OT: 1990 Volvo 740GL for winter car?

[jjg43]

What's up everyone,

I know this is a liitle OT but I need some suggestions. I thought there may be someone on here with some Volvo knowlege. I am looking at a 1990 740gl with an automatic transmission and 172,000 miles. The motor is the 4cyl (2.3 I think). This is just going to be my winter car since I recently found a garage to store the E34. I don't know anything about Volvos and I am wondering if this is something I should buy or stay away from. How are the engine/transmissions in these cars? Is 172k too many miles? I will probably put 600-700 miles on it a month. The asking price for the car is $900US dollars. From the pictures I've seen the car has no rust. The reason I am posting is because the car is about two hours away and I don't want to drive that far for nothing. My mechanic has a similar car and says the drivetrain is bulletproof with proper maintenance. Do these have any issues or problem areas? Is there anything I should look for when I go to see it? Any help is greatly apprciated.


Thanks,

Phil

[Joestancampiano]

I have a 90 740 with 220k miles and it still runs good (two teenagers learned to drive on this thing). Engines and trans are good for 300k with minimal care. Get on one of the Volvo websites and read up on what to check for.

Joe

[DanDombrowski]

I pretty much have the same car, different body (a 240, same engine and transmission, I think). It is pretty much bulletproof, I beat on it awhile as a teenager and now I take care of it. The odometer stopped around 160,000 and we think it has somewhere around 190,000. Anywho, I thought about buying another one for the heck of it, and I've found that theyre priced a little wierd- either people jsut want to get rid of it and sell it for pennies, or they think a 14 year old car with 200,000 miles and rust is worth 4k....and there isnt much in between. I suppose thats probably true of all old cars, but still.

I would say that for $900, its a good deal especially for a winter car. At the shop I used to go to, most of the 240s and 740s for sale were up for sale because the A/C broke, and its not worth it to fix in a car like that.

I hate to give you bad advice, because any car with that many miles can have problems, but I know I have the same engine and transmission with about the same number of miles, and mine still runs fine. As an added bonus, you can easily find a new engine or transmission from a junkyard should anything go wrong for less than most cars. Hope this helps.

[jjg43]

I pretty much have the same car, different body (a 240, same engine and transmission, I think). It is pretty much bulletproof, I beat on it awhile as a teenager and now I take care of it. The odometer stopped around 160,000 and we think it has somewhere around 190,000. Anywho, I thought about buying another one for the heck of it, and I've found that theyre priced a little wierd- either people jsut want to get rid of it and sell it for pennies, or they think a 14 year old car with 200,000 miles and rust is worth 4k....and there isnt much in between. I suppose thats probably true of all old cars, but still.

I would say that for $900, its a good deal especially for a winter car. At the shop I used to go to, most of the 240s and 740s for sale were up for sale because the A/C broke, and its not worth it to fix in a car like that.

I hate to give you bad advice, because any car with that many miles can have problems, but I know I have the same engine and transmission with about the same number of miles, and mine still runs fine. As an added bonus, you can easily find a new engine or transmission from a junkyard should anything go wrong for less than most cars. Hope this helps.

[Renman]

I have to tell you as well. I just sold my '90 740GL w/ 192K to my niece. The car has been amazing. Most comfortable seat of any car I've owned (hate to say it but the seat just feels better than my bimmers). I would pay close attention to the motor mounts and valve adjustments as those are two known issues that can arise. I had mine mostly when I lived in Colorado Springs and w/ a set of snows it did just fine for winter driving. Good luck. -Renman

[winfred]

to bullet proof if you get it, replace the refrence mark sensor, fuel pump/main relay (white 6 pin below radio) and the RF relay on the front of one of the strut towers (it moved around) it's the same relay as the aux fan those are the 3 things that will kill a 89 and up 7/9 series volvo

[Mobius]

The old RWD Volvo drivetrain is bulletproof as long as you don't get a V6 or the ZF-made transmission. Red-block 4-cyls are damn near un-killable. It's not at all uncommon to see them on the high side of 300,000mi without a rebuild. The AW70 and 71 transmissions are great, too - but the overdrives are comparitively short-lived.

740s are basically 240s with different styling and a nicer interior. The drivetrain is largely identical between the two. The 740 has more electrical bits that can fail; the 240 is very simple.

Both cars are exceptionally easy to work on, there's enough space under the hood to fit a large V8 comfortably, but there's just this tiny 4-cyl in there. If you can't reach something, you've got problems. ;)

Neither, I think, are very good snow cars. Very few of them came with locking differentials, and the weight balance is very nose-heavy. Supposedly they're pretty tolerable if you get a GOOD set of snow tires, but honestly, when I had my 240, I just gave up in the winter.

[winfred]

my grand parents loved the 91 240 i got them, said it did great in the snow in northern virgina, never had any trouble climbing their steep several hundred foot long driveway up to the top of the hill

[Renman]

my grand parents loved the 91 240 i got them, said it did great in the snow in northern virgina, never had any trouble climbing their steep several hundred foot long driveway up to the top of the hill
You should have seen the road to my house in Colorado Springs (weinerslick at 6500') and never did I not make it in my '90 OVLOV. Great back-up car to keep your bimmers caged up!

[Mike 'n AZ]

I used to have 1991 Volvo 740. I loved that car and it never let me down during the time I had it from 96,000 miles to 140,000. But, I did not like the Volvo for two reasons. The first being that it was slower than a golf cart not having a turbo, and the second reason was that it was a horrible winter car. I drove it in Denver during winter and it would get stuck in simple parking spaces on a small patch of ice. I even spun out in a snow storm in the mountains and almost got rammed by a snow plow before I almost hit a rock wall sliding into a ditch. Other than that, they last and last for many miles. -- Mike

[Renman]

Would expect nothing less from someone from AZ. Just kidding.

[PatrickPGH]

I found it surprising just how poor my Volvo's handled in the snow. The only thing worthwhile about using a $900 Volvo in the winter is that it only cost $900.

If you decide to go with a 240/740 I would suggest getting a manual transmission. They generally last longer and don't have the overdrive problem.
The earlier 4 speeds last longer than the true 5 speeds that came on the later cars (after 1990 I believe).

I'd recommend getting a good set of snow tires; Nokian or Hakkapellitas <sp>.

Hope that helps.

Patrick
87 240
83 240
89 740ti

[winfred]

about the only thing that goes wrong with the od on the autos is ether the relay or the solonoid, and about half of the time it's just the wire going to the solonoid grounded out on the shifter. id rather have a later 240 ie 91-93 from the stand point that the ac is much better and the engine wiring harness doesn't fall apart, on 740s 89 and up gets you the better wiring and the ac is decent in all, 93-94 seems to be the best of the 940s in terms of power and options, the last year 95 can be ok but they have constant on headlights and most of them seem to be real low line and have very little options, i've worked on turbos that had hub caps no boost gauge and cloth seats, but man do the late turbos haul ass i've been in a few that would smoke em off the line, not bad for a 2.3 4 banger


If you decide to go with a 240/740 I would suggest getting a manual transmission. They generally last longer and don't have the overdrive problem.
The earlier 4 speeds last longer than the true 5 speeds that came on the later cars (after 1990 I believe).

[jjg43]

What's up everyone,

I know this is a liitle OT but I need some suggestions. I thought there may be someone on here with some Volvo knowlege. I am looking at a 1990 740gl with an automatic transmission and 172,000 miles. The motor is the 4cyl (2.3 I think). This is just going to be my winter car since I recently found a garage to store the E34. I don't know anything about Volvos and I am wondering if this is something I should buy or stay away from. How are the engine/transmissions in these cars? Is 172k too many miles? I will probably put 600-700 miles on it a month. The asking price for the car is $900US dollars. From the pictures I've seen the car has no rust. The reason I am posting is because the car is about two hours away and I don't want to drive that far for nothing. My mechanic has a similar car and says the drivetrain is bulletproof with proper maintenance. Do these have any issues or problem areas? Is there anything I should look for when I go to see it? Any help is greatly apprciated.


Thanks,

Phil

I looked at the 90 740 and it was trash but there was a 93 940 on the lot also for $1600.00 US. I ended up paying $1200.00 US. The car has 192,000 miles and is blue with black leather. It has no rust, power everything, heated seats, automatic trans and it seems everything in the car works. I drove the car home 140 miles and it ran great. The car is really clean except for a little dent and some scratches here and there. I going to put some Bridgestone Blizzaks on it this week and I should be good to go! Do you guys think I paid too much?

Thanks,

Phil

[winfred]

sounds ok to me, what i said about the two relays and refrence mark sensor holds true for that car also, should be able to get all 3 items for $125-150 total and eliminate the three most common reasons that 2/7/940 volvos get towed into my shop, part#s 1323592 rf relay 3523608 fuel pump/main relay 271949 ref sensor


Do you guys think I paid too much?

Thanks,

Phil

[jjg43]

sounds ok to me, what i said about the two relays and refrence mark sensor holds true for that car also, should be able to get all 3 items for $125-150 total and eliminate the three most common reasons that 2/7/940 volvos get towed into my shop, part#s 1323592 rf relay 3523608 fuel pump/main relay 271949 ref sensor

[paul p (chi-town)]

So i was furiously taking notes.
Searched a little on autotrader and found a 1992 240 wagon 5 minutes away.
No rust, 148K miles pretty clean, $3K @ an independent dealer.
Damn............it was like driving the short bus, yuk......
Looks like she could haul bout 20% more than ‘Helga’ tho. Not sure how much you wanna carry cause she’s slo as it is.
Interior kinda looks like a bus too, sooo square. I suppose one could get used to it, could even be old school cool. Gonna have to check another one out. Will look at a 7 or two for shits and giggles.
So how do those turbo engines age?
These things drive a little better w/ IPD sways and such?


530iT&A ‘Helga’---92 325i ‘Rolf’ …............”Hang up & Drive!”.......no, SERiously. (http://homepage.interaccess.com/~motria/pablosgarage.html)
”Bet that phone call doesn’t seem that important now does it, huh." – Nov 20, 2004

[winfred]

turbos are varly long lived with the proper oil changes, generally turbos crap around 175 and motors depending on year are sometimes good for twice that, a 240 on ipd sways and high pressure gas shocks handles real good, as for power some are pigs and some haul ass, this holds true for turbos too. i have a customer that bought a 88 740 turbo and a 89 760 turbo new and changed the oil every 2k, both cars had the orignal unopened motors and orignal turbos at 375k when he totaled the 760 wagon and 400k+ when he sold the 740 sedan. i like the 91/92/93 240s, the headliners don't drop and they have useful ac's when converted to r134 (older cars suck even on r12) unless you want a excersize in pain or find a pristine one don't be temped by a 240 turbo, i built a reasonably quick one a few years ago and converted it to 5 speed, intercooled it, converted it to the later better intake and exhaust manifolds and ran 10 psi (stock was 7 and motor was still breaking in, sold it before getting the chance to up it) i wish id kept it and sold my hopped up 760 turbo (auto x'd it a few times, god did it need a posi) i was in the planning stages of doing a bigger cam in the 240 as the stocker was dead at 5k but never got the time


So i was furiously taking notes.
Searched a little on autotrader and found a 1992 240 wagon 5 minutes away.
No rust, 148K miles pretty clean, $3K @ an independent dealer.
Damn............it was like driving the short bus, yuk......
Looks like she could haul bout 20% more than ‘Helga’ tho. Not sure how much you wanna carry cause she’s slo as it is.
Interior kinda looks like a bus too, sooo square. I suppose one could get used to it, could even be old school cool. Gonna have to check another one out. Will look at a 7 or two for shits and giggles.
So how do those turbo engines age?
These things drive a little better w/ IPD sways and such?


530iT&A ‘Helga’---92 325i ‘Rolf’ …............”Hang up & Drive!”.......no, SERiously. (http://homepage.interaccess.com/~motria/pablosgarage.html)
”Bet that phone call doesn’t seem that important now does it, huh." – Nov 20, 2004

[paul p (chi-town)]

unless you want a excersize in pain or find a pristine one don't be temped by a 240 turboAnd then you proceed to rave about the one you had. Nice.
Just cause they’d be old?
Only out of curiousity.


94 530iT&A ‘Helga’---92 325i ‘Rolf....”Hang up & Drive!”.....no SERiously (http://homepage.interaccess.com/~motria/pablosgarage.html)
”Bet that phone call doesn’t seem that important now, eh?" Nov 20, 2004

[winfred]

this was 5 or 6 years ago and they are not aging that well, i can do stuff that would put regular people in the poor house with my connections, it's been years since i've seen one that wasn't whipped to death, mileage really sucks with the K-jetronic fuel system i could get into single digit mpg without trying too hard and with a 13 or so gallon tank you can't pass a gas station, the 91 240 i built for my grandparents with a lock up converter tranny from a 7/940 gets 30 or better (usually better) on the interstate and is not that slow, it's strange the differences in power from car to car in the rwd 4 cyl volvos we had a 85 740 non turbo wagon that looked like hammered **** but would spin the tires on clean dry level ground for about 3 feet and theres others that won't get out of their way if pointed down hill, all i can say is test drive them till you find a good one and i can give you some advice if you need it


And then you proceed to rave about the one you had. Nice.
Just cause they’d be old?
Only out of curiousity.


94 530iT&A ‘Helga’---92 325i ‘Rolf....”Hang up & Drive!”.....no SERiously (http://homepage.interaccess.com/~motria/pablosgarage.html)
”Bet that phone call doesn’t seem that important now, eh?" Nov 20, 2004

[winfred]

i have a good hang up and drive story, saturday i was 2nd inline behind a crappy motorcycle in the e30 :D at a 4 lane intersection and he's standing there on a cell (half helmet) light goes green..... 5 seconds go by and i goose the engine a couple times..... over the next 5 or so seconds he starts fumbling with the controls and takes a step forward while still on the ****ING PHONE..... 5 more seconds of no real action to loose the phone or move and now i am annoyed, once the lane to the right of me clears enough i light em up and bounce it off the rev limiter as i oversteer around him, gee i hope i didn't disturb his conversation. i allways give motorcycles all of the curtisy i can but **** that choad pissed me off

[infinity5]

Yeah i think i'm going to go buy a tub of golf balls and keep them in the drivers sdie door pocket, and everytime i see someone acting like an idiot or almost killing me. i'll roll down my window and peg them/their cars with a golf ball and zoom off :) of course, heh, a crazy lady in a SUV might try ot run me over.. actaully empty beer bottles would be better.. but those might get me in trouble


i have a good hang up and drive story, saturday i was 2nd inline behind a crappy motorcycle in the e30 :D at a 4 lane intersection and he's standing there on a cell (half helmet) light goes green..... 5 seconds go by and i goose the engine a couple times..... over the next 5 or so seconds he starts fumbling with the controls and takes a step forward while still on the ****ING PHONE..... 5 more seconds of no real action to loose the phone or move and now i am annoyed, once the lane to the right of me clears enough i light em up and bounce it off the rev limiter as i oversteer around him, gee i hope i didn't disturb his conversation. i allways give motorcycles all of the curtisy i can but **** that choad pissed me off

[paul p (chi-town)]

OK, so i test drive a 91 740 turbo today.
An aftermarket boost gauge in the door pillar said it was pushin bout 13-14psi at full boil. Sweet.
OMG this thing had some balls.
Red block w/ 180K miles, cone filter, aftermarket ignition, lightweight underdrive crank pulley, no A/C, green injectors and an anaconda for an exhaust, no muffler just a cat.
The HVAC blower motor would shreik on occasion, it looked like the stereo had been ripped out (taking part of the dash), broken ashtray. *rolleyes*
Oh and of course the power sunroof was fuxored. Sounded like she was pingin a bit too.
Good brakes at least. The sentra at that dealership needed them BAD. Twas a rust bucket too.
The Volvo other than the mentioned quirks was a very clean car.

94 530iT&A, ‘Helga’---92 325i, ‘Rolf’…….”Hang up & Drive!”.......no, SERiously. (http://homepage.interaccess.com/~motria/pablosgarage.html)
”Bet that phone call doesn’t seem that important now does it, huh." Nov 20, 2004

[Derek A.]

I found a 87 240 - auto wagon. Looks like wiring becomes an issue in these older cars , the **** just falls apart. Our local auto parts supplier uses them for parts delivery - get like $300k out of them easily. These cars really don't have enough power to hurt themselves. According to the Volvo toein guide these 2.3 cars will tow like 2500 lbs.

[winfred]

8-10 # stock, all b230 motors are red, 91 will be the "K" block with the 63mm main bearings (slightly less prone to hucking a rod out the side when severly abused over the 85-88 b230 with it's 55mm mains) the king bmf block is the 93-95 "L" with it's even bigger mains and bigger rods and more beefy webbing in the block. that pig won't live long if it's pinging, i saw one that some douche jacked up the boost and didn't run decent octain gas, it detonated and bent 3 rods, two were so S shaped they hit the counter weights on the crankshaft and made a evil sound as it ran. if you get a volvo get a catalog from www.ipdusa.com they have all kinds of fun stuff.
ps don't be tempted by the power of a 850 turbo R, you will regret it if you buy one, but don't turn down a test drive espcially if your alone :D front wheel drive smokey burnouts are fun when you don't gotta live with it and need to drive that bastard in the rain

[winfred]

$300-400 for a good new aftermarket harness, keep the oil changed (as the oil pick up can clog killing the motor) and the flame trapp/vacuum line and nipple clean (to reduce the notorious volvo oil leak) and it will live a long life


I found a 87 240 - auto wagon. Looks like wiring becomes an issue in these older cars , the **** just falls apart.

[paul p (chi-town)]

91 will be the "K" block with the 63mm main bearings, the king bmf block is the 93-95 "L" with it's even bigger mains and bigger rods and more beefy webbing in the block.
get a catalog from www.ipdusa.com they have all kinds of fun stuff.
ps don't be tempted by the power of a 850 turbo RThanks Winfred.......
I’m still not sure bout the engine spec, according to turbobricks (http://www.mcbrooms.com/volvo/fast700.htm), it should be a late B230 engine. I was worried bout the K thing.
All i know is that she was white, tight and fast as hell.
What’s up w/ them damn sunroofs......i’m yet to run across one that werks. Oh and how hard is a blower motor R&R.

94 530iT&A, ‘Helga’---92 325i, ‘Rolf’…….”Hang up & Drive!”.......no, SERiously. (http://homepage.interaccess.com/~motria/pablosgarage.html)
”Bet that phone call doesn’t seem that important now does it, huh." Nov 20, 2004

[winfred]

sun roofs are generally easy to fix unless somebody really got pissed at it, the blower is a little tight to get at the back couple screws but not real hard to do, it's above the pasingers feet and theres about 3 different ones (sorta like the front brakes) if it's just squeeling it may be able to be lubed as it generally gets wet when tree crap builds up in the cowl, the stupid plastic cover on two of the blower choices traps water right in the motor, i drill a drain hole to reduce the dammage it can do if it gets in there again

[paul p (chi-town)]

Sooooo,
It’s mine.
After the fun in the rain on the way to werk this morning i’m getting tires..............today.
Pics soon.

94 530iT&A ‘Helga’ --- 92 325i ‘Rolf’ --- 91 Volvo 745Turbo ‘Thor’ .......”Hang up & Drive!”.....no SERiously (http://homepage.interaccess.com/~motria/pablosgarage.html)
”Bet that phone call doesn’t seem that important now, eh?” Nov 20, 2004

[johnlee44]

to bullet proof if you get it, replace the refrence mark sensor, fuel pump/main relay (white 6 pin below radio) and the RF relay on the front of one of the strut towers (it moved around) it's the same relay as the aux fan those are the 3 things that will kill a 89 and up 7/9 series volvo
I was wondering if you have seen this problem as my son's car. He's driving and the car suddenly stalls and then when he tries to re-start, the car doesn't want to start. I have replaced the starter, battery, full tune-up and aux fan. Sometime when you try to start it after it stalls, it won't turn over at all as if the battery is dead, then when he waits an hour the car starts right up. Our mechanic can't figure out the problem.

[Bill R.]

If not then there's a good chance that its the fuel pump relay behind the ashtray..Thats if it cranks but won't start.




I was wondering if you have seen this problem as my son's car. He's driving and the car suddenly stalls and then when he tries to re-start, the car doesn't want to start. I have replaced the starter, battery, full tune-up and aux fan. Sometime when you try to start it after it stalls, it won't turn over at all as if the battery is dead, then when he waits an hour the car starts right up. Our mechanic can't figure out the problem.

[winfred]

not turnning over could be a few things, neutral safety switch could need cleaning, ignition switch crapping or a bad power/ground connection between engine and battery. neutral switch can usually be checked by holding the key in the start position while racking the shifter back and forth with a foot on the brake incase it starts, ignition switch (or neutral switch) by crossing the starter contacts, jump the main lug on starter to the small blade (green/red wire i think) and the starter should engauge

[Black 535i]

My wife has a 98 V70 Turbo and loves it but check out the info on the following pages:

http://personal.linkline.com/dbarton/

http://www.brickboard.com

She used to have a 86 740GLE and it was great in the off winter seasons but in the winter it needed 100 pounds of sand in the ass end even with good tires.




What's up everyone,

I know this is a liitle OT but I need some suggestions. I thought there may be someone on here with some Volvo knowlege. I am looking at a 1990 740gl with an automatic transmission and 172,000 miles. The motor is the 4cyl (2.3 I think). This is just going to be my winter car since I recently found a garage to store the E34. I don't know anything about Volvos and I am wondering if this is something I should buy or stay away from. How are the engine/transmissions in these cars? Is 172k too many miles? I will probably put 600-700 miles on it a month. The asking price for the car is $900US dollars. From the pictures I've seen the car has no rust. The reason I am posting is because the car is about two hours away and I don't want to drive that far for nothing. My mechanic has a similar car and says the drivetrain is bulletproof with proper maintenance. Do these have any issues or problem areas? Is there anything I should look for when I go to see it? Any help is greatly apprciated.


Thanks,

Phil