Greetings,

I just bought a 1982 244 GL (B23E) with 220,000 Km.
Here are my questions:

1. Which oil is recommended for a 20 years old B23E which will mostly go for short city trips? I live in Melbourne which is coolish. The temp here can get to 35 to 40C in the summer (rare, and only for few days at a time), and 5 to 10C frequently in winter.

2. The psi recommendation in the Volvo owners manual is different from the recommendation on the tyre itself.
Volvo owners manual - 28 psi
Goodyear 195/65R14 (eagle ga plus) - 35 psi
Which should I use? (my common sence tends towards 35 psi)

3. The car has a rough idle, shaking on 900 revs. Someone told me that he thinks I have 1 or 2 misfiring spark plugs, by the noise the engine makes.
Could that be the reason for the shakes? Also, can that increase the fuel consumption?


Thanks,
Vic.

Vic - I'll have a go at your Q's, and others will too, you sort'em out.


1. Which oil is recommended for a 20 years old B23E which will mostly go for short city trips? I live in Melbourne which is coolish. The temp here can get to 35 to 40C in the summer (rare, and only for few days at a time), and 5 to 10C frequently in winter.

By my rude guess 40C is 104 F. 5C is 41F. Is that range what you consider coolish? If so my recomendation for oil to be 20W-50, year round.


2. The psi recommendation in the Volvo owners manual is different from the recommendation on the tyre itself.
Volvo owners manual - 28 psi
Goodyear 195/65R14 (eagle ga plus) - 35 psi
Which should I use? (my common sence tends towards 35 psi)

Go with the 35 psi. The tire you are running is not the tire Volvo thinks you have. Take a look at the info sticker on the rear edge of the RF door to see what Volvo thinks you are running.


3. The car has a rough idle, shaking on 900 revs. Someone told me that he thinks I have 1 or 2 misfiring spark plugs, by the noise the engine makes.
Could that be the reason for the shakes? Also, can that increase the fuel
consumption?

This is an imnportant problem. If it is a misfire, yes, your fuel comsumption will increase. Also, you are severely stressing the motor mounts. Pull the plugs and note the differences. Put in a new set of Bosch W7RDC platinum ($2.00 each in Houston, TX) and see if anything changes. The shaking may be a result of a dirty throttle body creating a flicking throttle position switch causing the idle air control to never get a balance.


Good Luck, Post your next findings.

Bob

:>)

G'day Bob
Hope I don't sound like a smart-assed fathead here (well there's gotta be a first time!), but there's some differences between Aussie and US spec Volvos which make them a bit unique. Thought you might find this interesting.
Melbourne is renowned for its changeable weather "Don't like it? Come back in 5 minutes" sort of thing. A 40 deg day is a rare beast, but it does happen. Usually completely unexpectedly. Mostly its cold and wet. (Vic is gonna kill me!)
Aussie roads can be real crap. Lots of gravel secondaries, even some highways in the "outback". Big potholes, lots of corrugations. Tyre pressure are a balancing act between reasonable handling or losing your tooth fillings and blurred vision. Lots of folks prefer to go for "ride" rather than "handling and masochism" :)
Aussie emission laws didn't really tighten up until a few years after the US. All Volvos came with the CIS injection system til mid '84, when they introduced EFI. Platinum plugs don't appear to work too well here in older cars. No idea why, but I think its the fuel. It smells like wet dog. Last time I priced platinums, they were about $15Australian a hit. Erk.
Just thought I'd share the weirdne...er... "uniqueness" of our stuff with you.
Cheers
--
Steve. 242GT and a bunch more.

G'day Vic,
I've been using Castrol GTX3 for a while and have no complaints. Fuel consumption improved slightly, and blow-by is almost non-existant now. Its a little more expensive than, say, GTX2 or other decent oils, but worth the cost IMHO.
The 35 psi rating on the tyre is a recommended maximum figure, not to be taken as the pressure they should be inflated to. I've found that 32psi or so is plenty. Volvo recommends more in the rear than the front but I find that 32 in the front and 30 rear cuts down the understeer a bit. My son puts 36 in his, but he drives like a maniac :)
The shaky idle could be plugs (gap, condition or poor quality). Check the gap or renew them if they look old or if the centre electrode is worn a lot. Bosch w6dc plugs are about 3 bucks each from, say, Repco. They run a little warmer than the recommended w5dc plugs, so are slightly less likely to foul under idling conditions with the gnat's-piss which passes for petrol these days. Check the ignition timing, plug leads, distributor cap and rotor too. Its probable that the tappet clearances have never been checked/adjusted either. Worth following up. It could also be the fuel injectors. The continuous injection system is pretty durable, but injectors do become worn/gummed up. New ones are about $30 a pop. Try Euro Car Parts or European Auto Imports for parts.
Cheers
--
Steve. 242GT and a bunch more.