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just_some_240_thread

just_some_guy

just_some_guy

Member
Joined
Jan 14, 2025
Location
Oklahoma
Howdy
This will be a progress/maintenance/modification log thread for my 1993 Volvo 240 Classic.
This is a car I daily, so I have no choice but to maintain it as much as possible.

Limited edition maroon #1566 of 1600.
Wanted an LH 2.4 car and something 1991+ for the better AC system.
Would have liked a manual, but this one was too nice to pass. Will try to piece parts together for a manual swap (eventually).
Car was bought sign unseen. Bought one-way plane ticket and drove it home 8 hours, no problem.
Attempting to make it a half-decent daily driver.
The main plan is to do basic/preventive maintenance (for now) so I can get by using it to commute 150 miles a week.

Quick history on this car:
One owner car.
85k miles on the odometer, but odometer is broken.
A/C kinda works.
Driver side door lock is finicky.
Suspension needs attention.
Tires were 20 years old and were changed ASAP. Went with some cheap decent Falken Pro G5 tires.
Some of the wood trim doesn't stay in place, has some clear coat spots fading.
Not in immaculate condition, but the best damn looking Volvo 240 I have ever owned.

Coolant temp. gauge was not working properly. Did the temperature board bypass, this fixed the gauge. Also changed the thermostat for good measure.
Changed horn to WOLO Loud One, still could be louder, will mess with later.
Car is leaking oil. Will try cleaning out the CCV/flametrap and tracking down the leak soon.

Excited to be in a Swedish brick again.
 
9bSvKWB.jpg

Will add more later! Still getting used to IMGUR
 
It has been a pleasure getting back behind the wheel of the ol' 240, this car is best described as visceral.
I have been driving the 240 for just over two months now. My commute is 15 miles one way, 5 days a week with some occasional errands and work-related driving. I am beginning to see the problems arise from shaking this car down.

There is now a voltmeter installed in place of the 12V cigarette lighter port. I’m sure I can wire the gauge better later.
This voltage is rather unsettling while sitting in traffic, I can’t believe how low the voltage drops sometimes especially with accessories on, looks like the original 80-amp alternator down there. The car finally left me stranded about a month ago while driving in HEAVY rain in the right lane. My suspicion is water splashed up into the alternator and shorted everything out for a moment. Ran fine five minutes later. Splash guard arrives tomorrow.

voltmeter.jpeg alternator.jpeg​

The exterior driver door handle finally broke, it was finicky since I got the car. I have been using the left rear door to get in. For $5, I managed to grab a (rear) door handle from a donor 240 at the salvage yard. The chrome on the handle needs to be painted, I can't beat complain for the price. I'll keep the old door handle since the black ones are harder to come by.
For another $20, I also took the full-sized spare wheel from the same car since my original spare is trashed.

1989 donor 240.jpeg door handle.jpeg spare tire.jpeg​

I ended up changing both fuel pumps and filters as well for the sake of preemptive maintenance. Went with Bosch for the inline pump and Denso for the in-tank pump. Breaking the banjo bolt on the external fuel filter was a major PITA, had to use my hydraulic press to hold the filter down. I don't know if I am going crazy, but I swear I'm convinced someone dumped table sugar into this gas tank a while back. Yikes!

fuel pump sugar.jpeg fuel pumps.jpeg
​
In another dose of rainy bad luck, I hit a rather large pothole I couldn’t see during a heavy rainstorm. I busted the left rear shock completely, but the rears were getting changed anyways since I plan to refresh the suspension. I ended up throwing the cheaper set of Bilstein shocks in the rear. Can't believe it already looks this dirty from driving around for a couple of weeks, drives way better even with just the two in the rear.

shock.jpeg​

Lastly, the ol' 240 had been getting the “bulb failure light” intermittently and noticed I had no reverse lights either. I hard-wired the tail lamps and got rid of that flimsy circuit board thing. Reverse lights are back and no more bulb failure indicator on the dash. Tail lamps also have their own plug now since I bought 7-pin connectors to easily remove them. In case anybody is wondering, 7.8mm female spade terminals work fine on the bulb sockets for the tail lamps. Currently working on converting the turn signals to LED without the “hyperflash".

tail lamp hard wire.jpeg​


For whatever it's worth, I also replaced left visor clip and threw a spare in the glovebox next to the spare fuel pump relay. May get a new spare tire slapped on the way out of town. I am getting ready to make a 500+ mile roundtrip this weekend in the 244.
Let’s see what comes next, the goal is LEVEL 0 (for now).

Cheers to everyone and thanks for reading 🤙🏽
 
Last edited:
Welp, took way longer to change my door handle than expected. Decided to keep the original door handle and fixed the studs, someone already tried to fix it once and did a terrible job. I don't feel too bad fixing it, was already broken before. I'm curious to see how long this will last. Added loctite to everything, cut the studs off, and lubed the moving parts.

IMG_0464-min.jpeg​

Door latch rod was also acting up, was doing this weird thing where outside door handle needs to be pulled, then pull door lock rod, then pull outside handle again. Ended up adding a spring to the inner door latch and fixed the issue (so far).
Bonus: fixed one of the back power window switches on the driver door.

It's fun to document all this stuff, for better or for worse.
 
The irony of not posting for over two months is the fact that I haven't had to do much maintenance. The Volvo keeps holding it down (knock on wood)! I find humor seeing so much of my coworkers having problems with their newer cars as I roll up in my 1993 :lol:

The 240 will be needing some attention again, the belts are starting to slip. I can feel the PS getting weak when I turn and stalled the car once or twice. I have all poly accessory bushings, the smaller reman. Bosch (Denso) alternator, and new belts ready to go.
Will post later after the install, not getting rid of this car anytime soon as it will be my experiment for a while.

Good vibes to all of you (y)
 
just_some_guy said:
Welp, took way longer to change my door handle than expected. Decided to keep the original door handle and fixed the studs, someone already tried to fix it once and did a terrible job. I don't feel too bad fixing it, was already broken before. I'm curious to see how long this will last. Added loctite to everything, cut the studs off, and lubed the moving parts.


Door latch rod was also acting up, was doing this weird thing where outside door handle needs to be pulled, then pull door lock rod, then pull outside handle again. Ended up adding a spring to the inner door latch and fixed the issue (so far).
Bonus: fixed one of the back power window switches on the driver door.

It's fun to document all this stuff, for better or for worse.
Click to expand...

BTW, this probably made some people cringe, but still works fine and I still have a spare door handle. These door handles with the black instead of chrome are harder to find. It's the locking mechanism that's a little funky and not the handle. I will try a better fix later and post.

Cheers!
 
100A alternator looking good down there, threw some poly bushings on the bracket. Fires up to 14V, will keep an eye on things.
Replaced all serpentine belts. Volvo 940 alternator = direct swap. Belts are on the shorter side, but doable.
Will be doing more wiring stuff later.

blog_08_01 copy.jpg
 
It ain't much, but it's honest work.
Replaced the tired ball joints and air filter.
(old ball joint on left, new on right)
ball joint square.jpg
I'm hoping to give the wiring some attention soon.
Cheers
 
I get to pretend I'm cool with my barely-used engine hoist.
Motor mounts changed, almost done with e-fan wiring for the BMW sensor.

IMG_0963.jpg IMG_0877.jpg
 
Finally did the first oil change, flushed out the coolant and changed the heater hoses.
Intake manifold and throttle body gaskets were trashed, brake booster hose had a fat hole in it as well.
Removed 82c thermostat and replaced with OE 87c thermostat, for the sake of fuel economy.
Tried to clean as much corrosion from the heater hose fittings as I could. Inspected the PCV box, cleaned flametrap.
Gotta pick my battles with this one. I would still drive this old tank over so many newer cars.
Still dailying this thing. Suspension/steering will get attention soon. Cheers!

tb1121jpeg.jpg
:cheers:
 
New tie rods, hadda bust out the expensive wheel alignment equipment....fishing line and a couple-o-rulers.
Got it to drive straight enough, I'd rather do the wheel alignment myself (for now).
Shoutout to Dave Barton and 240turbo(dot)com, I still use his information and drive this car around.
Cheers 😀
side_to_side algnment.jpg
 
Keep up the good work! I've never trusted myself well enough for a DIY alignment.
If you haven't given the car a good polish and wax yet, maybe throw it on the to-do list.
I feel like the majority of maroon 240's have TRASHED clear coat, you're one of the lucky survivors.
 
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