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Should I dismiss a 240 with a cracked airbag pad?

So what do you guys think of the Jeri rigged shifter with the wiring going from it down to the transmission ?
 
I think this car sounds like a problem. Is the price extremely low? Are you looking for a project? It seems like there should be other 240's for sale in CA.
 
Given how little is adjustable on the alignment of these cars, usually alignment is all you need to know if the car is square or not. If it aligns, it's very unlikely that the body is bent. If a setting is too far out to be corrected that's a red flag.
You can do a basic alignment and the car still be bent as !@#$. The front unibody bends quite easily on these cars during a crash.


So what do you guys think of the Jeri rigged shifter with the wiring going from it down to the transmission ?
It's a turd. How many times do we have to tell you it's a turd before you get the message and move on?


Good bones and a straight body are the problem pieces anymore, with the cars outliving their 20 year 'lifespan'.
This. This. And this. :nod::nod::nod:


I think this car sounds like a problem. Is the price extremely low? Are you looking for a project? It seems like there should be other 240's for sale in CA.
It's most likely this car since it's near him, priced low and has a salvage title.
https://sacramento.craigslist.org/ctd/d/1993-volvo-240-4dr-4cyl-at-c/6340740403.html
 
Well, I don't know what happened, but my post disappeared so I'll type it again. That is indeed the car. I Wasn't trying to beat a dead horse with the tranny question, I just wanted to clarify since there seemed to be some variance of thought on that but I have decided to leave it alone and search elsewhere. Better safe than sorry.Thanks again for your time and input everyone.
 
Given how little is adjustable on the alignment of these cars, usually alignment is all you need to know if the car is square or not. If it aligns, it's very unlikely that the body is bent. If a setting is too far out to be corrected that's a red flag.

I mention this because my car was wrecked. It was pulled for $100 and took alignment directly afterwards.

Point is, it can be fixed. Going to alignment first is a crapshoot though. And as far as I know, they're not cheap these days either (and alignment, pull, alignment is more expensive than pull, alignment ;-) ).
 
Set the steering wheel straight,look to see if both front tires are pointing north & south.You can also sight down the inside of the tires to see if the line of sight is the same on the rear tires.Look at the tires for camber,are they both sitting near straight up and down(zero degrees).Next with the steering wheel straight measure the wheelbase of the car,should be the same.If these three things are good,than you'll be able to have it aligned.Like was said there's not much to adjust on these cars (mostly toe--in).
 
Somewhere in 87, [I think late in the year] so many of them are good in fact I wouldn't write off any of the LH 2.2 cars since most have replacement harnesses by now anyway...

Edit:

Or even a nice B23 / LH 2.0 car.

LH 2.2 is awesome. My '87 with 340K miles has gotten zero love in the decade I've owned it. Touch the starter and it roars to life. Like new compression. Uncanny. 1987 was a so-so year for wiring. Mine's been OK, but the insulation isn't as long wearing as the later cars.


Also, don't limit yourself to 1990-93 240's. The 1989 models are mostly the same, but without the bomb in the steering wheel. I've actually downdated my family's '92 to an '89, since it had the 1st generation bomb installed.

-J

It's actually functional as an airbag. A friend just had his '93 get smashed head on up to the A-pillar and the airbag actually did some good. Of course, I was in a pretty good collision in an '85 245 20 years ago... so I'm not sold.

-Ryan
 
I've had my 93 wagon for over ten years now and the wiring hasn't been a big upgrade over the 80s wiring. Mine has some type of teflon insulated engine wiring and that gets hard from heat and exposure which then cracks and spits open. Especially anywhere there is a bend. So wiring should be checked carefully on any 240 that you are considering for purchase these days.
 
It's actually functional as an airbag. A friend just had his '93 get smashed head on up to the A-pillar and the airbag actually did some good. Of course, I was in a pretty good collision in an '85 245 20 years ago... so I'm not sold.

-Ryan

Functional, yes. As safe as a modern airbag, no. The old ones were meant to stop a 200 lb man, not wearing a seatbelt. The new ones are meant to be used with seatbelts, therefore, they're less likely to severely injure (unless Takata) a 5'2" tall 120 lb woman who happens to have the driver's seat all the way forward, like my mother. Her torso length is normal, but she has somewhat short legs so, in a 240, the seat cushion is touching the center dash console for her to reach the pedals comfortably.

-J
 
Yeah,I remember seeing bloody airbags,& head imprints in the windshields in cars where the driver wasn't belted.A real double whammy!
 
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