I just bought a 940 turbo estate with a 130k on it and a ok amount of history, spent a week cleaning it (previous owner obviously didnt own a vacume cleaner, bin, cloth...etc), got a bag of assorted trim bits from my local dealer (who are REALLY helpfull...!) and sent it to my mechanic for a service (with a note saying start at the front.....and sort it!) btw the car is fully loaded, and i do mean fully! (sunroof, aircon, full electrics, doig guard, load cover, volvo floor mats, alarm...stereo, graphic!)

How pleased am I...well the bill was 80 quid ! so im damn pleased, apparently want a couple of new rear tyres in the near future - which i knew...

but 2000 quid for a 10 y/o turbo and 70 quid for the service (ok plus 45 quid for the mobil 1..) im chuffed.

I still have a couple of nagging ones though..maybe someone has an idea...

1) aircon doesnt seem to work, compressor comes in, can tell on the engine but very little cooling whats the most likely cause?

2) I dont know whats 'right' in performance terms. when i boot it the turbo guage seems to swing to about 1/2 way into the positive presure zone of the guage. is this normal, or should it o further, if so what should i check?

3) tyres. its fitted with alloys and 195/60 r 15 h. The owners manual says 195/65 r 15 h. anybody got any views on this - i have to replace 2 anyways so 4 would be no biggy, also as its my wifes car (and mine at the weekend) which will do very little millage we might as well put tyres that grip on (not concerened about tyre wear!) any suggewstions for make/type for handling performance. This is in sunny (i joke) england so basically not worried about snow, but rain is a factor

Many thanks in advance!

Patrick

The turbo gauge on Volvo's are notorious for being "non-informative". You should be running around 7-7.5 PSI of boost (can you tell I'm from the colonies? You do the math to convert it to kPa). Where that is on the gauge is anyone's guess, I would suggest getting a good aftermarket gauge w/numbers and mounting it on the A-pillar. If you think the boost is low, you should check all the vacuum lines for leaks and especially the air intake hose between the turbo and the throttle body. Check carefully! There is usually a small amount of oil present inside the hose (leaks out of the turbo seals), over time it degrades the rubber hoses ON THE BOTTOM from the inside out. Devilishly hard to detect unless you actually remove the hose or can get your fingers on the underside of the hose (it will feel very mushy). If you have an intercooler, chack ALL the rubber hoses in the route. This is a very sneaky fault since it starts out barely noticable, especially at low boost but gradually worsens. When it is very bad you can hear a whooshing sound as the air escapes during high boost scenarios. Sounds like a good deal!

Patrick:

I'm driving a n/a 940 in rainy Holland and installed a set of 205/60HR15 Nokian NRW tires last fall.

a) Nokian NRWs are sold in the US as 4 season tires, but in Europe as snow tires. Go figure...

b) They are truly amazing on the rain - so much so that the instructors at an anti-skidding course that I did just couldn't believe it -. This is a characteristic that I find critical year-round in Dutch/British types of climate

c) Originally I intended to use them in the winter only, but they so much feel like a summer tire (grip, comfort, noise etc.) that I cannot find a good reason to put back my summer tires

d) The standard size for a n/a 940 is 185/65TR15. I changed to 205/60HR15 at the suggestion of one of the people at Nokian's R & D team (who are most helpful BTW - just email Nokian if you have any questions) in order to get better grip (size) and tighter handling (H-rated instead of the standard T-rated)

e) I see from their web-site that the NRW is being replaced by another tire. I would imagine that it might be better still

In short, while I'm sure that a set of top of the range Pirellis for example will give you more grip on dry roads, NRWs (and presumably their replacement) will beat just about anything else in real life. Remember that we have only a few months of fair weather (during which it still rains quite a bit) and many more months of lousy weather. Especially if your mileage is low you are unlikely to have two sets of tires.

Let us know what you do.

Best,

Rob

hmmm,

do i have to change rims to go up in width...?

No you don't.

45 pounds for Mobil 1? Wow, expensive! Over here in Cheap Oil Land, it costs about US$ 4.50 per quart at mass market retail, although if the service station changes it the bill will run about $40 total. You did get a bargain on the car, though.

Air conditioning: most likely the freon is low, causing the low-pressure switch to shut off the compressor after it starts. Rather than refilling with R-12, do the conversion to R-134 using the Volvo kit. The savings on freon will pay for the conversion. You should have the shop test for leaks and repair them before refilling. The FAQ has complete instructions for the conversion should you do it yourself.