March 16, 2008
I did a day drive on March 7, first long trip out of town, from here in Billings to Joliet to Columbus and back to Billings. It’s a 105 mile trip and takes you on a great highway, 421, through the hills to Columbus. My friend Nick went along in his Honda Prelude and we had a great time. Pictures are in the gallery. The car ran great.
The next day I took the car out to run a few errands and 2 miles from home I was at the side of the road. Two unrelated problems occurred at the same time. I started smelling gas and then noticed my temp guage climbing into the red zone. The gas problem was that the regulator was loose in my fuel line, allowing gas to spill onto the intake manifold. I tightened up the many hose clamps involved with that assembly and that problem was solved.
The overheating is still unresolved. I though that the two events were related but it was a coincidence. The problem has occurred twice more, always after driving about 2 miles. I think it’s a stuck thermostat since nothing feels hot when it happens and after restarting, the problem goes away. I’ll have to pull the thermostat out for a look and probably replace it, although it’s only a few months old.
March 16, 2008
It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything so it’s time to do some catching up.
Nothing major has transpired in the interim and my lack of posting had to do with the onset of cross country season followed by winter weather. The car did get an oil and filter change and I made a trip under the dash to open the heater valve since the cable had come undone (again.)
A few fixes have taken place. The occasional loss of air from the front right tire was recently linked to the placement of the bar code label in the tire’s bead. Now I need to get the other tires taken care of since they need the occasional “topping up.”
A companion project has begun. Work has started, slowly, on getting my ‘59 PV 544 on the road. I’m keeping track of that project here.
August 12, 2007
A few days ago the thermostat came in to the dealer (part number 273164-4) so I picked it up and a couple gallons of anti-freeze. Draining the system was really a no-brainer. I jacked it up so I could get my big drain pan under it and pulled the bottom radiator hose and opened the block drain valve. I was afraid that the drain valve might be a bit tight but it opened with little effort. The anti-freeze that came out was still green, but a bit cloudy. Then I removed the thermostat and reattached the top hose to the block and started the flushing. There was a bit of slim in the top of the radiator but it quickly flushed out and after repeated fills and drains, heater valve open, everything looked clean. I reattached everything, put in the new thermostat, mixed a 50/50 solution of anti-freeze and refilled the system. I had to top it up at the expansion tank a few times once all the air was purged out but it ended up taking 2.25 gallons, just as specified in the book.
On an 80 degree day the temp indicator only goes slightly past the halfway point on the gauge and never into the red after sitting at an idle, a big change from what I was experiencing before. The new thermostat’s ability to block the bypass tube, as it’s supposed to, makes all the difference.
Here’s some related pictures:
Draining at the block valve.
Thermostat removed, showing bypass tube.
The proper thermostat with bottom disk to close bypass.
The INCORRECT thermostat.
August 3, 2007
The big item this week was supposed to be getting the a/c charged but the shop called and said they were out of, and probably couldn’t get, the R-12 needed for the job. They were the only place in town that had any a month ago when I got the a/c in my ‘83 240 charged so now I am rethinking the whole a/c thing. The bottom line is that r-12 is not going to get easier to find, nor less expensive, so it’s probably wise to look at a change over to a new system that supports R-134 rather than invest in anything for the existing system. I have no idea how much the parts will be but it can be offset by selling the stuff I’d be removing from the existing system. This will probably be a good job for next spring.
The other issue I dealt with was the cooling issue. The temp gauge indicates that it is running just below the red zone and crawls into it when idling for an extended period. I did some research by going through the archive on the Volvo 1800 List and found that this 1800 requires a special thermostat that has a flapper to close off the bypass tube. Evidently, when the engine is cold, water circulates in the engine block only, rather than have the pump push against a dead head. When the thermostat open, routing the coolant through the radiator, it also closes off the bypass tube. If the thermostat does not have the flapper, some of the coolant (how much? a third?) will go back through the block and not go through the radiator. I pulled my thermostat out and, sure enough, no flapper. I tried to find the part number in may books and came up with three suspects. A posting to the 1800 List brought back an answer that confirmed what I’d guess to be the correct part. I ordered it at the dealer and it should be in next week. I’ll flush the system when I do the replacement.
I took another shot at installing the Pertronix electronic module. I went through the Volvo 1800 List archives and found a couple posts that explain the proper way to hook one up, taking the tachometer into consideration, but still no-go. No matter what I tried I couldn’t get a spark. Sigh….so, unless I have some way to test the unit itself, I’m giving up on this for now.
That said, I spent a fair amount of time making sure that the points were gapped correctly and that the timing was set right on at the proper RPM. The engine seems to be running much smoother now.
I also removed the reverse light housing and gave the glass bowls a cleaning. I replaced the burned out reverse light. I also fixed the right rear side running light. It wasn’t burned out but the wire to it had become disconnected. It’s a spade connector and it looks like something crashed into it. After straightening I did a quick solder job to make the connection a bit more solid on the connector.
I’m off to Austin so no work for the next week.
July 27, 2007
Yesterday and today I messed around with the steering box adjustment. There was a bit of slop in the steering wheel and I wanted to tighten it up. I also wanted to check the oil level.
Checking the oil level requires removing the bracket that holds the receiver for the air conditioner so the receiver can be moved slightly as it covers the steering box filler hole. The hole is plugged with a plastic cap which pries out easily. I added several ounces of 80W oil to bring the level up.
Loosening the lock nut on the top of the box took some figuring as there is little room to get a tool in there. What I found works perfectly is a 3/4″ crows-foot wrench on the end of a socket extension. I turned the screw a few degrees and tightened the nut. A test drive showed that I may be a little tight. The steering was much better, but felt a little heavy. Add to that I don’t want to over-wear the gears since I’ve been reading that the parts are unavailable, I backed the adjustment off just a little.
The other adjustment was to lube the speedometer cable again. I’d used graphite before and there was a little improvement but the needle was still jumping. The graphite had mixed with the oil or grease that was in there before so I wiped it clean and lubed liberally with lithium grease. It’s definitely better but I might remove the sheath next time and try to clean it out and relube.
Here you can see the adjustment screw and lock nut between the pulley and the a/c receiver.
July 25, 2007
It was a cool day, well, cooler than it has been, and I got an early start on the speaker install.I removed the panels and seat belt to give better access. A previous owner had installed 6×9 speakers in the past but the new ones would not fit in the same hole because of the plastic mounting ring that holds the grills. The necessitated moving the speakers up about 1/2″.
In the previous installation, slots were cut in the sheet metal and the metal was folded back. I folded it back to original and then drill a series of holes along the new profile. Then I cut the piece out with a saber saw and a metal blade. I filed all the rough spots down and had a pretty clean hole to mount the speaker in.
The sound is great, though not as good as just listening to car itself.
July 24, 2007
Since it was 102 degrees today I thought it was appropriate to look at the air conditioner. It needed a belt so I measured the length with a string and headed to the auto parts store. They actually had it in their computer and the belt they produced matched my string.
Installation only took a minute and when I turned on the compressor it spun quietly. No cold air but at least there wasn’t the sound of screaming bearings.
I talked to the a/c shop where we just had the a/c on our 240 DL recharged and was told that chances are that the system won’t hold a charge, due to age and inactivity, but they’ll give it a shot next week.
What it comes down to is this. If it hold a charge, great. If not, then it’s decision time. Either rebuild what’s there or do the conversion to a system that uses R134. If I do the conversion I can probably reclaim my test charge costs by selling my a/c hardware. Maybe.
The speakers arrived today but it was wayyyy to hot to install them. I’ll take a shot in the morning before things heat up again.
July 23, 2007
Over the past week I’ve been figuring out how to install a modern stereo in this car without modifying the original look. A dash install is out, especially since the original Volvo AM radio works fine. Underdash isn’t practical because of the air conditioner. Under the seat might work except that the spring is in the way. Then I hit on it! Why not put it in back between the rear seats? It’s still within reach, especially with a remote control.
I first had to select a head unit and decided on a Pioneer DEH-2900 after comparing price, features, etc. I’m not out for an audiophile setup, just a way to play FM, burned CDs with MP3s, and a front panel input jack for an MP3 player.
Even though daytime temps were about 100 degrees, I headed out to the garage and built a box out of some scrap plywood and covered it with some vinyl that previously covered a window in my darkroom a few houses ago. I used some corner braces to fasten the box to the floor. Next I built a wiring harness long enough that allows the unit to be pulled out of the box to be disconnected. I had to pick up an antenna Y-connector and a 12-foot extension to route the antenna from under the dash to the new unit and still keep the original radio connected.
I ordered speakers and they should be in by the middle of the week. They car already had 6×9s installed in the side panels below the rear side windows so it was a no-brainer to replace them with something newer and install in the same place. In the meantime I’ve tested the setup with the existing speakers.
July 12, 2007
The straps arrived and it was an extremely easy install.
July 9, 2007
I got a good condition used tire mounted to my spare rim today.