Hello all. I've been lurking on here a bit, as I've been contemplating a '90s Volvo wagon (245-855) for a bit. I wasn't planning to actually buy one until at least the spring, but when the right car turns up in your area, you need to make a decision - I decided to buy. The car is a one-owner, garaged, dealer maintained base model with complete service history. 151,000 miles (service history backs that up as true / no ODO failure), although I drove an 850 with less than half that in worse shape, so I believe that care matters much more than actual mileage, at least within reason. Original paint in good condition, likewise with interior, effectively no rust, and was registered and driven until a week ago (I'm waiting for my DMV appointment before I can drive it). So yeah, I'm pretty confident I got a good one. On the downside, the car only traveled 17,000 miles in the past 7 years, so there's a bunch of time based stuff I'm going to do right off the bat: fluids, hoses, belts, and whatever you good folks might suggest. The timing belt was done 19 months (and 3000 miles) ago, but I read there is an adjustment at 10k. I'm thinking I'll leave it alone for now. One thing also needing attention is the distributor seal. I pulled the cap and rotor to check condition, and saw it has the infamous oil leak in there. I've seen the how-tos on this site, and have previously done this on another 1995 Swedish car (Saab 900 which also has a horizontal distributor) seal kit is on the way, and I'm not particularly worried about it.

So not too much in the way of questions just yet. I'm introducing myself now because once I start putting some miles on this thing, I'm certain I'll have plenty. There is one little thing I'll post here, though: My CR-915 radio is not accepting the anti theft code. And what I mean by that is this: The radio displays CODE upon switching on. However, it does not register any keypress to the preset buttons (or any other button, aside from the power knob). All I've found is instructions on how to enter the code when it reads OFF. Nothing about this. I pulled the radio, and removed the faceplate, and top
bottom plates for a look-see. I'm no electronics tech, but I figured if something was burnt, corroded, or disconnected, I might be able to identify the issue. All looked (and smelled) right to me. Interestingly, the dealer service records show that the radio was replaced in 1999 with a reman CR-915 for a complaint of "radio not taking code" (and at a cost of $262.05 P&L). So maybe this is a common issue for these? Anyway, I'm writing the radio off for now, but if anyone has knowledge on this fault, I'd love to hear it. I'm not huge on having to have tunes, but it's the only thing on the car which does not work, and that bothers me :-). Actually, I forgot to test the cruise control on my very long test drive...

Regards - Wilson

I'm too jealous to respond right now
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89 240 wagon, 94 940, 300K, 94 940, 141K

If it helps, the car wasn't a bargain. I knowingly paid top dollar.

Nice looking car !
sounds like you are on the right track, Yes rubber rot is a time related issue and You will see some rubber parts failing. If you are near a tire shop ask them to decipher the age of your tires, and look at the sidewalls, sometimes cars have good tread and they can look nice still, but the tires can be dangerous if the sidewalls form little cracks, that's a sign so I'd say before you go too far have a look to see if the tires look good but are unsafe simply due to age. I've had them tear right around and pretty much come right off the rim on my 122 twice because I was cheap and they looked ok deep tread, but they were actually too old.

I wonder if you disconnect the battery for a few minutes, would that make the radio display that "off " or "code" any differently? I think you need to reset the code if it's disconnected and you don't have the code now anyway so I dont see any risk in that ? Ive never had a car that new so I dont know that exact radio either.

i think you will find there is a wire that is always hot to maintain the code and one switched by the ignition and a power antenna wire too. It could be that one was not connected or they could be tied together if the installer wasn't so sharp as to do that right. I think when you turn the key with the radio on you should see the antenna move up but you might need the code before that happens.

you might open the ashtray cover with the battery disconnected and check each fuse, see if you see signs of corrosion and clean the fuses and the fuse holder contacts if everything isn't bright and shiny.. new fuses aren't expensive so sometimes I just put new ones. older ones might be slightly better quality, you decide. look on the chart thing to see which fuse is for the radio and make sure that is ok. If the radio saw power from the battery but not power from the key or the reverse, maybe that makes it do what it does now. no doubt the previous owner had a dead battery while in storage mode and it may have just lost the code that way.


if it was garaged that helps, a lot of things last better if stored in a "cool dark place". rubber parts too.

batteries only last so long especially when they sit unused so I'd change that if you see any signs of a brown out , slow cranking , dim lights, etc, see how it is or if it has a date on it. dead batteries and dirty fuses are things you can fix before they fail in my opinion.

mine is an 88 wagon and I like that it still has it's original tape deck , It sounds pretty good. Mine has the power antenna so If I turn it on the antenna lifts. I replaced the antenna , only the antenna itself, and it was easy and cheap which was a nice surprise.

If the fuel pump is original , well you decide, If you go on long trecks then I'd want a new one , if a tow home isn't the end of the world you can wait for failure, usually with a car like that , its in nice shape and you expect another 100 K or so so why not start with a new pump.. but it might have been done.

bad fuel pumps and also bad waterpumps tend to go suddenly , most other things you can limp home or they will at least give you a sign before a sudden failure. I'd rather do that on a sunny day that I choose.

if its not in the service records I'd crawl under and look at the terminals to the fuel pump and how shiny it is , if it looks OEM and unchanged I'd put in another bosche pump.. not a chinese pump.

if the prepump and or the fuel level the sender inside the tank fail then it will probably run with a full tank maybe run bad or not run under 1/2 tank, but a bad main pump will kill the car and that can result in a tow home.

The waterpump could go for a while but I have found that when I found I had a bad one it was not a thing that gave me any warning, itll start spilling from the hole just below the shaft without warning so I like to do those when I first buy cars.

I bought mine at 80 K and it's at 160 now. one thing that I had to fix at 80 K was the front callipers, they didn't fail to work, but they slide on a pin. it was not wear in the pin but the caliper itself , the hole in the casting was worn out

I had to order more than one rebuilt caliper before I found a good one. when they rebuild the capllipers They did not re-bush the worn hole, I changed the pin but the wear was in the hole, not the pin.

yours may have different front calipers. I'ts newer. I thik there are a lot of parts that are not interchangeable with earlier versions.
the sign I had was they rattled over bumps but the noise went away with any brake pressure on the pedal. older Volvos had better brakes with 3 pistons, I think girling, but mine has the ones that float I think bendix? I like the older ones more but they work, I just wanted to note that in case you hear the rattling and it stops when you brake.

Hi Phil,
Great thoughts on the radio. I did remove the radio fuse for a day or so - no change. This car has the antenna integrated into the glass, so nothing to indicate there. I miss those power antennas, though. I thought they were gimmicky when they were contemporary, but now they seem so cool. Good thought to go through the entire fuseblock. Everything else on the car works, but that doesn't mean there isn't a problem looming. I remember the old ceramic bayonet fuses used to need a spin every now and then... The battery on the car was done this year. That might be when the radio quit. So the original owner of this car just moved into assisted living. If she was actually still driving recently, it wasn't much. Her son-in-law, who was representing her in the sale disclosed this. However, he and other family members would use the car when they flew in from out of state. That may be where all the miles in the last few years came from. I just did the oil and air filters today - they weren't Volvo. I think a family member may have been attending to the car in the last couple of years. I have no receipts for those items, but they clearly weren't done at the dealer, where the owner had all of the work aside from tires and exhaust performed.

I'm open to replacing the high pressure pump if that's something that might go. A year ago we had a scare leaving Cleveland 8 hours from home, in my wife's BMW. A fuel pump failure message came up in the iDrive, and the car died. After sitting on the side of the highway for a bit, I was able to restart the car. A scan revealed an error of insufficient voltage (or something like that) at the low pressure fuel pump controller. I replaced the battery (I knew it was iffy from sitting), and we made it home, and went six months before the problem happened again. As an aside, my wife refused to ever drive the car again, so after replacing the fuel pump controller, I had a really nice 330 horsepower station wagon for a while, but wound up selling it because that was a stressful nine years we owned that car, and I figured I should get out while I was ahead. Given the expense of the pump, I'll probably wait until I drive this car for a few months, just in case there's something about it I don't like. I already paid top dollar for this thing, and I was glad to - the condition warrants it, I believe. But I don't want to spend a ton on preventative maintenance and then wind up selling it at a loss in six months. This is my only car, and I do plan to use it for trips with my family. But that won't be until spring, and I might put 2000 miles at most on it at most before then. So I'll consider myself warned, and take that risk until I'm certain this is the car for me. I'm also going to take a closer look at the service records again. I'm seeing things I missed before. But from what I recall, the fuel pump wasn't done.

The car was garaged, and it shows. I realized that this car is probably too nice for me, since I can't garage it myself. But the main reason I went out to look at this car was the fact that it was still in use, essentially rust free, and had a verifiable maintenance history. The cosmetics are icing on the cake, but I feel bad that I can't store it properly - especially since I don't drive much.

I appreciate the bit on the calipers. I haven't had the wheels off yet, but will give it all a good once over. I do need to replace the front dust shields. While the body and structure are sound, those have rotted away, along with the high-tone horn. But that stuff is all replaceable without much trouble.

Addenum to my last response: It appears the fuel pump is a good deal less expensive than I had thought. https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo-fuel-pump-main-0580464068

My thoughts on waiting still stand, but it's good to see parts for this thing are, for the most part, very reasonable. Likely thanks to a long production run, few changes, and good interchange between models. Something no longer true in manufacturing today. It helps offset the relatively higher fuel consumption.

Those CR-915 radios can be a problem. I've been through five of them in my '95 940s before giving up and going for decent aftermarkets with proper modern features. A recent discussion here concluded once again they can't be repaired. A frozen or dead panel or a failed tuner section are known issues I've had.

Now having said that as a caution to you going forward, if you're stuck at CODE entry and not getting a button response then that's normal if you're not putting in the correct code. Because the radio has been changed the original code in the owner Radio manual is no longer correct. The new code should have been written in either the Radio manual, Owner manual or even Maintenance manual, so double check those. Another place to check for the code is handwritten on the radio, but dealer service is not supposed to do that. The sure solution is to take the serial number on top of the radio to a Volvo dealer who can contact Volvo North America for the code. There should be no charge for this service. They can also lookup the code by VIN so you don't have to remove the radio, but of course you know it's not the original. You've already figured out how to deal with the OFF lockout.

Good luck with your new 940, looks like a peach. Change all the fluids (oil/coolant/trans), check the brakes, remove and clean the throttle body and PCV system, inspect the plugs and you should be good to go. I wouldn't sweat the T-belt. You can inspect it for signs of aging if you want to, along with all the other drive belts, but I wouldn't get too worried for such a well maintained car. The later round toothed T-belts have a longer 100K service interval, but with the age factor here I'd change yours closer to 50K. 10K is an inspection to make sure the belt remains snug and was properly installed. The intention was to be able to remove the rubber knockout, loosen the tensioner bolt and retighten it after the belt has had a break in period, but I'd rather have the cover off. I trust my handiwork and quality belts don't need a break in, so I never bother. I'll probably have the cover off for another reason soon anyway.
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Dave -still with 940's, prev 740/240/140/120 You'd think I'd have learned by now

Hi Dave,
Yeah, a radio upgrade is on the list of things I'd like to do, but pretty down low on the priority list, so if I can get this one to work, great. I do have the correct code - it's on the invoice for the radio replacement. All (two or three) the videos I watched about entering the code showed the numbers displayed on the LCD while being entered. This is also how the Honda this Volvo is replacing worked. However, the info I read and watched didn't pertain to the 915 specifically. I also presumed I would lock myself out eventually, and even tried random incorrect entries just to see if I could get any response out of it. If you think there might still be a chance, and the code I'm using isn't right, I can certainly bring that up with the dealer. My wife wants me to have the Sensus updated, as well as activate the remote starter on her V60, so I'll be talking to them soon anyway.

The timing belt on this car was done less than two years ago. I was thinking out loud with that adjustment thing I'd recently read in the owners manual, then kind of answered my own question when I realized it hadn't even hit the 10k mark on that belt yet. That's when I should have deleted :-). I did pull the cover anyway to see. Partly to inspect the belt, and also to make sure the front main is't leaking. All looked fine. I've got all the goodies for all the fluids (brake and PS too), already did the oil after using Liqui Moly Pro Line flush. Yeah, I drove the car unregistered to get it up to temp (it's insured). I hope to get to the rest of it next week so it will be all up to par before I get my plates.

Thanks for the tips - Wilson

unless there is some difference from earlier models I'd replace the pump and filter together. its not really any less work to only change the filter.

If it runs ok it's obviously working and you may put things off, but if it were me , if I do one I'd do both the filter and the main pump. if you do either you need to get under he car and remove the tray thing that houses both of them. Of course there is a cost in doing it and some decisions may depend upon personal finances etc. if you are paying a mechanic shop rates then that's likely close to the value of the parts.

the fuel line connection s or the filter may be a bit stuck and Ive seen that be a bit troublesome. Try to make sure you use the correct wrenches. If you have trouble with the fuel line to the engine you can remove the whole thing and fight with it off the car if you can undo it from the fuel rail. ideally you'd use a flare nut wrench like for brake lines, a box wrench wont work and an open end might slip off on you. if you start by finding wrenches that fit best as possible and avoid rounding stuff off then it wont become a slippery slope. sometimes Ill try to lock my wrenches in such a way one is held by the body or something so I can have two hands, one to put some pressure on the other and then give my wrench a whack with a hammer, hoping to free it without the wrench slipping off. if hooking two wrenches together to get more leverage helps then you might try that. Maybe they use some sort of locktite but they can be difficult to break free if they have never been undone. often you can break locktite with heat but being fuel lines I did not like that idea of using a blow torch near there.


If you do the filter you'll at least see what's involved in changing the pump and maybe break it loose. I'd plan time for the job with the expectation that I could get hung up on that for a little while. If a mechanic does it they might have the metric flare nut wrenches or other special tools.

with the fuel line I like to get my wrenches situated so they are close together and squeezing them against each other is possible. If you situate the wrenches just right you can get one hand or both hands around both wrenches at once and squeeze. that way you aren't trying to turn and resulting in bending up the line or brackets or anything, the force opposes itself.



if you get a new pump then it might come with crimp connectors. I like to solder them on and use heat shrink , not the crimps. last one I did I also put a few feet of wire with a small 12 V bulb to indicate the fuel pump has power, it just helps if I have a no start issue to know at a glance the fuel pump has power.

I just tied that light near my master cylinder, If I want to see it I can lift the hood. I chose a very low current 12 V bulb like they use on a model train set. I found them at a hobby shop with leads on the bulb, no socket. It's only an indicator bulb. the pump itself requires some appreciable amount of current so a tiny bulb isn't adding much load at all to that circuit. If you wanted you could pick up the same pair of wires, they lead up under through the floor and to the fuel pump relay and a ground near there somewhere. they moved the relay around a bit from one year and model to another. The location of the pump under the car itself, seems crazy but I think It's designed so if it leaks it's dripping outside the car. that's not an uncommon place for it.

make sure you block the car safely before going under to remove it. Never trust a jack especially a factory volvo jack. The car can so easily be rolled forward or back and off those jacks they include for changing tires and that can squish people. My dad knocked a car on himself this way, He lived but it was painful, good thing mom knoew how to work a hydraulic jack. she freed him.

I had a gust of wind close a door on me while I was wrenching on something underneath, with my fingers up on the rocker panel, I got them stuck under the door. hard to get out of that by yourself, you can't open the door from under the car. It wasn't a very predictable situation. It wasn't tragic, either someone else was there when I called, or I just puled hard and got my fingers out.

Dear Amazonphil,

Hope you're well and stay so! The 1995 940 has a single in-tank fuel pump. It is mounted on the fuel gauge send unit.

In a wagon, there's an access plate under the load space floor panel, forward of the tire stowage area. One must remove completely the black rubber fuel filler hose, to get enough room to rotate the send unit out of and into the tank.

The fuel filter used on 1995 models does not have banjo bolts, used on earlier models. Rather, it has push-release connectors.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook

Amazon Phil and Spook

Thanks for your informative and detailed replies. While appearing contradictory, you both provided correct and useful information.

First, the fuel filter does have a banjo connection at outlet, and a threaded (AN?) fitting at the inlet. I appreciate all the tips and advice on this job, Amazonphiil. I do have sturdy jackstands, ramps, and flare wrenches. I've also done one of these before, albeit probably 30 years ago. I recall forgetting to bleed the system, and having my safety glasses fall upwards on my face just a moment before getting sprayed, and of course it all got in my eyes. I was a teenager then, and of course learned a lesson I'll never forget. I thought of this when I saw the bleeder valve placed on the line conveniently near the filter.

As for the delivery pump, it seems Spook has the correct, and very welcome information there. One pump means less points of failure, and there is indeed an access port from above. From what I've seen, the delivery / main pumps on these cars would be right alongside the filter, which is not the case here. I visually traced the line from the tank to the firewall, and saw no evidence of a pump anywhere else. So no external pump, but no push release, either.

As for the radio on this car, I've written it off. The buttons clearly are not working. Thanks again to those who gave guidance there. I've discovered more with this car, which raises more questions, but perhaps I should start separate threads.

When entering the radio code, the button numbers do not display. CODE simply disappears from the display after the correct 4 digits have been entered. If you try too many times you will get the locked OFF display, which indicates at least some buttons were working. To reset the lock, either leave the radio on with the ignition switch in the KP-I accessory position for 2-1/2 to 3 hours (as in the book) or far more simply disconnect the battery or pull the radio fuse for a few moments.

You can actually submit an online request to ask Volvo Customer Support for the radio code on line here to verify the code on your receipt. Be sure to give than them the radio s/n as the VIN won't give them the proper code
https://volvo.custhelp.com/app/webforms/RadioCode

If the code still can't be entered then you have dead panel buttons. Usually it's most or all buttons dead, not just one or two numeric memory buttons.
--
Dave -still with 940's, prev 740/240/140/120 You'd think I'd have learned by now

Dear Allrounderco,

Hope you're well and stay so. Congratulations on your new ride!! Glad you have the service records.

Volvo brand coolant hoses - radiator and heater - have a service life of about 15 years, depending on where the car lived. So, if the service records don't show a hose change, make that job one. Also replace the heater control valve: do not reuse an aged part. Plastic gets brittle with heat and time. a heater hose/control valve failure brings coolant loss in a minute or so. That can mean headgasket failure: sooner or later. If the water pump is factory-original, get a spare (Volvo brand or HEPU).

If service records don't show a fuel filter change, get that done.

You should acquire the following spares: fuel pump relay (blue, cube-shaped; main relay block behind front center console); fuel injection relay (on passenger side, engine bay, on inner fender wall; very dark brown); bulb burn-out relay (red-orange cylinder; main relay block); fuel pump (single, in-tank).

I'd buy a 20-ounce bottle of fuel system cleaner, use it before a fill-up and let the fresh-gas-with-cleaner sit in the system for a few days. Gasoline is a witch's brew of hydro-carbons, some of which are paraffins (waxes). Over time, waxes coat fuel system surfaces. The fuel system clear will dissolve them. That helps to keep the fuel gauge send unit in good order. Inside the send unit's tube are two wire-wrapped rods, along which a float slides. If the rods are coated with waxes, the float gets stuck and the gas gauge ceases to read accurately.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook

Hi Spook. I am well, thanks. Hoping the same for you. Thanks for the heads-up on the relays! I'm not new to old Euro cars, but it's been a while. In my youth, I had an '85 535i which had the K-Jet system, IIRC. I went through a couple of those relays, the main relay for sure. It didn't occur to me to get them preemptively, but once I read your bit on that, it all came back.

I just got a nice care package from FCP this afternoon, which included the fuel system cleaner (Liqui Moly), a the fuel filter, and clamps for all the coolant hoses (probably not required, but they are stainless, German, and were on sale). I didn't get the hoses (they didn't have most of them). I did get Liqui-Moly cooling flush, and I have Volvo coolant already on hand. By all accounts, the hoses are original. They look fine, but squeezing the upper when the car is cool reveals it to be a bit soft in spots. I have a week and a half before I can even get the car registered, but I should look into that now in case I need to mail order them. My wife's prior car was an N54 powered BMW, so I've become extremely vigilant with regards to cooling systems. This 940 did have the radiator, waterpump and T-stat replaced by the dealer in '07 (@132k). No mention of hoses on the itemized invoice. As for the heater control valve - I did see a vlog on that. I almost bought one, but wasn't sure if the $27 FCP one was decent quality. It's tucked in pretty snug, and while money is always a consideration, I feel like this is not the place to skimp. Any recommendations?

-Wilson