I recently found a good deal on a b230ft that came out of a 740. I desperately need a new motor for my 80' 242 to replace the ol' k-jet b21 as it is burning oil faster than I can dump it in.

The first problem is that the year and mileage are unknown. I'm not too concerned about the mileage, but I am concerned about the year. Is there anyway to identify the year of the motor and which fuel injection series it has? I will need to know this so I can locate a wiring harness, as it does not come with one.

Also, when changing the distributor is it true that you have to pull the intermediate shafts of and swap them? If it is true, do you have to do an engine tear down to get the shafts out? if that is the case, I'd just assume rebuild the old b21.

I'm up for the job, and am aware of the amount of work it will take, but if anyone has any tips or suggests so make the conversion easier, it would be greatly appreciated. If anyone can provide me a list of parts I should plan on buying that would be great too. (harnesses, ECU, fuel injection parts, ect)

 

is the distributor on the camshaft or engine block...? you said engine so it is an older one...as the newer 740's have it on the back of camshaft I think...

B230FT after 85

follow the link and you have to get the engine vin code and decipher one by one....not hard.

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Vehicle_Identification_Numbers_(VIN_codes)/Volvo/VIN_Code

when you first look at the page it looks not related but you HAVE TO SCROLL DOWN..and you will find it..

I can think of the following as I have a 79 K-jet.
Bell housing from 740? if you keep the M45 but kind of week
Main fuel pump
Get rid of Accumulator next to fuel pump...run hose to fuel filter in engine bay
Get rid of the resistor
Get rid of the ignition module
New instrument cluster?
What about the pulse sensor on the 740's differential? or not...

Man.....! it feels excessive but I can see why you would want to swap it out....the CIS is easy to fix IF YO GOT THE FREAKING PARTS...BUT THEY ARE HARD TO COME BY..

 

Yes, I appreciate the simplicity of the b21 kjet system, but it is impossible to find anything for it, and its just not worth the hassle.

Is the VIN code on the engine itself? The seller does not have any history on the motor, as he bid on it in a storage garage sell. I cam tell from the pics that it is from a 740 because of head mounted distributor and location of ps, ac, alternator ect. As for what year? No idea except 85+.

The m45 won't mount right up to the motor? I wasn't anticipating any problems with mounting tranny.

 

if its 1990+ it will have a crank position sensor instead of the hall sensor that was in the distributor.

look at the MAF (AMM) part number, see this table
Engine ECU
the last 3 digits of the Bosch number are what you clue on. -002 is the rare early B23FT from 83/84, -008 is the LH2.2 cars from 85-89 (for turbo), and -016 is the LH2.4 used until the end of production.

you're going to need all the engine's wiring harnesses, including the one that pokes through the firewall and plugs into the ECU and relay panels. you'll need to jury rig the fuel pump relay as thats in the main panel of the 740, while on a 240 it was a floater behind the glovebox.

you will need turbo grade in-tank and main fuel pumps as they are higher flow fuel rate than the non-turbo ones, plus LH uses 42PSI rather than 60PSI+, so the static fuel pressure of an LH pump is more like 60 instead of something over 80.

 

VOLVO ENGINE Here is the link to the motor i'm inquiring about so everyone can see what i'm looking at. If I could see the car it came out of, I would be able to figure out the year I believe, this is strictly a motor though, that came from an unknown car. The guy litteraly puchased the motor itself from a storage shed auction.

Is there any references directly on the motor that will tell me what year 740 this came out of? Hell, maybe it's a 940, I just assumed 740 because i figured that would be more common.

He did tell me there was a code on the head "1000530" I believe this is common for 85-92 turbo heads is that true?

 

ah. no mechanical fan means its 1992+... while there was a 1992 740T (I have one), its virtually identical to a 940, so I call it such most of the time when I'm talking about mechanical parts. 1992 7/9's had electric fans on the radiator instead.

those all use LH2.4 injection, EZK116 ignition, and use a crank position sensor on the flywheel, rather than a hall effect sensor in the distributor for its timing.

you probably COULD get it working with a Megasquirt and a custom wiring harness but that would be quite a project if you've never done anything like that before (I haven't although I've researched it a bit). to get it running "stock", you'll need just about everything from under the hood of a 1992+ 7/9 turbo, as well as the turbo fuel pumps, and the turbo ECU (thats along side the passenger footwell) and when you're done you'll have a damn fast 242

oh yeah, you'll need to figure out how to squeeze an intercooler in there too (it mounts behind the radiator). the 92+ 7/9's got larger radiators than the previous years.

 

92+ turbo is good news though right? Those motors are more stout that the earlier b230ft's correct? I think it'd be worth the labor, it would pay off more in the long run than rebuilding the b21, or even putting a different b21 in that may have similar issues. It'll be my first engine swap, but all I got is time so I think I'm gonna jump on it, $200 is a good deal, and of course I'm gonna low ball him

 

the most stout ones are the 94/95 B230FT with the "F" block that has the piston skirt oilers. but they are all pretty stout. which transmission does this 242 have?

 

M45 in the 242 atm. Will probably have to swap that out too, even though I kinda like the way it's geared Gets up and goes from a stop good, but anything over 65 is a no-go.

The guy also has a sunroof and an airbag from the storage shed he bid on I guess, he provided with some numbers:

"engine 94-1110-14

sunroof 944-74-92 beige 810 697 656 kw 43-96

airbag t2001090820
30867183
570634010"

The engine number is the date stamp next to the "b-230" stamp on the block. I asked him to get that for me, so now, correct me if I'm wrong, I believe I'm looking at a 94 940 (944?) b230ft.

 

not sure that 94 means 1994 nor that the sunroof part number means 944 specifically, as the same sunroof is used in 940 wagons, and a pile of other cars. but just from the pictures its definitely a 1992+ turbo.

my 1992 745T...


wide view


turbo details


intake side


oh yeah, the turbo will require special water and oil plumbing that a non-turbo doesn't have. If I said earlier the intercooler is behind the radiator, DOY, its in FRONT of the radiator... turbo cars have the airbox and battery swapped, so the airbox is on the right side of the car, and the battery on the left.

turbos have negative vacuum (positive pressure) under boost, so if your car has power brakes (which are vacuum activated), you'll need a vacuum reservoir with a one-way valve to store the vacuum when you're not under boost to actuate the brakes (ditto the ventilation system which is vacuum actuated on the cars I've worked on, at least).

 

Yeah for sure! Thanks for the pics. I'm making the 3 hour drive this weekend to check the motor out in person and hopefully buy it, then I'm sure I'll be back here with questions over the next couple months as I gather up the parts I'll need. The fun part begins!

 

this is going to be a massively complicated undertaking, me thinks. I have no idea if you can get a turbo radiator with an intercooler and oil cooler to fit into an old 240. you'll need an -016 MAF (mass airflow meter), and all the air pipes associated (air filter box -> MAF -> turbo -> intercooler ->throttle body. That engine has an AC compressor, does your car have A/C ? I suppose you can just remove the compressor if you don't need it

the complicated one will be sorting out the LH 2.4 ECU and its harness

the 'sane' way to do this would probably be to acquire a complete 1992 940 turbo car thats been wrecked (rear end or side impact, hopefully!) and put it up on blocks next to your project car so you can cannibalize parts as you go, and move them over. of course if you did that, odds would be pretty good that 92 940 turbo would have an engine too.

another thing, turbo cars tend to have tall rear end ratios as they develop tons of torque at lower RPMs

 

The 242 does not have power steering or AC. I also have no intentions of adding it at this point. That should give me a lot more room to work with, which will be a good thing in this situation.

It would be nice to find a donor car, but the chances of one popping up in my area of the country is very slim, hence why I am jumping on this motor. 99% of my volvo shopping (even used parts) is done online, except when the occasional 240 shows up in the wrecking yard.

 

you can probably fake the air plumbing (but remember, it has to hold about 10PSI pressure downstream from the turbo, they use 3-4" metal pipes on a turbo). I imagine you could use most any intercooler you can wedge in there, maybe even one from a subie, or vw tdi ? the absolute can't do without will be the -016 MAF, the ECU (passenger side footwell, just forward of the door hinge, same place it is on LH equipped 240s), the ICU (drivers side of a 740/940, under the dash, left of the steering column), the power module and coil (pretty universal), and the wiring to connect all that (yes, you probably can fab that). you can probably use the fuel injection/pump relay from any LH 240/740/940, just custom wire it into your harness about where they are put on a later 240 (behind the glovebox). a 240 won't need the radio suppression relay (most 7s, all 9s have this extra relay under the hood that powers the injectors, because the main injection relay was too close to the radio on 7/9's and made static)

 

Pierce,


Thanks for all the help identifying this motor. Although I was trying hard to convince myself to get it, because it is about the best option for a motor to put in my 242 and keep it Volvo, I think I'm going to take your advice and wait for a 92+ 940 turbo that is damaged but runs to buy and do the motor swap. With all the info you've provided me, and doing some price checks for parts, it would cost me a lot more in the long run getting everything individually and finding it. Thanks for the help!

 

personally, I'd skip the turbo unless performance is really important here (and if it is, there's lots of ways to get a lot MORE performance, like a small block ford V8)... a plain B230F would be much simpler to adapt.

 

I wish you would do the 16V head swap on it.....if Volvo's are hard to come by in your area, I understand you. A bit anxious to see how it goes as I have a 79 242....


We shall now summon the Sacred, Swedish 240 gods and ask for their blessing. (SS240G)

"Oh, benevolent and worthy of our wallet content, ingenious designer, we ask thee to bless thy brothers project. To infuse him with thy knowledge of long ago. Let your eyes come upon the 242 coupe (that's right)
and revive it with the new LH-Jetronic system with a thunderous turbo, a reminder of your strong might.!...indeed we do ask...thy volvoforums brethren....aaaaamen."

ok, let us know how it goes.

 

Thanks for that . When the time is right, I'll keep you folks posted