Well, I took the trans out of my 89 240 project car. Bought a harbor freight trans jack and it makes a big difference.

Doing the rear main seal and have a new style brown (viton material) on hand. Question: this seal does not have a spring but a stiff metal outside ring - the old orange versions, I thought had a ring spring inside the lip? Maybe this new style does not need one.

According to 700 FAQs - this is their quote:

Seal Design:

[Matt L./Rolyak] There are two rear seals available: one is 10mm thick (red: silicone) and the other (grey or brown: Viton) is 7mm. The more expensive Viton will last much longer than the silicone rubber material.The 10mm is stock and the 7mm is replacement. Why? Because the original 10mm seal wore a tiny groove in the crankshaft after thousands of miles of driving. For best results, the new seal should rub against the crankshaft in a new place (after you have cleaned the crankshaft with crocus cloth or fine steel wool). You could also accomplish the same thing by driving the 10mm seal into the seal housing slightly more than the old one was.

Before I put in the viton seal tomorrow, just wanted to check and see who has used one of these. This is a premptive seal job as I had the driveshaft out and saw some signs of oil leakage. I think this is the second 240 I have done myself and have done two other main seals on 740s! It makes for a delightful day....

Bob Weber
49 Volvos since 1979
Hamilton, Ohio 45013