A friend wants to buy a 240 for $2000 max.
What are the pitfalls we should look for besides
change the timing belt?
On craigs list I see a lot of Volvos not just 240s
selling around the 150k miles mark.
Is this because Volvo recommends to change the timing belt
every 60 k miles?
Thanks for any help

 

Timing belt is no pitfall, or even a consideration when looking at a Volvo with a B230. First, it's cheap to do, second, if it breaks no damage occurs to the motor, so I never worry about the belt. Third, the belts last usually much longer than the recommended change interval. So, the belt is not your worry at all. 150k is very low mileage for that type of Volvo. For a good buying guide look on brickboard.com

 

I'd be most concerned with the body and interior condition. reciepts of regular maintenance and repairs by a reputable euro or volvo specific mechanic are always good. check the engine wiring harness for signs of A) sloppy amateur hackery, and B) brittle/cracked insullation. the stuff most likely to wear out on a 240 is mostly stuff like alternators, fuel pumps, water pumps, etc, all fairly easy to repair. look for signs of oil or coolant leaks around the head gasket (especially on the exhaust side, under the header). AW70/71 transmissions are quite rugged but they do wear out, ours needed a rebuild at about 300k miles as it was increasingly slow/sloppy shifting under power. make sure the odometer is actually working, 240 odos are notorious for failing so the mileage on the dash is unreliable (our 87 240GL reads 256xxx and it has over 400k)

A/C systems on the mid 80s 240s are pretty lousy, they improved them in 90 or 91 (the better ones have an electric fan on the radiator). our 87's AC hasn't worked in 20 years (but we live on the central left coast where the weather is mild year around, so its no big deal).

 

check the oil. if it's milky, then it has a head gasket leak.

that was literally the only thing I forgot to check on mine when I bought it...it died when I got it home.

J.

 

If the Timing belt breaks while the car is running it wont damage the valves/heads that's great news as with
Honda/Nissan/Toyota it will bend the valves and you will need new heads.
And if the valves hit the top of the pistons it's even worse.

 

Thank's pierce that's some great info, very helpful.
I'm really starting to warm up to these cars!
I see a lot of them at my local pickinpull that's only 1 mile away.
I've sold a few volvo hub caps and I've always kind of lusted after
the 850 Turbo Wagon. LOL................

 

I gave my 1996 850 turbo wagon to my son and 'downgraded' to a 92 745 turbo wagon. I like the RWD volvos better, the neweer FWD stuff is too complicated and expensive.

if you break the timing belt on a 850, you'll be buying a new engine or doing a *REALLY* expensive valve job. the suspension on my 850 was so damn stiff that the ride was harsh, and the whole interior of the car is full of squeaks and rattles. yes, its wonderfully fast and powerful, but throwing it around gnarly mountain roads at speed is far more scary than the RWD 740T, which behaves much more predictably. I did upgrade my 740T with IPD sway bars, plus replaced most of the suspension bushings and all the tierods and stuff to tighten it back up (it has 220k miles). the 740 wagon has way more room in back. I like the 7xx/9xx seats better than the 850 seats. better ground clearance if you ever go on dirt roads (the 850 scrapes on driveways far easier than the 7/9's. if/when a 850 tranny fails, you'll probably scrap the car as the repair bills get scary fast, the 7/9 tranny is far easier to rebuild/repair (or replace from the junkyard).

so yes, I went from



to



go figger.

 

Thanks for talking me out of any 850.
I love the style but like you say it's a money pit.
What do you think about the Cross Country?
I would imagine the AWD is a nightmare to repair, etc.
A neighbor has a AWD Subaru and that whole aliment thing is a pain.
This one seems to be very cheep, seems odd.

Volvo : V70 XC AWD A SR in Volvo | eBay Motors

 

I've heard there's some expensive maintenance issues with the AWD volvos, they use a haldex or something transfer case, there's some expensive stuff under there that goes south and is a major **** to replace if you have to pay someone else to do it. I watched a senior volvo tech (head mechanic at an expensive volvo-only repair shop, dealer trained etc), replacing some joints and stuff on his personal XC70 after hours, he said it was a 6 hour job by book time, which means its a $600+ labor repair. IIRC, the symptom was a gear oil seepage out of the transfer case or something.

 

Yikes!
yea those bloody transfer cases on import cars, look out mama!
no wonder they sell for so cheep.
that Cross Country on feepay has had $20k in repairs!
wow what a money pit................
The 740 is looking like a winner for me.

 

imho, the best of the lot is the last 2 years of 940 turbo wagons, ideally one with a minimum of luxury options to go wrong. these final turbos had an improved engine block with 'oil squirters' under hte pistons, which help prevent wear that leads to piston slap.

note these final year base model turbos often don't even say 'turbo' on the outside.

I had a chance to buy a low mileage 95 940 wagon early on when I started looking for a 7/9 wagon, I though the price was high so I hesitated and it was gone. a year later, I realized just how hard a sweet one was to find, and ended up settling on my 92 745 for $1200 with some known warts and fixing it up. all in all, I'm happy, but that white 1995 was sweet (grey leather interior in perfect shape, etc).

 

I'd have to get the tan/Taupe/white ivory color leather interior.
Don't like grey, blue, brown or black.
what do they call the redish/orange looking leather interior color some models have?

 

the tan interiors seem to fail the fastest, the plastic gets brittle and cracks, the leather wears. my daughter's 87 240 is white with the tan/beige interior, and is full of broken pieces (B pillar liners, etc)

my 740 wagon is the charcoal grey interior (and silver exterior), I like it although when I first got one, I was afraid it would be too hot when parked in the sun. The 'red' interiors are pretty rare, I think that color was popular in the 1970s. I see a lot of beige, blue, grey, and occasionally black.