What did you do to your Volvo today? Topic is solved

[scot850]

Not needed if you have a new one and almost new one sitting on the shelf............!

Neil.

[volvolugnut]

Yesterday I investigated the crank but no start for the 1978 244. First test was a timing light attached to the coil wire to see if there was any sparking. Not a flash at all.
Next, I removed the main ignition fuse under the hood and checked for continuity. It was good.
Next I looked around at wires near the coil. I had repaired some wires in this area years ago after the insulation crumbled. BINGO! More insulation damage inside the wire protection sleeve. Volvo used a type of biodegradable insulation in the 1980's, It was a bad decision.
I cut back the wiring sleeve and the bad wires and spliced with crimp connectors again. Some local parts had to be removed to gain access. Volvo used three different sized Phillips head screws on these parts!
Back together and starting again.
volvolugnut

[454cid]

Today, I woke up to snow on the ground. That means yesterday will likely be the last time, I drive the 850, this year. I did put some -35F rated windshield washer fluid in it's washer bottle. I still need to cycle the pump. I won't get to the leak at the headlight washer this year. I still need to park it, near the garage, and connect a battery charger/tender.

The rest of the jug of washer fluid went into the S70, which also got it's snow brush "installed".

[volvolugnut]

A couple days ago I reglued the high mount brake light to the rear window of my 1987 240. It has two metal clips glued to the window with a blacked out area on the glass. The glue kit instructs to mark the position on the outside of the glass to aid in positioning the clips when gluing. The black out prevents seeing through the glass. I worked around this problem by attaching tape to the top and side of the clip area and marking the center lines of the clip on the tape. Then a carefully followed the cleaning instructions and glued the two clips. Yesterday, I checked the fit of the plastic mount to the clips. Good fit.
Then I installed a new bulb into the socket and tried to test the brake light before completing the assembly. No brake light or any other lights.
AHA! The battery had been removed and is in the mower.
volvolugnut

I finally got the high mount brake light install and test finished. It works great.
I was thinking about why the glue says to install when the temperature is between 50 and 70 F. It may be that the glue (isocyanate?) is formulated for that range of temperature. It might also be that is the middle of the expected operation range for the bond between the metal tab and the glass window. About 0 to 120F. If installed when the parts are 100F, the bond may tear free when it gets very cold.
volvolugnut

[RedBrickCollector]

Can't wait for the cap/plug to delete the oil cooler to arrive so that I can actually drive the car a decent distance. Whatever it was that caused the oil cooler hose to leak, it's related to doing the PCV job, either the pressures changed or just the rubber getting rubbed the wrong way by the manifold.

Also, is it normal to be able to hear the fuel pump whining away when standing behind the car?

Oops, looks like you have a plate on the way. Nice fresh Torx bit for that job, they shouldn't be almighty tight, but may be age stuck.
Fuel pump whine is usually an amber warning, although some aftermarket pumps are noisy out of the box. Both Robert and Dr. Abscate have been there. If you get curious, pull the cover plate and see if it seems to have the original pump.
And welcome to our little club.

By some odd twist of fate, I havea pretty good picture of the history of the car even if I'm the fifth owner. The previous owner (2020-2023) is active in the local volvo community and very helpful, the first owner (98 to 2014) is my brother's godmother, and the guy who did the maintenance two owners previous (2018-2020) is a friend of mine. He gave me a brief rundown of what was done and that included changing the fuel pump. If I had to bet i'd guess it's aftermarket. How easy would it be to pull the cover?

[scot850]

On a FWD P80 wagon it is not too hard. You have to remove the load area panels. A few bolts and screws, and then remove the 4? x 10mm nuts on a silver cover panel in the floor behind the RH rear seat. The fuel pump is below there. It is fiddly to remove due to limited access and you need something to remove the seal lock nut. It it is the original, I would consider a new seal and the large plastic seal nut as they get brittle with age. Others can chine in on whether you need a special tool or can adapt something to help with the fuel line disconnects.

Neil.

[brunocerous]

Took the Silver Bullet for a test drive, and it handled beautifully ... until the low-coolant light lit up. I got it home all right and found coolant leaking from somewhere at either the water pump or coolant pipe (more likely) but couldn't see the actual leak. Hoping to get under the car before those new Goodyears arrive.

[foggydogg]

By some odd twist of fate, I havea pretty good picture of the history of the car even if I'm the fifth owner. The previous owner (2020-2023) is active in the local volvo community and very helpful, the first owner (98 to 2014) is my brother's godmother, and the guy who did the maintenance two owners previous (2018-2020) is a friend of mine. He gave me a brief rundown of what was done and that included changing the fuel pump. If I had to bet i'd guess it's aftermarket. How easy would it be to pull the cover?

Pretty easy on the wagons, just takes some wrestling with the floor panels. If the pump doesn't have many miles on it and was a known brand, ask if it was always noisy. Might just be its nature. Some folks say high performance pumps are louder than stock Volvo items.

[scot850]

Major step forward. Finally finished identifying all the parts I can in the 2 x 47 bin racks. Fortunately the 2nd one is only about 1/3 full currently but that may change as the last set of bins get worked on and I try my first cut at logical (??) organization.

Now those central bins are done, the 'princess' can finally get moved into her sleeping place for the winter. The remaining bins can be accessed even when parked in our old garage. Have to make sure there is room for my buddies power chair to get passed so he can visit. We have to work out how to get his mobility van into the garage in a way to allow the side access ramp to be lowered so he can escape!

Placed an order with IPD on their sale. Like I need more parts! These are all future service parts than can also double in most cases as Pay-it-Forward (PIF) parts if needed. Still have a 2nd list for FCP. This is my first order from them in years. Only doing this now as prices are reasonable and have a way to get the parts north. Was happy with the free shipping from IPD until I found that by shipping to a CA address they hit you with a sales tax! That makes their parts art regular price much less attractive. Will see what FCP do.

Neil.

[brunocerous]

Had trouble starting Blue Steel in the sub-freezing temperatures this morning and heard a new sound, sort of like a low-key 'THOON' coming from under the hood after cranking and again when turning it back to position II just before starting.

After a few minutes of resting, the sound disappeared, replaced by the more familiar 'whirring-click' that came seemingly from behind the instrument cluster, and then it finally started.

Of course, then I noticed that the left headlight was out. Briefly considered LEDs but preferred the pricing of standard halogens.