I bought this 89 744 8 valve non turbo ,, I figured it was good for parts. the windshield was all cracked up , but intact. I didn't pay much..
I drove it home a few years ago, the dipstick was pushing itself out... It had sat quite a number of years..

I kept it for about 7 years and I'm thinking of resurrecting it. I think the flame trap is plugged up and I seem to remember that flame trap box has a hose that enters the block and I remember that years ago a mechanic encouraged me to change it during another rebuild and said sometimes the hose falls apart inside the crankcase and bits of rubber can end up floating around in the oil.. I'm trying to think back and decide if that flame trap and that hose inside the engine block are the same part? weird that an engine would have a rubber hose inside the block but I remember it does.


I didn't see any signs that it had blown the seals so Maybe I just can replace or clean out the flame trap?

the flame trap is a plastic box that lives down below the intake manifold right? then I think there is also a plastic screen thing in one of the hoses just below the manifold? maybe it's that plastic screen that plugs up? I remember buying a new screen and replacing it in another car and I think it can simply be cleaned out if that's the issue. i know this can be an issue with this engine but Ive never seen one want to push it's dipstick up. I've also never had one blow the seals out from the cam or crank ends but I've heard this can be the result of this excessive crankcase pressure issue.


It needs a headliner. I salvaged the cardboard from another car I took apart so I thought I might be able to epoxy that to make it a bit more rigid, and then coat it with some cloth then switch the two. I obtained a spare windshield and clips.. when I took that headliner out of my donor car I found a lot of the trim plastic turned to degraded plastic. Maybe I am better to just glue some cloth up there and try not to take all the plastic trim apart. I might ever get it back. I think almost every 740 with a cloth headliner had that issue where they fall down..

I'm thinking if I can resolve this issue of it having too much crankcase pressure then maybe the rest of it is worth saving. It must have sat about 20 years so it didn't climb that much in mileage so it shouldn't be super worn out otherwise. I do think the previous owner just drove it without oil changes until the dipstick started pushing itself out and he probably stopped driving there. I bought it with great tires but they were rotten so it proved it had stopped being used a while earlier.

Ive had a few cars of this era, I always felt the non turbo ones were good workhorses. after about 1990 Volvo started to get pretty complicated with the wiring and computer stuff..

I'm thinking if I can clear out the flame trap or whatever is plugged up, then maybe I can put fresh oil with sea foam in it and run it for a while and do a second oil change after it idles for an hour or so. Maybe the car can survive this situation..