I may replace the water pump as well, just as a precautionary measure because i have no idea how old it is. But the fan clutch is definitely getting replaced

 

I'm not familiar with a 92 240 so how is the heater valve opened. Is it a cable or is it done by vacuum. Do I assume it is an in line valve and if so if you remove it and install a straight through nipple will you get full heat. These cooling systems are simple and this should not be as difficult as all of these post describe. Also if the radiator mechanical fan were sized it would be noisy but it will not make the car run cool.

 

the older 240's had a cable operated heater valve thats just to the right of the gas pedal, this heater valve also had a thermostat element, and if that element goes bad, the valve never really opens up. afaik, the later ones did away with the thermostat thing, but were still cable actuated.

i replaced our 1987's heater valve with this neat kit:
Volvo 240 heater valve instructions 1348252
EuroPartsHouse, Bargain parts for European cars!

 

yes the heating system is very simple on these cars but from the looks of it the cooling system was a little neglected by the previous owner. the reservoir is filthy and you can barely see the coolant level and the system is just filled with all kinds of gunk. as far as the fan goes, the clutch has failed so the fan spins freely, just enough to pull air through the radiator at all times. I want to look into maybe an electric fan option, but until then I may just replace it for now.

 

I was unaware some had thermostats! Very interesting. Mine has already been replaced once... I found the old one in an old box of parts and it appears the new one is failing also. (It leaks a little bit) I contacted IPD and they said they have an all brass valve which probably performs better so I'm going to probably replace that as well. it leaked enough I assume when the system had built up pressure from overheating and now my carpet is wet 😒

 

fyi, that kit from EuroPartsHouse uses the heater valve from a 1980s/90s Dodge Pickup, I believe. very common easy to find cheap part, but the kit also comes with hose adapters and stuff so its a turnkey install.

 

sweet, ok awesome, I'll check that out

 

That changes things.

If your fan spins freely, that means your fan is NOT the problem for minimal heat. You may find issues in the summer, and your AC not working very well, and/or your engine overheating, but that's a problem for another day...

The fact that your cooling system was neglected for so long probably has some effect on your heat, but at this point, you should definitely follow the advice of others and replace your thermostat/heater control valve assembly.

Before all of that...you need to flush your cooling system and replace it with a new fill of 50/50.

 

So did you ever get this fixed or did you just junk the car.

 

Waiting on the fan clutch. think that should do it. but I would never junk my volvo over a heat issue anyway!!!!

 

Somehow I don't think this will solve the problem. As a test why don't you remove the fan and just bolt up the pulley and start it up. When the engine temp hits the middle of the gauge see if you get hot are out of the heater. The canter duct temps should be around 120-140* F. Here's some info

Hayden - Fan Clutch Tutorial - Part 1