I just bought a 1993 240 wagon (245) and I am working on figuring out exactly what I am dealing with. In particular, I am trying to figure out if I have the LH 2.4 or LH 3.1 fuel system.

According to Volvo Engine Page, I could have one or the other.

I decoded my VIN and VIC to get the following:

VIN:
A = 240 Series
W = 5 Door & Driver Airbag (SRS) - 240 Series
83 = B230F 8-valve 4 cyl, w/ EGR Pulsair
1 = Emission: 50 State w/ EGR Bosch; MFK 31
9 = Calculated from other digits
P = 1993 model year
1 = Manufacturing plant: Gothenburg, Sweden

VIC:
24 = 240 Series
5 = 5 doors
83 = B230F 8 valve, 4 cyl w/EGR Pulsair
01 = 240
1 = Without sunroof
7 = AW70/AW71 4-speed automatic
1 = Left hand drive

And the sticker on the inside of the driver's door says it was built in 9/1992.

I have tried to look on the throttle-body for any identifying marks but there is only a bar-coded, serial-number sticker.

One additional clue is that there is one of the OBD-1 diagnostic boxes stuck on the back-side of the driver's-side strut tower.

So, does anyone know what fuel system I've got under there?
Any help would be appreciated.

 

LH3.1 uses a MAF who's Bosch number ends in 001, LH 2.4 ends in 016.

AFAIK, pulsair (B230FD) equipped cars weren't 3.1, only 2.4.

table of versions, ECUs, etc, Engine ECU

 

Thank you, Pierce. This means I have a LH 2.4.

Now I think I know all the identifying information I need for my car.

So, when I am giving specs for my car in any questions I ask, how much is best to specify? Can I just say "1993 245"? Or should I add in "automatic"? Will most folks know it has a B230F engine, or should I specify that too, when applicable? I imagine I only need to specify LH 2.4 if I am talking about the fuel system. As a long-time advice giver on the computer side of things, I know how frustrating it is when you want to help someone but they don't know how to give you the information you need. So, I wouldn't want to be "that guy" here.

 

You should say 1993 Volvo 240. Then the person will ask you a number of questions that don't pertain to your car or what you are looking for. Then in the end they will probably give you the wrong part. It's lot of fun! If you use all that information off the VIN you'll royally confuse them...

 

the only people who could possibly make sense from the VIN or its encoded information would be a Volvo dealer's parts counter, and they flat out don't care much about anything over about 10 years old anymores.

ALL US model 240's since 1985 or so have a B230F engine, and are LH injection (LH-II then LH2.2, then LH2.4... LH 3.1 is pretty rare). Pulsair only matters if you're dealing with the pulseair system explicity. Manual transmission 240's are pretty rare in the US, especially in the later years (say, mid 80s or newer), so the automatic is the assumed default unless otherwise specified.

Me, I have a copy of the "VADIS" CD from circa 2003, which was the dealer parts catalog in use back then... I can look up the part numbers for any Volvo from 1975 to 2003, and so I get my parts by their part numbers. Sometimes these numbers have been superceded, the parts sites like Volvo Parts - Authentic OEM Volvo Parts direct from Volvo Parts Webstore | VolvoPartsWebstore.com or TascaParts.com will generally show you the superceded PN and will give you availability info. Common maintenance parts are available aftermarket from places like Car Parts - OEM & Genuine European Replacement Parts Catalog | FCP Euro and Volvo Parts, Accessories and Performance Specialist Since 1963, but even then there's fun like 240's might have one of two different types of steering racks, and the 'inner tie rod ends', a part Volvo themselves never even sold, are different for these two rack types (TRW/CAM and ZF). the ONLY way to know what type you need is to take yours apart and look at it (one has an 'inny' thread, and the other is an 'outie'). How do I know this? had to replace these on my daughter's 1987 and ordered the wrong part, hahahaha.

 

Actually, according to the Bentley book (which I like better than Haynes) on 1983-1993 240s, you can distinguish whether it is a 2.4 or 3.1 based on the 5th and 6th character of the VIN:
- if characters 5 & 6 are 88 you have LH 2.4;
- if characters 5 & 6 are 82 you have LH 3.1.

This is correct for my vehicle (which unfortunately, as mentioned in the link below, means parts, like the throttle position sensor are both more expensive, and harder to obtain).
https://www.brickboard.com/RWD/volvo..._welcomed.html