Hi all,

A lady that works for me is selling me her 1996 960 for a cheap price. I am getting it for my girlfriend's kid brother who needs a new car.

It has been sitting for about two years. I had to jump it to get it to start, but it started right up and ran really well.

Here are a few issues with it.

Most importantly, when I press the brake pedal, it starts hissing as if its leaking air. The car will then start to kind of run rough. As soon as you let off the pedal it runs fine. It has low brake pressure when backing it up and driving forward. It is not on insurance, so I couldn't really drive it.

Next, all the lights pulsate while its running. I would imagine its because the battery is so old and low on life. It will not start without a jump. If I shut the car off after I jump it, it won't crank over, so the battery has to go!

The hood is sightly crooked. It will not close. Its almost as if a hood hinge is bent or something.

Aside from that, I think it just needs to have some routine maintenance performed on it.

Any help to these issues would be appreciated.

 

How many miles?
They are great cars I have a 1997 965, great road car.

Be aware of the timing belt change for these engines.
They are interference engines and a broken timing belt can break valves and damage pistons in a catastrophic way. Interval for belt change is 70,000 miles. Try and find out when the timing belt was last replaced, if it can't be determined I would change it. When mine was replaced I did the water pump and tensioner also.

It sounds as if you have a vacuum leak somewhere. Check under the hood for broken , cracked vacuum hoses.

If you remove the battery to have it checked make sure you have the radio codes, you will need it to unlock the radio. You can get the code from a dealer. You will need the VIN. If the battery is not the problem with the lights, the ignition switch could be the culprit, or bad electrical grounds.

Lack of lubrication WILL cause hood hinges to break. Don't ask how I know.
Good Luck

The owners manual is available fro the below URL. At the bottom of the page is a drop down menu to input year and model.

Volvo Cars | Community | Your Volvo

 

Aaron is very experienced with Volvo's, he has had a couple of 850's so please don't go to low with him.

I would guess there is a good vacuum leak, maybe with the brake booster or something. I have a good Volvo yard near me (about 40 miles) so if you need some parts (used) I can help you with that. I'm on my way there now so if you pm me I can call you while there.

The battery will need to be replaced. I usually just drop one in from Wal-Mart or Sams so any ole battery will work.

I really don't like getting cars that has been sitting but you just have to do a few years worth of maintenance and you should be fine. Make sure you don't pay more than $1,000 for it. I picked one up about a year ago for $500. Real nice car. No body damage, really just had a broken water pump, needed a battery and a few other things.

 

LOL.

Yeah I know my around Volvo's fairly decently.


The car has 142,000 miles on it.

The hissing is coming from under the dash, and not from outside, so that leads me to believe there's a vac hose off the booster going to the pedal that's leaking.

Honestly, as strange as this sounds, I think the hardest part of this project is going to be getting that hood to close.

I am getting the money from my girlfriend's brother today, and should pick up the car tomorrow.

First thing is getting a new battery and tires for it. The tread is fine, but lets face it; its been sitting for two years and I'm sure they are flat spotted.

After that I am going to wheel it back over to their house and work on it. I'll get all the brakes and stuff done, and then take it to my friend's house to do the timing belt.

I planned on doing the T-belt anyway, using FCP's kit for it.

Then

 

I would do everything in the timing belt's path except the water pump unless he wants that knocked out as well.

The mechanic said that it's likely the brake booster. It bolts on to the firewall so it probably sounds like it's inside.

I would only do the brakes if the pads are worn, the tires are probably trashed but you can get some from a used place or whatever he wants, I guess that's his deal.

I put a few post up on some of the other quarks that the 960 have so hopefully they will help you.

Have fun.

 

Now that gasoline must contain ethanol, it turns into a semi-gel when it sits for a long time, and is corrosive, especially to fuel lines. You might want to consider taking it to a mechanic to have the lines flushed out and the tank checked. (My favorite source for finding a mechanic is Click and Clack's "Find a Mechanic" site from NPR's "Car Talk.")

Harbor Freight offers a CAN OBD II Code Reader/ EOBD Scanner for a ridiculously low price. It can save you tons of time, expense and potential ripoffs. They're very easy to use; plug it in, look up the code in the book (or online), and you'll know just about everything about the car. It's incredibly handy, and will pay for itself the first time you use it (plus, you can use it with your other cars as well.)

 

Is this really true? I did not know that. I was about to park my T-5R and was about to go on a hunt for some fuel that does not have ethanol. Will Stabol or whatever the fuel stabilazer is stop that stuff from jelling?

 

Here's the article I read about it in Popular Mechanics. (I wonder if the subject warrants a sticky or something. I think everyone should know about it.)

EDIT: I just reread it, and noticed that it mentions Sta-bil, so to answer your question (I think):

"Advice

The common question I get: Where can I buy alcohol-free gasoline? You probably can't, except at a very few stations, and odds are it's very expensive high-octane racing fuel that's not legal for road use.

To avoid phase separation, avoid long-term fuel storage. Trash that old 5-gallon can with the rag stuffed into the filler neck and trade up to a 2-gallon can with a decent, vented cap. I used to recommend storing outdoor power equipment, boats, ATVs and motorcycles with full tanks to prevent rusting. Now I recommend draining the tank, running the engine till it quits and then fogging the inside of the tank and the cylinder with oil to prevent corrosion. No E10 in the tank equals no water absorption and no phase separation.

We've always recommended using fuel-stabilizer products for gas-powered vehicles or tools that aren't regularly used. E10 makes that advice even more compelling. We've tried products formulated for blended gasoline from Star Tron, Eastwood and Sta-Bil. There are others. Beware of products that claim to prevent phase separation: It's unlikely that they can eliminate the phenomenon, although some products do claim to delay it...."

 

Okay so here is an update:

Brand new tires were put on Sunday afternoon. Got a great deal on some BFG's from Sam's Club.

Battery is installed.

Starts right up!

I do hear an annoying moan coming from the sepentine belt area. I think the belt tensioner is on its way out.

Also, even after the battery install, the lights will still get brighter if you rev the engine. bad alternator?

And the brake pads are very worn on the car. For the price of pads, its worth it just to do them.

As far as gas goes, there is less than a 1/4 tank in it now. Once I get the brakes fixed and I take it up to my friend's to do the timing belt (Can't use this garage for more than a week), I'll fill it will a fresh tank.

 

This is the equivalent of throwing a dart, because it sounds so similar to a problem I had with my '60 El Camino in High School (my first car). Everything was dandy until one day the lights (especially the dash lights) started to brighten or dim in sync with the accelerator. Then one morning I tried to start it and the (new) battery was dead. I jump-started it, but it only ran briefly and then died again.

It turned out to be the voltage regulator, which had somehow "re-polarized" itself, so that instead of the alternator recharging the battery, it drained it. (You can tell if that's what it is, by starting the engine and disconnecting the positive post at the battery terminal. If it dies, the voltage regulator needs to be re-polarized.)

Luckily, the mechanic took pity on me, and fixed it for free. He took a long ratchet and laid it across the positive and negative posts on the voltage regulator. It barely sparked. He said "start it up," which I did, then he slammed the hood and off I went.

Like I said, that's just a wild guess, but it's the only time I've heard of that particular symptom since. It's free, at least.

 

Lights are okay now.

I am really stumped on this brake hiss. You can't hear it from under the hood at all.

Is there some hose that goes to the pedal that I'm missing?

 

I would guess it's the back side of the brake booster. Does it stop the car good?

 

No not really. Its hard to stop. You really have to give it all you've got to get it to stop.


None of the chain auto stores can order the part, or if they can, its not in a timely fashion.

Autozone has a two week wait on it. Advance cannot even get the part, NAPA requires that I send in mine and they redo it. But that's a month turnaround.

Is the booster an 8" or 10". Everyone asks me that at the stores, but I am unsure. Tried to measure it but its not exactly accurate with the master cylinder in the way.

 

Alright y'all, time for an update.

Brake booster should be here tomorrow. Just out of curiosity, how long does this job take? Just so I know how much time to set aside.

Also, its now throwing a P0340 CEL code. Camshaft sensor? Where is that located at on the engine and how much of a pain to do the job is it?

 

I could have gotten that brake booster for you at my junk yard. Let me know if things with that do not work out for you. Not sure on time to replace, etc.

The camshaft sensor should be on the back of the motor near the firewall. Should be a easy thing to get at.

 

Booster is here. I still haven't installed it yet.


How bad is the timing belt job on this thing? I just need to know a rough estimate in time to set aside.

 

About three hours.
Timing belt replacement instructions on a 1997 Volvo 960

 

Found that earlier. Thanks.

I am working on that right now.

A friend of mine said its easy to count and mark the teeth on the old belt in between both cam gears and mark that same distance somewhere on the new belt. True? If so, from where on the gears do you start? I counted from where the belt just starts to lift off of the cam gear to the same tooth on the other side. I marked 16 teeth.

I am just waiting on my friend to bring me my 3/4 inch ratchet to get the serpentine belt off.

 

Just stick something in there and get the belt off. I think you should align the cams as outlined in the instructions and mark the cams and the blet. You can't have to many marks.

 

Timing belt/tensioner/pulleys are replaced and new.

I also swapped brake boosters and fixed that problem.

Next thing on the list is to finish painting the front calipers, figure out the Camshaft sensor's location, and put the hood on. After that, all it needs is a good cleaning and interior detail.


Oh...and the trunk won't open. The key won't go in the lock and the handle just flaps. Any ideas?