I have a 92 745 Turbo and have a problem with the engine. It's making a knocking noise that sounds to me like a piston is slapping. I did a compression check and the number two cylinder is down to 45 pounds. The other cylinders average around 145 pounds. I put some oil in the bad cylinder and the compression came up to normal so I'm guessing it's the piston rings that have worn out? This seems funny to me as the car has only 111K miles on it? I bought it thru the Brickboard from a guy in NC. My guess is he overheated it and put something in the oil to make it run better then sold it to me. I would hate to think a fellow Brickboarder would scam me but I don't know what else to think? The car was skipping slightly when I bought it but after changing the oil it was much worse! Due to the high prices of getting machine shop work done and the price of the parts and gaskets I'm thinking of putting a used engine in instead of re-building it. Can anyone tell me the range of years and models this Turbo engine was made? I've been looking online at the junk yards and they list some engines from 740 and 940 cars as replacments. Is a 740 engine the same as a 940? Thanks for any help on this...
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Volvos4me4ever 1989 245 274K miles still going strong, 1992 745 Turbo 110K miles real nice!

Hi Volvos4me,

Wow, that sucks :( I'd say replacement with a used engine is your best bet if your engine is that badly damaged. Like you said, it must have overheated from some cooling system component failing. As you know, these engines are TOUGH, so that must have been what happened :( If it was just piston slap with no compression problems, I'd say drive it and don't worry about it, but the compression reading in that one cylinder is bad. Look for a '90+ B230FT (700 or 940) with low miles/well maintained and if you have a choice pick a '93+ 940 engine as those engines are equipped with piston oil squirters which eliminate the infamous piston slap noise that many B230s develop. If you get a used engine be sure to replace all the easy stuff during the engine replacement such as seals (front engine seals, rear main, oil pan, etc), coolant hoses, heater valve, rad (if original), clean the PCV system, check/replace vaccume hoses, and anything else that makes sense. The fuel/igntion system should be pretty much the same for any '90+ B230FT (LH 2.4), so there shouldn't be any issues there. Drop the engine in the car, pour in 4.2L of a good synthetic oil (Amsoil, Redline, Mobil 1, etc) and enjoy! Oh, also, while the engine is out, you might want to replace the engine mounts, front tranny seal and any rust in the engine bay as well. I'm sorry to hear of your misfortune, but I hope this info helps! My B230FT was rebuilt a little over 2 years ago and I wish I had have been more involved, but I did check in almost every day :) If it were now (know a lot more about Volvos) I'd be much more involved!
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Chris. Halifax N.S. '91 745Ti, 291K km and '91 745 NA, 385K km.

Comes with the territory. Younger people think nothing of sending such messages.

Here is a nice saying I saw on a garage in Sheridan, Wyoming:

Lord,
may Your arm always be around my shoulder,
and Your Hand always over my mouth

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Stef -- 1981 wagon B21A SU M46 317000km

I really doubt that a 700 Series Engine and a 900 Series Engine is the exact same one. I would look in the local junkyard for a Car like yours. I know where I go there are a couple of Turbo 700's Floating around. The Used engine should not cost that much. Very Most I would say is $600, with low miles.
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92 240 2.3 L with a Borla! 104,000 Miles !!

I'll add my datapoint on engine prices.

1994 B230FT, 68k miles, all sensors, heater hoses, turbo intake hose (90* between AMM and turbo), short silicon hose on turbo outlet. Three month warrantee... $800 from Robertson's Auto Salvage in Wareham, MA. Volvo maintained (had a "Volvo" filter), the cleanest cam I've ever seen and even cleaner on the bottom end. Found the donor vehicle in the yard which confirmed the mileage and driver side damage...as an extra bonus, I found the owner's manual and service records since new!

Bean
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'80 242GT 93k, '94 945T 139k, '89 765T 68k (new '94 B230FT)

Thanks everyone... as usual everyone's so helpfull. I found a used engine at Robertson's Auto Salvage. It's a 94 940 with 108K miles complete with manifolds, and a turbo, with a six month warranty for $750.00 plus tax. They don't want the old engine back so I will have extra parts in case I need them later. They also delivered it for free to a garage down the street from me. Planning to pick it up this weekend and getting my shop cleaned up so I can start doing the swap. I may even see if I can re-build the old engine or just sell it as is to someone to make some money back. Does anyone want an engine with 111K miles with bad compression (45 pounds) in the number two cylinder?

Thanks Again...
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Volvos4me4ever 1989 245 274K miles still going strong, 1992 745 Turbo 110K miles real nice!

When this thread first started, I didn't notice that you were in MA. Glad I mentioned Robertson's (if you didn't know about them already), they are first class.

That $750 is a good deal, in my search I found alot of places selling long blocks w/o turbos for $750, with the turbo they wanted another $300.

Advice that was given to me from others was to fill with new oil and run for a few hundred miles and change it, filter too. After I pulled off the oil pan for an inspection I chose not to do this, straight Mobil 1 on it's first day.

Have fun with the installation.
Bean
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'80 242GT 93k, '94 945T 139k, '89 765T 68k (new '94 B230FT)

Sounds like a good find! Turbo and all! That should have an updated turbo too. The mileage is even almost the same! I'd keep your old turbo and exhaust manifold as spares. I hope the swap goes well :)
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Chris. Halifax N.S. '91 745Ti, 291K km and '91 745 NA, 385K km.

What a find that engine was.
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Norm Cook Vancouver BC; 1989 745T 200,000KM

For the best revision of the B230FT, you should look at the '93+ from a 900 series turbo. Same engine.

I just did a swap of a '94 B230FT into my '89 765T. Different fuel injection revisions (LH2.2 in the '89 vs. LH2.4) so it was a little more work (changing a few sensors). I found my engine through www.car-part.com, you can search by geographical area.

Bean
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'80 242GT 93k, '94 945T 139k, '89 765T 68k (new '94 B230FT)

What sensors did you change? You shouldn't have needed to change any.

The LH2.2 ECT and Injectors are different, although it runs fine on the LH2.4 sensors/injectors. So no, I didn't need to change them but to keep things consistent with replacement parts (I will probably be selling the car come next summer), I don't want any confusion for the new owner. That, plus I can use the LH2.4 sensors as spares for my '94 945T. I've also been battling a surging idle when cold (only for 15-30 seconds on start up) and thought there may be some effect from the ECT/Injectors.

Thanks,
Bean
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'80 242GT 93k, '94 945T 139k, '89 765T 68k (new '94 B230FT)