Hi - I'm new here, since I just stumbled onto my first official Volvo ownership yesterday. I would just like to know if maybe I'm biting off more than I should even try to chew.

I inherited a 1986 240 DL station wagon. I am a low-level novice when it comes to car stuff, but I'm willing to learn, so I was really hoping to 'learn' on this vehicle.

The problem is that 1. I don't have a lot of funds (grad student), so while I hope to save money doing a lot of my own labor, if I need a bunch of expensive parts, it probably won't work; and 2. I do need transportation, so if the car needs a great deal of work I will probably have to give it up and pass it on.

I've done a bunch of research since I got it and here is what I know.

1. It does run. But after about five minutes it starts jerking, surging, and revving badly. In park it will rev super high, then low, back and forth. When driving it will jerk forward even while braking, to sometimes a scary amount. While it does this, the oil light flickers on and off constantly, usually in tune with the surging.

2. The shifter (it's an automatic) has a lot of play and sometimes lands in between different gears, you have to pull past the one you want then slide forward into it.

3. There is a good-sized coolant leak, around the area of the water pump; seems to be a loose hose but really the liquid is everywhere and has been for a long time by the looks of it.

4. At least one mount is probably broken because as the engine revs it moves back and forth a lot.

5. The caps to one of the reservoirs (back of engine, driver's side) is missing.

Supposedly the car recently got a new fuel pump, a new head gasket, a transmission service, a water pump (one year ago), new brake pads (they don't look it), a new alternator, a new catalytic converter, a new fuel filter. I think this is all BS personally but I don't know enough to say for sure.

I would really just like to know where I could possibly start. It's $100 just to get a diagnosis. I drove it 10 miles home last night and the temp gauge went high twice, I pulled over so it didn't hit the red.

I would really appreciate just some basic places to start looking, or first steps i could take on my own, to try to figure out if this is even worth pursuing. Thanks so much!

 

5 minutes is just about how long it takes for the engine to warm up and go off 'open loop' start mode. at this point, it starts paying attention to the O2 sensor and regulating itself. an 86 has the simpler/earlier LH 2.2 injection, if it was a 89 it would have a diagnostic display under the hood which MIGHT help find the specific cause for the misbehavior.

the shifters on these old 240's do tend to have a fair amount of play, likely the shift rod that connects the shifter to the transmission could be adjusted a bit to improve the odds of landing on the right gear. for more effort, you could probably replace some $0.50 bushings in there and tighten it up significantly, but thats a real bear to get into.

coolant leak should be deal with ASAP. hose the area off, let it dry thorougly, start car, and inspect to see where its coming from. one place coolant can leak is from the TOP of the fuel pump where it goes under the head, if they used a cheap aftermarket seal ring. fixing this requires removing the pump, not *that* hard, and ALWAYS use real Volvo brand gaskets, seals.

these engines buck a fair amount to start with, the engine mounts are rather too small and tend to get soft or crack after enough years, especially if oil etc has leaked onto them. there's a mount on each side, not that hard to replace.

VERY useful set of articles on troubleshooting the B230F motors, as found in your 240. http://www.swedishbricks.net/700900FAQ/FAQSummary1.html this is written for 740/940 series cars, which have the same motor and same transmission, just a few minor but important differences... 7xx relays are almost all under the dash behind the ashtray on a central panel, while 240's put them all over the place haphazardly. 7xx's have a 'radio suppression relay', 240's don't, so ignore anything that talks about this, its not your problem.

 

5 minutes is just about how long it takes for the engine to warm up and go off 'open loop' start mode. at this point, it starts paying attention to the O2 sensor and regulating itself. an 86 has the simpler/earlier LH 2.2 injection, if it was a 89 it would have a diagnostic display under the hood which MIGHT help find the specific cause for the misbehavior.

the shifters on these old 240's do tend to have a fair amount of play, likely the shift rod that connects the shifter to the transmission could be adjusted a bit to improve the odds of landing on the right gear. for more effort, you could probably replace some $0.50 bushings in there and tighten it up significantly, but thats a real bear to get into.

coolant leak should be deal with ASAP. hose the area off, let it dry thorougly, start car, and inspect to see where its coming from. one place coolant can leak is from the TOP of the fuel pump where it goes under the head, if they used a cheap aftermarket seal ring. fixing this requires removing the pump, not *that* hard, and ALWAYS use real Volvo brand gaskets, seals.

these engines buck a fair amount to start with, the engine mounts are rather too small and tend to get soft or crack after enough years, especially if oil etc has leaked onto them. there's a mount on each side, not that hard to replace.

VERY useful set of articles on troubleshooting the B230F motors, as found in your 240. Volvo Maintenance Hints for 7xx/9xx this is written for 740/940 series cars, which have the same motor and same transmission, just a few minor but important differences... 7xx relays are almost all under the dash behind the ashtray on a central panel, while 240's put them all over the place haphazardly. 7xx's have a 'radio suppression relay', 240's don't, so ignore anything that talks about this, its not your problem.

 

Very helpful link there - thank you much. Lots of great info I'm seeing already.

The coolant leak, while it's ended up everywhere, is pretty easy to see, I guess, since there's a pool of fresh stuff along with all the dried-up residue (see photo).

The main issue keeping the car from being driveable is the surging. It's excessive enough that you can see it from outside the car, and it dies (and overheats) at every stop unless you continuously pull over. If it wasn't for that I would gladly tackle the other problems one at a time, but I'm getting a bad feeling about this particular issue - the more I Google it the larger and more difficult to fix or diagnose it's starting to sound...

 

one thing you can do to learn about your 240 is get a hold of a Haynes manual off of eBay or Amazon. It has pictures of how to do all sorts of repairs and makes even difficult projects much easier. Good luck with the project!

 

and the Bentley book for 240's is good for more technical repairs and info. I like to compare both Haynes and Bentley before tackling something unfamiliar.

your photo, is the cover plate for the timing belt missing?!? or did you remove it to get a better look?

 

... There's a cover plate? Must be missing. Um. I think I'm in over my head!

 

here's an 83 240 I found a picture of lying around the net. too lazy to go take a picture of the 87 in my driveway :-p

 

oh, if that missing cap is on the plastic tank thats attached to the power brake booster.... THATS YOUR BRAKE FLUID!!!

you should flush it and put in fresh brake fluid and replace that cap ASAP. brake fluid is hydroscopic, and when it absorbs moisture from the air, it then corrodes the brake cylinders, which leads to brake piston failure, which leads to TOTAL BRAKE FAILURE. bad juju.

 

And... crap. Thanks, Pierce - you're totally right, that is the reservoir that it is. (Even) I knew that much, but maybe my brain wanted to believe differently. What a bummer. This was my dream car, but I just don't have the time or money to invest. Will be passing it on. Any Orange County residents out there looking for a project car?

Hope I'll be back on here again if I ever save up money to buy something similar that's within my feasible reach! I appreciate all the help!