My "new" car. Volvooooo!

"luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln!" (luvmesome142)
01/07/2015 at 09:54 • Filed to: None

So, in late November I got a replacement for my smushed Elantra. I meant to report on my new car soon after I bought it but I felt a little embarrassed about my decision. I bought a car with 215000 miles on it for $1300.

I was shopping in the "beater" price range of sub $2k cars. I found a slightly beat up, rust free '94 town car and a stick shift, '91 turbo Volvo 940. Neither car was as nice as I thought it was going to be from the CL ads (surprise surprise!). The Volvo was definitely worse than the Lincoln. The problem is, that the Volvo felt so damn familiar and I fell in love with it.

It was the first non-140/240 volvo I had driven. I didn't know, until recently, that the 740/940 Volvos were still pretty much the same RWD platform that the 240s were. Which explains why the car felt so familiar; I've owned two 240s in the past.

Anyway, the car has some issues. The emergency brakes are completely rusted away. Occasionally, it smokes real bad (I think oil is being sucked through the turbo), but then most of the time it doesn't burn oil at all. The shocks need replacing (no biggie). I'm pretty sure the AC doesn't work because the lines are rusted through. And the power steering hose is worn and leaking.

The plusses: turbo!, stick!, limited slip diff!, second set of wheels with snow tires!

I'm having a blast in the snow right now!

Here are some pics.

DISCUSSION (16)

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln!
01/07/2015 at 10:01

Cool find being a manual! Don't really see those at all

Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! > luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln!
01/07/2015 at 10:02

You know what, as long as it runs and you're happy with it, you don't need to justify your purchase to anyone. I'm sure you could have done a lot worse than a Volvo. Besides, it's probably considerably more crashworthy than the Elantra.

ACESandEIGHTS > luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln!
01/07/2015 at 10:04

Stick on the 740/940 "luxury" car, interesting find. I've always considered those a safer buy because the transmission will never fail in one complete fell swoop.

Anyway, I rocked a 740 for a year or two, finally got sick of the breakdowns.

A 240 though I would put up with the pain for. My wife's abuela has a 140 shuttered away, though everything in it has most certainly rotted away by now.

luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln! > JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder!
01/07/2015 at 10:10

It's actually a swap. I actually did my own auto to manual swap on my old 142 volvo, so I wasn't scared away by that.

luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln! > ACESandEIGHTS
01/07/2015 at 10:13

It's a swap. The previous owner did it. I'm with you on the autos; they've always felt like time bombs to me.

One of these days I'm going to get another 140. It was my first car. Irrational love!

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln!
01/07/2015 at 10:13

Occasionally, it smokes real bad (I think oil is being sucked through the turbo), but then most of the time it doesn't burn oil at all.

Could be a seal in the turbo, or it could also be blow-by because of a bad piston ring or something. Might be worth letting the PCV valve vent to the atmosphere for a bit to see if it still does it since that would be an easy fix if that's your problem and you should still be able to live with it without gumming up your intake manifold. If it's just blow-by and you don't want to put it out into the atmosphere, you could always install a catch-can between the crankcase and the intake manifold.

PS9 > luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln!
01/07/2015 at 10:15

"Smushed" LOL, you make it sound like someone spread it across their toast with a butterknife.

Alfalfa > luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln!
01/07/2015 at 10:16

Good move. I myself have recently "upgraded" from a Hyundai to a Volvo.

Steve in Manhattan > luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln!
01/07/2015 at 10:24

What's the little gauge to the left of the radio?

luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln! > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
01/07/2015 at 10:24

Thanks! I'll check that out.

There is a little trail of oil in the hose between the turbo and the intercooler. And it seems to be worse after I've engine braked. So my thought has been that during engine braking there is low pressure in the intake side that sucks some oil out of the turbo. Sound reasonable?

luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln! > PS9
01/07/2015 at 10:26

It was kinda like that. The inattentive girl behind me in the SUV was the butter knife and the F150 in the intersection was the toast.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln!
01/07/2015 at 10:34

Yeah, it looks like it could be the PCV system (judging by the volvo forums, still worth checking first), but is more likely gunk build up in the oil lines that lubricate the turbo that's increasing pressure and forcing it into the intake turbine. Here are some posts that seem to make sense to me:

Should have placed this message in the technical part of the

forum but here comes some sort of answer anyway. Generally

high crankcase pressure has to do with the Positive Crankcase

Ventilation system, which becomes blocked which forces up

crankcase pressure giving the oil seals a hard time. Before

you ditch the old girl have a good look at the PCV system. At

the rear of the inlet manifold attached to a

"canister" screwed to the block and showing between

3 & 4 inlet ducts is a "Y" shaped item of

plastic tubing. A tube connects this to the

"canister" and if your car is a non-turbo version

there is a small filter in the body of the "Y"

shaped piece. On turbo versions this little filter is not

there but the assembly can still become blocked, as can the

small diameter pipe which goes to a brass take-off point on

the top of the manifold near No 2 inlet duct. The take-off

point should also be included in the thorough cleaning of the

three pipes and the "Y" shaped piece. All the bits

are available from the dealer or from GSF (I am not sure

about Eurocarparts though). The other problem (burning oil

smell and smoke) could be due to the PCV blockage as it tends

to force oil everywhere. I hope you can resurrect the dear

thing and it turns out to be this simple a cure.

All the best, Peter

Let me tell you my friend and fellow Volvo driver that I will

eat my own entire Volvo repair manual library with chips and

ketchup on the side if you need a new engine. This is the

clue to your problems:

Your engine has a turbo, this turbo is cooled with coolant

and lubricated and partially cooled with engine oil. This

system works with two oil lines, supply coming from the block

level with the exhaust manifold and going to the top of the

turbo and the return from below the turbo and going to the

bottom of the block. These are blocked, trust me. Why?

Simple, you are not careful enough when you drive your car.

When you drive a turbo engine, you need to let it cool down

before you switch it off, always, every time. The time you

need to let it cool down depends on how hot the turbo is, how

hot the turbo is depends on how hard you have driven. Down to

the corner shop for your Sunday paper, maybe a minute, 100

mph on the motorway for three hours, 5 minutes. If you do

not, and I bet you don't, the oil inside the turbo stays

there and because the turbo is so hot, it carbonises and

cloggs up your oil lines thus causing the turbo to burn oil.

Now, because your turbo burns oil you can then also kiss the

seals and gaskets in the turbo goodbye. Also, and most

probably, your oil box is blocked. This is a black plastic

piece sitting under the inlet manifold and has a hose going

from it to the air box. Now, this is what I would do if I

were you. I would order from a good, third party supplier

such as Braydon a new oil box and new oil lines. I would then

remove the turbo and send that off to Turbo Technics for new

gaskets and seals and balancing. When you get it back, fit it

with the new oil lines and remove the intercooler and all

turbo piping, clean that out thoroughly, fit the new oil box

and then open up the air box. There will be oil in there,

trust me. Clean that out and clean out the small filter on

the hose from the air box. I bet you a box of fine cigars

that your car will be fine. Oh, use only the best oil, Mobil

1, and change regularly.

George

luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln! > Steve in Manhattan
01/07/2015 at 10:36

That would be boost, baby!

It's a little redundant because the little gauge at the bottom of the tach is also intake pressure, but the aftermarket gauge has numbers on it.

luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln! > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
01/07/2015 at 10:44

hey thanks a bunch for looking that up. First order of business will be all the hoses and pcv stuff. If that doesn't do it I'll be pulling the turbo for a cleaning.

PS9 > luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln!
01/07/2015 at 12:05

:( Well, glad to hear you survived and are healthy enough to keep driving.

luvMeSome142 & some Lincoln! > PS9
01/07/2015 at 13:07

Thanks. Surprisingly no whiplash even.