Hi I just aquired an 85 Volvo 740GLE turbo-diesel with only 133000 miles on it. It has a few problems but I think they are easily fixed (mostly electric switches). I was wondering if anyone out there that has one could give me a idea of what kind of fuel economy I should expect with this car and if there is a way to time the fuel distributer without a gauge. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance, Keith.
I knew someone who had one for a while, it was an automatic and got about 27 mpg on the freeway and 23 around town. Supposedly those with a manual transmission do significantly better however the very few I've ever seen have all been automatics.
Make sure you keep up on your oil and timing belt changes, at 133K that motor is probably pretty tired unless it was well maintained. The one I worked on was on its second motor at 160K. I've heard tales of them lasting well but when people drive them like a gas engine and neglect them like you can a gas Volvo motor, they die an early death.
7-8 l/100 kmh (manual OD)
and if there
afaik either a dial indicator with an extension, or a timing light with a piezo pickup
warm it up gently, and change oil frequently
At 133,000 miles I would want to see a complete maintenance history that shows consistent oil and filter changes every 3,000 miles using diesel rated oil and some indication the owner knew enough to drain the fuel filter regularly. Otherwise it will probably be well worn out and not worth bothering with. It would also be worth having a competent mechanic who knows something about diesels to give it a pre-purchase inspection.
On the road you should get above 30mpg and in town around 25mpg.
Not that I know of.
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