I just bought a '92 740. The power driver's side window goes up as normal but doesn't quite create a seal at the back part of the window where it's supposed to go inside the door. Anybody ever seen this or know if it's a moderately easy fix? I would take off the door jam but I figured I'd ask before I jump into that. Also does anybody know the timing belt interval?

 

Trust me...the fix to your window is to replace the window regulator. It's a common issue.
50k on the cam belt as of the 91 model..previous years 48k...if in doubt...change it.

 

I have a 92 740 wagon, same thing with the window, run it all the way up and there's a little gap at the back edge near the top.... If I put it down just a bit (barely bump the button) and back up, it settles into the right place. Apparently the PO had the drivers window regulator replaced (with a used part) when it had completely broken, and I suppose the replacement is not great. I'll probably get around to doing something about it some day.

 

I tried for some time to repair my existing regulator in the 90. After all, it ran up and down perfectly, right? I tightened this, I tweaked that...I had the regulator out 3-4 times. Meanwhile, I ran into a guy on SwedishBricks who told me straight up...buy a new regulator. And...he was right.

 

Awesome Thx. I'm new to Volvo so WOW, I didn't know the belt interval was so early. I'm used to the 105k-ish interval. With how **** the previous owners were I'm sure it's probably been done.

 

You'll know if it hasn't...

 

I'm not about using used parts much. If I can get a new part for a reasonable amount of money I'll do that. I'm excited to be a Volvo owner. I'm a Subie guy so I understand the loyalty and brotherhood that I see with Volvo owners. I'm just hoping to see less arrogance on here as the other major Subaru forum. Cheers!

 

Glad to have you. Yikes! Sorry to know that your 1st Volvo is 19 years old. Hope you get some use out of it.

I had a '87 740 with the B280 motor. I use to change the timing belt every 75k and never had a problem. The car had over 400,000 on it when I let a single mom have it. It looked and ran real good. I'm not sure about the newer model motors as for the t-belt. I believe they have 16 valves and may have damage if the belt breaks.

 

This from a man who's newest car in his sig is 13 years old? We all know it's a crap shoot buying any older car...even Volvo's. The key is to get a decent price going in, as low as miles as possible and hopefully get one that hasn't changed hands too much. To the o.p., new parts are great but even with a newish 92, you will find some parts are either no longer available or outrageously priced so used is the only way to go. Luckily, engine hard parts are still plentiful.

 

The first owner from '92-'02 only put 50K on it, the second owner from '02-present put up until it's current 125K and they were a family friend. My fiancee's dad said he was SUPER **** about taking care of anything it needed so I should get PLENTY of life out of it. It's only been since they were going to sell it that they didn't do the window regulator, fix power antenna, etc. It doesn't look like it's hauled anything its whole life. I'll try to get pics up ASAP. It really is a gem. And I only paid $1000 for it. I'm still getting to know Volvos as far as engines, transmissions, etc. Over 400,000 is very comforting. The car is more for my fiancee so it's good to know that there are Volvos out there with that kind of mileage and that Volvo motors are good for longevity. And the care it's had tells me it will run as long as I take care of it. The PO took it to the same mechanic the whole time they had it so I'm gonna get in touch with him. Cheers!

 

That's another thing I'm new to, I'm not sure how expensive Volvos are in general to maintain and repair. I've owned Audi's and Volkswagens and Mitsubishis, but also Hondas and Toyotas. If used is the way to go then that's fine. Also DIY maintenance will cut down costs.

 

the power antennas on the 700/900 wagons are usually easy to fix, i've done a couple. any volvo dealer or any volvo mail order place has the mast, likely in stock if they maintain a fleet of older ones. $14 for a aftermarket one, $35 for a real volvo one. the same antenna fits all 240, 700, 900 wagons, and another fits all those sedans

if the motor is broken, then all bets are off, thats a more expensive piece, probably time to search the junkyards (after verifying that its getting power and its not a wiring problem) first check that the motor at least runs... find it (its in the left rear side compartment under the deck of a wagon, and somewhere like that in a sedan, basically directly under the mast)... have someone in the drivers seat switch the radio on (with the volume all the way down) and key off, and you should hear the motor run for 30 seconds or so, its pretty quiet normally. key on to activate the radio, and the motor should run again for 30 seconds or so.

if the old antenna is still hanging in the mast hole by the plastic toothed whip, try and extract it... first, key on with radio and antenna on, so the motor runs all the way to the 'up' position, while its running pull the plastic tooth whip as far out as you can. keep pulling and it should come completely out, ideally without any breaking off. on the wagons its really long. remove the chrome cap nut on the exterior, but leave the rubber block alone. get the new antenna out and compare the whip length, if its about the same, you're good. the last one I did left a piece of the old broken antenna in the mount, I had to get postal with some needlenose vicegrips to extract it, there's no "trick". the antenna comes with installation instructions, but basically, you run the motor all the way in the 'up' position, insert the mast with the teeth facing the right direction, and run the motor down while feeding it in until its all the way in, then replace the cap nut.

 

I'd say redblock 'brick' Volvos mechanicals are more durable than VWs and Audis, part costs are similar, there's nearly as large an aftermarket as VW, but generic aftermarket parts quality ranges from good to junk.

like any car, they have weak spots... the interior plastics can be very brittle with age, the beige interiors seem to be the worst. of course, an always garaged car is always better, we have an 87 240 sedan thats always been outdoors (wife bought new), and its beige plastic stuff is all cracking, but the chassis, engine, etc are in great shape. at 400K+ miles, the tranny was rebuilt once (at about 300K), the valve cover has never been off(!), it has had a couple alternators, a new radiator, the a/c hardly worked new and wasn't worth fixing (we live on the west coast where a/c is optional anyways). Just had to replace the camshaft seal (was spewing oil) and the mechanic went ahead and replaced the waterpump and crankshaft seal while he was at it on principle. this car has never been babied but we've tried to take decent care of it, and proactively service things before they fail. its survived my wife's heavy commuter use, we loaned it to various babysitters as our kids were growing up, and 4 au pairs from czech, poland, germany, I used it as a daily driver for awhile while I was between cars and kind of restored it, my son learned to drive in it and it got him through highschool and into college, and now my daughter is taking it as she's learning to drive. when sarah is done with it, it will be ready for a museum. heh.

 

Sounds easy enough. The PO showed me that the antenna was broken and just simply pulled the white internal part out, and yes it was quite long. The cassette player has eaten the last cassette put in so I'm going to replace the stereo anyway. On that note, does the antenna need to remain electric or is there a stubby antenna conversion available? It may be the "family" car for the "wife" but I'd still like to make it look stylish and ride nice.

 

LOL wow, very impressive. Again, very motivating to know these cars can take that kind of use. Mine has black leather that is still in very good condition, actually the whole car is in amazing condition, but not amazing considering the use it's had its whole life. Is "redblock" referring to turbo motors? I've been reading through posts and gathering terminology.

 

I'm sure you could adapt an aftermarket 'stubby antenna' without much trouble, but I've never had much luck with those, even factory OEM (Bosch) ones had mediocre-at-best reception on a VW Jetta I owned, and when I installed a conventional antenna, got 10X better reception on weak stations.

If your car has front speakers in the doors and on the dash, then it probably has an amplifier under the dash to the left of the steering column. my local auto stereo emporium had a harness that plugged right into the speaker cables that were plugged into this amp so an inexpensive 40W x 4 Pioneer was easy.

those in door speaker grills... slide them FORWARD about 1/2" to remove them, do NOT try and pry them off or you'll brake plastic. if you don't have in-door speakers (my 92 745T just had dash speakers), the cutouts and wiring is there, just no speakers, but its not easy to find a speaker that fits without some hackery. the factory speakers are actually very good quality, even the dash-only ones, as long as your tastes lead more to fidelity and less to ear shattering volume.

 

redblock are the inline 4 cylinder cast iron blocks, which were painted redorange at the factory. this includes everything from the B18 used in late 50s 544's to the B230F and B230FT used in the 740's and even the B234F twin-cam used in some 940's. The -FT is the turbo, about 165HP stock (and gobs of torque) while the B230F is normally aspirated at about 120HP stock. Only the B234F twin-cam/dohc model is 'interference' where a broken timing belt causes internal engine damage, the rest will survive a broken belt without needing anything but a new belt (and a tow, hah).

 

The engine compartment has a fair amount of surface dirt so the color never made the connection with the term. Good to know all that tho. The first thing I read when I got on here was that it was a non-interferance engine which I was super stoked about. One less thing to worry about

 

Knowing about your experience I'll just stick with the power antenna. Thx for the heads up on the speaker grills. I have a stereo guy that I've been using for all my car stereos. I also have 2 amps and 3 subs that I'm going to throw back in, although, I'll probably only utilize one or two of the subs to retain storage space as well as I'm out of the huge stereo phase. I'll probably use him since my amp is probably larger than the oem and I'll need it moved to the back which will require re-wiring, and I'm not too worried about learning that stuff at this moment; maybe later. I've always been more into clear, good quality sound anyway rather than vibrating the roof

 

re: wiring amps etc in the back... I've always run my wiring down the driver side door sill, between the carpet and the frame. SOMEwhere in the Volvo literature on the 700/900 series, I saw something suggesting routing the wiring down the passenger side of the center hump, which sounds like a great idea, but I don't quite see how to do it without removing the passenger seat entirely. And, now of course, I can't find this reference that explained it. I know the front seats come out with just 4 bolts to the floor but they are damn heavy to move.

I've got a little amp in the back of my previous wagon that I want to transplant to my new one, this amp runs a small sub box thats designed to be removable. I also need to run trailer power wiring (700/900 cars make decent tugs for up to about a 3000 lb trailer, especially if you use FCP or IPD's overload springs in the back).

Frankly, most indash stereos nowdays have sufficient power to run your 4 main speakers for anything short of competition volumes. I don't really like having to run line level all the way to the back then the speaker wires all the way forwards again. I'm pretty sure on the early-version 960 I was under the dash that if you removed the factory amp, there's room for a moderate sized after market amp (just watch out for the SRS wiring!). I wish a/d/s still made their Plate series of digital amps, those things were tiny and packed a big punch, seems like all you find now are these ridiculous sci-fi/anime inspired things with flashing lights and stupid colored plastic fins.