Just bought a 81' Volvo 245 DL, its my first car and im already in love.
It has about 271 thousand miles but runs like a champ, only one previous owner who was meticulous about maintaining it.

I feel like this car has alot of life still in it and i am just curious about the types of things i can do to keep it on the road, I know regularly changing the oil and all of the good stuff is essential but if anybody has some tips or feedback they could give me i would be most appreciative.

 

Welcome to the forum, moved your post as although you are a new member since you asked about tips and tricks about your 245 it's better to ask other owners.

 

do a FULL service every 60k miles including bosch or ngk spark plugs, bougicord spark plug wire set, bosch distributor cap and rotor, new air filter, new timing belt, and a thorough inspection of everything. every other one of thse (120k miles) do the water pump and thermostat too, inspect the camshaft and crankshaft oil seals, replace if needed.... use real volvo parts wherever possible, or OE brands (like bougicord who makes the volvo wire sets). this is especially important on seals and rubber stuff, the chinese rubber quality is horrible.

annually, flush the brake fluid, coolant, clean the flame trap (volvo's PVC thing). biannually flush the ATM if its an automatic transmission. It wouldn't hurt to replace the differential oil if you have no history of when its been done, thats a once every 200K miles kinda thing.

 

79 242 DL

check out k-jet.org as it pertains to your fuel system and lots of diagrams and technical data. No forum section though, but this forum is probably your best bet as these enthusiast and real life mechanics have good advice and experience.

On that model I would change, if it has not been done:

timing belt
water pump
tune up
fuel filter
O2 sensor as it idles better
full tank of gas with MARVEL MYSTERY OIL 4oz.
DIFFERENTIAL GEAR OIL A MUST WITH LUCAS OIL STABILIZER
IF YOU HAVE A 4SPEED WITH OR WITHOUT OD: ADD AUTOTRANS FLUID 1QUART OR UNTIL IT DRAINS OUT OF FILL HOLE
TRANSMISSION MOUNT: EASY 25 MINUTE REPAIR..AND CHEAP PART SMOOTHER GEAR SHIFT.
SPRING FROM TRANSMISSION TO CLUTCH FORK: 2 DOLLARS....

NOTE: LOOK AT YOUR MAIN FUEL PUMP AND SEE IF IT'S THE OLD DINOSAUR PUMP THAT IS BLACK...IF SO GET READY TO REPLACE SOON AS IT DATES BACK AS EARLY AS THE CAR ITSELF. THE NEW PUMP IS DIFFERENT...AND A PUMP FROM AN 84 AND UNDER VOLVO 240 WILL DO.

 

Ok Perfect, this is exactly the kind of info i need. Thank you guys!

I do know that it has just sat for the last couple years at one of my uncles buds shop, i know they replaced the heat system(which i hear can be a pain).
but since i have no knowledge on when it was all serviced im very appreciative of those things you guys have mentioned, i will be sure to check it all out.

When i purchased the car about 3 weeks ago all of the original Volvo service manuals came with it! so i should be able to figure out where everything is =)

My car also has a towing package, which brings me to wonder, what is it really capable of towing since it only has about 115 horses?

Once again thank you guys, i look forward to learning more about this stuff.

 

they are rated at towing 3500 lbs with trailer brakes, or 1500 lbs without. you shouldn't have over 150 lbs on the hitch ball. do NOT put them in overdrive while towing.

 

Not that i have anything to tow i was more of just curious but definitely good to know.

 

I seem to be having trouble finding where to change the trans fluid, any ideas?

 

which transmission do you have? if its an automatic, typically there's a drain plug on the bottom, but that only drains about 1/2 of it (get the tranny fully warmed up by driving 15-20 miles before dumping)... drain it into a clean pan then pour it into a jug that has measuring marks on it, and replace the plug and add that much fresh ATF to the transmission (via a tranny funnel into the transmission dip stick tube).

now comes the fun part. you disconnect the upper transmission cooler hose at the radiator, and attach a piece of clear hose, and run this into your measuring jug. start the engine, and it will slowly pump ATF out that hose. for each quart that comes out, add a quart of fresh ATF through the funnel, repeat this til the stuff coming out is clear red fresh. figure on using 10-12 quarts total. engine off, reconnect the cooler hose, take the car for a test drive to warm the fluid back up, and with the engine idling, check the tranny dipstick and top off if you're short.

I've never had a manual volvo, so someone else will have to chime in with that procedure, an 81 manual is probably a 4-speed with an electric J type overdrive (similar to a 1960s/70s british sports car, its the same OD unit).

 

I'VE DONE IT ON A MANUAL.....PIECE OF Prinsesstårta (princess Swedish CAKE)

0.8 quarts Type F automatic transmission oil
crawl under driver side....
you will see two square plugs/screws on the red part of transmission
top one is to fill
bottom is to drain.....
teflon tape the plugs
NOTE: BEFORE YOU RE-FILL GO TO PASSENGER SIDE AND UNDO THE SPEEDOMETER CABLE GOING TO THE TRANSMISSION...UNDO THE LITTLE ALLEN SCREW AND PULL ALL OF THE GEAR HOUSING OFF...YOU WILL SEE AN O-RING REPLACE O-RING OR APPLY A SILICONE/GASKET MAKER STUFF AROUND THE O-RING AREA...CLEAN THE TRANSMISSOIN PART SO BOTH SURFACES WILL BE DRY...RE INSERT THE GEAR AND OTHER SCREW...
TRANSMISSION OIL SPEWS OUT THROUGH THE O-RING IF WORN OUT OR MISSING.
I USE THE QUART OF TRANSMISSION OIL WITH A SPRAY BOTTLE NOZZLE ATTACHED AND SET TO STREAM AND SQUIRT THE OIL THROUGH THE TOP PLUG UNTIL IT OOZES OUT..IT IS HARD BECAUSE THERE IS NO ROOM THERE...UNLESS YOU HAVE SOME KIND OF HAND PUMP.. WILL TAKE FOREVER....OR USE A SMALL OILER CAN MUCH EASIER I JUST DID NOT HAVE NOTHING ON HAND.

 

ok, i had the feeling it was under the car, thank you guys!

oh and i mine is a manual, 4 speed with overdrive. something i havnt really seen before but what do i know? this is my first car. =)

 

manual transmissions tend to need transmission oil changed MUCH less often than automatics as they have no bands or clutches to slip. however, overdrives do have a band, and they share the oil with the transmission, so... yeah, should be changed once in a long while, like maybe every 100K miles or something. there's no flush, its just drain, and replace.

note you can enable/disable your OD without using your clutch as long as you feather the throttle (eg, don't engage it under full throttle, back off, flip it into OD and then get back on it) as the overdrive is a planetary gear similar to an automatic.

those 4-speed + OD transmissions are actually quite a bit more robust then the later M47 5-speed transmissions.

 

good to know, learn something new everyday =)

 

Something that is alarming to me is this grinding noise coming from my front brakes, even after i let of the pedal i can hear it.
Iv heard it could be a build up of brake dust but im not sure, any ideas?

 

inspect the brakes. loosen wheel bolts, jack up front of car, jackstand under frame, remove wheel, inspect the rotor and brake pads. spin the rotor by hand to see where the noise is coming from. replace wheel, lower car, repeat on other side.

 

I checked out my brakes today, they are completely shot, looks like i need to replace the rotors and calipers.

 

What did you see wrong that made you determine that your brakes are shot? Calipers rarely need replacing. Most of the time it is just the pads and rotors that need replacing.

 

Why the calipers , , , what is it you saw that makes you think that

Usually if the caliper slides or mounts aren't lubricated properly when it was last installed it might hang up and if so the brake pad on the piston side of the caliper will wear out very rapidly. One side the pad is good and the other is gone or metal to metal.

Removing, cleaning and lubricating will usually clear that up if that's what you are seeing.

 

volvo has used a number of different brake calibers and rotor combinations, you need to measure your rotors to be sure the replacement parts are the right ones. just going by year/model is insufficient.

 

Yeah i saw in the service manuals all the different types rotors and whatnot, my uncle who works for phil smart told me not to replace the calipers but just the rotors and pads, hopefully ill be able to get it jacked up today to clean up the calipers and see if they need work.