Rebuild or stick with it
 

I recently acquired a 88 244dl. The tranny is getting replaced soon. I have a 93 240 wagon that was wrecked but not mechanical damage. The engine in the 244 could use TLC. My question is, should I pull the 93 motor and rebuild with the idea of having this car as long as she'll go or keep the 244 as is with the 93 as a reserve for worst case? I'm going to school for auto auto and am comfortable working on just about anything. Any input is greatly appreciated

the 88 has LH 2.2 fuel injection, while the 93 probably has LH 2.4. (there were a few rare birds with LH3.1).

mechanically the engines are compatible. but unless you want to transplant the newer wiring harness and the control units and everything, you'd best use the 88 intake manifold and injectors and stuff when you stuff the 93 engine in it. do be sure to label everything on the 88 as you unplug it so you can plug it all back in the right place, hter'es a guy here who didn't and is having trouble figuring out what goes where. you'll aslso need to use the 88 distributor, as the LH2.4 system doesn't have a hall sensor ...

​​​​​​And my follow up question is, were all 2.2 distributors rear mounted in the head or were there also versions with the distributor in the front?

Thanks Pierce! Would you recommend rebuilding the bottom end or anything on the 93 engine? If so where would you recommend buying parts?

the bottom end of a B230 engine is bulletproof as long as nothing stupid has been done like running it without oil or coolant. it would have to have something over 500K miles to need bottom end work, and then it would be easier/cheaper to swap a new motor in out of a relatively low mileage wreck.

One last question Pierce, my Vin says the engine is b230fd the distributor is in the block, does that seem correct to you? I'm trying to gather all information before going through the car to inspect wiring and the harness. Thanks

240's pretty much all have the distributor on the block, while 740/940's mostly have it on the end of the camshaft. its easy to convert from one to the other, the 740/940 version has a plate where the 240 distributor goes, and the 240 version has a seal over the hole in hte valve cover where the 740 distributor goes.

i'm not quite sure what the D in FD means, but I don't think its anything significant. only the "T" turbo engine is significantly different.

btw, the 'biodegrable wiring' era for the volvos ended midyear 1987, an 88 should have good wiring unless its been damaged (rodents, shadetree mechanic)