket but really it is just a spacer so just re-use it), when I cleaned the screen there was visible metal pieces in the screen, chunks about 3mm in diameter, I flushed them out with brake cleaner and re-assembled. The trickiest part, I've found, is filling up the right amount of tranny fluid. I literally crawled under the car (while it was on ground) and undid the drain bolt and drained tranny fluid out into a red plastic cup because I had over-filled. Before that I had too little, but my god when I finally got the level within spec, the transmission shifted flawlessly. The shifter itself had a much smoother action, and the car shifted quicker overall. I've heard not to use synthetic, but other people have told me to use it. A friend who works on transmissions says it's too slippery and will cause clutch packs to chatter and even wear out friction bands.

Dear walczyk,

Hope you're well. Draining the tranny pan removes only a small portion of the eight quarts of ATF in an Aisin-Warner 70/71/72 unit. Flushing - versus draining the pain - removes far more of the old fluid. Even better is to do two flushes: one with Wal-Mart ATf and then, 1000 miles later, a second flush with Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF or a similar product.

Further, on most 940s, the AW-71 pan has a fill-tube connected to the pan with a large hex fitting. Apparently, Volvo had an employee - Sven the Torquer - who had huge upper-body strength and who was tasked with tightening the hex fitting. Few have managed to undo the hex fitting, wtihout wrecking the pan. If the tranny has to be removed, the fill tube may be freed by removing the bolts that secure the starter.

Finally, if one over-fills the tranny, taking loose the upper tube to the in-radiator ATF cooler, allows one can easily to drain the extra ATF. Note, though, that two wrenches MUST be used to loosen the upper tube to the in-radiator ATF cooler. One wrench goes on the hex fitting on the radiator, and that wrench must absolutely not be allowed to move even a millimeter. The other wrench goes on the hex fitting at the end of the steel ATF tube, which wrench must be turned, while the other wrench is held absolutely in the same place. If this be done, the steel tube can be used to drain extra fluid, without damaging the in-radiator ATF cooler.

I have run Mobil 1 ATF in AW-71 trannies for some years, with no obvious problems. So far as I know, none of these trannies had any problems, which synthetic ATF might aggravate.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook

crank sensor, fuel pump relay, radio suppression relay, power stage (if equipped)

good chance it will start and drive.

--
'90 245 290k, '93 945 296k

If that was near me I'd own it, sight unseen.
Let's say the head gasket was badly done, that the motor is now toast. A waranteed motor at a JY is less than $200; r/r may be 600-1k. Not a lot to end up with a nice car that is relatively safe and will last a long time.

If it needs another head, you can buy one online or get one at PnP for $40 or so over the Mem day wknd, half price. Machine it, do it right, put in a correct thermostat (dingdingding, this may be the real problem, the Volvo stat is not like others), new hoses and rad, and be happy.