It looks like I'm going to purchase a 1990 740 Wagon with intercooler. It was well maintained by it's one owner, with 149K miles on it. Recent timing belt,new front brakes and rotors, new radiator and heater core and rear shocks. The car runs strong and has cold AC. It has the fancy 16' wheels taht look sharp and the body is very good. The car is fully loaded with all power options, heated seats, sunroof, ABS and airbag. Are there any opinions, pro or con out there? Is there anything I should be weary of with the intercooler engine?

I have owned an '89 744 Turbo for about 7 months now. You are lucky that the PO has taken care of it. I'm still fixing all the small things on mine that were negelected. You definately want to pull the intake hose to turbo off and check the turbo for excess play. since you said it was running strong, then this is probably not an issue (mine is 170k and still running strong). But as other posts have said, change your oil/filter!!! this is one of the most critical parts of owning a turbo. make the change to synth for your own reasons. everyone here has their own opinion on the synth oil issue. but to reitirate previos posts: front/rear seals, oil cap gasket, plugs/wires/distributor/rotor, engine/trans mounts, and PCV system(this will lead to oil leaks, I know. I'm still dealing with them). I think that should cover it. Even if you had to replace all those items, you're only looking at..maybe..$600..tops. Good luck and welcome.

Matt
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--- '89 740 Turbo

I've been driving a '90 Turbo wagon for about 4 years now. It just clocked 143K miles. I'm no expert, but it seems to be pretty much bullet-proof.

I replaced the radiator because the place where the top hose connnects cracked and began leaking (might even have been my fault, as it started shortly after I did an engine detail).

Another thing to check, though, is the engine/transmission mounts. Mine had given up the ghost, and although, it's not that hard to do yourself, I had Volvo do it for me...too old, you know.

I did replace the shocks and struts (probably the originals). I went with the Bilstein HDs. Man, what a difference !! I might suggest that you try that before the IPD swaybar thing, although, I'll probably do that, too.

I also replaced the front rotors and pads, but that's been about it. Regular Volvo service, while not cheap, has been a good thing for me, but as I'm sure you know, regular oil/filter changes are the most important thing to keep on top of.

Oh yeah, a set of 16" Borbett wheels and a set of Yokohama EV-100s, should be on your to do list....very nice looking.

As an aside, I would not hesitate to drive my 740 accross the country. As I said, "bullet-proof".

Greydog

Also check the induction hose from the AMM to the turbo..not as expensive as the ones for volvos with Garrett turbos, but not cheap either.
The front strut inserts are toast if they're the one's that came with the car...be prepared to change them...figure $200-250 at the dealer.

At 150K it needed a new timing belt/front seals, and probably a new timing belt tensioner and harmonic balancer if it hasn't already had it. Good that the owner changed it...should have changed seals too, especially if you want to run synthetic oil (the owner should have been running synthetic or changing oil every 3K or 3mos...get the data!) The harmonic balancer is about $170 and the TB/seal installation maybe $150 if you find a dealer or indy running a sale on installation. I've put two harmonic balancers on my 90 740T in 130K miles, the last one about 10K ago. The guy selling you the car should tell you when the TB was last changed...AND the tensioner. It should have been changed every second TB change.
Ask him about the water pump. 150K is a good run for a volvo water pump.

Check the distributor for oil leakage. It's easy to fix, but tedious.
Same with the sparkplug wires. $50 or so. If they're the original wires, change them.

When/if you buy the car, note the slop in the gear selector. I would seriously consider having the neutral safety switch replaced (I've had two of them fail, one on the 90 just recently, and one on the 87 760T a couple years ago) and the gear selector/linkage bushings replaced. It cost about $200 at the dealer (I had the car towed because I had other things to do and it was Mom's car anyway now)although if I had done it prophylactically maybe 70-80$ in parts.

I also love the IPD swaybars...great investment. Lowering springs, maybe, depends on taste (I wouldn't do it again although I like the handling..the sway bars are a great start).

Nice car, should last long time.

If it has a new radiator, it may have blown the old one, causing overheating. If this happened, there could be head gasket or warped head issues. I would have it checked out by a good Volvo indy mechanic just to be safe.