I looked at a 1986 240 Wagon. It had a B230 in it and I am wondering if this is the proper motor? I thought the B230 was a later year motor. How reliable is the B230? I have an 82 wagon with the B21F and I know it is bullet proof I am just wondering if this same reliablity is in the B230?

Robert

Assuming you are in the US, the B230F is indeed the correct motor.

Early B230F motors, 1985-1987.5, had smaller bearings than either the earlier B21/23 and post-1987.5 B230F. Volvo did this in a tradeoff for longevity vs. fuel efficiency.

There is anecdotal evidence that this motor MAY have a shorter life then motors with bigger bearings. This is more common in the turbocharged B230FT, which wrings more power from essentially the same motor.

My '85 245DL has one of the earliest-built B230F engines. It is getting weak at 270k. But it appears to have been abused/neglected in an earlier life.

For all intents and purposes, a normally-aspirated B230F can be considered as reliable as a B21F.

Others may disagree. YMMV.

In late 1982, the b21f was replaced with the b23f for '83 and '84 model year cars. The B230F was introduced in 200/700 series cars in the U.S. in 1985. Different versions of this engine were used until the cars went out of production in '93. It is a "low friction" design. It weighs in a little lighter than the b21/b23 engines. My b230 cars get better gas mileage and are quieter, but because it has less bearing area, some folks speculate that it won't last as long as the earlier engines. FWIW, my mechanic has an '86 740 wagon with 264K on the original b230f motor. It burns a little oil, but it otherwise runs fine and just passed CA emissions test.