Hi all,

I've owned 3 240s, so I'm a huge fan. They've all been automatics; currently I have a '90 wagon. Recently, I bought my son a well cared for '83 manual wagon (at first he hated the idea, now he wouldn't part with it). It's a blast to drive, and a terrific highway cruiser, so I plan to go shopping for the best 240 manual I can find and then get it up to speed for travelling.

Both for our current 240s and for this future purchase, I'd like to put together spares kits. What would you include? What parts can leave you by the side of the road? Fuel pump relay? Air mass meter? What else?

 

The fuel pump relay,Timing belt and drive belts,speed sesnor if the cars have one.

 

Volvos are idiosyncratic, as you know. There's always some part which goes bad. The main question is, which parts do I need to stock to keep the thing running in an emergency?

Always carry an extra cap and rotor with you. I'll echo that you should keep an extra timing belt around. I always keep a coil wire, too.

There are all sorts of other things that can fail, but many of them are so damned expensive that you're not going to want to "stock" them. I had one 240 blow its "air mass sensor". Cost a fortune, even for a rebuild. I drove the car for a couple of days in "limp home mode"--just unplug the air mass sensor and the computer lets you keep driving, albeit with the engine running as rich as Donald Trump--before I found a place that had a rebuild. Still cost me almost 400 bucks.

Relays are a good idea, too. However, those buggers are a bit pricey, too. Maybe $50 a pop, or more.