Hey there volvo forums. I'm in the process of changing the head gasket on my 87 240 starting yesterday. I was taking the intake manifold off tonight and I noticed it doesn't come off all the way because what seems to be a major section of the wiring harness goes through the space on the manifold between injectors 3 and 4 near the lifting eye. (Similarly the part of the harness that goes to the injectors comes through the manifold in the space between injectors 2 and 3 and then kind of "palm trees" out to the injectors from that space.) The problem is that this seems to be a MAJOR part of the harness that branches out to different systems ahead of and after that point.
In this , about 5 seconds before it ends, I see that his part of the harness is on the firewall and he can get his manifold out no problem.
Has anyone else ever run in to this issue? Is there a way around it where I don't have to take the harness apart?

 

Sounds like someone rerouted the wiring harness incorrectly when the engine was removed at some time. I've never seen it routed through the intake manifold. To remove the manifold, you will have to remove the front part of the harness so it can be threaded through. This involves disconnecting from the oil sender & alternator, disconnect from the air conditioner, air mass meter, knock sensor, both temp sensors, idle air controller, and throttle position switch. Half of these need to be removed to remove the intake manifold anyway.

To route the harness properly, it should run between the dipstick tube and the engine block. It should be fastened by a large loop holder to the oil separator box and several smaller loop holders toward the front of the engine. Make sure all of these are in place to properly hold the harness in position.

 

I never take all that off. I just remove the support bracket on the front of the manifold and the intake, then move the manifold to the right a couple of inches to clear enough room to get the head off. I tie the manifold with everything attached to the driver's side hinge.

 

Thanks for the reply. It sucks that such an easy job got surprisingly tedious but such is life.

 

I actually found it easier ( I can only imagine it was easier since it's the only way I did it) to unplug the things inside the car and bring them through the firewall and back. The connectors are far less brittle and terrifying that way.