Looking to buy 1985 240 Wagon

Howdy all,
I've been incognito for a few months - sorry for the delay. My 1987
740 GLE is going WELL. I drove her 1500 miles roundtrip recently and
make routine 150 mile trips. I love my VOLVO.

Well, neighbor's selling her 1985 240 DL wagon, and I think I'm
interested. 230,000 miles, silver, great interior. Driver's seat is
busted up (is that vinyl or leather?)

Rebuilt tranny with papers, they are the 2nd owner. Only complaint is
it leaks oil, but I haven't run the car to see where. Hopefully front
leak, maybe main seal.

Anywho - ya'll know I've torn apart my car and read tons, but mainly
about the 740s.

Couple questions:

1- I'm going for $750 - asking price is $1,000 (will negotiate). Price
seems right, right?

2- Do the 1985 240s have the same wiring harness issue my 740 had?

3- I'm sure I can look this up, but what engine does that car have?

4- Yes- I will check the blower motor. LOL

5- Any bugs/glitches specific to the 240 of this era to eyeball?

Lastly, James Sweet - how have you been?

Jamie

 

The drivetrain is virtually identical between the two.

If the body is as nice as you describe, that sounds like a pretty good deal.

Yes, if the engine harness is original, rebuild or replace it. After
being stranded once, I'd never trust a 200/700 series car of those years
until that had been done.

Assuming US or Canada, it has the same B230F that your 740 has.

Despite the horror stories, it's not THAT bad to replace yourself.

Trailing arm bushings, engine/tranny mounts, floor pan rust, seals
around the big rear side windows, and the infamous tailgate hinge wiring
harnesses.

Very busy as usual, but generally good. Funny, until I got there I
didn't realize who I was responding to.

 

I own a 1988 Volvo 740 GLE.

I think I haven't changed either my wiring harness nor my blower
motor.

Why do I need to change them and why are you guys saying that you
won't own a car and drive it while that wiring thing has been rebuilt?

P.S. I am not mechanically savvy and I normally try to do things with
my dad on our own, so your hints would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks a million in advance.

 

Hey James,
Thanks for the input. Tomorrow I'll take some pictures to post. The
lady is out of town, but she allowed me to stop by today and look at
the car. I didn't have the keys, and couldn't start it, but I was very
encouraged.

Under the hood it looks very close to my 1987 740. Engine looks the
same, distributor is different, a couple things in different places.
Being a 1985, I was impressed. The engine was dusty, but things looked
very good.

The wiring harness was completely sheathed, no exposed wires to
inspect. My car's was dry rotted and wires were hanging off. She says
she is the 2nd owner with all the repair papers, so I will thumb
through those.

She knows it leaks oil and had a mechanic inspect it, but I have no
specific details as to where. When I run the car I'll know.

On top of the engine by the flame trap, things around it had oil on
them - old oil. At first I couldn't make it out, then when I saw the
flame trap - I am guessing that thing is releasing oil. That's the
only explanation I could think of as to why certain parts were oily,
when there was nothing apparently leaking on the engine itself.

James, I went over your list - seals are all good on the windows, both
front wheels had some play and the passenger boot on what looked like
a CV joint (I know it's not, but it was a small steering rod) was
buckled.

That's about all I saw that I can report for now. I need to start and
run it to know more.

I am sure that this car has MANY original things, or old OEM things
that can make a big difference off the bat:

1- Clean flame trap
2- Change plugs and wires
3- New air filter
4- Sea foam in the fuel

Just to start.

Thanks!
Jamie

 

Sharshera,

I'll need to look up the years, but in a summary, there was a period
of years, like 1987-1990 or something close, that Volvo released it's
cars with a wiring harness made from faulty material. Specifically,
the rubber or plastic used to coat the wires deteriorated after time
because of engine heat. This was common across the board. What
happens is that even the wires that still have the outer sheath,
inside of that sheath the actual wire coating deteriorates and exposes
bare wire.

The problem is that even though the outer wiring cover hides the
wires, inside bare wire begins to contact each other and arc.
Suddenly, without warning you're driving down the road and everything
dies. You're stuck.

You can find replacements for under $200 on the web, and it takes
about 3-4 hours to disconnect and replace the harness.

People do this because the harness is faulty, and it is only a matter
of time as to when it will fail.

Jamie

 

'88 may be fine, but '80 or so through '87 they used a different
insulation on the engine wiring and it hardens and crumbles off making
the car unreliable.

Blower motors are notoriously difficult to replace on 240s, usually the
bearings start to go by around 200,000 miles. 740 blower motor is easy
to change.

 

Thanks James about the years for the harness - I think I was way off.
LOL

 

The wiring problem carried over into at least some '88 cars.
Our '88 240 had it. As for the blower motor, I think that it's
more a function of age and how hard the fan was used; 10 years
old seems to be the most common time for the bearings to start to
make some noise.

 

Blower motors are notoriously difficult to replace on 240s, usually the

My car has 161000 miles (1988 Volvo 740 GLE).
Do I need to change the blower motor now or this should be changed
sooner than later or what?

 

Since it won't be a huge unexpected expense when/if it does
fail, wait until it at least gets very noisy. They rarely fail
all at once.

 

Is it making squeeling noises or not running? If it works, why change
it? If it starts making nasty sounds or blowing the fuse, then swap it
out. Use a blower motor for a 1987 Chevy Citation, it's 1/10th Volvo's
price and is identical.

 

The last time I dealt with that the Chevy motor fit better than the Volvo
part! The Volvo part (must have been about 8 years ago) had changed to
something that required metal cutting just to make it fit. $150 for the
Volvo part that didn't fit or $30 for the GM part that did... decisions,
decisions.

Mike

 

That's amusing.

When I bought one for mine, the Chevy part was only $18.95, it was truly
an *identical* AC Delco motor to the one originally in the car.

 

I got my blower from Auto Zone. It was like $30 bucks and I think all
I did was drill the drain hole.

 

Change it soon as you can no longer stand the awful noise the worn
bearings make... or it stops working.
As long as it's functioning and tolerably quiet, no service required.