Volvo 240SE - "Big Sexy"

[ToolsnTrack]

Hello all,

I just bought a Volvo. Many moons ago, i had a 740 2.3 turbo estate which i used for work. Since then i have had many cars with varying degrees of reliability, but when i found myself needing a load lugger with a bit of rarity to it, i knew where to look. Welcome my 240:



Its a 2.0 with a 5 speed. Very clean rust wise, just a few nicks and scars from its life to show. Runs well, 160k on it so just broke in.

Following a 6 hour drive home i had a list of actions needed. First up, i needed to hear something besides road noise, as it still had the factory cassette deck fitted which long since gave up life...



So in went my Alpine, and not without considerable head scratching...



Still to sort:

1. Heater blower not working. Not a priority in summer but it will be soon!

2. Electric windows decide not to work on occasion, suspected corroded fuse holder

3. Creaking from the rear when moving off. I'm guessing perished bushes on the 4 links / panhard rod, but if there is a more common cause of this I'm all ears!

4. A fairly thorough service including timing belt.

5. .... and now this. So the other night i took it to the local co-op 5 miles away and found a strange clicking from behind the dash, almost like a solenoid or relay tripping out. Only happened intermittently and only while driving, so no chance of sorting it. Took the other car to work, then this morning i decided to give Big Sexy a go for the commute...

Relay is now in full retard mode, tripping balls behind the centre console. A preliminary fondle behind the passenger centre panel established that it is not the flasher relay (disconnected this as it was within reach - no change).

All i have done is isolate the factory amp since fitting the new head unit. New head unit works fine by the way, and is unaffected by this relay flapping.

Needless to say, its been left at home until tonight. Good news is that if it is going bananas as soon as the ignition goes on, it will be easier to track down!

[ccgti]

The stereo surround, is it home made or can you buy them, wanting one for my 240

[monkeytennis]

I love a 240,.. great car, i hope you have many adventures in it! keep us posted on how she goes :-)

super cool, dude!

[ToolsnTrack]

Surround is factory stock. I took the existing one off it, widened the gap to DIN size with a file, then bonded in a modern cage to secure the Alpine.

The figment is the least of your woes. Bypassing or integrating the factory amp will be a bigger challenge!

[justanotherhigh]

I've just bought one of these yesterday, I have the same knocking from the rear end when pulling off - not had time to investigate but you think it's bushes? Wasn't sure if the exhaust was loose and scraping something... Let me know your findings!

[boostwagon]

Looks very tidy, should be a good little run around

[dreadnought]

Swedish barges for the win.

[ToolsnTrack]

Oct 6, 2013 10:42:33 GMT justanotherhigh said:

I've just bought one of these yesterday, I have the same knocking from the rear end when pulling off - not had time to investigate but you think it's bushes? Wasn't sure if the exhaust was loose and scraping something... Let me know your findings!

Got a shot of kwik fits 2 poster the other night. Bushes seem mildly perished but still tight. The knocking is, as far as i can find, from the handbrake shoes...

[justanotherhigh]

Hm. Mine also makes the same noise on startup and when cornering hard... -puzzled look-

[ToolsnTrack]

Always the same noise? Cornering suggests bushes, but start up makes me think gearbox or engine mounts.

[justanotherhigh]

Could be a combination really. Was pondering about the centre propshaft bushings too, apparently they can cause similar symptoms if they allow too much up/down play. Might get chance to have a ferkle at the weekend.

[markgenesis]

That's a tidy looking big beast

[Butterz]

1. Your patience will be thoroughly tested with that. Mine took 2 days although I had to modify the heater motor box as I had the wrong motor.

3. More than likely the trailing arm to axle bush as they commonly go. Get polybushes. Easier to fit and last longer. Standard replacements need a special doo-hickey. Could also be the torsion bar to body joint as they need to be properly torqued.

Looks tidy, mines sat on the drive not going anywhere fast. Miss it.

[ToolsnTrack]

Cheers for the pointers. I looked at the poly bushes. My god, its 3 times the price of a performance car equivalent bush kit. Do you know of a cheap source for them?

[Dorset_Clive]

+1 on the bushes. If going with OEM style be very careful as the pattern parts are sometimes ever so slightly bigger and WILL NOT go into the axle. As me how I know

[ToolsnTrack]

Nah, I never replace anything on a car with OEM if there is an uprated equivalent available. Even this one, same rules.

[justanotherhigh]

Do you know what exactly was playing up with your brakes to make these noises?
I found the cause of my start-up knock - (very) poorly secured back box, and the other noises are definitely rear brake related though I haven't managed to have a proper ferkle yet.
Any updates for us otherwise?

[ToolsnTrack]

Not as yet, but I'm getting there!

So some vital maintenance. Big Sexy has been pretty good so far, plodding away with no major grief. So... basics first. Oil change:



Ugh. Oil drain port on the sump has a bigger hole than that of the drain on my wee bund. Cur massive overflow. That's a patch of my floor that will be black forever more....

Next - Brakes. They are all a bit curse word really, probably just poor maintenance historically. It clunks like curse word pulling away which as said I suspect is a binding handbrake, and the fronts were squealing. Fronts first:



Some glazing but plenty of life in them. Nonetheless, new pads are in and its a lot quieter. Bedded in nicely now and it does feel a bit more positive when stopping. Got another set of pads to go in the back (really, another set of identical pads... the 240 has identical front and rear calipers!Still cant get over the simplicity!!) so that will be this weekends job. I'll pull the disc off and clean up / grease the handbrake mechanism while I'm at it.

Oh, and these run 4 POTS AS STOCK...

[fridazadilak]

You may want to check you have the correct brake pads...because they're not identical front and rear!

[cesarbarbosa]

Nov 7, 2013 8:06:03 GMT ToolsnTrack said:

...
Oh, and these run 4 POTS AS STOCK...

Nice girling 4 pots.
My volvo 164 has ATE 4 pots at the front and ATE 2 pots at the rear...
And it's a decade older...