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

oldschoolvolvo said:

nice work.
i was pleasantly surprised with how nice a freshly rebuilt 240 seat feels.

Click to expand...

Thanks! I was in love at first just because I could sit at rest while still having a good posture. Now that I've had more time with it, I'm curious to see how our eight hour trip to Michigan goes for us. It's pretty darn stiff, but I imagine it will take some time for the cushions to break in. It's already feeling softer than yesterday.

One thing that is very hard to get over is how much more friction is in the freshly textured vinyl. It's no longer easy to just plop in and slide over because the material really puts the brakes on your butt. I have to get partially in, get my feet in, and lean onto the tunnel or passenger seat so that I can lift my butt and reposition. It's kind of a nuisance. Unless you're trying to break track records on a road course with stock seats, these may not be the covers for you. Then again, the texture might wear off and be perfect in a couple months too. Time will tell.

One of the best threads ever, great work. Makes me want another 245

jfs356 said:

One of the best threads ever, great work. Makes me want another 245

Click to expand...

Thank you! Hopefully I can keep this car from self-destructing so that this thread will live on for years. I don't want to be without a 245 ever again if I can help it.

Moose went to Michigan again. I didn't take nearly as many pictures as last year though. To be honest, I wasn't incredibly proud of the car's performance. I officially have a big headache on my hands. Until I get to talking about that, here's a photo dump.
















Mileage upon returning home


The car made it all the way there and back, but the issues I hoped were gone after the intake gasket job were still present. While the car is a lot more consistent now, it's consistently bad. The acceleration from a stop is dangerous when pulling into traffic, and the very best MPG I've been able to achieve is 22. This morning I decided to install the fuel pressure regulator that showed up while I was gone and check the voltage drop from the battery to the cylinder head. I saw 13.6V and no change in performance.

My fuel pumps are both confirmed to be running and less than a year old. The filters are also new. The TPS was recently reset. Maybe I have a plugged cat? Since my down pipe has an O2 bung on it (currently plugged), perhaps I can try running the car without the rest of the exhaust during a test drive? I'm really grabbing at straws now. I know it's an NA 8V, but this is REALLY slow. To be honest, there isn't much of a difference in power between 1/4 and full throttle. Any pointers would be appreciated!

Immediately after this post I felt too negatively toward the car to do nothing about it, so I decided to go after a quick fix.

I knew the cruise control hose going from the accumulator to the inside of the car was bad, so I decided to swap it out. As it turns out, the hose wasn't bad. It was the wrong size to begin with. The cruise control works great up to about 75 mph in today's heat (85F) with the AC blasting. The car seemed to run a little better too. Once the AC was turned off, it was like driving a normal car.

So now I'm looking at the AC. Why is robbing so much power? Well...




It seems that the accessory bushings I did just over a year ago have already failed. Does anybody make good parts anymore? I think it's time to switch them all over to aluminum and not look back. I just hate doing stuff twice.

volvowagoon said:

Immediately after this post I felt too negatively toward the car to do nothing about it, so I decided to go after a quick fix.

I knew the cruise control hose going from the accumulator to the inside of the car was bad, so I decided to swap it out. As it turns out, the hose wasn't bad. It was the wrong size to begin with. The cruise control works great up to about 75 mph in today's heat (85F) with the AC blasting. The car seemed to run a little better too. Once the AC was turned off, it was like driving a normal car.

So now I'm looking at the AC. Why is robbing so much power? Well...

It seems that the accessory bushings I did just over a year ago have already failed. Does anybody make good parts anymore? I think it's time to switch them all over to aluminum and not look back. I just hate doing stuff twice.

Click to expand...

Don't put aluminum ones on the bottom AC compressor bracket. I'm replacing mine after a year. I put plain rubber Meyle ones in the 760, we'll see how they last. I wonder what they used to do back in the day?

leecatd8209 said:

Don't put aluminum ones on the bottom AC compressor bracket. I'm replacing mine after a year. I put plain rubber Meyle ones in the 760, we'll see how they last. I wonder what they used to do back in the day?

Click to expand...

Why not? Are you having issues with belt tension or something?

That's what's irritating. The original rubber lasted 30 years. I don't remember what brand I used, but I'm not interested in replacing them again!

volvowagoon said:

Why not? Are you having issues with belt tension or something?

That's what's irritating. The original rubber lasted 30 years. I don't remember what brand I used, but I'm not interested in replacing them again!

Click to expand...

They're totally worn out just rattling around in the bores of the bracket. I have them on the alternator and power steering pump as well, and they seem fine there.

leecatd8209 said:

They're totally worn out just rattling around in the bores of the bracket. I have them on the alternator and power steering pump as well, and they seem fine there.

Click to expand...

I just found a thread from a few years ago that details this issue. That sucks, but oh well I guess. Better to learn this now than later, so thank you! Would you get them for just the compressor or the tensioners as well?

I saw another suggestion that Volvo Genuine + fender washers + longer bolts is the longest lasting solution besides the originals. Since my AC compressor is the worst offender, I'll get get some expensive rubbers for the bottom.

I just bought a 4-pack of Superpros from ebay. I'm going to try those on the compressor with washers.

i just put the cheapie blue poly ones on all the accessories of my friend's 945, and immediately got told off on FB after he posted pics that they won't last, lol. Watching your progress here, so I can blindly copy it on his car when the cheapy poly ones go..


You're doing great work on this thing, keep it up! One day it'll reward you with accepting it's newly fixed fate and just driving nice..

reiernumans said:

i just put the cheapie blue poly ones on all the accessories of my friend's 945, and immediately got told off on FB after he posted pics that they won't last, lol. Watching your progress here, so I can blindly copy it on his car when the cheapy poly ones go..


You're doing great work on this thing, keep it up! One day it'll reward you with accepting it's newly fixed fate and just driving nice..

Click to expand...

Haha I hate Facebook, but they're probably right.

Thanks for the compliment. I sure hope it starts treating me better soon. I'm starting to arrange plans for getting this thing garaged which should help a lot with some of my rust and degradation issues. lol

I took the 240 up to MI again this past weekend for my bachelor party. It did just as poorly as the previous trip despite cooler weather and less AC usage, but I didn't let it ruin my spirits.

I decided to start taking care of some deferred maintenance like an oil change and brake lubrication. When I went to start the car. it cranked, started, and no less than a second after letting off the key, popped and burst into flames!

Luckily I had an extinguisher handy and put the fire out before it could do serious damage to the car or house. It WAS however, a huge blow to my ego. I'm not entirely sure what happened, but I have a hunch. The distributor cap popped off which leads me to believe that there was an arc in there, which caught some undried brake cleaner. I can't think of any other reason why the cap would have gotten loose from the clips. Otherwise, the damage is minor enough that I think it will run just fine with a new distributor. The number 1 injector wires are a little melty but not terrible. The spark plug organizer melted, but oh well.

I'm thinking the goal is to just make the thing run and drive again. Then I'll weigh my options. The body is trash, and the car is worthless. It's also causing me a lot more grief than joy. Maybe it will treat me better as a toy. Maybe it's time to just cut my losses. We'll see. The fiance's emotions toward the car will be a huge factor in what happens next.

Man this thing is one kick in the nuts after the next. It really reinforces the notion that any non-pristine 240 with more than 150k should really be gone over with a fine tooth comb over a year before it can be trusted.

Also, all Chrysler ignition boxes should be thrown in the trash with the quickness.

Harlard said:

Man this thing is one kick in the nuts after the next. It really reinforces the notion that any non-pristine 240 with more than 150k should really be gone over with a fine tooth comb over a year before it can be trusted.

Also, all Chrysler ignition boxes should be thrown in the trash with the quickness.

Click to expand...

No kidding. I love these things, but they aren't what they used to be. Time isn't really nice to anything.

My fianc? and I were talking a little bit about what we want to do. If the dominos fall favorably, I'm going to get the car running again with just a distributor and some wiring. I'll also try to finish the Camaro within the next few days. Then I can split daily driver duties between two beaters while Allie drives my 2010 C30. Once my storage spot is open, I'll put the GN away for the year and pull the 240 into the garage. From that point I'll attempt to repair the floors and rocker panels and fix some of the oil leaks. If that all goes quicker than expected, I'll try to convert the accessories over to serpentine stuff from an 850. By the time the GN comes back from storage, we should have a new car to daily drive, the C30 sold, a much nicer 240, and a drivable Camaro.

Things rarely seem to go that easily though. I'd hate to lose another 240. I love these cars, but I can't keep dumping time and money into a lemon.

Hardly get on TB any more, but once in a while I come check on this thread. Sorry to hear that the car's not doing so hot, and a fire too! Jeez.

keep at it, this car's too cool for the junkyard man

Harlard said:

Man this thing is one kick in the nuts after the next. It really reinforces the notion that any non-pristine 240 with more than 150k should really be gone over with a fine tooth comb over a year before it can be trusted.

Also, all Chrysler ignition boxes should be thrown in the trash with the quickness.

Click to expand...

It doesn't take a year. It would take only a month if you had all the parts ready. You can't expect to fix a couple of things and have it be super reliable. Everything has to be gone through. You can't trust any of the work done previously

volvowagoon said:

No kidding. I love these things, but they aren't what they used to be. Time isn't really nice to anything.

My fianc? and I were talking a little bit about what we want to do. If the dominos fall favorably, I'm going to get the car running again with just a distributor and some wiring. I'll also try to finish the Camaro within the next few days. Then I can split daily driver duties between two beaters while Allie drives my 2010 C30. Once my storage spot is open, I'll put the GN away for the year and pull the 240 into the garage. From that point I'll attempt to repair the floors and rocker panels and fix some of the oil leaks. If that all goes quicker than expected, I'll try to convert the accessories over to serpentine stuff from an 850. By the time the GN comes back from storage, we should have a new car to daily drive, the C30 sold, a much nicer 240, and a drivable Camaro.

Things rarely seem to go that easily though. I'd hate to lose another 240. I love these cars, but I can't keep dumping time and money into a lemon.

Click to expand...

I would argue that its not a lemon. 240s aren't overly complicated. Just everything has to be gone through. But yeah if it's too much rust, find a rust free one.

Last night was very interesting. We bought one of the only five available brand new Rav4 Hybrids in the greater Indianapolis area. I also managed to cancel an order for $500 worth of Yoshifab stuff. The end of my 240 chapter may be coming sooner than expected. While white855T is correct about the car not necessarily being a lemon, I think my experience with this one was particularly poor. Every part I threw at this thing seemed to have a fitment issue in one way or another which required double the install time or doing jobs twice. While the car is in better shape than I found it, I wouldn't say it's by much.

I have a distributor on the way that should be here by Friday. I plan to get the thing running and driving again, fixing the floor, and throwing a for sale sign in it. I won't let it go for pennies or scrap, but I'm pretty much over the idea of taking a 240 on road trips. The image is a bit tainted now.

volvowagoon said:

Last night was very interesting. We bought one of the only five available brand new Rav4 Hybrids in the greater Indianapolis area. I also managed to cancel an order for $500 worth of Yoshifab stuff. The end of my 240 chapter may be coming sooner than expected. While white855T is correct about the car not necessarily being a lemon, I think my experience with this one was particularly poor. Every part I threw at this thing seemed to have a fitment issue in one way or another which required double the install time or doing jobs twice. While the car is in better shape than I found it, I wouldn't say it's by much.

I have a distributor on the way that should be here by Friday. I plan to get the thing running and driving again, fixing the floor, and throwing a for sale sign in it. I won't let it go for pennies or scrap, but I'm pretty much over the idea of taking a 240 on road trips. The image is a bit tainted now.

Click to expand...

Dude that sounds like a good plan. Patience is definitely something you need a lot of. I've had that same feeling before. Sometimes you just got to walk away.