I have recently purchased an '88 autowagon, with about 120k miles on it.
(I wanted a manual -- hard to find)

I guess I will introduce myself first, then on to the questions.

I'm 27 years old, worked as a mechanic for a year or so in the '90s (mostly VW, some Volvo), and have driven and worked on VWs for about 9 years now. I have lived most of my life in Kentucky, though spent a year in Berkeley, CA. I have spent many years in school, and have recently decided to abandon grad school in favor of a "real job". I have studied computer science, am an avid Linux user, and I enjoy tinkering with electronics (though I haven't made anything very useful yet). I recently hobbled together a turbo kit for my girl's VW Carbriolet (admit it, VW cabriolets are cool!), which actually used the fuel system from a 240 turbo (yea for Volvo). (intercooled, 10 psi, 1.8 liter. 165 HP?) My beloved piece of crap '84 Rabbit diesel has all but died on me, so I bought an '88 245. (I've always wanted one!)


I liked my diesel VW so much ($100 + $400 in repairs - 40k miles of use!) that I considered getting a diesel Volvo. I then read enough horror stories about them that I decided not to. I'm not sure what happened between VW and Volvo on that engine, but I swear the VW 4 banger diesel is a solid engine.

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OK, now I get to ask questions, right?

First, my disclaimer: I have spent several hours poring over the FAQs, maintenance tips, common problems, and other documents found on this and other Volvo sites. I'll try not to repeat FAQs...

Now, the car: 1988 245 automatic. No frills, good shape, no rust. Perhaps the best maintenance records I have actually put my hands on. Stamp, stamp, stamp, stamp, stamp! About 120k miles.

Now, what I want out of it: Primarily I want a useful, reliable, comfortable and safe vehicle. Fuel economy is also important. Less important is performance, but would like to improve it without compromising the primary goals.


Now for the questions:

First the maintenance questions:

I want to do the following things to the car.

1. Make sure all routine stuff is up to date.
2. Install a trans fluid cooler, and perhaps an engine oil cooler.
3. Replace the U-joints and driveshaft bearing
4. Replace the tailshaft bushing
5. Replace all front end parts.

Basically I don't want any surprises on the road, and I know a good way to prevent surprises is to replace all sorts of parts. This shotgun method isn't the most cost effective, so I'm looking for someone to say "do the trans cooler now, but forget about the front end and tailshaft bushing for another 50k", or "ball joints are terrible on these cars, and you need to check those out first", ... etc.


Now for less imporant stuff:

1. I wanted a manual trans, primarily for the fuel economy. The swap doesn't sound too bad, but I have been reading about a lot of people with OD problems - should I avoid the 5 sp for this reason? I gather that there is 2-3 MPG difference between the auto and the manual - is this about right?

2. Sway bars and shocks. Anything bad about buying the IPD sway bars for this car? Would you recommend doing it? Which shocks? Highway comfort is most important- I prefer a firm ride to a sloppy boat.

3. Camshaft. I would love to put a different cam in, but I doubt I can bring myself to doing it if the fuel economy suffers much at all. I'm willing to trade 1 MPG on the highway, but probably not any more than that. Anything worth looking into?

4. Traction. I have driven a 92 245, and the traction sucked in the rain, and I can't imagine what it would do in the snow. Is there any hope?

5. Sound deadening material. I've heard people complain that the 240s let too much road noise in. Does anyone have experience putting dynamat or some other sound deadening material on the car?

Enough questions for now.

Thanks for any input..

-Steve