• Hello Guest, welcome to the initial stages of our new platform!
    You can find some additional information about where we are in the process of migrating the board and setting up our new software here

    Thank you for being a part of our community!

Advice for my beloved wagon

darkmountain

New member
Joined
Sep 2, 2016
Location
North Carolina
Good day everyone,

I have my beloved 93 240 wagon w/ auto trans that is my daily driver and I just wanted to get any advice/input on to keep it as efficient as possible.

Its a great running wagon (my 3rd 245) but this one is the one I want to keep driving as long as I can as its in very nice shape w/ black on black interior and I've done some extras such as fog lights/tach/small clock but not much performance wise. It's my only vehicle and I baby the hell out of this car.


I do have a few questions that have been on my mind.

1. It burns a bit of oil between changes. I do a lot of stop/go traffic and may daily commute to work is about 15 miles. By the time I reached 1,500- 2k on an oil change using mobile 1 conventional 10w30 (Volvo oil filter) I see my oil at about 1/2 on the dipstick. Keep in mind no leaks.

2. When I check or change my oil I notice a bit of a gas smell with the oil. Not too strong to me but enough for the guy at auto zone to ask me what type of vehicle I had changed the oil on.

3. When I get to 55-65mph on the highway I hear a slight whine form the rear (hopefully on the diff) but it does seem to be where the whine is coming from.

4. In the past I do not know when the plugs/wires/cap or rotor has been changed. Current auto has been in my possession for two years.

I love my 240 and want to keep it running the best I can. Any advice would be appreciated!
 
A cap and rotor are cheap, easy to do, and good peace of mind that portion of your ignition system is functioning properly. Pull the plugs and see how they look. Signs of excessive oil or carbon deposits can indicate a bigger problem, you can look up spark plug symptoms to get an idea. Regap or replace the plugs as needed.
 
Good day everyone,

I have my beloved 93 240 wagon w/ auto trans that is my daily driver and I just wanted to get any advice/input on to keep it as efficient as possible.

Its a great running wagon (my 3rd 245) but this one is the one I want to keep driving as long as I can as its in very nice shape w/ black on black interior and I've done some extras such as fog lights/tach/small clock but not much performance wise. It's my only vehicle and I baby the hell out of this car.


I do have a few questions that have been on my mind.

1. It burns a bit of oil between changes. I do a lot of stop/go traffic and may daily commute to work is about 15 miles. By the time I reached 1,500- 2k on an oil change using mobile 1 conventional 10w30 (Volvo oil filter) I see my oil at about 1/2 on the dipstick. Keep in mind no leaks.

2. When I check or change my oil I notice a bit of a gas smell with the oil. Not too strong to me but enough for the guy at auto zone to ask me what type of vehicle I had changed the oil on.

3. When I get to 55-65mph on the highway I hear a slight whine form the rear (hopefully on the diff) but it does seem to be where the whine is coming from.

4. In the past I do not know when the plugs/wires/cap or rotor has been changed. Current auto has been in my possession for two years.

I love my 240 and want to keep it running the best I can. Any advice would be appreciated!

1 and 2 can be related to valve adjustment and oil going to exhaust pipe.

3) Center Carrier Bearing and Rubber Housing for it OR your diff is low on fluid and might be full of metal shavings.

4) Damn dude, do the favor and replace those with distributor rotor as well

So I would say do the valve adjustment to specs, number 4, pull trans pan and replace filter, drain differential and fill with good synthetic gear oil to specs to the top of the fill plug.
It all can run you about $100-150, but you will for sure fill difference and might get rid of the some problems you mentioned
 
Are you sure the oil isn't leaking? I would expect to see some blue smoke out the tailpipe if you were burning oil. I've never had a redblock burn oil before, and I always get the beat to hell, ran into the ground ones...
 
Sounds like the time has come to add a little LS swap to your life. Remember that these cars were built with LS swaps in mind. Those tricky Swedes had a crystal ball in the 70's.
 
You didn't mention how many miles are on the car. I would suggest maybe a PCV service probably including oil separator box replacement. Also might be time to use 10-40w oil instead of the thinner 10-30w.
 
I had the head off my 1991 740 recently and poured the cylinders full of decarbonizing liquid. Only one cylinder kept liquid in it overnight= 3 cylinders have worn rings/cylinders. This engine also consumes a lot of oil.

You have a worn engine. Add thicker oil and keep an eye on the oil level.
 
Service history and (ab)use are of greater influence of how worn the engine is than miles covered.
For example my 240 with now almost a decade of mild +t. Always maintained but 10k miles between oil changes was normal. Some cold piston slap when LH dumps fuel in the engine at cold winter starts.. Good 12 bar compression on all cyls dry. So I would not worry about engine just yet. They can take a beating!

Pcv service, valve adjustment, some fresh oils, replace those ignition components with good stuff (could even do wasted spark and have even less to replace in future). Ensure cooling is OK (rad Ok/fresh, tstat good, no leaks), maybe check oil pressure.. Engine getting the fuel and spark at the right time and quantity. Not much to go wrong then.
 
Back
Top