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Hi Carol, I have a 95 960, and may be able to help based on my experience. I had a mystery coolant leak that was caused by a hairline crack in the upper neck of the plastic ended rads. When hot & under pressure the vapour bled coolant, leaving no trace as a gas. When cool and no pressure, it did not leak. Had a near disaster rad experience without damage to the engine. Pressure test the rad and strongly consider a new one. Nissens in Denmark makes a very good all metal alternative to the Volvo plastic cop out rad. Where are you located? Let me know and I may have some local resources to help a bit.
One excellent idea is the new 150 point inspection Volvo offers. It covers a great deal, and offers a Volvo mechanics report on the state of things. You don't have to get it done by the dealer, but it is an excellent analysis and report to base decisions on.
When I bought my 95 960 used, here is what I did immediately after I bought it, I did most of this myself. Good luck, and let us know how it's going.
o check ECU, make note of codes and reset
o Timing belt
o spark plugs, air filter, flame trap, oil & filter
o silicone sprayed all rubber engine hoses, door, hood, trunk seals. do not spray on electrical contacts
o replace thermostat
o oil sprayed vehicle
o replace fuel filter
o replaced battery, cleaned contacts and sprayed with white grease
This is what the FAQ suggests. I did not do all of these things, but it offers a second opinion.
Preventive maintenance after purchase: When I buy a used 700-900 series car, these are the items
that I would immediately change/replace before placing the car into service. (Assuming the car had
been checked out thoroughly first. See the recommended maintenance schedule to know when things
need to be replaced.)
o Radiator/hoses/thermostat - replace radiator with metal unit. Flush coolant. I've added the plastic overflow tank to my list of replace/repair on 740's with >100K miles, and especially on the Turbo cars. The overflow tanks are cheap enough to include in the general cooling system maintenance program. [Editor's Tip:] See the Loss of Coolant discussion for information on
components that age and break. Change all hoses: radiator upper/lower, heater hoses, reservoir hose,
turbo oil cooler coolant hoses (if a turbo.)
o [Tip: Ralph Haber] Under coolant items to replace, I'd add replacement of the heater control valve. Since this appears to be made from the same plastic as the radiator, it'll eventually fail, perhaps catastrophically (recent experience). Unfortunately, I had to replace with another plastic unit (Volvo part) but would rather a metal unit be fitted, if possible. Just FYI
o Plugs/wires/cap/rotor/timing - replace check as required (don't forget to check the advance
mechanism)
o Replace the O-rings on the distributor, and the camcover gasket including the half-moon ends
o Throttle body - clean
o Flame trap - clean
o Belts - all three, replace
o Set valve clearance
o Timing belt - replace with Volvo unit. When you do the timing belt replacement, it's relatively cheap to replace the cam, intermediate and crankshaft oil seals.
If this is a B234 16-valve, changing the timing belt is CRITICAL and see: oil pump bolt
o Oil - change oil/filter unless previous change can be substantiated.
o Oil Filter mount O-rings...only $7 or so but labour is expensive...can be done yourself
o Flush the auto transmission fluid.; Change the rear end/differential lube .
o Brake fluid - thoroughly flush
o Fuel filter - replace
o Check the rubber hose that connects the tank pre-pump with metal fuel line; these tend to
deteriorate with age.
o Vacuum hoses: mark ends with duct tape and replace
o Hydraulic engine mounts...if the pan is less than 1/4" to the cross member you're on
borrowed time...if it touches...replace both of them.
o Transmission output shaft bushing - check/replace as required if over 130K [This is not a
problem area, just a wear issue. There is a bushing on the output shaft of aw70 and aw71 trannys that
wears after time. I have seen it more on 240Turbos than 700's. It costs about $200 at transmission
shops.
o Body Fittings Lube: lube all locks, door hinges, hood and trunk hinges, power antenna, and
other lube points according to the Volvo service charts. Use a good spray lube (Mobil 1 Spray,
Superlube, etc.)
o Turbos: Turbocharger oil return pipe to block O-ring...only $4 or so but labour
again...replace the paper turbo to pipe gasket. Check ALL, and I do mean ALL, of the vacuum or
pressure hoses in the engine compartment, especially the little one that controls the turbocharger
pressure to the wastegate...blow this one and the engine will grenade from overboost. Check
condition of rubber in harmonic balancer.
o Oxidized Engine Wiring Connectors. See the narrative to find out how to clean and protect
your engine wiring harness connectors.
o Rotting engine harness wiring (83-87 cars): Get busy with a roll of electricians tape or plan
on rewiring a lot of stuff...many wires under the hood have had their insulation broken down over the
last 10 years...not so bad if they're ground connections, but eventually even those wires/connectors
will corrode to the point of not connecting. Evil things will befall thee. [Note: see prior notes above
on Baked Wiring Harness problems, and connector cleaning.]
o Check to see if the splash shield under the engine is whole, or even still there!! That shield
helps to keep the engine clean and air flow correct....it's relatively cheap from RPR or whoever.
o Chassis lubrication: radio antenna, hood release mechanism, door locks and hinges, hood
hinges, sunroof.
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