Hacked III: Third Time's The Charm (M90 940 Edition) (prev. Hacked II)

[fatcatbestcat]

A Very Late and Very Image Heavy 'Update'

Progess.

Yeah, that statement aged poorly. Five months later, I now have the tools... and the time to work on the car again.

Not a valid or relevant excuse, but I have long covid, so I get fatigued super easily and working on this car in the heat is killing me. I do want to get the car driving before August, but I've set goals like that before and not achieved them.

Anyway; here's what I got done this week. Not much, but it's a start.

Along with the tools, I also grabbed a pair of D24 greenbooks for quick reference. I'm aware there's PDF-ified versions online, but it's nice to feel physical paper, and I don't have a laptop to bring out to my garage anyway.

I had gone through the garage a few times last week looking for other things, and I checked the car for rust or any sign of animal damage (resident raccoons - more on that later), and fortunately me not touching the car does not seem to have made it worse. I killed the battery in January doing a cold start experiment, so that's why I have a fresh one in this picture.

I'm not sure exactly how this happened, but the line to the coolant expansion tank got clipped and seems to have leaked coolant all over the battery and tray. That was fun to clean up.

Replacing timing belts means removing the rad, so that was the first thing for me to procrastinate about. I hate dealing with coolant, and it's especially annoying to deal with spills on an old concrete floor that is covered in holes.

Also, for some reason, the clamp on the lower rad hose was turned at such an angle that I had absolutely no hope of getting a screwdriver on the nut.

At the time, it seemed like a smart idea to just unplug the overflow tank's lower hose to drain *some* of the coolant and make the job a little easier. Naturally, the ensuing jet of liquid shot past both of my splash pans, ran straight into the firewall and then dripped to the floor of my garage.

I then proceeded to not touch the car for a couple days after being so disheartened by this embarrassing spill...

There were some huge storms in my area this one day... power went out, trees down etc etc. The day after the storm, I check my garage to find not one, not two but three deceased baby raccoons right out front next to the car.

That was incredible fun to clean up. I think this car might be cursed.

At any rate, my solution to the lower rad hose issue was just to pull it off the engine side. Was a little awkward to remove it with the radiator, but it did work out.

SO much more space to work with now!

Thanks to v8volvo for providing the tools! This one here is used to remove/install the crank pulley, but the manual also calls for its use to turn the motor over to TDC when doing timing jobs.

This is somewhere near top... I will confirm later when I go to remove the pump.

I also have this nifty tool to remove the (very tight) nuts on the injector lines.

These ones in particular were rather annoying to get to. There's a lot in the engine bay that has to come out.

This is the vacuum pump, removed. Note the wires at the bottom for the glow plugs.

Lines off!

That's all for now. Hoping to make some more progress this week.

 

[leecatd8209]

Good work! Keep it up.

 

[TilledChip]

Good stuff

 

[aeug]

Proud of you, looking forward to more updates

 

[v8volvo]

Looking good! Getting the momentum going.

Having that Hazet offset/curved line wrench for working with the injector hard pipe unions is a big plus, makes that job a lot easier.

I always forget how much tighter the D24 engine is in the 240 engine bay vs the 700 series. In a 740 you do the TB job with the rad in place. Once that rad is out of there in the 240 there is plenty of room though.

That old style cork 4-piece valve cover gasket is no fun to deal with, best to replace with the one-piece reusable neoprene rubber type. I think IPD even has them now.

 

[fatcatbestcat]

This Week: More Not Progress (nearing crush time)

Great. Predictably, a number of things keep getting in the way of making progress. Wouldn't be a fatcat build thread without that.

This week I did a number of things, out of order. Just whatever could work before finding new roadblocks to overcome.

Normally when doing a belt change on a D24 - for the rear, anyways - you remove the belt by pulling the rear cam sprocket off, using this special holding tool to keep it in place. I had a hard time getting a proper bite on the nut with the requisite tool, so I went back with my camera to get a good look at it.

Of course. Rounded over. At this point I decided not to keep going out of fear of making it worse.

My logic was to instead pull the sprocket off the pump, which is a little more work. Good precaution to rotate the pump over to this mark on the bracket before removing it.

Not quite there...

Close enough.

I got kinda lazy here and wanted to skip the sprocket removal and just pull the whole cast iron bracket off the block, taking everything off as one unit. That involves the removal of these three bolts.

The top two were no problem, but naturally the one all the way at the bottom was way too tight and my wrench wasn't quite long enough to give me the proper leverage.

Le sigh.

Guess I need to do it the 'right' way.

Back to the pump, I get the puller tool mounted on the back (sideways, apparently - oops) and there's a little plug you jam into the spokes on the sprocket to lock it in place.

Then it's just a matter of tightening the center bolt on the puller until it falls off.

Before I went all the way, though, I decided to loosen up the mounting bolts that hold the pump to the bracket. These play a part in belt tension, so I thought it would be smart to slacken them a little. Normally there's a really annoying 6mm allen screw on one corner, but that has evidently been replaced at some point. I had to get this very sketchy contraption together to pull that top-left bolt out.

Naturally, it fell and settled down on the pump bracket where I couldn't reach it. A solid reminder to invest in some magnetic sockets.

The last pump bolt was probably the most annoying to get to. This one was a different size than all the others, and there was very little room to actually access it. No space in front to use a ratchet.

There's also a mess of wires and hoses that get in the way - I ended up using the end of a ratcheting 12mm wrench, snaking my arm up under the pump and the hoses to get at it.

Back to that sprocket - came off as it should. I made sure to bag and save the keyway as well.

And now the pump's off. Basically the whole reason for me doing this.

This here is the leaky plate on the engine side of the pump. I have some seals to replace, but naturally both torx heads on this side were already stripped. I was tired and impatient... and made them worse. I managed to get one out, if only because I had stripped the head to the point where a torx bit two sizes larger than intended fit correctly.

I'm just... eugh. Not having a good time. I was supposed to return the tools to v8volvo this week, but between the heat, rain and problems like this... I'm less and less sure every time.

I did try vicegrips, but mine are old and terrible and just slip off the rounded surface of the screw heads.

 

[fatcatbestcat]

Aaaaaaaaaaaand that's the last time I upload images from my phone. I'd been using my camera before, but for some reason I cannot resize or edit ones from mobile.

Glad nothing works for me currently.

Anyone have a B21A they want to hand off to me?

 

[ortho stice]

Just a thought at a point that?s too late, but if you?re replacing belts anyway just cut them off. Regarding that stripped cam pulley bolt head; pull the entire camshaft so you can get better access to it. When I did this job on a VW 5 cylinder we had to pull the camshaft anyway because the crank side pulley was completely stuck on the taper. Just remember to label cap order and orientation (for example, cap #1 from front of engine with an arrow showing which side faces forward).

Don?t give up; follow the instructions and go slow. It?s all just metal put together with nuts and bolts.

 

[leecatd8209]

I believe in you!

A set of vice grips with some nice, sharp teeth should make quick work of that last torx bolt. You've got the hard part done already.

 

[v8volvo]

Progress!

You could always just drill that stripped torx head screw. Use a bit that is larger than the screw diameter and once it gets below the level of the head of the screw, it'll let the head just come off. Then once you have the cover removed, you'll be able to grab what's left of the screw with pliers and spin it out easily.

Any Bosch fuel system shop will have plenty of those screws to replace with, or I have at least a dozen injection pumps kicking around for spares, could send you a baggie with a few.

Don't worry on the tools, no time pressure on that, just use them for what you need them for till the job is done. It'll get there! Putting it back together is much easier.... and more fun, since you are no longer fighting the kludges done by others with incorrect/damaged fasteners etc. It will be satisfying to see those problems get made right.

 

[v8volvo]

Regarding that stripped cam pulley bolt head; pull the entire camshaft so you can get better access to it. When I did this job on a VW 5 cylinder we had to pull the camshaft anyway because the crank side pulley was completely stuck on the taper. Just remember to label cap order and orientation (for example, cap #1 from front of engine with an arrow showing which side faces forward).

Good advice, agreed this is the best solution, get the cam out and then a tight fitting 19mm 6 point impact socket and good impact gun, while holding the cam with a soft cloth. It is not uncommon to have to do this on these engines where someone overdid it with the rear bolt.

+1 also on importance of keeping the cam caps in right order and orientation. Don't get confused by the factory markings on them: some are marked with the text facing forward and some face back. If you try to put all the text facing the same way, it will put the caps in the wrong orientation and they will break when you try to install. Just take careful photos/notes and make markings with sharpie, or build a box to store them in correctly. No challenge other than installing two cam seals when you put it back together -- which probably could use to be replaced anyway.

I can send you a good replacement rear cam sprocket bolt no problem to replace that rounded one, got plenty of those.

 

[nordmaschine]

Well, you remind me of me, or everyone else for that matter, when I was starting this whole "project car" game...


You already have all the help one could need from v8volvo so I don't have anything further to add, but regarding the D24...even coming from a "land of diesels" - D24 can be quinte intimidating at first, steep learning curve. But once you go through all the hoops, you realize how incredibly simpe it actually is, and from there on you'll be able to rebuild them with your eyes closed. Just keep on it.

 

[fatcatbestcat]

Regarding the D24...even coming from a "land of diesels" - D24 can be quinte intimidating at first, steep learning curve. But once you go through all the hoops, you realize how incredibly simpe it actually is, and from there on you'll be able to rebuild them with your eyes closed. Just keep on it.

You know - I agree.

Now that I've done everything once, I have a good idea of how to do it all again, but more efficiently. Some things took slightly different approaches than what I've been seeing in videos and/or greenbook instructions, but I guess that's just how it is sometimes.

My car is pretty hacked up already, so naturally there's going to be some differences - but now that I've established an order of operations, I sorta know what I'm doing.

I guess everything else is on hold until I can get some replacement screws for that side of the pump. About to go on vacation for two weeks, so it'll probably be another month before I can get anything new done

 

[v8volvo]

Yep the D24 is its own beast, but ultimately a very simple and even elegant design.

The only tricky thing about it is that it's "different" -- if you are coming from the VW diesel world most of it will be familar but if not, it can seem crazy. No keyway for the camshaft? Have to use lockdown tools and a precise flywheel zero process rather than "just paint on some marks and line em up and go" for timing belt service?

Actually, although these methods were unusual and exotic back when the D24 was introduced, they are commonplace on engines (not just diesel but also gassers) nowadays. More precision needed for higher performance/emissions means more precision in the timing system procedures. Do a timing belt service on a Ford 2.3L Zetec engine and you will see many things, like slip-fit cam pulleys and a crank locking pin, that are familiar from the VW diesel world. It was just ahead of its time since most other engines from the early D24 era were prehistoric gasser boat anchors.

That didn't stop people from hating it when it was new. Volvo dealers and indie techs didn't care to climb the learning curve and ruined the engines over and over by mechanical sabotage. It wouldn't have taken them much to do it right, but they just didn't want to. It got a reputation as "hard to work on" or "failure prone" that was actually all about mechanics being stupid and lazy. As noted above, once you actually understand how it works and WHY the special methods matter, it becomes a piece of cake.

If your mind is not open/curious and you want to insist that it needs to be built just like a redblock 4cyl or a Chevy 350, you'll hate it forever. (Just like the same Volvo mechanics that hated and wrecked D24s also hated and wrecked PRV engines, and then thought the early whiteblocks and FWD platforms were the worst thing ever to happen to Volvo and blew up so many of those low belt change interval 960 motors lol..... see a pattern???) But if you acknowledge that it is necessarily different -- different in a GOOD way, from many respects -- then you will find it simple and satisfying to work on and own.

 

[v8volvo]

Cat, happy to send you some screws for that IP cover. That said, I think you may want to consider sending the whole pump out to a rebuilder or to Tom Bryant in Maine USA for a reseal since you have already done the work of pulling it off the motor.

Reason I suggest this is -- with those O-rings on the pump, usually if one starts to leak, the rest of them (same age) will be leaking soon too. My experience is that anytime I have replaced just one seal, I end up back in there doing the rest of them within a few months, usually on the first really cold day of winter right when you don't want to be fighting with fuel leaks and frozen hands.

As it happens, the side cover seal you are looking at changing right now is one of the easier ones to do. But the biggest leaker tends to be the big diameter seal where the cast iron pump head meets the aluminum case. The driveshaft radial seals can leak too, and same with the top cover seal. If you have a good opportunity to replace all of them, with the pump off the motor, it's worth doing it.

The head seal and top cover seal require major disassembly of the pump so not advisable to do it without being able to have it recalibrated on the test bench. That's why I'm suggesting send it out to someone who can do all the seals plus also ensure the pump is calibrated correctly afterwards.

I think Tom B only charges a couple hundred bucks to do seals and check it out on the bench. Great deal, and then you won't have to wonder or worry about the pump ever again.

Fuel leaks from the IP on a Volvo are definitely something to avoid due to the heater hoses that run directly under the pump and can be damaged by fuel leaks. (I like to also reroute them away from that area anyway.) Check those hoses out carefully and repair/replace as needed if they are questionable. There are tips on d24t.com FAQ on recipes for rebuilding and rerouting the heater hoses out of harm's way.

 

[fatcatbestcat]

crush time imminent...

aeug

I have been working on it on and off, just keep having issues that are very much damaging my sanity. It would help if I had any idea what I was doing... or just shop space and motivation.

I'm also now noticing that my last progress post for some reason no longer has images... probably something to do with how obscenely massive they were. Going back to using an actual camera, and not just my phone...

Anyways, last time I was feeling super dejected because of some stripped out screws in the leaky side plate on the pump. My plan was to drill out the one screw that I couldn't remove...but that didn't work out the way I expected. Doesn't help that I was trying to cheat and use a stepped bit, which probably wouldn't have ended well anyways.

Turns out the actual solution was to wiggle the side plate, which loosened the screw up enough for me to pull it out with pliers... here's what I found under that plate.

Here's the old seal compared to a brand new one. I can't conclusively say this is the culprit of the horrendous leak on this side of the pump, but it's probably not helpful that there's a giant split in it and that it's soaked with diesel.

New seal in.

Next thing I checked out was the plate itself... the bottom didn't quite seem flat, so I found myself a nice flat sheet of glass (my coffee table) and some sandpaper and tried my best to level it out. Again, no way of confirming if this was the perpetrator of the leak, but it made me feel good to polish it up.

Now back on, with two fresh screws generously supplied by v8volvo. If you're reading this, sorry and thanks again for all your help and patience.

So I got the pump sort of loosely back on, and with the sprocket fitted vaguely to the shaft on the backside.

At this point, I figured I should go back to the engine timing... which I probably should've done in the first place. To my knowledge, there's one big 27mm bolt and four cute little 6mm hex screws holding on the crank pulley. I spent a long time trying to get the center bolt to spin, but it's long and fine-threaded, and I'm told they get stuck in there from time to time, so I moved to the hex screws.

This is where the fun happens.

I was trying to use a dinky little 1/8" drive ratchet and was getting nowhere, just not enough leverage. Went through my stash of old and mislabeled tools and found an adapter to put it on one of my larger ratchets...

I was so excited... it felt like it was giving way (now with the transmission in gear and the handbrake on)... and then suddenly I feel zero resistance... I look down and the adapter has shattered.

And then it started raining. Good times.

*sigh*

I dunno anymore. At this point, the only thing motivating me is a half-serious advert I put on Kijiji for the car. Sitting here waiting to smile at the lowballs, and so far six different people have asked about it. The seventh seemed very angry and Hubert-like.

I dunno. I'll probably keep at it... there's really not that much that has to be done to get it running again.

 

[threewagons]

You're close man! Just keep at it.

An impact would make short work of those hex bolts, or drill the head off and replace.

 

[fatcatbestcat]

You're close man! Just keep at it.

An impact would make short work of those hex bolts, or drill the head off and replace.

Right after I posted, I just wiggled it and it came right out. Going to try a larger hex socket on my breaker bar tomorrow - hopefully that gets them out.

 

[fatcatbestcat]

hm...

Alright, this is more of a not-update...

After I shattered that little adapter and thrououghly ruined the hex bit, I went out and bought a proper impact bit with a 1/2" drive, so I could just mount it directly to a breaker bar and not fuss about with adapters. Works like a dream.

I panicked for a moment because I thought I snapped the first one, working a breaker bar against the car stuffed into 4th with the handbrake on and all... it was just the bolt breaking loose. Did that two more times, and 3/4 are out... my issue now is that this bottom one is directly in front of the rad support and a little stripped. I can get the socket in there, but it twists at an angle when force is applied to it... which is really sketchy and I don't like it.

I think the move here is just to turn the engine over a bit until I can get this one out. It (for some reason) is unbearably cold today, so I'm going to wait a bit later until it warms up.

 

[ortho stice]

On my Quantum TD I had to ez-out (the socket style ones that dig into the outer diameter of the bolt head) those crank pulley bolts because every single one got rounded out by me or from some previous mechanic. I bought nice new ones from Lowe's or something afterwards.