Hello,

I love my Volvo and I would hate to break down and finally buy a new or used car. I have a 1988 240 GL sedan with approx. 250,000 miles on it. I purchased this car used from a friend of mine about 3 years ago and I'm its 3rd owner. I've done all routine maintenance checks and have never really had to have the car surviced for major repair, so I have no idea how severe a problem I have.
For about a month, whenever I started my car I had the belts squeel intermitently for about the first 5 minutes of operation. I figured my belts were worn and needed to be replaced. I sprayed them with a belt treatment till I had the time to get around to them. About a week ago I was driving on the freeway and looked in the rearview mirror just in time to catch a huge plume of black smoke trail behind me as the belts squeeled. All my dashboardd lights came on and warned me there was a problem. I pulled over and checked my engine out. As I inspected the lower part of my running engine I saw that the Harmonic Ballancer Pulley was wobbling. I drove the car home and parked it as I was only a block away. I bought a Haynes manual and put it up on blocks today to take a closer look and see if I could fix it. As I did this I heard a plinking sound and knew I had lost a part. The pulley had come completely off the shaft and the engine was dead.
I took the pulley in to see if I could get a new one at Kragen. They told me I needed to either pull one or go to a dealer.
I can't seem to pinpoint whether or not the pulley is supposed to be part of the crankshaft or whether it's an independent piece...there have been some postings on the brickboard which suggest the 2 types exist. Haynes doesn't seem to list any teardown of the Harmonic Ballancer region so I'm at a loss.
I need info on installing a new one...if I am able to do so. I'm a total novice with Volvos but I'm able to do simple repairs...I need to know if I can do this myself or if I should take it in...and if I do take it in to a shop, how much I can expect to pay.
I have a constant brake light problem also. They don't work at all during the day...I've checked all the sensors and they seem to be working fine. When I turn on my headlights, they come on and stay lit...brightly, I might add. I also have an odometer that failed about 20,000 miles ago. If anybody has any info on any or all of these topics I would greatly appreciate it.
-thanks, javier aka Volvo of Death