Howdy chaps...

Just picked up my first Volvo.

A lovely 1987 244 DL 5-speed that I got for a song in great nick.

I have a few questions, as I've been reading around...

1. The chap just finished the rear brakes on the car, and I'm guessing he mucked something up, the pedal has a firm stop, but then fades to the floor. Just wanted to be sure there isn't anything tricky with Volvo's before I go looking around the master cylinder, and the hardlines to the calipers.

2. My fuel gauge isn't operable. Am I correct in this being (most likely) the level unit on one of the fuel pumps in the tank?

3. The seat heaters are INOP. I've read that there are 2 thermostats, and I'm assuming I start with checking those for current?

4. There's a red arrow illuminated on my dash. I'm assuming this is the upshift light? But it's lit, or strobing the entire time? No idea on that one.

5. Last, but not least... the steering in the front end is solid, but there's a (relatively) HUGE dead zone on the wheel where it seems to be completely floating. Does this vehicle use a rack, or is there an adjustment I can make?

Sorry for bombarding... feel free to tell me to toss off!

 

a 1987 240 is unlikely to have ABS (if it did, there would be a big obvious ABS block under the hood, Volvo was real proud of them, so they say ABS in big letters), so the brakes are quite simple classic dual circuit hydraulic brakes with a vacuum power booster.

so... from your brake symptoms, odds are you either need to flush them better, or there's a leaking slave cylinder in one of the calibers.

the fuel level sender is along side the in-tank pump, accessible from an access panel in the trunk. I'd check the circuits with a volt meter before opening it up, it could be a wiring issue between points A and B...

seat heater thermostats are under the seats, I'd be looking for power at the switch first with a volt meter, then seeing if the heater elements conduct (ohm meter).

the upshift indicator is a orange up arrow. not sure what a red arrow is. wait, a manual with overdrive might have both arrows, orange for OD and red for shifting, our 87 240 is a slushbox and only has the overdrive ... volvos like to run at fairly low RPMs so they likely tell you to upshift earlier than you might think. my 89 VW Jetta stick had one of those idiot lights, drove me nuts.

its rack and pinion steering. a dead spot could mean the rack is worn, best fix is probably to find a better rack at a pick and pull, most any 240 should work. there's two different makes of steering racks, as far as I know, they are interchangable. also, a worn inner tie rod ball joint can make for sloppy steering, most noticable going straight. the steering on a 240 should be totally precise and tight if everything is good.

 

If your fuel gauge isn't working and the car is from the rust belt, most likely the sending unit has gone bad. Check your in-tank fuel pump to see if it is running. If the in-tank pump and fuel guage don't work, most likely the hermetic seal where the wires enter the tank has rusted off and there are no connections to either the pump or the sending unit. You can find a nice write-up on how to check all this at this link:

In the Tank - 240 Volvo Tank Pump and Sender


Regarding the seat heaters, the thermostat is actually in the seat itself. Most of the time the wires break off right at the thermostat. Check out this link on how to fix it:

http://cleanflametrap.com/seatHeater.htm

The guy that runs the site is a wealth of information for Volvo 240s. He is quite active over at Brickboard.

 

Hey guys... thanks a TON for this info!

I was thinking what you guys all said were probably the issues. But having that little "Volvoguy" info is nice (like the corroded entry for the pump/sender wires, and the wires snapping at the thermostat).

Also... these links are great! So thanks...

I'm gonna have to do some investigating on the steering. The dead spot is only at TDC (if you will), so I don't think it would be the u joint, and I don't think it would be the wheel gear, because then it would do it again when the wheel is rotated 360* no? So I'm guessing that it's the rack, or the tie rods. I'll start by checking them out, and then get into it from there.

 

The cleanflametrap link for the in-tank pump and sending unit is for the 240 - not 740. So it should be accurate for your car. I followed it for both of my 240s and mine looked just like that (including the corroded hermetic seal).

 

Alright chaps... I just started another thread regarding my fuel sending unit issues...

But on the topic of brakes...

So my pedal had been fading quickly under braking. This was, as I thought, a textbook case of master cylinder failure. There were no indications of leaks, and the system was properly bled via reverse bleeding (one of the phoenix systems). So I figured the MC had an internal leak that was bypassing fluid...

I had also indicated previously, that there was a "red" (though now I know it's definitely orange) "upshift" light, that appears constantly illuminated on my dash. I'm not sure why... I have the 5 speed (not electronic OD) trans.

NEXT to that light, there is some sort of warning light, also orange (I believe it's one to the left)... when I depress the brake pedal, it illuminates. One would assume this has something to do with vacuum? Though it's worth noting, my "brake failure" light does not illuminate.

I'm thinking that my only other option is the brake booster. Thoughts?

 

Fwiw... the pedal isn't difficult to push as though I've lost all "power" in the "power brakes"... I just can't get any pedal pressure at all really? Maybe I mucked up the MC install? But then what's that light? If I keep constantly pumping the brakes (the way you would to bring them up to pressure after a brake job), the car also starts to stall out... hence why I'm thinking vacuum?