I purchased a volvo 240 a year ago for 500$. Its got 185k on it. It has many minor problems but nothing major that I can tell.

I just went to a repair shop that has been recommended to me by many volvo owners but I feel their estimate for repairs is quite extraordinary, and there is no way I am putting 2,000$ into my 500$ car.

I just wanted to get everyone's opinion here on their suggestions and repair costs and whether or not the are reasonable.

The car shakes, rattles, and rolls here in Michigan and its glorious potholes. I thought it was the engine mounts but they are certain its my front struts. They also say my rear struts are on poor shape. They said my engine mounts are immaculate.

The car just recently (past 2 weeks) starts with a slight squeal. They said my timing belt is cracked and worn. I could believe this.

They want to flush all my fluids systems the say they are dirty and very well probably are. But all these prices seem extreme...almost 500$ alone to completely flush all the fluids?

I am very technically challenged and am quite intimidated to work on anything myself automobile wise..but I do know there is a consistent problem with the overdrive function in this older volvo models. I know there are some descriptions of how to fix the OD coming on at start up and randomly while driving, but taking the dash apart and looking for a relay? I'm not quite sure I would even know what I was doing.

Front strut and alignment 600$
Rear strut replacement 520$
Tune up (plugs, fuel filter) 210$
Timing belt replacement 170$
Brake fluid flush 100$
Coolant system flush 170$
Transmission flush 200$
Overdrive fix? - They aren't sure whats wrong and need to charge extra to diagnose the problem.

So we are looking at over 2k total in repairs. There is no way I can do this and while the place is very profession, very nice, and honestly seem to know what they are doing I feel like these are dealer prices...am I correct in assuming this?

Anyway the shop was nice enough and understands my concerns, but there is no way I am not going to shop around. I am curious as to what you all think about this roundup?

 

The overdrive problem could be a nothing more than a relay or solenoid. The coolant flush for $170 is very high in my opinion. The timing belt replacement seems high when you consider that the belt kit only cost around $20 and I doubt that they are going to change the tensioner and if they do its only $23 more. Struts can cost anywhere from $40 to $150 each depending on brand/quality. Tune up if its only plugs and fuel filter is a rip off. The plugs cost no more than $5 each and the fuel filter cost $12. A full tune up should also include spark plug wires, air filter, distributor rotor and cap, and maybe even the belts. An average shop charges anywhere from $50 to $100 an hour. They, in my opinion, are charging more than that, but I am not quite sure.

 

well, not a shocking estimate--things are getting pricey out there... all these procedures are very easy and doable DIY but if you don't know your way around a motor, then you are at someone's mercy. you can probably do better price wise... the quote is high but then again, a $500 car is usually just a "partial car" so to speak... badly neglected volvos are cheap but if you don't do the work yourself with used parts, it gets expensive. then, who knows, may be you don't need all that, but that's hard to say without seeing the car--many things are a judgement call.... find a cheaper shop, someone who knows volvos and is not big on all the belts and whistles.

 

I'm not as knowledgeable about Volvos, as I am about mechanical issues in general, but I'll throw in my 2 cents' worth...

- A worn timing belt will not cause a squeal on start-up. That's one of your V-Belts that power the alternator, AC and/or Power Steering. Those belts are cheap & easy to replace.

- Unless I'm mistaken, this car does NOT have "rear struts." (That's what my '89 240 has.) It has regular shock absorbers on the back, and good ones run about $50 each at the parts store.

- Front struts & alignment, for $600, is high but not particularly out of line. Make sure it includes not just the struts, but all the extra hardware.

- The fluid flushes are (in my opinion) very high.

- Your tranny overdrive problem is hard to diagnose and price, based on just saying it "needs fixed." It could be a connection (very cheap), or it could need a new solenoid (pretty spendy).


All in all, $2000 is a lot of money for what they're doing. But it's not horribly out of line. There is a LOT of that stuff that you can do yourself, if you want to tackle it.

 

Well all this estimate talk inspired me. I took the glove box off and found that if I move the sets of wires around the OD will turn off and on normally. but every once in a while will still get stuck. But now its working 100X better than before so obviously I think I've found that its the relay problem that is most common is actually the problem in that respect.

Now I am worked up about the transmission fluid. The said it was dirty. I've been reading a lot in the past about transmission flushes. Some are saying they can be dangerous in an old car that has no service record. The car doesn't seem to have any transmission problems right now....And from the sounds of it a flush could make things worse (Stir up debri, break down debri in the engine?) Is there any truth to that?

The local valvoline oil change spot will do all the fluid flushes for about $220-240 dollars instead of 500$. I know this is something I could do myself but still feel intimidated, and especially wouldn't want to screw up.

The only question is how important is it really to flush the brake fluid, coolant, and transmission fluid.

The transmission fluid still has a ruby color to it but I agree its darker than it probably should be. The coolant? Looks blue green...so not sure there. And the brake fluid? I dunno what thats supposed to look like.

Is it really imperative I have these items changed? The brakes work well, the engine doesn't overheat, and the car doesn't have any issues with slipping gears, or acceleration.

I brought the car in to find out why the it bounces around so much, and to see if they could figure out whats wrong with the OD. They gave me a almost 600$ estimate to replace two front struts that appear to cost only 50-100 dollars each (if that online), and wanted to charge me more to figure out what was wrong with the OD when It took me 5 minutes to narrow it down to the relay at home with a screw driver.

And then they told me all these others things that are wrong with my car that I've never really considered before in any car I've owned.

So I'm actually now very hesitant to go back to this shop at all honestly.

 

You can actually change out your own tranny fluid quite easily without removing the pan. It's not a 100% perfect system, but it gets most of the old fluid out & replaces it with new.

You can easily change your engine oil & filter for $25.

And you can pop off the lower radiator hose, drain the anti-freeze into a pan, and replace it with new. Again, it's not a 100% flush, but it's pretty good.


The price they gave you for all the front-end suspension work is high, but not completely out of line.


A lot of dealers/shops try to scare the crap out of you and talk you into spending ungodly amounts of money on your car. It might be worth doing this to a late model, low-mileage car. But a $500 car that's already running fine is a different story.

 

Brake fluid should be clear.

The coolant does not need to be flushed, might open a can of worms doing that. You could just drain and refill with distilled water a few times to safely get most of the old fluid out.

Transmission flush... not sure.

Do the tune-up yourself, seriously. Bosch plugs, Bougicord spark plug wires, Bosch car and rotor, Bosch fuel filter, flame trap, should consider taking off the oil trap and cleaning that out, Mann oil filter, Mann air filter.

Struts, not sure, need presses.

Timing belt may be worth a shop job until you become familiar with the car, but can really screw anything up doing it yourself.

 

Ok so I finally found the relay. It took a while because it was hidden in a corner sneakily.

I removed the relay. Its a Hella 5da 004 038 04 12V

My question is. Do I really need to replace the relay? What other functions does the relay serve? I can order one on ebay for 15$.

But Do I really need one?

 

You don't need to replace the relay but you would need to put a jumper in so that the transmission shifts into 4th and OD. If you leave the relay out you will be driving in 3rd gear all of the time. Get a new relay

 

Here's the bottom line. You bought a $500 Volvo. It runs. If you want it to continue running, you will need to spend some money. How much money depends on how dirty you want your hands to be. For the life of me, I do not understand people who buy a $200-500 car if they are truly mechanically challenged. Does no one understand why the car is being sold so cheap? If you're willing to get a little dirty and willing to expand your mechanical knowledge, there are plenty of good folks on the board that are more than willing to walk you through the various procedures. Maintaining an old Volvo using a repair shop for everything is an expensive proposition indeed. Even doing the minor things yourself, you need to budget $50-100 a month minimum to gradually get the car reasonably reliable. Chances are the last few owners neglected everything but gas and oil. Buy a repair manual, a test light and an inexpensive digital volt meter. Along with a few hand tools you can accomplish a lot. If the proposition doesn't sound particularly good, sell the car while it still moves under its own power for $500 and buy a Civic.

 

mmmmm... Thanks for the soap box? obviously my lack of knowledge and mechanical skills upsets you. But I bought a 500$ car because it was all I could and can afford and it ran down the road and still does. In fact its gotten me over 6,000 miles in the past year without any issues. I come here looking for advice, suggestions, and information. If you don't want me to come here anymore there are other volvo forums I can visit. I certainly didn't expect to come here and get berated for inquiring about my volvo.

So far since starting this thread I've changed my air and fuel filter (With some help from advanced autoparts), and removed my dash and found the source of my over drive problem and removed the relay. I've found a shop to replace my front struts for half the price the original place wanted as well.

So this thread has been invaluable for me doing some things myself, as well as having people tell me that the shop I went to was clearly ripping me off. I've also found a place that will replace all my fluids for half the price as well. So my main purpose of this thread was to see if the shop was ripping me of and clearly it was.

You seem to be a moderator around here so If I'm not the type of poster you want I'll take my questions elsewhere.

 

My question is on the highway when the arrow light was on for the OD the car would run like crap on the hw. High RPM's with poor and rough acceleration. Eventually once I got the OD light off the car ran very smoothly until the OD came on the next time i started the car automatically.

taking the relay out, the OD light is now off. I haven't driven the car yet, but I figured the problem with the Car was that the overdrive was stuck on. It seems that now the OD should now not be engaged?

I guess I don't really have a complete understanding of how my car is engaging gears when the OD is shorted out/stuck on or are these two separate conditions?

 

FYI you are not suppose to drive the car at highway speeds with the overdrive on. It increases your RPM's, therefore increases fuel consumption, because the transmission won't go past 3rd when the overdrive is engaged. The overdrive is only to be used when you are towing something. As for swiftjustice's post don't get upset or discouraged, he is very knowledgeable and helpful. He is just telling you his opinion wether you like it or not.

 

So without the relay in, I still won't get past 3rd? And therefore the ride will be similar as if the car was stuck in OD?

Or I will be looking at something completely different when driving on the highway? Should I avoid all highway driving untill I get a new switch or fix the switch?

I'm ok with electrical soldering. I took the switch apart and honestly it doesn't look like there is anything wrong with the soldering. But I did clean some of the contacts up. I'm going to take a look at the connector side in the car tomorrow morning when its light out. Maybe there is just a bad contact with the switch.

 

I would change the relay. Mine has been changed twice since new. I would try to avoid highway driving as much as possible if the overdrive light is on.

 

Without the relay, OD will not engage. For all intents and purposes OD=4th gear. You could drive from LA to NYC w/ the car in 3rd at 70 mph w/o benefit of the overdrive and do the car no harm. The only real detrimental aspect is increased gas consumption because of the slightly higher rpm's. Oh...and the noise level. The B230 engine will pull 4k rpm's all day long. Those of us over 45 remember when precious few cars had over drives.
Lots of folks will try to reflow the solder on an od relay. When I do that, I usually save it in the glove box as a spare and get a new one when time and money permit. Underneathe the car, there is a single wire that runs from the driver side of the transmission, maybe half way back, that goes to the solenoid on the transmission that engages the OD. That wire is exposed to the elements, transmission fluid and oil mist from an aging engine. The insulation can and will deteriorate causing the wire to short against the under carriage causing a failure. Eventually, the wire will break. It's worth your time to check it out as it, along w/ the relay, are the two more common failure points. Replacing a 10 cent piece of wire just might fix it.
In a side note...I was not berating you...that was my passion for a wonderful automobile coming through. Every day, 240's head for the crusher because the new owner couldn't/wouldn't do as very much as they could to keep the car on the road. I'm just be honest; you're not the first I've said it to. I care about rwd Volvos, they're super cars. But the only way, the ONLY way (unless you have deep pockets) ...to keep one on the road is to do as much of the work as you can yourself.

 

If you want to own a Volvo then you should probably start figuring out how to work on it. Front struts are probably best left to someone who knows how to do them. Some of the other things can be done yourself. A brake fluid flush is a good idea every few years. Also you can learn a lot by going to the local pull and pay junkyard to hunt for parts. Buy yourself a good manual and read it. Bentley is the best but I only have a Haynes manual and it does cover many things (with photos). A manual will be your best friend for sure.

Those fluid flushes are important but could be done one by one over time. They don't need to all be done at the same time.

Don't get offended when people say that you might need to learn how to work on these cars. They aren't super complicated but do require quite a bit of maintenance. I have owned my car for nearly ten years now and have put somewhere around 180,000 miles on it. And I have had to fix many things. Some things I have paid to get repaired but that can be expensive. The more that you do yourself the better and you will save yourself some money as well. Sounds like you are learning.

 

I knew my way around a car "somewhat" comfortably...but this board and others and just not being afraid to try and screw it up...you will learn TONS! Get in there and get dirty. It's 1)manly and 2) chicks dig it

 

I replaced the OD solenoid on my Volvo with a OD bypass kit I purchased at ipdusa.com. All you do is unplug the solenoid, take out 2 bolts and bolt on the bypass plate. Very easy to do and it's a cheap solution to your OD problem. The part was only $39.95 It consists of a flat plate with an O-ring. Good Luck!

 

I always thought that $40 for a metal plate and an o-ring was kinda pricey but they don't call me el-cheapo for nothing.

I usually just solder up the relay again and be on my way. If you search the forums here and/or brickboard, someone posted instructions on how to modify a non-functioning solenoid so it operates just like the $40 plate.

Just my 1 cent