Hi, all.

Well, digging out of the snow storm last night I "shaved" off the antenna mast on the 240. I am wondering if there is a flexible alternative for these things. Can I just replace the antenna with the generic flexible "stubby" antenna? Something tells me I will break it again if I replace it with OEM replacement unit.

On an unrelated note. The heater fan sometimes whines like small animal in the trows of death. Is this a sign of the fan's demise? If so, is it difficult to replace? The reason I am asking is that by reading the Bentley manual I was not scared at all, but when I talked to the guy at IPD, he told me that the going joke about these cars is that the whole car is built around the heater fan motor and replacing it is one of the most difficult jobs on this car and shops normally charge around 5 hours' labor for it. Now I am scared. I am not about to dive into this project while it's cold out, so it is for future planning.

Also, I feel very little air flow from under the dash vents when I select the fow to go there (first button on the left). If I close all the dash vents It increases slightly, but still is kind of half-hearted. The dash vents blow hard, so I know I have air flow, but my feet are FREEZING! I do hear the doors operate when I push the selector buttons in and out, so I presume the vaccuum is ok, but is that presumption wrong? Do I not have enough vaccuum to fully turn the flap? Does the ducting get disengaged sometimes or the flap breaks? Again, I have not gone in to look around since it's so cold here, but maybe there are known issues that can point me in right direction so I would not have to spend more looking than absolutely necessary.

TIA, as usual.
Vladimir


P.S. I love the RWD Volvo in the snow! She starts and drives like a dream snow or no snow - a car for the winter wonderland we have got ourselves here in Boston. I have not gotten stuck with it, while I have been stuck with FWD plenty of times. Yes, I am a bit more trained in RWD operation in snow than the average New England driver (owned a BMW '72 Bavaria in the 80's and practiced in empty parking lots a lot), but my wife is a new driver (and the 240 is hers, really) and I have taught her a simple "let off the gas if fishtailing trick" and she's been pretty happy with the results. With the narrow tires and not too much power at the rear wheels this car is very good in snow.

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Vladimir. '98 S70. Base, 5-speed manual. And the now the new arrival - '91 240 sedan automatic.