I seen a S90 sitting behind a house a few weeks ago. I looks like it has been there for a few months. I was thinking about buying it as a parts car, swapping a few parts out, fixing it up to run good, then passing it on to someone else for my cost or just giving it away.

When I looked at it, there was a few things that I noticed that would need to be fixed pretty soon:

1. I was very dirty.
2. It had a cel, no battery (we barrowed one to start the car).
3. The timing belt cover was missing.
4. The power seats did not move.
5. It has a flat.
6. It has a coolant leak.
7. Something else was going on that I was a little concerned with.

My main concern is the coolant leak. I started the car and did not see any smoke coming from the tail pipe so should I assume that it has NOT overheated? Should I guess that the head gasket is still in tack? I really don't want to purchase the car and have to pull the head. Is there a way to tell if it has been overheated? The current owner claims that it has not. They got the car from someone else and has not registered it. I think it may have been given to them and they simply have not had the time to mess with it (or they know it needs more than they wanted to put into it).

Any recomendations would be appreciated.

 

You would have to either do a block test with the stuff made for it.
Or top it up with coolant and make sure the motor runs good.
If it was overheated bad when you put coolant in it will fill the cylinders with the coolant.

 

So it can be hard to tell if it has a bad head gasket??? I was thinking that I could see oil in the coolant tank or coolant in the motor oil??? Never heard of a block test.

If I top it off with coolant and it fills the cylinders with the coolant, will it smoke? Or will I have to remove something to see the coolant?

 

It will either smoke or lock the motor up and will not start.
The block test stuff is a little expensive but very easy to use and will tell you quickly.
Also one more way to tell is run the car from cold for about 1 minute. Then turn it off and open the coolant bottle cap. If there is excessive pressure the head gasket is blown.

 

I was considering running the car for 5 minutes and drain the oil & coolant to look for the other fluid.

I'll check the dip stick and the expansion tank. The last time I started it, I let it run for about 5 minutes and did not notice any smoke or anything.

 

OK then it might be good.

 

Wow! The car is in a lot worse shape than I initially thought. I started the car and took it for a short drive and man is it ragged out. I have given 3 cars away that were in way better shape than that thing is in.

It had 4 codes from the CEL. It is missing pretty bad on #3. The secondary air system is not working and there is something else going on. The shocks are shot, it has a bad tire (flat), the t-belt cover is missing, the water pump is leaking, there is a plug on the radiator that appears to be leaking, the tail/turn/flasher relay is bad, several lights do not work, the sunroof is leaking (the windshield was soaked on the inside), the radio does not work, the climate control system does not work, the drivers side mirror is broken off, needs a paint job, and the list goes on.

I offered them $500 for the thing. I would take the hood, hood hinges, and grill and put them on my car because mine are slightly damaged. Then I would get it running better and try to sell it or give it to someone that needs a car. They told me they would take $800 for it but I could not talk myself into it. I could use the other $300 for parts for the thing to get it running right. I'll see if they call me back.

 

WOW better you did not buy it then.

 

Well, didn't take them long to call me back, less than a day. They let me have the car for $500. Here are pictures of it: http://www.atthetipwebs.com/volvo/s90/index.htm


Since it has a clean title & I could use parts from it, I went ahead and purchased it. I drove it home with the water pump leaking and it made here before the coolant leaked out. I was watching the temp with my ScanGuage and it was running about 225 to 250 degrees. I was making sure it stayed under 250. Averaged around 240. Made it here fine.

As far as I can tell, here are the issues:

• Needs a battery.
• Wiper blades.
• Misfire on #3.
• Climate Control does not work.
• Heat does not work.
• Sunroof is leaking.
• Rear driver tire is flat.
• Water pump leaking.
• T-belt was replace 30k ago & 6 years. Needs to be done again.
• Power seats does not work.
• Secondary Air System popped a CEL.
• May need shocks.
• Driver side mirror broken.
• Passenger side mirror does not adjust.
• Light issues. The left signal light is on all the time and the flashers, signals, etc., don't work.
• Lots of condensation in the car, all windows are fogged.
• A/C does not work (could be the head unit).
• Radio says OFF. Need code because of dead battery.
• Don't think the remote works.
• Only has 1 key.

Other than that, the car is perfect.

I'll get to work on it in a few weeks. Not sure what I'm going to do with it besides swap the hood, hinges, and driver side wiper motor on my wife's car. I think I'll fix it up and sell it to someone for my cost.

 

Sounds like a plan you have there!

 

Yes it is a complicated plan. Tinkering with cars is like theropy to me. I really do not have the time but do need the theropy.

I just told someone about it and they want to purchase it from me already, when I take care of a few of the issues. We'll see.

 

When you start on it let me know a few of those things can easily be fixed. To start replace both front turn signal bulbs and that should fix the light problem.

 

Cool. I thought that the relay was bad.

 

I will bet the contact points on the bulbs are melted together. It is a common problem.

 

That's strange that it would cause so many different lighting problems.

 

She sure is pretty. Only Volvo tan interior I like is in the 960s, which is also the only interior I like in the 960s. I would love one of those for a DD, they look so comfortable.

 

The 960/S90's are. They are smoother than grandma's caddie. I find myself driving the 960 more than the 850 T-5R. I blame it on the weather but it really is a nice ride.

 

Well, I got rid of this S90. Probably the shortest project thread on file (not really a project thread since I made different threads for 1/2 of the problems the car had). LOL!

Since I purchased the car for the hood I decided to use it for parts for my 960. I also restored the car the best I could and sold it for my investment to a college student for what it cost me to replace the parts I needed so it was a win - win for both of us. I got all the little things taken care of on my 960 and he got a nice S90 for $1,300.

I was able to fix all of the things listed above except the following:
- A/C still does not work.
- Still had a CEL code P1308.
I had the A/C checked out by an A/C repair place and the independant Volvo place that I frequent. They claim that it had enough freon in it to work and he did not think the compressor was bad. When you turn it on it would click the compressor on for about 1 full turn then it would turn off and not try again. Since it is not the control unit inside the car, nor the compressor, the repair job should cost under $250.
As for the cel code, it is still a little bit of a mystery. Once site had the code listed as an accelerator sensor problem and another some A/C fault. Then the independant Volvo shop said that it was a sensor or a misfire code. Maybe it is one of those deals that has to be driven for a while before it clears. It did not seem to effect the preformance of the car, it actually ran stronger than my 960. Made me tune my car up (change plugs, bet a K&N box filter, etc.).

The only thing that I did not do was change out the hood. The body shop told me it would be cheaper to repair and touch up the dented hood that I have than to change the color on the one from another car. So I left it alone.

Here is what was done:
- New water pump in it.
- New tensioner roller.
- New timing belt.
- Checked the air filter (clean).
- Checked the spark plugs (looked good).
- Fixed the sunroof leaks.
- Cleared all cel codes except the one, 1308.
- Rotated and balanced the tires.
- Installed wiper blades.
- Installed a new battery.
- Checked the brakes (needs rotors).
- Replaced the stereo.
- Removed the headlight wipers.
- Repaired the power seats (would not go fore and aft).
- Replaced the driver side door mirror.
- Clean the carpets & floor matts.
- Cleaned the drain holes out of the car & trunk area.
- Changed the oil & filter.
- Repaired the misfire, coil wires on #3.
- Repaired the turn signal light problem.
- Took care of a few other odds & ends.
IMO, this car should run good for about 4 years without a problem. Hopefully the new owner will take care of it.