I bought the car new in 1993 and have maintained it as a singular driver since then. The car has been driven almost 233,000 miles. There is a problem with hot air coming through the vents with the temperature selector lever in the left foremost position. The air conditioner also is not engaging. This is the major problem that has not been resolved. My interest is in the experiences of other owners with this issue.

 

Your heater control valve is leaking internally or the cable that controls it is not pushing it all the way closed. (earlier cars used a different style of valve than shown, there is less plastic on the earlier valves)

Ac is another issue - best solved by a knowledgeable person if you are not familiar with ac operation.

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Postings on Turbobricks had led me to believe that my heater control valve and the air conditioning were the culprits. Your assessment has confirmed mine. I had just discovered Volvo Forums when I posted the issue. My August 15th service request for the Volvo dealership that repairs my car covered those issues. My habit is to find out as much about an issue before my service request is made. I find that it helps my personally selected technician and me to speak similar, if not, the same language.

If needed, is there any reason that I should not supply the HVAC Heater Control Valve Kit (Professional Parts Sweden 87431998), available from several vendors, rather than incur the cost of expensive parts from the dealer? The labor charges are very high. I thank you for any further insights that you might share. Other than this issue, my '93 240 purrs like a kitten.

 

Who did you imagine was going to install your customer supplied parts? And who have you found to work on a 32 year old car? (many shops will not work on cars more than 10-15 years old)

At my shop I would not install customer supplied parts. (well I would but at 1.5 times the labor with no warranty and no guarantee that their parts would fix their problem)

A professional shop (you know, has insurance, well paid and trained intelligent techs, and offers them benefits - health ins, vacations, holidays, retirement plan and stuff like that) - has to make a profit on both parts and labor to be able to stay in business.

 

I did not mean to ask an off-center question. My question was to perhaps understand the quality level for the kit under the part number cited.

My repair shop is the Service Department at Flow Volvo Cars Greensboro (NC). There has never been a problem with service being refused due to the age of the car. My fortune has been a longstanding relationship with the service department and technicians, regardless of the iterations of dealership owners. In consultation with the service technician, there has not been a problem with supplying certain parts that would not have more than a one-year warranty anyway. Not too long ago, I supplied an oil pan gasket and transmission fluid and gasket. I would never be so unwise as to show up with parts that I expect to be installed.