Hi all,

Just bought a 1990 Volvo 240DL. White exterior, blue interior, and A BLOWN HEAD.

Thankfully, I own a repair shop in Monterey County, California. So I am happy to have this as my first project car to keep a great car on the road. Removing the heads this week to have them sent to a local machine shop. They said best case $250, worst case $500. Either way, got all the parts ready for it to put back together next week.

Should be a great first car for my step-son Scotty in a couple years when he can drive.

Pictures coming soon.

Best regards,
Brian Pev

 

Here's some photos of how I'm buying it. Condition is pretty good. Clean inside and out.

Album link
https://goo.gl/photos/wVsEanLM2RC4Uo3S7

 

Anyone have a good connection for pocket door panels? This is the most affordable ones I've found in blue.

Volvo 240 Door Pocket Map Pocket Door Panel Blue Color Pair New Set of 2 | eBay

Thanks in advance,
Brian SwissPev

 

Also, the painted lining / accessory panel for the doors and windows are faded. Is there a black paint that you can use to refresh those? Would love a tip.

Thank you.

 

Car looks great and well cared for. I wonder why the head gasket went, do you know if it overheated. How many miles does it have?

 

The vehicle has 193,000 miles on it right now. Plan on putting plenty more on it! :-)

The vehicle has zero coolant in it and wasn't running. We did a block test - it failed - so we knew it had a blown head. Sent it to a machine shop and got it resurfaced. Already got it back and fired up. Because we didn't know exactly what caused it, I decided to overhaul the system.

I've done the following work so far:

All 3 accessory belts
Timing belt & timing components
New timing cover (all 3 pieces) because they were melted
Spark Plugs and Wires (Bosch)
Thermostat
Radiator
Coolant Hoses
Heater Hoses
Head Gasket Set, Cylinder Head Bolts
Transmission Filter Kit (WIX)
Front/Rear Shocks (KYB)
New Door Pockets (Blue, OE)
Sun Visor Clips (OE Volvo)


Also, I just reordered the driver seat foam and blue vinyl/leather seat because the front seat is pretty shock. The others are perfect.

Definitely making sure it's alllll set.

 

Hi guys,

Turns out that I have a leak coming from the rear main seal as well as the rack & pinion. Got a zf design rack and pinion ordered, but I have a question about the rear main seal.

In looking at the diagram and parts on the website below, I found that there's a rear main seal and a rear main seal retainer. Do any of you happen to know if you need both parts or is it just the rear main seal in most cases?

TASCA Parts 1990 Volvo 240DL

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you,
Brian SwissPev

 

The rear main oil seal leaking is quite common for these cars when they get up there in miles. If it isn't leaking too bad you can postpone the repair. I had to replace mine a while back but I had a shop do it since I don't have the facility to undertake a job like that. I can't remember if the retainer has to be replaced or not.

 

Looking at the diagram I think the numbers are incorrect when comparing the picture to the listed items. Looking at the diagram of the engine there, item #25 looks like the rear main seal but the listing says that #25 is the retainer. Item #24 in the picture is the actual retainer while the listing calls #24 a pulley (which is wrong). Before ordering make sure you have the correct part numbers. You might want to call them.

You shouldn't need a new retainer but you may want to replace the retainer gasket. However, in order to replace the retainer gasket you need to remove the oil pan as well. Therefore you would need the oil pan gasket. The retainer is actually a metal piece that the rear main seal is installed. Sometimes the gasket around the retainer starts to leak as well. It's up to you if you want to replace both. Also, you might want to check into using a high-mileage rear main seal. It is a little wider and the sealing surface will ride on a different position on the crankshaft so it seals better.

 

Where did you find the vinyl seats? I have a 1990 240DL Wagon and I am having a hard time finding the vinyl seats. I would rather have cloth though. Great looking find by the way!