Hi, everyone. I'm Shelley. I'm new to this forum and I have a few problems with my 1989 240DL. One problem is my overdrive doesn't work. I checked if it was turned on and it was. Another problem is the cooling system. Whether I drive at highway speed or at a standstill, the temp needle goes up close to the red zone. Sometimes I have to put the heater on before it will drop down to a normal range. The third problem is the engine sputters when I accelerate, but sounds normal during idle and when I'm cruising. I would really appreciate some help before I spend too much money on it

 

the automatic overdrive is DISABLED when the yellow up arrow light is lit. turning the light off while cruising at a steady speed anywheres north of about 45mph, and you should hear the RPM drop significantly (my 87 240 sedan goes from about 3000rpm in 3rd to 2000rpm in OD at about 60MPH).

Another test of the OD, press the button so the light is ON (OD disabled), and at a full stop, put the car in first gear. gently accelerate, and when you think the engine is revving higher than normal cruise, shift to 2nd, the RPMs should notably drop, continue gentle acceleration, shift to "D" and it should drop again, continue, and at about 50 or 60mph, press the OD button and you should feel the final shift into OD/4th. yes, you'll need a empty road that will let you accelerate from a top to 50MPH+ to do this.

re: the overheating... (BAD news!) does your car have an electric fan, or a mechanical fan ? the former is attached to the radiator, the latter is attached to the engine via a centrifugal governor. I'd suspect either the fan or its controlling mechanism (electrical or mechanical), or the thermostat which controls water flow to the radiator. The electric fans (honestly, I don't know if they were used on 89 240's) is controlled by a couple thermostats in the radiator, one for low speed, the other for high speed. Actually, since cranking up the heater cools the car, I'm thinking thermostat, not fans... if the thermostat is stuck closed, water doesn't get to the radiator at all.

your third problem could be a lot of things, but my first guess would be insufficient fuel at higher demands, which leads me to suspect A) fuel pumps B) fuel filter or C) fuel pressure regulator.

 

I've tried pressing the OD button while I was driving and there is no difference even though the arrow light comes on and off. The fan is mechanical and my husband replaced this recently as well as the thermostat

 

ok, if the light is coming on/off, then the electrical circuit is OK, and the problem is either inside the transmission itself or in the overdrive solenoid that goes into the transmission.

The OD relay is somewhat expensive, and kind of a pain to replace due to where it is. IPDusa sells a kit that just disables the OD disable entirely, so the button becomes useless, and in drive, the engine will shift into OD automatically. This is cheaper than a new OD solenoid, but frankly, I LIKE being able to disable OD for downgrades, and such.

when the car is fully warmed up, and with the engine idling, check the transmission dip stick. not only the transmission oil level, but also its quality... if it is brown or black, or if it smells burned, you're way overdue for a transmission flush. its not as simple as engine oil where you just drain and replace, transmission oil doesn't all drain out, it takes multiple fillings/drainings to replace all of it. The alternative is a transmission service from a tranny shop with experience in import transmissions (these volvos use AW70 transmissions which were used on several rear wheel drive toyotas in the 80s). The tranny shop would drop and clean the pan, which contains a whole pile of hydraulic mechanisms that help the transmission shift, but this service costs a few $hundred, and isn't guaranteed to fix things. anyways, after a thorough tranmission flush, there's a 50% chance the OD innards will unstick themselves and start working again. Some folks have reported that doing several ATF changes over a period of weeks unstuck things on an old neglected transmission.

 

I checked the transmission fluid. It is red and doesn't smell burnt. An update on the heating problem: I was driving home and the needle was staying just under the halfway mark. Then when I set off from a complete stop, the needle went to three quarters and soon went down to one quarter. Could that be a sensor problem?

 

sounds like a sticky thermostat to me. I dunno.

there's a circuit stuck into the back of the dashboard called a 'temperature compensator', which holds the needle dead center when the temperature is in the normal operating range, it only goes up above normal if its getting rather hot. now, its possible someone disabled this (IPDusa sells a kit for 240's to disable this, so the needle shows more realistic temperatures and fluctuates during the range of normal driving).

I'm assuming there is full coolant, and when the engine is runniing, you can see coolant going into the overflow tank via the skinny hose, and the coolant is clean clear green? you must be sure to use correct coolant, PHOSPHATE FREE ethylene glycol coolants. specifically do NOT use 'dexcool', the GM stuff. also, always use distilled water to dilute coolant concentrate.

 

SHELLY71, I had the same overheating problem. Changed coolant, thermostat, hoses, water pump, and finally a new radiator. I live in Phoenix Az and right now we're hitting the high temperatures(117f today). My 1988 240 Volvo Wagon is now running fine. The needle stays right @ 9 oclock, even with AC on. Buy a new radiator. I thought about having my old one re cleaned but it looked very worn and just to be on the safe side I had to go with a new Radiator.
Like Pierce says, you could have the Coolant sensor checked as well as compensation board before you throw another $100-200 into a new Radiator. Good Luck

 

I'm having similar problems, so I'll jump in here.

My 88 240 dl was having issues with the needle not getting high enough, but I did replace the thermostat lately and the needle was hitting 9 oclock for a while, before I replaced the thermostat the needle would hardly move up at all.

For the last little while it has again had trouble getting higher than about 7:30. I'm really at a loss as to what this could be? Thermostat gone bad? I have also replaced the coolant sensor in the last 3 months. Maybe the 7:30 is the new normal? The needle always hits the same spot on the gauge and stops.

I think that my light is out on my dash OD. What bulb is used in the dash for the OD up arrow?

 

I believe those are volvo part number 966326, but the bulbs almost never go out. far more likely, the OD relay, or the wiring to the button on the shifter is bad. if you press the button with the key on, engine off, and in gear, do you hear a relay clicking? The OD relay is probably somewhere behind the air vents in the center console, accessible if you remove the glovebox and reach around behind the center. it should be relay part number # 3523804 or 1347764, and I can't remember what color it is.

 

Start your own thread. It's quite rude to butt into someone else's thread with your own problems.