Hi all, I have an '85 DL 4 door sedan that has 132k miles on it. I've put a good amount of money in its suspension and getting the AC working recently, but I can't really afford to keep taking it to the mechanic shop and am planning to get a new car in a couple years. However, in the mean time, I am thinking of getitng the Bentley service manual in case any more issues arise in the next year or two. How easy are these cars to work on as someone who has no experience working on cars but who is willing to learn? Thanks.

 

they are about as simple as a car can get... our 87 240, we bought new, was still going strong at 500K miles, but was scrapped due to excessive water leaking causing mold problems, it was parked outside in a very rainy area its last couple years when our daughter took it to college with her.

biggest problem with an 85, however, thats in the middle of the 'biodegradable wiring' era (83-87), and the engine wiring harnesses are rather prone to insulation flaking off underneath the outer black plastic harness sheaths, and this can cause all sorts of random glitches that are vrey hard to sort out.

replacement harnesses *are* available from davebarton.com, they aren't that cheap, but at least they are fairly easy to replace, it takes time but no special skills or tools. there's two harnesses, the main engine harness, https://www.240turbo.com/volvoharnes..._240_non-turbo and the ignition harness, https://www.240turbo.com/volvoharnes...ml#240ignlater be sure to use liberal amounts of silicone dielectric grease on all connectors.

the rest of the maintenance on these is oil changes (I go every 5000 miles), zerex g05 coolant every 3 years, timing belt every 60K miles, water pump when it needs it (probably 150k or so?), accessory V belts as needed (typically I put new ones on when I change the timing belt), and spark plugs, rotor, cap every 30k or so. plug wires, if you use the good ones, should last at least 100k. brakes as needed. oh, transmission fluid change every 60-100k is a good idea. things like hoses need replacing when they get brittle. if you stay on top of stuff, the car should go virtually forever. our 500K mile 240, never needed a head gasket or valve job. it did go through a couple alternators, and the transmission was rebuilt at around 250k miles (thats not a do-it-yourself job unless you have a fully equipped garage with an engine hoist, and even then, the tranny has to go to a rebuilder, or you swap in a rebuilt).

 

Cool, thank you for the reply. I ordered the Bentley manual.

I live in southeastern Louisiana, so is there anything I should be aware of maintence-wise given this climate?

 

AC is probably more important to you than it is to me, living on the California Central Coast where temps are rarely above 80, and when its hot, its dry. :-p