Compare Maint of 240 vs. '95 960

replacement.

maintenance

The 960 is a nicer car, and not horrible to maintain, but it's not nearly as forgiving as a 240 and will need more meticulous maintenance. A 940 Turbo will be somewhere in between the two in that respect.

We've had a 960 since 1993. Other than standard "nickle and dime" stuff that you listed, we've replace a brake caliper and a steering rack, and just this year a pipe for our A/C system... The radio did die in this car but for 40 bucks or so at a scrap yard you can find one from an 850/960.

The switchgear isn't a real step up up from say a 740 - rocker switches for the windows, and sunroof... They look user serviceable, tho they haven't failed on our car.

The "newfangled" I-6 engine hasn't given us any trouble except some shuddering when starting up... this went away on its own after a good long drive with the car.

Our 960 is about to hit 160K Kms, so she's still pretty young ;-). We're looking at XC70's each time we head to the dealer, but aside from some specific questions and some dreaming we haven't seriously considered to actually buy one in the near future.... The 960's got basically everything the XC70 does, minus a CD player and dual zone climate, and AWD.

The only thing bad about this car I find is when I have to fill it up... I typically drive a VW TDI (55L of diesel).... so filling the 20L larger tank with premium gasoline at less KMs then my Golf would have got me, even tho the tank is smaller is kind of a downer... but it's still better then SUVs. It will do less than 9L per 100Kms on the highway (pure highway with the engine still warm at fill up my dad got 7.54L per 100kms with the cruise on for 254kms).

Keep the 240, Drive it until the wheels fall off, then replace them & start over. Every now and then a make & model come out that seems timeless. The 240 is one of those. You can forget finding a new auto that you can do your own maintenance on. Though with EIC plugs foul less, in many new vehicles you can't reach some of the plugs to replace them.

A friend just gave me a 1988 240. I have tuned it up, changed the hoses and belts. Next the struts, finally it will be reupholstered & painted. It drives great & with gas headed for $2+/gallon, I am happy to drive my little 4 banger.

Forres McGraw

Pat Quadlander wrote:

The alloy-block modular engines used in Volvo's since 1991 are more powerful, and yet are as economical (if not more so) than red-block engines. Fuel prices are not a good reason to stay with a 240.

drive a 200 series on a 6 hour drive, then do it in a 900 series...IMHO there is a world of difference in comfort, and a host of "little things" that were improved over the years....

Yeah, in the 240s the road noise will get you (so you put some additional sound proofing material).

On the 900s and 700s every time you hit a small bump the interior squeaks and rattles. Every time you take a turn something squeaks, and this you can't fix.

I'll take a 245 with the late style tailgate and windshield, add some additional sound proofing.. any day over a 760.

And yes, the seats in my 760 feel significantly more comfortable.. and the gearing is more tolerable.. but it's still a very noisy car.

I had a lot of squeaks and rattles in my 740, by now I've tracked down and eliminated most all of them though, overall it's much quieter than my 240 (which also has some squeaks and rattles) and that's with 260k on it. Both very good cars, but the 740 is definitly the preference for long distance drives, 240 is a lot more fun to drive and has that unique 240 feel to it.

Every time I change the tyres on a car, I am surprised at the effect that different makes of tyre have on road noise. It seems to me that this can be the biggest improvement you can make, here, yet if you ask for a 'quiet' tyre, very few tyre fitters have any knowledge about it.

I was disparing of the rattles in my 740, but then I found that adjusting and greasing the locating tabs at each side of the tailgate turned my rattler into a limousine. It's easy to do, too. 700s are no worse than 200s.

if your looking for low maintenance, and a little more comfort the 940 is a good compromise between the two, my 92 960 was a nice car to drive, but the transmission was not that great if your used to the predictable tranny in the

240, the 960 has a lock up converter type tranny,like you would find in a general motors car, mine was on its 2nd tranny in 200,000 miles,and this one was starting to act up,the converter would stay locked when you came to a stop and the car would shudder ,the steering rack had a vibration at low speed turns,the drivers seat developed a mind of its own and would recline all the way back while driving,and the a/c comp. would cut off, but if you turned the car off and restarted it it would work normally again, and if you don't keep up with the frequent timing belt changes, the expensive inline 6 engine is toast. on the other hand i've driven my '88 240 300,000 miles on the original drivetrain, with very little maintenance, the 940 has the same engine and tranny as the 240, so thats what i would go for if the 240 ever dies, or another 240 in nice condition.

The tailgate rattles are a whole 'nother problem. Most of the noise I'm getting right now is from the glove box (and its extremely cheesy mounting).

My car has a whole lot of self tapping screws used to fasten stuff together. I imagine Volvo saved a bundle, but also ensured stuff won't fit back together too well if you ever have to take it apart.

Sure. The 200s never had any big heavy decorative trim panel mounted with cheap plastic bits prone to eroding the holes in the cheap plastic trim.

The brakes are my second pet peeve.

All in all I have yet to see a 240 that squeaks quite as badly as most of the 700s I've been in.

And with all those improvements came more things to go wrong with __I prefer my little 240's not to mention that Volvo owners seem toi feel their 700 800 900 series hold so much more value, but do they in reality? I can say from experience that at local lessor expensive than dealer servicing shops it's more than likely an average tech can diagnose these

240's but not the 700's and up.

The fix was easy and permanent - not a problem at all. But locating the source of the noise was a challenge. Given that the car was over

12 years old when the tailgate started to rattle, I don't feel too annoyed with Volvo about it.

Never had any problems here. But now you mention it, in one of my

200s, the vanity mirror in the glovebox lid used to buzz at a certain speed.

The 700s have several acres more plastic than the 200s, and when I first got a 740 I got the distinct impression that it was a flimsier car. But after a while this feeling changed. It is more 'plasticy' inside and some of the trim leaves a bit to be desired[1], but the overall quality is superior.

At over 17 years old, this is now the oldest car I've ever owned (by several years), and despite living outside in the street in British weather and being used as a hack, it is also the one in best condition. I'm dead impressed with that. Barring accidents I expect to be still driving a decent car when it is in its twenties.

It depends what you want. My priority is a car that will not rust away as you watch it and doesn't need constant maintenance; I can live with the odd broken trim clip.

In what way? You mean they rattle? I had that once, but I can't remember which car. The cause was a deformed locating spring, or clip, that stops the pads rattling about in the caliper.

Apart from an occasional clunk from a front suspension bushing that needs changing, I genuinely do not have any rattles, squeaks or other such noises. The loudest noise at modest speed is road noise.

[1] A couple of plastic panels in the luggage area don't clip together properly any more; the freshair vent by the drivers feet has lost its spring; the vent under the steering wheel has lost its flap; the headlining seems to be made of damp tissue paper (just look at it hard and it tears) - that's about it. It would be acceptable on many cars half the age of this one.

they both (240's & 9 series) are good cars, and have their "moments"...for me, when driving on 2 lane highways around colorado & wyoming, sometimes winter, sometimes 18 wheelers passing on 2 lane roads...while we are both coming at eachother and passing @ over 100mph (65x2) the 93 940t feels a bit more stable than my 86 240 did...the tires on the 940 are wider.. suspension feels a bit tighter and more solid...drive and own both for a spell...you won't pay much for them, and you will be able to re sell them for aprox what you pay for them...as long as one dosen't wreck, of have any major mech problems...i would get a 240 to run around town...but i would perfer a 940/960 to cruse the interstates and highways at speeds over 70mph...on yea, my 86 240 didn't quite have the air bags yet...the 900 series do...as well as the newer 240's...i did have a 93 240 wagon, that was a nice car, had the bags, felt stable on the highway, and towed a nice load...it felt smaller in the cockpit area than the 900 series...

good luck !! i doubt you will go wrone w/either mdl...

One thing the 240 was famous for was its body lean. If you held your hands firmly on the steering wheel you wouldn't change direction, but the body lean would give you a sensation of being blown all over the road.

I have no experience with the 700 & 900 series, but the 850s were much more stable.

In my case I bought the IPD kit, and installed it only to have the plastic mounting clips bend enough to allow some rattling.

The 240s use 8 (self tapping) screws, the new style 760 has two screws and two delicate tabs holding the glove box in. On the bottom there's a reinforcing bar or something for the kick panel to mount to. It's gone on mine because the screws have lodged themselves in the plastic (yay for self tapping screws in plastic) and broken the bar upon their removal.

What about the center console? That's a lovely piece of engineering. Again, self tapping screws holding the tray into the console.

What about the door? The door pulls that pull off, the junk window regulators, the various bits inside the door as well. There's a little clip that holds the wires going to the door reflector. Nice design, you're supposed to force it on and off, until the teeny plastic piece breaks. Or the door trim around the window switches? The one that breaks and pulls out really easily as you're trying to close the door. The whole thing is held under tension by an easy to break clip.

Both my 240s had more rust than my 760 does, sure. None were structural however. If I were to have fixed the broken seals, they would have stayed rust free for a while. I have yet to see a 240 with a cracked engine crossmember.

In general, I don't feel that my 760 needs more (engine) maintenance than an LH-Jetronic equipped 240 would need. Except that the basic maintenance bits are more expensive for the 760 (distributor cap, rotor, wires, don't even start on the brake or suspension bits).

In the way that they lend themselves to poor pedal feel, warped rotors, and increased vigilance (floating calipers suck). If you're not lubing the sliding pins on a regular basis, they will seize and the end result will be warped rotors.

Yeah, but it works OK on mine. I mean just how often are you taking things apart on your car? I'm agree with you that the trim is not as good on the 700s as on the 200s.

I'm sorry but I just don't recognise this description. The map pockets in the doors are way too flimsy, but nothing else rings true to my experience of my 740. I've had my driver's door apart two or three times, and everything still fits together well. No dodgy switches or trim; it's fine.

I've never seen any car with a cracked engine crossmember. But all my

200s were rust bugs, and that is what killed them off in the end. Even rust that isn't structural will eventually do for a car. The 700s are not 100% rust free, but they represent a major step forward in keeping it under control.

I've heard a lot about warped disks, but never had that problem myself. Lubing the sliding pins is just part of routine maintenance, and arguably easier than maintaining two extra pistons. But yes, the brakes do give the impression of being made out of plywood (but then I though that about my 200s, too).

I'm not trying to decry the 200s, I had some excellent service from several of them. I was sceptical about a 700 to begin with, but after a while, I became impressed with it, and now that it is as old as it is and still in modest condition, doubly so.

Admittedly not very often, but it is nice to clean stuff out, and to paint it, etc. I would hate to have to take it apart more than once.

The window regulators are a popular enough failure to warrant a brickboard FAQ entry or two. Indeed the driver's window regulator on my wagon was replaced a few years back and has failed already. The symptoms are that the window doesn't properly seal in one corner. This makes for a whole lot of excess wind noise.

The decorative trim under the power window switches is my favorite tho. It's something you will have to pull at one point or another (as the window switches themselves will gum up, just like on any other car).

When you pull the door apart, just make sure to never ever pull the fabric/carpet insert out. The fasteners are a one time use only item (again this just screams CHEAP). My problem with is that there are so many one time use fasteners in the interior, not necessarily the quality of many of the materials. At least I could put the 240's interior back together.

I thought there was a brickboard FAQ entry as well:

I haven't inspected my wagon, but I've seen such a crack on a friend's

88 764T.

How is removing the the calipers to lube the pins and possibly replace a couple of extra seals easier? The only time the extra calipers should become more of a maintenance hassle is if you ever have to rebuild them yourself. However, professionally rebuilt calipers are so cheap, and calipers last so long with proper maintenance... I just don't see it.

Also, make sure to check the strut rod bushings for wear. They're easy enough to replace.. but can also lead to warped rotors if you let em go for too long.

The 700 is in many ways an improvement. The brakes and interior are, IMO, the notable exceptions.

-- alex

P.S. Here's the link to the BB FAQ: