Hello all!

My 1994 Volvo 940 with 96000 miles on it recently started shaking/shuddering after a cold start, but acts mostly fine when driving forward. This all happened after a 250 mile drive I recently took. The car has sat in a garage for the majority of the last decade before I picked it up recently. Last week, I took it to a local mechanic and here is the diagnosis, which seems like every component in the cooling system (aside from the radiator itself) needs to be replaced. Has anyone had similar symptoms/issues happen to their 940? If so, are there any components that are known to fail early and cause such symptoms? Thank you so much!

 

Sound legit if the car has been sitting. ANY car that has been sitting for a long period of time should be gone through in depth before planning to be used for trips or as a daily driver. You should be able to see most of these leaks while the car is running. At the very least I would verify and replace the suggested components, ESPECIALLY the timing belt.You have an interference engine, and if that belt breaks it can cause significant engine damage. At that age and mileage it is a ticking time bomb in my opinion.

 

You DO NOT have an interference engine. That's one good thing about the red blocks. Your number 1 concern should be the head gasket - if the mechanic thinks it's leaking. Everything else is frivolous. Don't bother with them until you check the head gasket - compression test, hydrocarbons in the coolant, etc, etc.

 

You have a 30 year old car. Many shops won't work on cars that old. If you plan to use this car as your daily driver - you will need to learn how to and work on it yourself. It will not be economically feasible/rational to pay retail prices for everything you are going to need.

And nothing is "failing early" - those parts and the car is 30 years old.

 

I'd avoid shops like that. They take the "replace everything" approach to be on the "safe" (and profitable for them) side. Better just tell you to buy a new car, what's the use of this estimate? You need a knowledgeable Volvo guy to evaluate honestly your issues. I bet it's a lot less tragic than what you are being told. Great thing about Red Blocks Volvo is the it's always less serious than you think. By the sound of your complaint you should start with a tune up, go from there... And yes, owning and using this type of car as a daily is OK but ideally you need to get involved and either do it yourself or have a close relationship with a friendly old school foreign car shop, ideally Volvo.

 

I was always told that the 940s had a white block interference engine much like the 850's of that era, albeit they were not inline 5 cylinders like the 850's.

 

For a 940 the only engines listed as available in the parts catalog are red block single overhead cam 2.0 and 2.3 liter versions as well as the d24turbo VW deisel engine used in some markets. Early 940s in some years/markets (91-92 in the US) had the b234 engine. Red block with balance shafts, 16 valve dual overhead cam engine. Now that engine is an interference engine - it will bend valves!

The 940se had the same body as the 960 which could (did in the US) have the 6 cyl white block engine (b6304), but still used a red block w/turbo. (b230Ft)

 

Roughly speaking, 940GLE has the 16V interference engine, in the US at least. Not to be confused with earlier 740GLE which have the b230f except for 1990-1991 740GLE which are interference. Confusing, I know. The 16V b234 is exceedingly rare.