Hi all, I'm a bit new here so bear with me a bit.

I have a 1991 Volvo 740 Turbo sedan (5 speed manual), but it has recently come into a few problems. I was just wondering how I can go across fixing some of these problems myself. So I'll just list whats what and keep it brisk.

-Oil leaks in the engine near the Turbo. I still need to take a look at were the oil leaks are generating from, is there any were in particular i should look? Theirs also a leak coming from valve cover.
-The car also has something wrong with the hanger bearing, I'm not too sure what the mechanic just wrote it down on the sheet.
-There is a bit of a problem with the electronics in the car as well (dash lights are dim, wipers, DRL. usual.
-One other problem is there is some play in the driveshaft were the drivetrain meets the transmission. Since I need a new tranny and can get a good deal on it I was wondering if the new tranny would fix the problem. This may also go hand in hand with the hanger bearing.
-Most of the other problems are cosmetic and just need some fiddling to fix, its the mechanical I'm more worried about. I was just wondering if the car was worth fixing, or should I just scrap it and maybe look into another.
Thanks ahead of time! Tom

 

How many miles? Do you plan on doing the work yourself or paying someone else?

 

The car has just over 300,000KM on the odometer. I plan on fixing most of the problems myself if I can, but I'm a bit new to the mechanic world and am eager to learn. Just wondering what will it take. The car still runs and drives now, I just would like to keep it that way.

 

re: the dashboard electrics, I'd check the two dashboard grounding points, which on a 7xx are near the lower door hinges on both sides. most stuff is grounded to the passenger side, except a few critical systems are on the drivers side, so I'd go for the passenger ground terminal first.

re: the drive shaft play, is this rotary or up/down/side-to-side? the front half of the driveshaft has a bearing towards the rear, these wear out as do the rubber bushings they are mounted in, both need to be replaced about every 200k miles or 10 years in my experience. the bearing on the back of the tranny is part of said tranny and would get replaced with the tranny rebuild.

not sure what you mean by 'hangar bearing'.

 

'91 740 with a stick is a rare car, especially in No. America so you have a relatively worthy "enthusiast" piece...

Oil leaks are not a big deal, definitely something you can do if you are so inclined...

The HANGER is probably the rubber doughnut or Guibo disk which is no big deal, $20, it connects the driveshafts together and you can address it when putting in the new tranny. All the driveline play should be taken care of with a newish tranny, all the associated pieces/mounts are minor.

Your light issues may be due to an aftermarket stereo improperly installed. Just look at the wiring or get it revisited by a stereo installer...

If you have the tranny sourced, the rest is easy. When the tranny is out get the Rear Main Seal replaced.

 

I agree, 91 with a manual. Sounds like a keeper as long as there is no bad rust problems.

 

The rear bearing can be replaced by yourself - it doesn't even require removal of the transmission. Here you can find a description:

Transmission. Automatic AW70 and ZF

I have done the bushing & seal myself. It took me an afternoon. The most amount of time went to cleaning the old gasket material off.

Really, on these cars, if the body and interior are in good condition and you are handy with tools, it really saves money to fix the car rather than scrap and buy another. However, if you take your car to the shop for all repairs, its probably not worth it.

 

Suggestion on the oil leak near the turbo--from recent experience dismantling turbo components at wrecking yards. I've seen instances where the compressor INLET hose from the MAF has not been properly secured to the turbo. Looks OK from the top and the hose clip is tight, but under back pressure oil has obviously sprayed out of the bottom of this connection and made a horrible mess all over the turbo and engine. I wonder whether these cars ended up at the wrecking yard because this simple problem looked like a costly disaster.