Friend selling Volvo diesel station wagon - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

gastropodus · #1 06-22-2011, 01:32 AM

I have a friend here in Portland who is thinking of selling his mid-80's vintage Volvo diesel station wagon. It has a six cylinder engine, and from my brief experience starting and driving it around the block it seems like it needs a tune-up but the engine is sound (it starts instantly with no hesitation, indicating decent compression). He says that it tends to smoke under load; I looked under the hood, and the injectors look ancient. I think if you put new injectors in it, it would likely be pretty decent to run.

PM me if you're interested in getting his contact info. The car is in Portland, Oregon.

Kurt

compress ignite · #2 06-22-2011, 04:01 AM

[I'm hallucinating Two Drive/Timing belts One at either end of the Engine...
One for the I.P. and the other for the Cam]

If it's an automatic,the shift cable can be changed out by hand.

[New Injector Nozzles will help,BUT this is a "Clattery" diesel when Cold]

Take care of it, and your grandchildren will get very tired of it!

Zacharias · #3 06-22-2011, 01:08 PM

Tell him to pop it on eBay or join TheBrickBoard.com and fire up a classified over there.

Those cars have a small but almost religious-cult group of admirers. Someone will grab a rust-free one that runs.

I like them but personally I don't see any benefit over a Mercedes.

AlexTheSeal · #4 06-22-2011, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gastropodus

He says that it tends to smoke under load

Probably just needs an Italian tune-up.

OTOH, aren't these the engines notorious for oil starvation at one end or the other of the block when they aren't run hard enough for long enough? Could be slowly dying, especially if it sees mostly stop-and-go traffic.

Volvo Diesel · #5 06-22-2011, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlexTheSeal

OTOH, aren't these the engines notorious for oil starvation at one end or the other of the block when they aren't run hard enough for long enough? Could be slowly dying, especially if it sees mostly stop-and-go traffic.

My experience is that there are three reasons why this engine has a reputation for being lame.

1. Aluminium head.
2. Timing belt.
3. Maintenance schedule (from 1984) called for oil changes every 7,500miles with the filter changed every other time if driving in "normal conditions."

Thus, a lot of them suffered head gasket failure, had the timing belt break destroying the engine, or suffered premature ring issues from the ridiculous oil change schedule.

If maintained, they are a great engine, especially with the 4-speed+OD. But, even in 100% perfect running condition, they are not as refined as a Mercedes diesel motor. And it's hard to find anyone who will work on them anymore...

Mine has 500,000+ miles. At some point in the late 300,000 range, I had to have the head gasket replaced and got a valve job.

DieselPaul · #6 06-22-2011, 10:10 PM

Is this the one with the VW 2.4L diesel? My friend just bought one for $400, its kind of cool, does not seem to run as well as similar miled benzes but it was very cool to see a VW inline 6.

ashedd · #7 06-22-2011, 11:35 PM

Are they just as slow as an old MB diesel?

Although my '85 wagon is pretty darn quick. Will chirp the tires no problem.

Zacharias · #8 06-23-2011, 01:30 AM

I have driven two 240 diesels. To me, they FELT faster than a naturally aspirated 617, but if memory serves the facts and figures don't agree.

The version in the 740/760 series was turbocharged. Never driven one but they were quite popular in the Canadian midwest among folks who had to do high mileages on routine basis.

Didn't sell well in the eastern part of this country. Not sure why.

gastropodus · #9 06-23-2011, 01:39 AM

My friend's Volvo has the four speed manual transmission with overdrive.

Kurt

Renntag · #10 06-23-2011, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zacharias

I like them but personally I don't see any benefit over a Mercedes.

X2.

odie · #11 06-23-2011, 03:56 PM

it's a 6 cylinder version of the VWs....so some parts are cheap and easy...but anything 6 only is gonna be hard to find...hope you don't need a head gasket or crack the exhaust/intake manifold....IP can be rebuilt, but not replaced.

Colorado220 · #12 06-23-2011, 04:05 PM

I had a 1980 Volvo Diesel. It really was a great little car. It got excellent mileage and never gave me fits. I just like my 71 220D more. If I could have kept all the cars I when I moved I would still have that Volvo.

-=DeanstuD=- · #13 06-23-2011, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zacharias

I like them but personally I don't see any benefit over a Mercedes.

The advantage over mercedes is at least 10 more mpg. I had a turbocharged 760 sedan, so it may be a different beast than the 240 n/a.

The Mercs are better built, and of course larger. In reflection it is honestly not a fair comparison

odie · #14 06-23-2011, 04:58 PM

I've seen a couple decent examples come on the market down here at pretty reasonable prices. At least one was very, very nice...but part availability issues keep me away from volvo diesels...

DIESELVOLVO · #15 06-27-2011, 10:24 PM

My 1980 264 gets 30 mpg and is way faster and more comfortable than any of the 123 N/A Mercedes I have owned or driven. The engines are not nearly as bullet proof as the Mercedes diesels but better MPG in a N/A 6 over a 4 in a car that is esentially identical to a 240D of the same vintage is hard to knock

.

Oh, and in regards to the maintenance schedule. Straight from my 1980 owners manual "transmission fluid changes are not necessary for the life of the vehicle"