1987 Volvo 740 GLE Non-turbo Crankshaft Bearings Knocking

  • Thread starter Thread starter jamiebabineaux
  • Start date Start date
The thing about these cars is, they're well made, "classic" in design,
comfortable, good steering and handling: they're a good product.

Safe, too.

So for one third or so the price of a new Camry, you can buy, rebuild,
and restore an old Volvo.

You pays your money and you makes your choices.
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Yes that's entirely true, I'm not arguing against that, just saying that
there's an abundance of good condition motors out there that can be
given a new life, no sense in wasting time rebuilding one if you can
find one that's already got plenty of life left in it.
 
Thanks for all of the good info. I'm in my mid-30's and just sold a
perfectly good 2001 Honda Accord EX in order to cut expenses and
purchase a house in the coming months.

I saw this car for $500 bucks offered by a Professor at the local
college. I grabbed it thinking if it got me to work and back for 3
months, it would have served it's purpose. The car looked really
neglected.

Then I cleaned it...

Suddenly the car looked amazing! With a little detail the exterior and
interior looked almost new. I needed a few things: headliner, tires,
shocks, etc., but those were minor.

The engine had this front and rear oil leak, mainly due I think to a
neglected breather box and flame trap. We got that in shape, updated
the ignition system and she is supposedly running like a charm -- with
a knock.

So, my thoughts are no longer that this is a 3 month temp car, but a
car I want to restore to the best condition possible and put another
100,000 miles on. In my mind, if everything else on the car looks and
works well, why not have an engine that is perfectly solid?

In sum, I want an engine and drive train that I know will let me take
400-500 mile road trips a few times a year, and that the core is solid
so I can begin to update all of the peripherals and bells and whistles.
 
Suddenly the car looked amazing! With a little detail the exterior and
interior looked almost new. I needed a few things: headliner, tires,
shocks, etc., but those were minor.
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A bit early for this now, but here's a tip on the headliner. If this is
a sedan, have the windshield removed to get the headliner in/out
otherwise while it can be done, you'll be cursing and swearing up and
down that there's no possible way to get it in or out without breaking
it in half.
 
Hmmm, well, it needs a new windshield because of a crack. I thought
removing the seats would do the trick, but you make a great point.

Thanks!
 
I can tell this is going to be a painful relationship. I had my Volvo
for a week, then the mechanic has had her for a week. Am I the only one
going through withdrawels from not having my car to work on?

These cars are addictive! At first it was just a $500 ride. Now I want
to do the brakes, tires, suspension, engine, interior. etc, etc, etc.

This car is almost 20 years old and isn't even a turbo. Somebody should
have warned me these cars are worse than crack cocaine! :-)
 
Hmmm, well, it needs a new windshield because of a crack. I thought
removing the seats would do the trick, but you make a great point.

Thanks!
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Been there, done that, I will say that it *can* be done without removing
the windshield, but I will never do it that way again. It's very
unnerving after spending hours carefully stripping and recovering the
headliner, to be bending and twisting it until you're sure it's gonna
snap in half, trying all sorts of positions swearing up and down that
there's just no way to get it in there until it finally does pop into
place. That was with both all the seats as well as the parking brake
console removed.
 
I can tell this is going to be a painful relationship. I had my Volvo
for a week, then the mechanic has had her for a week. Am I the only one
going through withdrawels from not having my car to work on?

These cars are addictive! At first it was just a $500 ride. Now I want
to do the brakes, tires, suspension, engine, interior. etc, etc, etc.

This car is almost 20 years old and isn't even a turbo. Somebody should
have warned me these cars are worse than crack cocaine! :-)
Click to expand...


Yes, just look through the IPD catalog and in no time at all you'll have
a list of hundreds of dollars worth of goodies you want.

Just remember that almost 20 years ago someone plunked down the
equivalent of around $35,000 in today's money for that car, they took
one heck of a depreciation hit and got it all broken in for you :)

Even if you manage to spend enough that it becomes a $4,000 car, you'll
be cruising in comfort and style in your decked out luxury brick for the
price of a used Kia.
 
I'd happily spend $35,000 on this 20 year old car. If I could do it one
dollar a day for the next 35,000 days...

:-)
 
Funny, the people who sell the headliner kits don't seem to mention
this. hmmmmmm.

Seriously, I know they want to make the job seem as easy as possible to
sell kits. Worst case, cut off the top and make a convertible. ;-)
 
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