Hey everyone, I've got a few questions. First let me start out with the story. A friend of mine has a 1994 Volvo 940 sedan, and it has been parked for a year, maybe even 2 years outside. I was told that it was "running when parked". I was just wondering if there were any special precautions I should take before putting a new battery in and turning it over and attempting to start it. Also, is it possible for me to work on this car by myself, as I consider myself to pretty knowledgeable about working on vehicles. Lastly, how expensive are parts for this car if I do all of the work myself, without taking it to a mechanic? Any feedback would be appreciated, and thank you in advance.

 

And I recognize that I posted this in the wrong area, please do not kill me for this, I just can't figure out how to delete this thread....sorry :/

 

Hi and welcome to the forum.

No big deal about thread placement, we don't usually delete them, just hard for people to find them when in the wrong place and you end up getting no replies.

I use to own the 940's predecessor, the 740. It was by far the most reliable, lowest maintenance car that I have ever owned. I had the car for about 17 years and put over 400,000 miles on it. Cost me about $176 per year including tires and oil changes. Very easy to work on, so easy that you will wonder why anyone would ever take it to the dealer (maybe if one is allergic to tools, oil or something like that).

As with any car that has sat for more than a year, fluid changes, heat in the fuel tank, and a battery and it should fire right up.

 

Thanks! I know some forums thrash really bad if a thread is started in the section, haha.

I think you answered every question I had though, and I'm pretty sure I'll buy the car from my buddy, he only wants $700 for it and may actually take a little bit less. I'm going to look at it either later today or sometime tomorrow before I make up my mind for sure though. If I decide to buy it, I'm sure y'all will see a lot more of me haha, and thanks again for the help, rspi!

 

940's rock.

if its been sitting two years, I do believe I'd change the BRAKE FLUID before driving it more than a couple test drives around town. the tires are likely cracking if its been outside undriven that long, so new tires.

then I'd run a few tanks of gas through it to make sure its running ok and get it nice and warm a few times to boil any moisture out, then change the coolant, oil, and transmission fluid.

tons of parts are available for these. I would avoid the likes of Uro and other chinese cheap-part brands, as they are junk. Thankfully, most of the OE suppliers to Volvo sell compatible parts, since all 740/940 were nearly identical for 12 years.

 

Ok, those are some good ideas, thanks! What about putting some type of lubricant in each cylinder through the spark plug holes? My father said that's what they used to do for any vehicle that had been sitting up for a while just for good measure.

 

You got the most important tip of all--DO take out the plugs and squirt some oil in the holes. Then hand rotate with a wrench the engine several times before actually trying to start it. Crank it with the coil wire off for 20-30 seconds, then replace wire, attempt to start.

Coolant, brake fluid, tranny oil, all nice to do but secondary...

 

Alright, thanks lev, thats what I'll do then! I'll report back on here when I go look at it later on today!

 

note you should never turn an engine backwards, always forward. I believe the crank on a redblock rotates clockwise when you're facing the front of the engine.

 

Thanks Pierce, another little helpful hint, haha.

 

Well I went and checked it out and we put oil in the cylinders and I turned over freely. When we went to start it up and it would turn over but it wouldnt hit, acted like it didn't have spark or wasn't getting any gas. It may just be something as simple as it may be completely out of gas. Do y'all have any other ideas of what it may be, like a bad relay or could it be something simple that I over looked?

 

did you check if it had gas? crank it some, then pull a spark plug, see if its wet or smells like fumes, if it is, then you got gas and it may be a spark problem. put plug back in the wire (but not the engine) and hold the metal side of the plug against a ground (like a valve cover bolt), and have someone crank, see if you get spark.

 

Nah, I didn't even check if it had gas, I had already gotten aggravated, so we just left. I'm almost 100% positive that it doesn't have any gas in it though, plus the car is on an incline with the rear of the car being lower than the front, so thats enough for the car to not get enough gas I think.

I honestly did not even think to check if it had spark that way, it totally slipped my mind haha, I'll check all of that when I take a ride back up there, I'll also bring me some gas just in case it is empty. Thanks for the help Pierce!

 

the fuel pumps don't care what angle the car is at, the booster pump in the tank moves gas to the main pump, and the main pump develops 42-44 PSI at the injection rail, the fuel is pumped in a closed loop that returns back to the gas tank. The pumps should run about 1 second when you turn the key on, then stop, until you crank the engine over... when the engine stops cranking, the pumps stop 1 second later.

 

Ohh ok, well thats nice to know, we listened and we did here the fuel pump cut on right after we turned the key on and then stopped a second or two later, so the pump cuts on. Now I just need to see if it has gas in it, or if the filter and or fuel lines have a clog in them. And of course I need to check to see if its getting spark or not. I'm not sure when I'll be back up that way though, hopefully tomorrow!

 

On a completely separate note, unrelated to 940s.
You own a 3000GT! Fellow 3/S owner! I have a '95 Stealth.
If you do your own work on your 3000GT you can do it on a Volvo. Super simple.
Talledega... who are you? Lol. Are you on the forums?

 

Haha, nice, and yeah I just got finished rebuilding the 3000 a few months ago. Yeah I'm on 3si.org, username is DillonCrider1, my names Dillon Crider, I'm actually from Ohatchee, but no one ever knows where that's at haha @blue91sl

 

I also see that you own a 86 Cressida, the person who has this Volvo also has a 82 Cressida. I think I'm gonna buy the 940 and the Cressida both for $1100 or less, and both of them need minimal work to get running again.

 

The '82 should be a 5M-E. Pretty well bulletproof, but SLOW.
If you want the car to be anything more than a daily driver, you might want to consider junking that engine and doing a 7M-GTE or 2JZ swap. 7M is out of the 3rd gen Supra and can be had with all the required parts for around $1-1500. '82 is probably open-diff, automatic. If you 7M swap, the W58 out of a non-turbo 3rd gen Supra is a direct fit and bolt-on, but the R154 out of a turbo car will handle more power. Only downside is that you have to modify the trans tunnel a LITTLE.
But if you just want a daily, you can't beat them. A lot of stuff is hard to find, but only about as bad as the 3000GT. If you ever do a head gasket, use an OEM replacement for at least the gasket.
But anywho. Gonna add you on Facebook now. Lol

 

Yeah, I mean for the time being everything I have is pretty much daily driven, just for the fact that I already do stupid stuff in my lil toyota, and it is superrrrr slow, as in less than 80 hp from the factory slow, but its fun to drive lol. Later on I would like to put a small block Chevy in something just for fun as a sleeper haha. Are the 82 cressidas rwd? Just wondering because I've never messed with cressidas at all, never known anyone that had one either.