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Short Version:
1987 Volvo 245 4 Cylinder, 5 speed manual transmission
Mileage: 305553
Runs great, everything works except:
- Note: 9/18/24 Car will not start. Cranks but no start. Have not had time to diagnose but it did start fine a couple of weeks ago.
- No AC – was not upgraded to latest system, assuming it needs new compressor.
- Heated seats disconnected – assuming do not work.
- Radio only in left speaker (but it has a tape deck!!!)
Body in good condition – no visible rust.
Undercarriage has some rust holes that need to be dealt with. See below.
Mystery water leak onto driver side floor during rain. See below.
VIN Code: YV1AX885XH1747989
This VIN is from a 1987 Volvo 240 2.3i
Chassis Number: 747989
Model Year: 1987
Model: 240
Factory: [Sweden] Torslanda Plant VCT 21(Volvo Torslandaverken) (Gothenburg)
Engine Code: B230F
Long Version:
- I purchased in Feb 2020 from mechanic selling for customer. Mileage: 273355 at purchase
- Engine head had just been machined with valve job
- Brake master cylinder had been replaced
- I opted to not have the air conditioning system repaired to save money as I had not owned a vehicle with functioning air conditioning anyway.
- 8/22 – replaced rear brake pads and rotors
- 12/22 – replaced valve cover gasket, spark plugs and wires, distributor cap, rotor
- Note: I incorrectly installed the valve cover gasket and on a short test drive to the grocery store it broke on the way back and caused oil to leak down to underside of engine – was only able to clean off some of it.
- 2/23 replaced rear brake calipers when one burst (fortunately in my driveway).
- 3/23 replaced front brake calipers, pads, rotors
- 7/23 replaced windshield wiper motor. Oil and filter change.
- 9/23 replaced spark plugs
- Body and undercarriage notes:
- You will see in the pictures that the front and rear bumpers are slightly out of alignment with the body. I don’t believe it was that way when I bought the car (though it’s possible I didn’t notice) and there have been no collisions of any sort since but a friend (Dale) who restores old cars looked at it and said it appears the left front bumper may have been hit – probably in a parking lot – which caused a slight twist. The difference is mirrored on the back so apparently there is an internal framework for the bumper system. The body is a “uni-body” – there is not an external frame that the body sits on. But he said the body appears to be in alignment with the drive shaft and there has been no change in the way it drives. The car tracks very well.
- The main issue with this car is that there are some rust holes in the underside. I think Dale said there are 3. Obviously they need to be repaired to prevent water from coming in and the rust expanding. Dale suggested that ideally they should be repaired from the inside which means taking out flooring. The problematic one is around the drive shaft supports. I don’t know if that area can be reinforced or not. If not, the drive shaft will eventually drop. Dale said it looks solid now but will be a problem eventually. Since I was not in a position to deal with this he said “Just drive the car until it breaks.”
- The driver side floor gets wet during rain. I had assumed it was door seals and replaced and patched, etc, which helped some. Then discovered it was run-off from the drain channel below the driver door. I think water channels down from the grill on the hood below the windshield into this channel and exits though vents in the channel. It was totally clogged with debris. Clearing it out helped but some water still came in in heavy rains so it’s still not draining. I stopped driving the car in February when my daughter gave me her 2004 Saturn. Since I travel a lot to play music it was nice to have a more modern car and air conditioning! Anyway – aside from a friend borrowing the Volvo for a few weeks, it has sat in the driveway where we get a lot of tree debris and I had not been keeping track of the leaks so it was closed up and wet (we’ve had a huge amount of rain this summer) and developed some mold. I’ve cleaned it up but once you have mold it’s impossible to totally get rid of it. Since I used the car to carry my double bass, I had taken the back seat out and the seat back has been down since I got the car until I reinstalled the back seat last week so there was also mold on the seat back. Cleaned but may come back.
- I had purchased some extra parts since sometimes it takes a while to find parts right when you need them. They are included w/ the car.
- Shop manual – VERY handy
- Front wheel bearings
- Water pump – I thought it was leaking but it turns out that they “weep” small amounts of water. No leak and works fine so I never put the new one in.
- Flexible brake lines for front brakes: I intended to replace when I worked on the brakes but couldn’t get the old ones off. A mechanic friend was later able to loosen them (and retighten) so I could work on them myself but didn’t get to it. He said the old ones are fine for now.
- Brake control unit: This car has a brake safety feature that if it detects a sudden loss of fluid pressure to one wheel it shuts that off so your brakes still work instead of totally failing (Volvo was ahead of the times). That control unit does not work and has a very slow leak. New unit ready to be installed – not difficult but again, I didn’t get to it.
- Important brake note: This car uses DOT4 brake fluid – NOT DOT3 like most other cars.
- The older Volvo cars are notorious for disintegrating wiring. I’ve patched or replaced a few places. Current issue is right rear brake light only lights if the lights are off. If they are on, instead of lighting the brake light, it turns off the tail light. I’ve tried various things and now think it’s a short around the left brake light somewhere.