Road trip to bring home "new" '92 240. What to bring.

LOL - That sounds like an exciting trip, especially with the multiple posts !!! I would carry a large water holder and some oil, and for the rest, trust to Volvo to get you home. Mebbe a set of spark plugs too. And a footpump, check the spare tyre is OK before you leave. I wish I was doing what you are doing !!!!! Good luck and bon voyage.

Make sure that everything is okay with the car - check the tires, make sure the spare is okay, make sure that you have the jack. Carry a few cans of oil, and a bottle of windshield wiper fluid -- I hate the bugs on the windshield.

A picnic basket of ham and swiss sandwiches, a thermos of coffee, and you're set :)

Beverly

I wonder if we will get a report from him?

Plot your travel route and do a few map quest searches for qualified Volvo dealerships or service shops along the way to make a "short list" of emergency numbers. And, a cell phone.

Probably, a well maintained 92 240 will need nothing but a complete check of fluids, tire pressure and tire tread, and a tank of gas. The long road trip may be a good time to add a bottle of fuel system cleaner. My Volvo mechanic recommends the stuff with Techron.

Oh, and one of those cheap window sill clip on cup holders just for this trip, until you decide on a better solution.

First, before leaving, check the brake pads, tire pressures, fluid levels, belt tensions, lug nuts are tight, etc.

Volvos come with a small tool kit: a wrench, screwdriver, pliers, and tire changing tool. Make sure you have these tools and the jack and spare tire.

I always carry a set of spare fan belts. My logic is that if one breaks, on a weekend or in a strange town, you would be hard put to find the right size belt without a little trial and error. Belts seldom break, but if they do, it is comforting to know you have a spare set. They are cheap, so don't worry about that.

I always carry spare fuses. My experience has been that fuses usually will die of old age before they blow, but having spare fuses can get you back going if you have the misfortune of loosing one. Again, fuses are cheap.

Two other items that are always worth carrying in an older car are duct tape and wire.

Taking a strange car on a long trip, I would carry a quart of oil and a jug of water in case the highway driving exposes some unknown fault.

These are all inexpensive items and will add a large degree of reassurance.

Did he make it?

Made it, nooo problem.

I left New Jersey on Friday at around 2pm. In the trunk was 2 gallons of water, a quart of oil, four new belts and about $50 worth of hand tools that I picked up at Home Depot that morning. The car is a 1992 240 DL with

152,000 miles on the odometer, black on black. I'm not sure if optional or standard, but this car has A/C, power windows, power locks, an automatic transmission and a remarkably loud factory stereo. Also included are Thule roof racks and a Class I hitch that was installed for a sailboat that was never purchased, thus the car never towed anything. And the timing belt was changed at 126,000 miles.

Anyway, I left New Jersey on Friday at around 2pm. I topped off the fuel and added STP fuel system cleaner. After about 10 hours at 75 mph with the A/C on I turned into an AWFUL Howard Johnson motel in Knoxville, Tennessee. I had topped the fuel at the half tank mark three or four times and added STP and Gumout fuel system cleaner once each. In the morning I checked the oil and found it to be clear and full.

Day two was just like the first except for one thing- while running down the highway at 75 mph with the ambient temperature around 80 degf, the temp gauge ran up to about 90% of the span, just short of the red area. This was curious because the entire day before the needle seemed pegged at the center of the gauge. I turned off the A/C and after about ten minutes the needle returned to center. After an uncomfortable 20 minutes, I turned the A/C back on, and the temperature rose to a point just below the red area again. Is this normal? Later in the day as the ambient temperature dropped, the needle returned to, and stayed at, the center position. Got to southwest Houston at around 1 am saturday night.

Other than the temp gauge, the ride was utterly unremarkable. Perfect.

Thanks for all the tips and email.

Regards,

Bill

ps I had two books-on-tape (Tom Clancy). They really made the time fly, I recommend them if you are going to take a long drive.

1. Do NOT use STP or Gumout, etc. Use Techron (by Chevron) and only every 3K.

1. Temp gage problem is most likely temp comp board issue (see posts above), but you need to make sure very soon. [We presently have a '92

240 that former owner assumed gage was bad, and seized the engine. Not good assumption.] Buy the Bentley manual and do (or have done, but buy Bentley anyway) the following: debug the radiator w/ spray from inside the engine; replace thermostat; test temp gage; remove instrument cluster (following directions for SRS) and clean contacts on temp comp board and use dielectric grease; and, check/fix fan clutch. Do all of above, and then consider replacing radiator w/ metal 3 row HD Nissens (if original, it's an accident waiting to happen).

Actually that's how the temperature compensating board is supposed to work. It makes the gauge register in the middle for a broad range of running temperatures, then jumps up to true readings when the temperature approaches dangerous levels. This car may be a candidate for an external cleaning, rad flush, or maybe a new three row if it's driven in this kind of condition normally (and it sounds like it will).

Agree that temp comp board works exactly as Mike has indicated, but on several 240s I've experienced poster's condition -- gage responding to turning off AC and turning on heater (as opposed to just erratic movement) -- when engine temp was in normal range. Did all cleaning, thermo, flush, etc. and in the end turned out to be bad temp comp board contacts, which I've also noticed tend to behave more strangely in humid conditions.

I didn't even turn on the heater on mine, just turned the A/C off and continued driving. Shouldn't the temp rise when you're moving along at a fast pace on a warm day withthe A/C on?

If you think it is overheating, turn on heater for bit to dump as much heat as fast as possible.

Shouldn't the temp rise when you're moving along at a

Not if coolant circulating and radiator functioning properly. Temp gage should run at 9:00 if engine w/in proper operating range. If it rises, things are getting hot and you need to do something immediately. If fins of AC unit and radiator are full of bugs, etc or inside of rad is full of crud, temp will rise even when when moving along rapidly. Heat from new blacktop can also be bad. However, if condition is this bad at high speed, it will be really bad when slowing to city traffic.