my 1984 245 gl threw a rod at just over 160,000 miles.

i had the car for about 4 years, i was --i think--the 5th owner of this car

i put approximately 40,000 miles on it during that time including weekly trips between san francisco and san jose for about 2 years. i would say that my average speed was usually above 80mph when i was on the freeway.

although i was sad to se this car expire, i do feel that i got my money's worth out of it

For some reason, I always hear about 84s. Maybe it was just a huge production year or something. But I've seen several, and heard of more, 84 cars that blew engines like that.

Of course, maybe stupid people bought & drove 84s. Ran them out of oil, etc.

I thought I was pretty good with cars but maybe I'm just confused. You said your volvo threw a rod, as in a pushrod in an over-head valve engine. I thought all 240's had over-head cams i.e. no pushrods? Please help me understand!

Generally speaking, throwing a rod refers to a connecting rod. I have a "hull" 1984 244GL that threw a rod. The body is OK but the engine was completely disassembled by Exxon attendants. The rod bearing cap ripped off, and the rod was thrown throught the block skirt.

Lotta power there. I recall working on a large Diesel generator when the previous instructor told me that it had thrown a rod - clear out the window of the building we were in.

Regards,

Bob

:>)

Hmm, I just remembered a third Volvo I saw with a thrown rod. It was a '84 (of course) 244 Diesel. There were a half dozen cans of starting fluid around the trunk... and a connecting rod laying on the frame rail under the hood. Big end cracked through, leaving a "C". Little end cracked through, leaving a "C". Beam of the rod, BENT IN A U. Big end TOUCHING little end. Scary!
Amazing what 22:1 compression will do for ya!
--
Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: 86 244DL, 87 244DL, 88 744GLE: 625K total

I saw a B18 throw a rod after being run solely on starting fluid. The owner tried to get a little further on an empty gas tank by squirting ether into the carbs. The stuff is horribly volatile and kicks like a mule. The block was ruined.

I saw an engine on ebay that might work.
If I see it again I'll post the URL.
--
George Downs, The "original" Walrus3, Bartlesville, Oklahoma

i appreciate the thought, but by now, my old car has probably been reduced to a very large, impracticle paperweight--i donated it to my faithful volvo mechanic whom i bought my current car from--a 1986 244. the last time i saw my old 245, it had been stripped of it's radiator, tires/wheels, interior, amm and several other parts..

thanks

Well, yeah, you killed it... though it could have been running with some hidden damage from years before. IF it was ever overheated, that's a primary cause, and if it had ever been run out of oil, that's the other major cause of failure.
Regular oil changes and level checks *generally* prevent these failures.
I'm not saying every failure is preventable, but Volvo didn't make too many mistakes when building these engines. Most of them go twice this mileage and don't die this way.
However- all the one's I've seen throw a rod ( NOT MANY!) kicked it through the block right behind the alternator- #1 rod. Is that what yours did?
I'd be interested to know.
BTW years ago we fixed a "very cheap" one-owner car, an '85 244, that had thrown a rod. The car was 5 yrs old at the time, and had 65000 miles on it.
What had happened? The owner *NEVER* opened the hood, or brought it in for service. Not one oil change!!!! So there you go. The Volvo 240- the only car capable of surviving 5 yrs of total neglect!
Good luck fixing yours or selling it.
Rob Bareiss, New London, CT ::: 86 244DL, 87 244DL, 88 744GLE

I have seen a couple similar posts on the BB pertaining to 84's, doing this.

Sorry about the loss