'88 Volvo 240 DL - Did I buy a lemon?

Hi -

I just bought an '88 Volvo 240 DL Wagon. New to the Volvo world. I really like the car, but am starting to worry that I bought a lemon.

My main worry is that sometimes it makes a strange noise. It starts with a sound like when you have a flat tire - sort of a flapping sound. But it has nothing to do with the tires, it just sounds similar. That is followed by a grinding sound, that you can actually feel the vibration through the floor board. Nice, huh? So far it has only happened in the rain - but then I have only had it a few weeks and it has been raining off and on. Also, it seems to happen during acceleration. As a test, in the rain, I pressed the overdive button and it truggered the weirdness.

Any ideas?

Lori

Reply to
lorific
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I would have your torque rod bushings checked. If they are shot, then the extra play in the system allows the driveshaft to contact the bottom of the floorboard, particularly when you accelerate. Is it worse when there are people in the back seat or you have a heavy load? Does the grinding/flapping sound like it's coming from the center of the car right below the back seat? If so then I would definitely say it's those bushings.

-z

Reply to
zoltamatron

Sounds like maybe a driveshaft center bearing gone bad. Does the noise also happen if you coast with the car in neutral?

This happened in my 1990 240, it's repairable and life is quieter again.

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Reply to
Tim McNamara

There's no such thing as a lemon, only incompetent mechanics. I would check the motor and transmission mounts, as well as the driveshaft center support.

Reply to
James Sweet

Thanks for the suggestions. My husband will definitely check those things out.

He has tried to get the car to make these sounds on his own and had no luck re-creating it - until it was raining on one of his test drives. It really seems to have something to do with water. Would any of the suggestions make more sense if water were part of the equation?

Z - It does not seem to get worse with passengers or heavy load - it has happened while I am alone and with the whole family in tow. I can't really tell where the sound is coming from, other than under the car.

T - It starts on acceleration, I think it backs down if I let off the gas, but I am going to have to pay better attention. I am not sure.

THANKS! Lori

Reply to
lorific

Hard to tell over the internet whether you bought a car with a lot of problems or not. But it is reasonable to expect that a 20 year old car will have many components that show some wear and some those will be up for replacement. The best idea would be to have a competent mechanic familiar with Volvo cars check your 240 out and give you a prioritized list of repairs. Ideally that would have been done before you bought the car.

Fortunately the 240 has a well deserved reputation for being long lived if repairs and mainteance are kept up with.

Reply to
Roadie

Probably in several ways. If it's a bad driveshaft center bearing boot cover, the water can get into the bearing.

Reply to
Tim McNamara

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