Hi Everyone,

This isn't my first forum, so I've done some digging to see if my questions are answered elsewhere. Apologies if I've missed anything. I've read the speedo discussions, and I copped out; I got a GPS system off eBay for $50, and viola! Speedo!

All in all, Ingrid runs very well. Starts right up, idles pretty smoothly, no odd/disturbing sounds from ahead of the windshield. No oil consumption, 20-25.5 mpg.... pretty darn good for a car that's about to flip 190 kilomiles.

So, the big question; I read on line that this car should do 0-60 in less than ten seconds. I saw a video review of what seemed to be an unmodified 940 turbo that got 0-60 in 7.8 seconds. (» 1991 Volvo 940 SE Test Drive). Mine takes all of 20 seconds. She's slow enough that I wasn't sure there was really a turbo undo the hood, but the VIN indicates there is and on line pictures of the turbo engine look like mine. The manual's comments on the turbo boost gauge make me wonder if there's something screwy going on with the turbo. My boost gauge responds to throttle inputs, but it's always on the left half of the arc; it never goes past vertical, at any RPM or throttle position. Should it ever go past the vertical position?

Part of me says I'm beating the EPA mileage estimates by a fair margin, so leave well enough alone. But I live in the rocky mountains of northern New Mexico. There are several hills I travel regularly on which Ingrid has real trouble just maintaining the speed limit, let alone keeping up with traffic. I'll sacrifice some MPG to be able to climb those hills more quickly. So, should the boost gauge go past vertical? Are there common tweaks/improvised "repairs" that could produce the gauge behavior and lack of power I'm describing?

 

the turbo gauge is straight up at 0 PSI boost, its to the left with a negative manifold pressure (eg, a vacuum), and its to the right with positive boost. max boost on a stock turbo is about 40% of the distance between straight up and the right end of the white bar, this is about 7-8 PSI. if you're not getting any boost, you may have a dead turbo, its waste-gate may be stuck open, your intake air plumbing may be loose/disconnected, etc.

here's the turbo from a 1991 940SE


that vacuum line connected to the right (front) side of the turbo is for the compressor bypass, it shuts off the boost when you shut off the throttle quickly, and this vacuum line comes off the intake manifold vacuum 'forest'. not visible under/behind the turbo, theres an additional short line that connects from the compressor (silver) side to the waste gate actuator, which pulls on a short rod that goes to the turbine (rusty) side and opens the waste gate in said exhaust turbine when there's too much boost.

 

You definitely have a turbo issue by all indications. Looks like someone has disabled something eliminating a lot of boost, and so you get better mileage and low power. Hard to say more without seeing the car. Is this an 940SE?

 

Ooooor, I might be terminally stoopid.

I double checked the VIN code, and yes, it says I have a turbo engine, but basically none of what you're showing in that picture is present under my hood. I think I've got the B230F engine, despite what the VIN says. The timing belt was replaced not too long ago, and there's a stick about the timing belt on the cover. That new sticker covers another that, from what I can see, says B230F with nothing after the "F." Guess I wasn't looking closely enough at those other engine pictures. Dang it. Hmmm...

Thanks for the info, folks!

 

a turbo has the battery on the left side (your right as you face the engine) and air intake box on the right side (your left). a non-turbo has the battery on the right, and air intake on the left.

anyways, sounds like someone transplanted your engine if the VIN suggests its a turbo. a turbo definitely says B230FT on the valve cover sticker.

my 92 740T (same as 940T)


(not the same car as the turbo pic above, but that other car is A) gone away, and B) lost the engine sticker on the timing cover). note there's some subtle changes in 1992+, like no mechanical fan, larger radiator, different version turbo, etc.

 

Yeah, you've definitely got some plumbing there that's absent from mine. And as you say, the battery/air box are switched. $%^&.

I'm guessing that even if I could find a turbo itself for less than $1000, all the assorted bits (like aforementioned plumbing) would make adding a turbo a pretty expensive proposition. I'm really not happy about this. I really like the car, but the performance at this altitude..........

 

the turbo has different pistons, valves, cam... its lower compression, which the boost makes up for. higher flow fuel pump, bigger injectors. different cat and exhaust downpipe. the turbo cars have a heavy duty version of the transmission, too. they usually have bigger front brakes, and better shocks.

its perfectly OK to put one of these in 2nd gear to go up a grade faster, at least til you're revving up near the redline. sure, the engine will sound louder, but it won't self destruct, as long as you have decent oil and ATF in it and your cooling system is in good shape. watch the temp gauge, if it starts to climb towards the top, back off. if you don't have a tachometer, wind out 2nd gear til it hits the rev limiter, and you'll know where the redline is

btw, a fully remanufactured mitsubishi TD04 turbo is only about $700... but its all that other stuff, its not a drop-in, be much easier to find a turbo wagon... my ideal would be a white 1994 940 T wagon, with a grey interior.

 

I figured there might be compression/piston/transmission differences. Good to know. Shocks? This thing has but a distant memory of shocks. Which is fine with me; this is the high desert, and there are some great roads.... that are dirt and have serious washboarding. Worn shocks just help a car float.

I have a tach, and in the several weeks I've been driving it I've never seen the temp gauge climb above the center, once it's warmed up. I just don't like to flog an engine, for both fuel efficiency and reliability reasons. But maybe I just need to relax a bit and stomp on it!

 

we have a non-turbo 1987 240, has been flogged for a half million miles, give or take some (odometer broke at 250k many many years ago). until you REALLY flog it, like push it at sustained speeds of 90mph with a roof carrier and mountain bikes on top, the gas mileage really doesn't suffer that much, it stays in the 25-28 MPG range nearly always.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions on the seat control button?


Am I correct that the Sony 10-disk changer in the trunk is a factory option?

 

afaik, the volvo factory changers said volvo on them, and I think they were made by Alpine (although I won't vouch for that anymore) any such sony is probably on an control adapter/converter. I've long since gotten rid of any factory audio in my 20+ year old cars.

and, what about the seat control button?

 

Of all the Volvos that have passed through my hands, and there have been many,(7 right now), I'll take and keep the non turbos over the turbos any time! Better economy, much easier to service, much less mess, last longer, (transmissions especially), better all around drivability. Now, you gotta keep them nice and well tuned up, but overall, much nicer personality than a turbo...

Sony CD, not a "factory" option...
What's wrong with the seat?

 

Regarding the seat, I pushed the big red "Stop" button. I can't figure out how to reactivate the seat controls.

 

the red stop button is a toggle. push it again and they should work.

those switches and that whole seat controller board have a tendancy to crap out. there's a relay on there which controls the power, its possible that relay has died, but its soldered to the board, and its almost impossible to repair.

good news is, you can swap any 740/760/940/960 seat, although you might have to swap electrical connectors where it plugs into the car. the seat belt hardware on some of the '60s is different, but it can be swapped on the seat frames, too. my 1992 740 T has the seats from a later 960

 

Wow. I knew as I pressed that button that there was a chance I'd regret it...

 

my son's 1991 940SE wagon had those style power seats with the big red button and no memory... they were broken, I got them partially working by figuring out the circuit and soldering a jumper wire around the relay (disabling the STOP switch)... some of the direction buttons were still funky, such that they required wiggling and stuff to get the seat to move in that direction.

that 940SE's seats were SO trashed, that when I pulled the worn out manual seats from my 740, and put some newer 960 seats into my 740 (including wiring the power drivers seat), I put the worn out 740 manual seats in the 940SE as they weren't as badly trashed as the SE's original seats. wrong color, awwwwwww. we sold that car to a kid who wanted it for a road trip to n'awleans.

 

those seat switches are till '91, and are usually a pain... just try to get the red "stop" button to pop up, keep tapping it, it should unstick or help it with something to come up and then never touch it again.

 

yeah, 92+ uses a completely different switch with 3 memory buttons. the new style switches themselves are seemingly more reliable, (although mine has a dead memory, ah well). the memory version moves the power control circuitry to a box of relays under the seat

 

Well, I've had it a few weeks now, and I feel like I'm learning to drive it more effectively. I've even found myself going faster than I'd intended once or twice! Only on flats or downhills, though.

My GF really likes the car. :P

I got tired of driving through a blizzard of clearcoat flakes, so last weekend I sanded the hood down (not to metal, just into the paint) and painted it with some rattle cans from Auto Zone. It turned out pretty well. Well enough that I might even get ambitious and add a clear coat! Heh heh.

I'm really starting to like this thing.

Just an FYI update... Thanks again for the help, folks!