Hello everyone. New member here from central NJ. I recently received a new (to me) 240 with 318k miles. I'm completely in love with it and am keeping it in the garage as a project car / second car for long drives. My goal is to keep it going for many hundreds of thousands of miles and keep it in the best condition possible. I'm not planning any kind of modification.

There are one or more engine oil leaks, a differential leak, and I think there's also a transmission leak (automatic).

As of now my first shopping list consists of: upgraded oil filler cap gasket from IPD, valve cover gasket, oil pan gasket, transmission pan gasket, transmission filter, new flame trap (I've already cleaned the old one) and Bosch distance plus oil filter. All parts will be Elring or Genuine Volvo.

I'm also planning to change all fluids (ATF, engine oil, differential, brake fluid, power steering fluid) to Amsoil when I change the gaskets. (And Volvo antifreeze)

I'm posting 5 pictures I took of the undercarriage and engine compartment to see if anyone has a different opinion on the parts I should be ordering / replacing. I also included a picture of the rear strut. I'm unsure if the struts are original or replacements--I thought the original 240 struts were Sachs.

I would also like everyone's opinion on adding some Marvel Mystery Oil in with the current oil (standard non-synthetic with less than 50 miles on it), as I'm already planning to add it to the gas.

Thank you in advance for any help.

 

Pretty wet under there but nothing you haven't covered in your post, just a LOT of deferred maintenance!

Make that oil filter MANN, not Bosch whatever... Amsoil? If you must...
Stay away from "mystery" oil, not necessary. But with these miles and all the signs of neglect, I'd take a compression test just for peace of mind.
Check the Oil Separator under the flame trap. With all these leaks it may be plugged.
Shocks look like replacements.
Yes, good idea to stay away from cheap Asian replacement parts.

 

The Bosch Distance Plus filters seem to be the best for the price, as Walmart carries them. The one for this car was $8 cheaper than the M1 at Autozone and is a comparable filter. After a few shorter cleaning changes with better filters I might order a bulk stock of Mann filters.

Does the Amsoil seem like overkill?

I will definitely check the oil separator next time I'm fiddling with the car. Thanks for the advice.

 

unless you're SURE those gaskets are leaking, I wouldn't replace them. our 240 has over 400k miles on it, probably 500k by now (odometer is broken) and they've never been replaced. what HAS been replaced is the camshaft and crankshaft seals. clean the motor with gunk, then see where fresh oil is leaking before going around randomly replacing stuff.

 

It's quite clear--as can be seen in the photos I posted--that the oil cap, valve cover gasket, and rear differential are all leaking. The gasket on the oil cap is hard as a rock. The only superfluous item might be the oil pan gasket, as the auto trans gasket would have to be replaced when changing the filter. I'm changing the oil pan gasket because I would like to see if there's anything unsightly in the oil pan.

The engine bay will be thoroughly cleaned after this first wave of work is finished.

 

yeah, step 1 should be clearing the crankcase ventilation. the oil down the front of the oil pan looks like its form the crankshaft main bearing seal, these blow out if the PCV (aka flame trap) is all flugged up.

the differential leak looks to be coming from the speedo sensor.

small leaks can cover the whole thing with oil... I had a leak on the turbo oil return on my 745T, it was dribbling down the side of the block, then blowing back all over the oil pan and underside of the transmission.

 

I'll probably replace the timing belt early, sometime next year, and do the seals at the same time. I might do it as early as spring.

I was thinking the same thing about the speed sensor. Do you know if anywhere sells a seal for just that piece? The sensor itself seems to be around $150.