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Hi oldduke,
Thank you. You may want to look to Atlanta. Florida? I though you were up in the Atlantic Northeast?
1. Wire Harness Corrosion
The iPd article gets us off to a good start. Corrosion at the fuse box where the fuses contact the cooper alloy clips. The ceramic fuses with a similar metal serving as the fuse conductor can limit corrosion. Yet in with the final Volvo 240 coming off the assembly line now 22 years and two months ago, even in very dry climates, corrosion can form.
A 240 in damp climes can form corrosion all along the Watchtower, er, wire harness at any bonded interface. Be it a wire harness connector and a bolt with a bunch of ground wires stacked atop each other. That fuse arrangement on the 1993 +VDC battery post is also prone.
You can also get corrosion at the back side of the fuse box where the wire harness connector terminate at the fuse box. Oft-mentioned here by some is that corrosion at the bonded interface, like where the fuse meets the copper alloy fuse box clips, certainly in high current fuse box position, like the main fuel pump, can generate heat. An older fuel pump on the verge of failure, or uses more current to draw fuel out of the fuel tank of must push fuel through a clogged fuel system filter can exacerbate the problem of heat generation through a corroded bonded contact, like at the fuel pump.
Oft-mention now is the connector at the Bosch EZK power stage. Good to service (clean) the connector, and as Onkel mentioned a long time ago, remove the Power IC from the aluminum heat sink, clean, and reapply heat sink compound.
Volvo has a technical service bulletin (TSB) for the LH-Jet injector grounds (usually brown wires with ring terms secured to the intake port #2 and #3 runners).
I've also encountered corrosion, usually a white film, on the large LH-Jet and EZK controller pins that secure to the large engine control wire harness connectors. As with the fuse box corrosion (on both sides), I had to mechanically clean the pins, and use a dielectric grease. Aforementioned many times of late are the dielectric DeOxIt. I used Super Lube NLGI-II grease as it is dielectric and I had the tube at hand.
I do this same treatment when rehabbing the later six-panel wrap around sedan tail lights with the flexible circuit boards. The Volvo brand light bulb holders use a heavily tinned metal over a copper alloy. A little dab of the dielectric helps here the bulb holder contacts make touch the bare copper of the flex circuit board.
It was Art that brought this corrosion issue to prominence quite some years ago.
Off topic, this issue plagues the 700-900-90 series at the relay platform box behind the ashtray at the bottom of the center dash console. I've seen these melted at the fuel pump relay socket. Service that like you would a 240 fuse box. And collect spares from the boneyard.
2. Quality OEM Parts
We have read even Volvo OEM may not be as good. These OEM blue box parts may be made more and more in China by Geely. While such parts are probably still made by the original OEM vendors in Europa, U.S. parts distribution vendors won't import them. Though patron OEM through the Volvo blue box at the dealership or vendors like Tasca.
In some instances, used OEM, where you can have it rehabbed, like a Bosch starter or alternator at a local auto electrical service shop, may be best. Or brake calipers, or steering column u-joints (rare).
3. Unibody Corrosion
These car will rust. The owner can allow:
- the undercoating to fail
- the factory installed exterior window scrapers to shrink, allowing moisture intrusion into the doors, and freeze in Winter, so, the bottom of the door, where the panels are folded in, to lose seal and rust
- Undercarriage damage or rocker panels to fill with bio-gunk like leaves or to prevent a draining and drying of the rocker panel.
- Failing paint as the clear coat has failed, or rock chips are allowed to fester.
- The two drain holes at either side of the windshield along the left and right bottom side are not cleared to drain. (Some windshield installers replacing your windshield ignore these and clog them, or break the paint during windshield removal and replacement, and do not seal the broken or cut paint along the windshield pan pinch weld).
- If moon roof equipped, the moon roof seal can fail, the OEM replacement from Volvo is not so good. The moon roof is neglected, not adjusted or worse. The moon roof pan drain holes, front and rear, are clogged.
One could go on. You understand, I hope. Waxoyl in cleaned blind compartments like rocker panels. Useful undercoating to replace that which wear, and yes, undercoating wears with each splash in a water puddle, rock chip, and such. Remove the inner door cards and check the window mechanism. Clean the door interior. Remove fallen down factory installed asphalt sound deadening. Clean thee drains and into the corners. Waxoul or some other oily undercoating. Replace sound deadening as you wish. And replace the exterior window scrapers.
Do the same for the tail gate on wagon 240s and so on. True for all RWD Volvos.
Don't let rust fester. One it gets into the unibody seams, along the wheel well arches and frame rails, very hard to deal with.
And don't use the frame rails to support body weight, as I did, to my 1991 240 years ago. Bent them, broke undercoating and seal, so I had to spend weeks with the interior out as it rust through the floor. I'm quite the imperfect Volvo 240 owner.
4. Low and High Pressure Fuel Lines
Low pressure fuel lines are rubber. All RWD Volvos, probably up to 1999, should replace the:
- Low pressure fuel line from tank to main fuel pump. (Yet some later 900-90s use a main fuel pump in the tank, yes?).
- Low pressure fuel line from the fuel rail return to the steel pipe connection that travels under the unibody, and again, from the steel fuel return line back to the fuel pump. A real pain to replace. 12.7 mm internal diameter? I think. I forget the designation, yet use the modern low pressure fuel formulations for rubber furl line in the subsidized ethanol era. (Creates more pollution and uses more power to create ethanol than it saves. IA-state loves that subsidy.)
- Volvo-Bosch uses black nylon for high pressure fuel lines in all injected Volvos after D-jet, so, K-jet onward.
No, while you are at the boneyard, look at the K-jet equipped VWs and Audis. They used a clear nylon line. Experience how brittle it is. The black nylon line can last much longer, yet should be considered a wear item. Replacing these will be very difficult for the home mechanic.
5. Preserving the Emissions Controls and Checking the OBD
Many U.S. states won't check emissions on cars before the mandated OBD-II era. Meaning, cars with two oxygen sensors (02) sensors. One before the catalytic converter and one immediately downstream. MO-state, where I am now, does not check emissions on any auto built before 1996.
The K-jet and some carbed Volvos may suffer the vagaries of U.S. and Europa emission control add-ons like the air pump on my former 1975 244 DL, that pumped air into the exhaust port (manifold), the later K-jet Volvos, with frequency valve and Lambda Sond, and ever more critically, the LH-Jet/EZK and Motronic equipped RWD Volvos, require functioning emissions controls.
In MO-state, I could remove the catalytic converter, yet I'd have to keep the 02 sensor as part of the system so the 1991 Volvo 240 operates as best as it can. (Though I dearly want to rid it of the EGR system before it fails, and EGR can fail catastrophically if the EGR valve fails fully open, or the EGR piping that contains the hot exhaust gasses.)
Check the OBD often. At any time you have the hood up. Or rig up a test light on LH-Jet 2.2 / EZK and earlier equipped Volvos. The reliable multimeter is your best tool.
My list of minor five:
1. Air intake vacuum leaks: Positive Crankcase Pressure Flame Trap Sieve and quality seal on all air intake and vacuum lines. Verify quality seal at all hose ends. Replace with proper diameter vacuum line rated for PCV. (Washer fluid hose works in a pinch, yet deteriorate quickly.) Include the air intake port manifold gasket.
2. Brake fluid. The single most import thing anything that moves must do is STOP. Do not quibble or neglect th braking system. Ensure clean fluid every two years or as the fluid begins to darken. Use a MOTIV brand or like pressure bleeder. Pumping brake fluid with the brake pedal can induce early failure. Also, the brake caliper bleeder nipples can suck atmosphere in through the threaded interface when you release the brake pedal. If the fluid is not bad, yet can't get a pressure bleeder kit like the MOTIV, you can use a gravity bleed. Slow as it may be, though. Replace old flexible brake line if at 25-30 years or very high mileage.
3. Wear items listed in thee iPd article. Motor mounts. Water pumps. And so forth. That's a gimme.
4. oldduke, you mention clutch cable. So, if you get under the dash, and under the car, as part of a clutch cable adjustment, you can introduce some kind of lube into the clutch cable sleeve. Keep spares. Some use and keep length of steel, braided aircraft controller cable with corresponding anchors. If it keeps your Cessna or Pipe in the air, keep the clutch working on the Volvo.
And shift gently, that Volvo manual transmission. Use the proper fluid.
5. Use the proper Volvo special tool to remove thing like t-belt pulleys and harmonic balancer crank shaft pulley, if you can borrow or rent the tool. Volvo Penta, at least the places I check, does not do this. Call around?
I think that does it. I'm probably wrong. I only put about 6000 miles on each of the three 240s I own each year, about. So, I dunno.
I may get out of the Volvo thing.
As for part, in the St. Louis craigslist, we have:
http://stlouis.craigslist.org/ptd/5268552977.html
VOLVO 240 PARTS (Livingston NJ)
I have a 40 year collection of VOLVO 240 parts ranging from 1975-1993.
Many many hard to find parts that are no longer available from VOLVO.
Email me your request and i will get right back to you.
Smaller items can be shipped as long as they are not oversized.
do NOT contact me with unsolicited services or offers
post id: 5268552977
posted: 2015-10-14 10:20pm
Reply: r623h-5268552977@sale.craigslist.org
I have no idea. Hope that helps.
Well, whaddya other folks think, please.
oldduke, like to share some of the ripple with you, good sir!
Sorry to go on so long for. Dyslexia SUCKS!
cheers,
John D. McGurk's 1200 Russell, Soulard, St. Louis, MO
www.mcgurks.com
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Volvo 164: The Mightiest, most Powerful, most Beautiful Volvo Automobile Forever
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