I just purchased a 1978 242 for my son's first car. It runs well and has little rust but has a few problems that I am starting to address.
Right now, with the help of what appears to be a nearly useless Haynes manual, I am replacing the center bearing and rubber donut on the driveshaft, trying to get the OD unit operational, and rebuilding the shifter.
I have the OD unit working intermittently by hotwiring the switch wiring since it has been mangled by poor routing around the shifter. I'm thinking the transmission might be a little low on oil which might be causing the intermittent operation.
The biggest question I have is what transmission is in this car? It appears that, according to the Haynes manual, the M41 uses 80w90 gear oil and the M46 uses ATF. I know I can just drain it and put whatever comes out back in but who knows if the previous owner put the right stuff in anyway. Is there any easy method to tell the difference for someone that knows very little about Volvos at this point?
As a side note, any other advise on potential issues with these cars would be greatly appreciated. I'll be waiting until spring to tackle the non-working interior fan. I have heard what fun those are.
|