Hi all,
I am a new Volvo owner, the Volvo is not new. I am new to owning it lol.
I purchased the car from a private seller it has 161,000 miles on it. The Carfax shows that it had two owners with the same last name. The person who sold it to me was a friend of the family.
This car is in beautiful condition. Everything works. It has all the bells and whistles. There are a couple things that I’m concerned with
1.) when I got it there was a sticker over the check engine light and I went crazy. Trying to figure out how to attach an OBD2, which shows my ignorance there. Anyway, after I figured out how to use the jumpered OBD1 thing under the hood and set the jumper to A2 I got a code that doesn’t show up on the list. I don’t remember what that code was because I was instructed just to reset the codes on A2 and see if the engine light comes back on before I start replacement parts. So far that light has not come back on it’s been about 65 miles. The other thing that is weird is when I go to A3 which should be the transmission. It gives me a code of 213. That code is not on the list either under A3. I guess I’m wondering if the codes I’m getting can be trusted. Could there be something wrong to return codes that don’t exist on that list?
2.) I do all my own work on my cars regardless of level of difficulty. I’m not a mechanic, but I am an engineer in, so I have the right mind for the work and follow instructions well. So aside from an oil change, points and plugs. Air filter, and other basic tuneup stuff. What else should I do? I don’t have a record of the last time. The timing belt was done. There is no coolant leak so I don’t know that the water pump needs to be done but I also don’t know when it was last done, I’ve never done any work on a PCV system before I understand how it works intellectually but have no experience. I know I can check for smoke coming out of the dipstick even though that’s not 100%.
Anyway, that’s a lot to read any advice you have would be great. I apologize for all the detail, but better to over explain, than under.

 

That is an interference engine - meaning if the timing belt comes off or breaks you will bend all the valves - and total the car.

So I would inspect the belt before It's driven again and probably make plans to replace it and the serpentine belt. Buy a kit with idler bearing, tensioner bearing and belt and replace all three. That old car uses hydraulic tensioner - simply use a vise to push the piston back and secure it with a pin. The replacement interval on a 1994 I think was 70k miles - or 10 years and I've seen many low mileage belts fail from old age.

If you decide to replace the water pump while you are there - ONLY use the OEM factory pump. Aisen is the brand and they are available aftermarket.

 

Once the tensioner is out, compressed and the pin is in, is there a video or maybe a detailed post in the forums about how to make sure that the tensioner is installed properly, that the torque lb setting stuff is right? I’ve not done a lot with torque wrenches. I’ve done one timing belt myself on a Hyundai. It actually looked much harder than the Volvo but there are some things I don’t understand about that tensioner.

 

Check out Robert DIY on YouTube for tips on Volvo maintenance.

 

volvotips.com is a good resource for interpreting the OBD1 codes and for knowning which connector socket supports what...

 

Here is some info for 93-95 Volvos.

 

Then Pull the pin to release the tensioner -

 

you will also need a special tool to get the serpentine belt off. (its flat with a ~5/8 or 3/4 inch square box). I think a 3/4 drive breaker bar will work...