Hi. Thought I would share a few observations about a weekend of 94 945T (93k) wrenching – most everything applies to B230F volvos as well. I replaced shocks/struts; radiator, coolant recovery tank and all cooling and heater hoses/heater control valve; rear brake rotors and pads.

Shocks/Struts:
1) Boge turbo gas: WOW. Made all the difference in the world. Especially the back shocks. Not too stiff, not to forgiving. Just right.

2) Front strut replacement: I’ve changed them several times on other 940s/960s – just doing it ‘logically’. The procedure outlined in the faq is by far the easiest way I’ve ever replaced them. Observations: A) Have extra brake fluid on hand. I couldn’t remove the ‘seized’ star bolt that holds the brake line bracket to the inner fender – you must have a lot of slack in the brake lines to swing the strut assembly out of the wheel well. So I simply broke the line loose at the bracket on the inner fender, removed it from the bracket and reconnected it. Upon reassembly, I reversed my steps, and then broke loose the bleeder screw on the caliper to let it drip for 20 seconds or so. No air in the line, no need for a bleed. I did have to add fluid to the master cylinder though. B) On both sides, I forgot to attach the black plastic ‘basket’ that slides over the top of the strut, just above the gold colored, fine threaded ring that secures the strut cartridge into the housing. After this step, you need to simply slip this ‘basket’ on top of the housing BEFORE you reinstall the coil spring/guts assembly. I had both sides back together before I realized I forgot to add this basket. Simple fix: Slit the ‘basket’ with a dremel cutting tool, fed it through the coil spring and around the strut/housing where it belongs. Not pretty, but it worked and should function as it’s supposed to. C) Lube the strut mount bearing assembly. When you pull out the strut housing, it’s on very top of the coil spring assembly (mine was yellow in color). The top of the case simply popped off (using my hand), and I was able to service it and pop the top back on. I think that’s the only interesting things that happened.

3) Radiator replacement: I bought a nissens 2-core from Groton. Very similar to my original volvo unit, only I was surprised how much it looked LESS STURDY. The volvo unit had steel/aluminum (I dunno which) reinforced radiator hose connections. The nissens was just plastic. No reinforcement. The nissens unit had plastic side tanks, just like the original volvo. I thought that the nissens unit would be all aluminum. Anyway, perfect fit and the car is cooling normally.

4) Coolant recovery tank: Cheap fix, and makes the engine compartment look pretty. $39 from my local dealer (has the levelguard feature)

5) Heater core hoses: mine didn’t look to bad at all. However, I changed them. WOW. What a pain. Especially the one under the intake. Be prepared to stretch your arms, wrists, fingers in ways you didn’t know you could. This surprised my on how difficult/awkward it was (maybe this was because I did the other work beforehand, and I was pretty worn out). Definitely cut the hoses at the heater core with a utility knife.

6) Coolant hoses near the oil filter: These looked scary. Old, and close to failure. Cheap fix. Basically two rubber hoses that cost under $20 from my local dealer. It’s much easier with your oil filter removed. I recommend doing at your next oil change.

That’s it. I hope this helps some of you guys. The only thing that wouldn’t apply to B230F guy’s would be #6.