• 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!

D?j? Vu Mid-Blue - 1989 Volvo 245 DL

I made a massive mess out of the Camaro while waiting for parts. Instead of being patient like a normal person, I decided to turn to the rustiest car in the fleet and start taking it apart too. :wtf: I'm special, but I'm also tired of this thing being noisy and running poorly.

Lucky for me, the manifold side came apart nice and easily. The catalytic converter pipe also slid out of the muffler without a fuss.
OHWAlaPl.jpg


The muffler side is acting in a traditional midwest sort of way though. The mid-pipe was only a year or two away from falling right off. I'm shocked that this wasn't incredibly noisy, but the clamp was blocking the massive crack. Maybe this was the buzzing under acceleration noise I've been hunting down forever?
Zqaik97l.jpg


Anyway, separating the catalytic converter from the down-pipe was not simple either. Those bolt heads had rusted down a few mm :lol:
3Pcr10Sl.jpg


Still not pretty but it will work!
lzMG54Sl.jpg


Back to the new down-pipe. The Walker unit comes with an air injection plug but it's so long that it nearly touches the other side of the pipe. I just cut it down.
4l1yVXtl.jpg


...and installed tight with copper antiseize. I don't really know why I did that instead of just welding it on, but I guess I can install air injection if I ever wanted to for some dumb reason. :lol:
ieFXLgsl.jpg


Walker also welds in an o2 bung for the degenerates who are removing catalytic converters. I plugged this as well, but I'll want to keep it serviceable in case a future exhaust requires a new bung. Don't mind my buddy's vandalism.
47GBQ26l.jpg


The plan for whenever I decide it's late enough in the day to be grinding metal is to weld an adapter on to the muffler, install a new clamp, and bolt the rest back up! Should be simple. I guess we'll see!
9q6OfWYl.jpg
 
I honestly can't believe I'm done already.
zUBx4dYl.jpg


MFssVO3l.jpg


F9FnCQVl.jpg


ocKZ6rMl.jpg


It fits! Not only that, but my connection to the cat is leak free. To top it all off, I was right about everything! That buzz under acceleration is gone, and the engine goes up to operating temp again. :rockon: I'm super excited about all that, but I'll admit that the job wasn't perfect. moving the back section of the exhaust around so much resulted in a leak between the two mufflers where the clamp rusted out. No big deal. The car is still much quieter than before, and the most pressing non-floor related issues are solved!
 
Great job. I'm gonna have the same battle as you on the floor of the 145. Except yours will probably come out much nicer.

Keep it up, I love this car.
 
Great job. I'm gonna have the same battle as you on the floor of the 145. Except yours will probably come out much nicer.

Keep it up, I love this car.

Thanks man. We'll see. I'll for sure keep at it, but it's also deteriorating faster than I can fix it.

By the way, that comment I made about not blaming the previous for a shoddy repair? I'm retracting it. It's hard to tell exactly whats going on but it appears that this patch was attached with RTV. It's no longer any wonder why the patch rusted out and nothing else.

Right now the plan is to turn the Oldsmobile around pretty quickly. I want to clean it really well, get the blower motor working, and flip it. That money is going to go directly toward a new daily for the fiance, because this car can't handle salt anymore. :-(
 
The temperature issue isn't as gone as I thought it was. It was warm out (70s-80s) when I made the observation. Once the temps went down into the 50s again the temp gauge started going back to its 8:00ish position. So weird. I might have to go back to my maintenance thread and review the replies.

Also, I have a new cat-back exhaust on the way. Stock stuff.
 
I was at a great stopping point on the Camaro, and the 240 was in need of an oil change. I decided to take advantage of the stars aligning and knock a few things out.

I first cut that nice little muffler adapter I made, and removed the old exhaust.
02qcATD.jpg


There goes another rattle! :lol:
rxExDFS.jpg


New Starla exhaust from IPD is in!
ZpTuwIpl.jpg


So far, I'm a fan! It fits really nicely, comes with all the hangers, and is very quiet. Since it's an under axle system, I'm probably going to weld the rear muffler on. It should still be easy to take apart. Plus, it will help with future rust, and the little leak that one of the clamps won't close up.
K8nD5vtl.jpg


I also finally decided to remove the jello trans mount and replace it with the stock rubber one I've been holding onto for a couple years. The car shifts so much better now!
t7K3ieK.jpg


6qzO0v5.jpg


While the car sounds and feels much better, it's hard to be distracted from the rust problems. I absolutely plan to fix, but I haven't figured out how I'm going to pull this car off the road again. One thing is for sure. My fiance needs a new daily driver. We both love this car too much to get rid of it, it's just too darn rusty to be relied on every day. In addition to the rust hole, there's a mysterious oil leak that coats the entire driver side of the block and strut tower, and the rubber accessory bushings I installed last year are already wasted. :-( That's just the start of it, yet none of this stuff scares me. I really want to fix all of it and toss it back on the road for another 30 years worth of vacationing. I just don't know how I'm going to get a new car AND keep this one. I'm either going to be plying an endless game of musical cars, or I'm going to need a new place to store vehicles long-term. We'll see. For now, we keep driving!
 
Last edited:
Not much to report. Rust never gets better without doing anything about it but I have stopped worrying about it for the time being. As it turns out, the hole is all under the seat pan so the carpet never even gets wet in big rain storms. I'll just plan to fix this thing over the winter. If I'm unable to drive the Camaro by that time, Tremec is going to have an earful...

Anyway, I don't have much new to say. The car is still a daily driver and doing everything we need it to do. It even hauled 800 lbs of sand home last week. We did start to notice that it was acting a bit sluggish though. In additions the cruise control was very hit/miss, the washer pump wasn't working, and the final straw in my decision to start repairing again was that it started and died a couple times over the weekend. I'm driving it this week to sort it all out, but I guess I really only needed to pop the hood and inspect. :lol:
wba5wG5.jpg

Obviously the tee to the washer broke, but there was also a split vacuum line which draws from the cruise and HVAC controls. I'm shocked that it was enough to cause the engine to die, but given the noticeably smoother and quicker starts I'm getting now I can't question it anymore!

I love this car to death. With a new daily driver coming just over the horizon, I can finally start looking forward to pulling this car off the road for light modifications, body restoration, interior refreshment, and extreme detailing. I just need to continue being patient.
czNaQedl.jpg
 
Continuing on with the little details while I ignore the gaping hole in the floor. :sarcasticclap:

I didn't realize that these could be installed in less than 15 minutes! What a great product! Thanks goes to 15A for solving my clunk and prolonging the need for new upper strut mounts.
75X08ujl.jpg


tDAJxrdl.jpg


G9FD32el.jpg


oBQkdtvl.jpg


:uh: Yeah, I know the car is still a rusty monster, but I am super happy with the restored ride quality. No more clunking! If my Camaro transmission had showed up when it was supposed to, I would have the 240 floor mostly repaired by now. Oh well. I'm not terribly worried about it yet anyway. So far, the carpet stays dry even when driving through heavy rain.
 
^

Nice progress!

I need to do the upper strut mount reinforcing plates and have shied away from the the job having never tackled the front suspension myself.

15 minutes? Please explain how. Just dropping the struts and slipping the plate over the top?
No spring compressor needed?

Thanks.
 
^

Nice progress!

I need to do the upper strut mount reinforcing plates and have shied away from the the job having never tackled the front suspension myself.

15 minutes? Please explain how. Just dropping the struts and slipping the plate over the top?
No spring compressor needed?

Thanks.
Thanks!

That's exactly it! No compressor needed. Keep in mind that you'll want to drop both at the same time so that you aren't fighting the sway bar. Before you drop the struts, mark where the banana washers is in relation to the towers so that your camber remains close after you bolt everything back together. Then if you drop the struts down as far as you can and pull them all the way to the outside, you can finagle the plate in from the engine side. The hardest part is keeping the top of the mount from spinning while you try to get the plate on all three studs.
 
Last edited:
Thanks!

That's exactly it! No compressor needed. Keepin mind you'll want to drop both at the same time so that you aren't fighting the sway bar. Before you drop the struts, mark where the banana washers is in relation to the towers so that your camber remains close after you bolt everything back together. Then if you drop the struts down as far as you can and pull them all the way to the outside, you can finagle the plate in from the engine side. The hardest part is keeping the top of the mount from spinning while you try to get the plate on all three studs.

Great! Thank you for the explanation. I need to tackle this on the grey wagon.
 
Continuing on with the basic mods. I think I found my new best bang-for-buck part!
hibHM2l.jpg


PUc8XSe.jpg


I hate when I have to wait for a pop-up storm to pass over just so that I can retrieve the jack stands. I guess I could have gotten soaked, but I wasn't THAT excited.
gIQbhQ8.jpg


xp9XYsb.jpg


So I waited and enjoyed the freshly cooled air while I sipped on one of my favorite IPAs. By the way, Sun King Brewery in Indianapolis has half price growler fills every Friday. Since this stuff is already cheap, I can fill my jug for $6. Can't beat that!
vDk2c11.jpg


Anyway, Josh isn't kidding when he says that these frame ties are a must for any 240 owner. At first, I couldn't believe how much more predictable the car handled, braked, and even accelerated. Then I remembered the terrible locations of the four measly bolts holding the k-member in place. It's very believable now. I never thought that I would be able to enjoy a "spirited" drive in an NA 240 without bigger sway bars and lower ride height, but I absolutely did yesterday. I was actually able to break the rear end loose while flooring it in a wet roundabout! :lol:
 
Jinx! The car does not run better than ever. It's actually kinda intermittently low on power, but usually pretty bad. I decided to get a vacuum/pressure gauge to see if I could get a clue.
SeGHyhzl.jpg


I ordered an intake gasket, throttle gasket, and injector o-rings. Hopefully, that stuff will get me in the green and fix my cruise control.
 
I replaced all the intake seals today. I can't say it went well yet, but we'll get to that. The day started with the observance of a broken distributor cap. It's only a year and half old, but those spring clamps sure are tough to get on. Anybody else had this issue?
FQQFydU.jpg


dKkDAmx.jpg


Gross CSI. That sealing oring was as hard as a rock too.
xQkDdrz.jpg


That's better. New copper seals were used too.
7KNvgeZ.jpg


While I was here, I wanted to replace the gauge temp sender and crimp a new terminal on the wire. The gauge has not read up to operating temperature in several months.
ZryiMch.jpg


I cleaned the flame trap as well.
fUsdXRU.jpg


...and the throttle body.
cGd3PzB.jpg


t72G2L1.jpg


I thought this was kind of funny. What I'm showing you is WOT. The linkage jam nuts were loose which allowed the rod to relax. I decided to fix that too. Maybe the car will run better.
5OToKJY.jpg


There we go.
XSbH4Xx.jpg


It's all back together now, but I can't take a celebratory "done" picture. The car doesn't run now. I'm a bit exhausted from all the heat and leaning over, so I took a break. All I know is that I did not have spark on my tester at number one or on the coil wire. I apparently lost my noid light so that's cool. I don't have any fuel leaks so I guess that's a win assuming that my pumps are even coming on. Sigh. I hear them working with the fuse jumping trick though and it would be really bad luck for them to stop now. I can't think of anything I might have disturbed that would stop this thing from running, but I'm also not very fluent in LH.

Could I have screwed up the CPS? The wires have looked like garbage since we bought the car.
Affxuz4.jpg


What about the TPS adjustment? I turned it all the way clockwise, then turned it back until I heard the click and clamped it down. I also heard that the LH really likes seeing the ECT? What would I have done?!
 
Last edited:
GDQfSIol.jpg

I took a shower, rested, and started checking my Bentley manual for hints. I always forget about that nifty little diagnostics center! Let's see what I can find.

No codes stored. TPS check showed 3-3-4 which is good! (first video) At least I set that up right. Then I did the speed signal check (second video) and just saw the light continue to disco. Can anybody confirm that I did the CPS check correctly? Thanks!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TBZaDcJpNXU" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Zpl5QilXvbI" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
Last edited:
crank position sensor signal is critical for the engine to run. I'd fix the wiring and/or replace the sensor. Can't watch video right now...did you run the light test multiple times to grab all the codes? you cyclce through until you get the first one you pulled up originally. Good luck.
 
crank position sensor signal is critical for the engine to run. I'd fix the wiring and/or replace the sensor. Can't watch video right now...did you run the light test multiple times to grab all the codes? you cyclce through until you get the first one you pulled up originally. Good luck.

Crank sensor fixed it, and I knew it would before I even got the old one out. It was quite stuck due to torquing the intake down on the wires. :oops: I think it was time for replacement anyway. lol
FwzUVqpl.jpg


By the way, I happened to have a sensor in the stash of parts that came with the car! I love when that happens. After that, the car was running smoother than it ever had! Luckily the brand new intake gasket didn't leak after have a wire smashed into it.

Today, I went back to working on luxuries. I want this thing to be amazing for our vacation next week, and my seat repair wasn't holding up. I'm pinching the seat frame in this picture.
91zUZS0l.jpg


As if sitting against a steel bar isn't already uncomfortable, the blow out makes the seat terribly uneven. Long drives just barely twisted like that will make you feel like a pretzel. However, I was happy enough with how decent of a job I did with free junk that I decided to go ahead and spend money on new stuff. Apart it came!
wtRuBGrl.jpg


New wagonmeister seat heaters finally installed.
CEhc5R1l.jpg


0fVFDqzl.jpg


Not bad! It's definitely not as easy doing tight new covers over loose new foam as it is with stiff old stuff that only wants to go on one way. :lol: I got a workout, but I'm happy with the way it looks.
PWIZ6xil.jpg


Per the directions for the heaters, their polarity should be checked before installing a connector because about 1 in 100 of them have the red and black wires reversed. I almost skipped it because the odds didn't seem worth the effort. However, the wires were long enough, so why not.

Time wasn't wasted. I'm 1 in 100!
EQ70Curl.jpg


Now neither the color nor the stitching patterns match from driver to passenger side, but dang is this thing comfy! I'll get to the passenger side another time.
UimyiNkl.jpg
 
Back
Top