Hi, I'm a new owner of a '87 240 DL Wagon that has a long list of issues that I'm ready to tackle. It has 249,000 miles but is in surprisingly good shape. It appears mechanically sound and I hope to put another 100,000 miles on it. I have already cleaned up the interior and replaced the headlights and tail lights. I bought it as a second car and to tinker with. I'm going to tackle the brakes and master cylinder next.

I have searched this site and post here have answered alot of my questions. I am looking forward to sharing info and maybe asking a few questions. Thanks.

 

I Matt, welcome to the forum.

I had a '87 740 GLE which had the same motor. Mine had over 400,000 miles on it before I passed it on to a single mom. It still looked and drove very well.

The thing I would watch out for is old rotten wires. Back then Volvo decided to help the enviorment and use recycled rubber to coat their wires. Well, after about 12 years the wire coating started turning to dust and left bare wires under the hood. If the wiring has NOT been replaced that can be a bad situation. Try not to bump the wires around until you verify if the wiring has been replaced.

 

Thanks. I have researched the wiring harness issues with them breaking down and the wiring insulation falling apart. My wiring harness has some black electrical tape wrapped around it near the fireway/valve cover area. I'm going to leave that undisturbed until I can replace the entire harness. When I bought the car there was an issue with the fuel pump relay that prevented it from started but we replaced that and I drove it home.

Here's my priortized list of stuff to fix:

1. Brakes. The brake failure light is on which I am almost sure is due to the master cylinder failing. The car stops fine and tracks evenly while braking but the peddle inches toward the floor while stopped. I have started buying brake components and will replace pads, turn rotors and replace wheel bearing and seals at the same time since I'll have to take the tires off to bleed the brakes. I may also replace the calipers. Right now I'm trying to determine if I have the ATE or Girling system. On the front axle I have vented disks and the rear I have solid. I have not taken the wheels off to fully investigate.

2. MAF sensor. This is one of the first things I checked and cleaned. The very thin wires inside appeared fine visually but the screen on the air filter side is bent in and torn somehow. I cannot figure out how this would happen but I am going to replace it. The car runs ok but is sometimes difficult to start. It takes a couple tries to keep it running.

3. Suspension. The ride is really rough and it makes some creaking noises when going over bumps. I need to put it on jack stands and get under to check the bushings. I'm sure it also needs shocks and struts.

4. Paint. The car is 99% rust free and the body is in really good shape but the paint is extremely faded from the sun. There are a couple really small rust spots around the windshield and one rust spot about the size of a quarter on the right rear wheel well.

5. Wipper motor. They work but even after cleaning the contacts I cannot get the arms to return to home when turning the wippers off.

6. Drivers Seat. The interior is in great shape except for the drivers seat. The padding is worn and very uncomfortable. Right now I have a seat cover but I want to have the seat rebuilt or replaced with a salvage model.

7. AC. Currently blows hot. This is a low priority but eventually I want to have this looked at by a professional.

 

Welcome to Volvo Forums !

For help with the problems it's best to post under your cars part of the forums. That's the place to ask and get help.

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