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- "Rear main seal, tranny rear bushing 'n seal, center support bearing, water pump, front seals, radiator seems fine atleast nothing leaking..."
Oooooo..... But at almost 200k miles, they're all overdue. Replacing the rear main seal is a bit of a task. The others are a Saturday morning jobs.
- "The 5" tear on the driver's cloth seat back is the only problem of all the seats in the car. Checked the front and rear seats. The bun warmers do not work."
The bun warmers are usually not difficult to repair. A common problem is a broken wire at the temperature safety switch. This can help bring the price down, because the Volvo dealer would probably charge $400-500 to repair something that you can do for $0 in about 2 hours.
- "The only power window that doesnot work is the front passenger but I've switched one of the other windows switches to the broken one and it now works. How much does a window switch costs and where can I get one cheap??? :)"
With care, the switches can be disassembled, cleaned, lubed, reassembled, and reinstalled very successfully. I've done it dozens of times. However, you can use this tidbit of info to help negotiate the price down.
- "Have not checked on the squeeking sound of the front suspension but I was hoping that it was just a swaybar bushing problem and nothing more. There sure is a high pitch whinning sound from the engine that increases as the gas pedal is pressed more."
None of us could really comment without looking, feeling, hearing, seeing, sniffing. The squeak could be a sway bar bushing or it could be the upper bearing on the strut (uncommon problem). The whining could be a bad water pump bearing, bad alternator bearing, vacuum leak, or any of a dozen other things.
- "For an '89, what symptoms does a bad FI ECU do?"
It quits. Others here (Bob Haire, for one) know a bunch more than I do about this -- but a later, more robust FI ecu is a good replacement.
- "... said that a while back the car would stall while it's running and he had to pull over to the side..."
Sounds A LOT like an intermittent fuel pump relay. This realy, and all others (such as the OD relay) can be resoldered for $0 and will be even better than new.
However, the problem you described could also be the FI ecu.
- "How do I listen if there's any piston slap upon start-up?"
Turn the stereo down, remove your ear muffs, and listen for a "tap-tap-tap-tap" as the engine idles. It's not a heavy tapping -- more like tapping the engine block with a chunk of wood. It gets louder and softer as you lightly rev the engine. But it usually goes away completely after 2-3 minutes when the engine warms up.
This is typical of the B230F engine, and generally means nothing at all -- they all do it. However, you can use this to negotiate the price down -- "Oh, gee, it sounds like this engine is almost worn out at 199k miles, it has a bearing rap..."
- "Can smell gasoline only after driving it. Havenot figured out where that gasket you were saying on the sending unit."
The gas tank sending unit is in the top of the tank, and is accessible under a small 5"x7" oval plate in the trunk. But this might also be a bad hose going to the carbon canister.
On the earlier 240s -- '80, '81, '82, '83, and so on -- the fuel return line tended to rot out where it goes over the rear axle. It would dribble gas only when the engine ran, and is an easy repair.
- "Underhood looks good. A little oil spill on the outside of the filler. No signs of dripping antifreeze. No signs of repairs and the engine seems to have been cleaned and cared for."
Good. The oil might be simply spilled from filling or it might come from a dried out gasket on the oil cap. These engines are somewhat sensitive to a plugged up crankcase ventilation system (aka "flame trap"). It's a common problem that's overlooked by most mechanics. When it plugs, the engine gets wet, seals came pop out, and the big plug in the back of the head can be forced out (BTDT).
- "All 4 wheels have the finish flaking off."
Steel wheels or alloy wheels?
- "The hole that I mentioned on the outside portion of the windshield is where the windshield corner. Actually it's the rubber gasket that moved inward towards the decorative metal seal that created a hole and some rusts. The windshield also has a couple of chipped glass."
A shrunk gasket is typical for that style window trim. The gasket doesn't do much, and is NOT responsible for sealing out water. Sealing is accomplished by the butyl rubber goop that glues the windshield to the body.
- "Sunroof leaks (actually one drop of water when I test drove the car after some rain all day - How do I fix this one?) but the carpets never get soaked. The carpet are dry and the bare floorboards dont have any rusts after pulling up the carpet near the doors."
No clue. I suspect it's an aftermarket sunroof. However, I'd carefully inspect the gasket for dirt, leaves, pine needles, or other crap that could allow water to "wick" in.
- "...he's offering it to me for $500 in 2 payments but I don't know whether what else might go wrong?"
That's a good price for the car providing it doesn't have some major hidden problem. However, keep in mind all the little things you've already mentioned, plus the unknowns, such as shocks, brake pads, exhaust, and do on. And the things that we know wear out with time and miles, such as the rear main $$$eal.
If I were you, I'd budget another $2k, or more, for these and other repairs over the next year or two. For example, at 199k miles, the car is just now ready for a timing belt and tensioner, front seals, and maybe a water pump. And maybe a radiator.
The key for you is how much of the needed work you would personally be willing, able, and prepared to do yourself? You can save a TON of money by doing your own repairs. And most work on a 240 is very straightforward because it's a traditional car.
--
Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)
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