YOUR VOLVO WILL LAST FOREVER IF ...[850/1995] posted by Paul S. on Monday, 9 March 1998, at 9:28 a.m.

...if you don't run into bridge abutements or non dynamic large trees....

Seriously: Swap ALL fluids with religious zeal. (From motor oil, tranny lube, rear end, brake fluid, to coolant.) Respond
to all curious noises, leaks, whines, etc...with fervor...

Clean all undersides constantly and cover all scratches, bare metal, etc immediately. If any rust breaks out, blast it off
and POR-15 it right away.

Love your Volvo, it may be ugly now but it gets better with age.

Paul S.

I gotta get in on this one:

1.Change or at least clean the flame resistor whenever the fancy strikes you.
2.Take out the seats once a year. Scrub your carpet with hot soapy water, then suck up the residual water with a shop
vac.
3.Use Armor-All like it's going out of style. (disagreement here)
4.Get a good mechanic, buy him wine at Christmas, and find a good foreign care parts store that's open on Sunday
mornings until at least noon (like I did).
5.Change the coolant before every winter.
6.Don't fret the small stuff if you have kids. Ball point ink on the plastic will eventually wear off. Just be patient.
7.Don't take it to Sears for tires EVER!!!!! (Sorry, if that needs to be deleted)
8.When the electric windows die, take apart the switches and clean everything with 0000 steal wool. It's fun.
9. Read the Brickboard often.

Since I move around the world and take my 91 240 with me, I can't always find a good independent mechanic, so as
an alternative I read the brickboard, ask questions, follow the advice that I get, and do what I can myself. My 240 now
has almost 95,000 miles, most accumulated at speeds of 80 -85 MPH, and still burns or leaks no oil. I use a good
brand of multi-grade oil, and change oil and filter every 5,000. I can't always get the same brand of oil, but at least get a
good name brand. Fixing things that break and keeping the car clean and waxed adds to the pride I take in the car and
helps me remember to keep it in "as new" condition. I take great pride when people are surprised that it's more than a
just a couple of years old, and then they usually tell me what they paid for their car and how disappointed they've been
with it. I pretend that I understand, but I don't. My Volvo just gets better with age. Every now and then I see a new
Volvo and consider purchasing another new one, but instead identify something to upgrade on my 240, such as sway
bars, exhaust, stereo, etc. I guess that helps it to keep getting better every year. The final "Key" to the longevity of a
Volvo is having a spouse who appreciates it as much as you do.

If you:

Use synthetic oil (Mobil 1) and change it every 3000/5000mi Turbo/Non-turbo.

Garage it if possible.

Use Volvo replacement parts for routine stuff (filters, pads, wipers, seals, etc.). $orry.

Keep it clean, inside and out.

Talk to Irv.

Skip

If you live the the rust belt, wash the car frequently during the winter to keep the salt off of it (especially underneath).
Wax it in the spring and again before the next winter. Check for dings and scratches and touch them up, especially if
they've pierced the primer and gotten to the bare metal. Attack and repair any signs of rust as soon as you find them.

Install floor trays! Or at the very minimum, use floor mats. Something to keep the salt water you track in from seeping
down through the carpet and rusting out the floorboards.

Apply a good conditioner to leather interiors to keep it soft and to prevent cracking.

Use a front window shade of some kind to keep the intense summer sun from baking the interior. Your dashboard and
seats will thank you for it.

If your Volvo's still "new" (as in less than 120,000 miles), follow the scheduled maintenance intervals, especially the
major ones.

Have mechanical problems, regardless of how minor, addressed quickly before they escalate into more painfully
expensive repairs.

And the number one rule, easy to follow but not enough people do:

CHANGE THE OIL RELIGIOUSLY!

Eric

'90 780T 80K
'91 940T 112K

My 87 240 5 speed wagon has 220K miles. Original engine and clutch.
My tips:

1. Drive it gently.
2. Drive it daily.
3. Drive it on the highway at 60 to 65 MPH to get it warm.
4. Change oil every 5K. I use Castrol 10-30.
5. Find an independent mechanic you trust and stick with him.
6. Fix things that break.
7. Keep it clean. Wax it every year.
8. Fix rust. (I use EXTEND or POR 15) before it gets too bad.
9. Read about Volvos to learn how to keep them alive. (This site
is excellent as is the "Swedish Classics" Bulletin Board as is the IPD
Newsletter."
10. Change fluids regularly. My rule of thumb is every 2 years for
most fluids on my 5 speed. (Coolant, transmission, differential, brake).
 

Hi. I will beg to differ with all of the above answers.

Volvos do not live forever. No car will. Even Irv's 1800 will die eventually.

Solution: buy Volvos cheap. Never pay more than US$1000. fix the wires yourself. clean the throttle body.

Do only the minimal repairs necessary to make sure your brick:
a] goes
b] stops
c] turns
d] has most of it's lights

Buy a good stereo. If you hear a worrisome noise, turn it up.

Let the body rust. When it's sunny, wax ONE panel. I usually do the hood.

Change the oil when the mood strikes. While you're under the brick, notice all of the leaks and drips. When the oil
change is done, drink beer until you've forgotten all of the leaks.

Pull a spark plug every once in a while. Re-install.

Once a year or so, pull the top two bolts on the timing belt cover. This will allow you to bend the cover far enough to
assure yourself that the timing belt is still there.

When a major panel falls off due to rust, duct tape it in place.

If something catastrophic happens (i.e. a repair costing more than $150 or so), advertise your Volvo in the local paper
for $500 or best offer. The Volvo nuts will rush to you.

Repeat entire process.

Evan,
I'm considering purchasing a home, got any advice on that subject? How many axles should a good house have under
it? Where can I get old signs to underpin it?
Abe-Bob Crombie

I have to admit that I have been guilty of owning and maintaining a couple
of evanmobiles in that manner. This was at a time when repairs on the side
of the road, in Denny's or 7-11 parking lots did not result in divorce,
job loss or sleeping with the dogs. There is a something to be said when
a major repair has been completed with limited tools parts etc. Stupid maybe
part of life for a backyard mechanic sure. Volvos can be tempermental but
when they give a long life it is easy to overlook the so called bad traits
of the Volvo. I will always be a diehard Volvo fan.
Barry

Don't get me wrong. I'm a Volvo fan, too, or else I wouldn't be hanging around the brickboard. I *could* drop 15 or
20 thou on a nice car. Nora II just got hit while parked. Anybody in the midwest got a spare LF door for a 244? Tan
would be nice!

Where do you live? There is a huge U-Wrench-It in Kansas City usually with a dozen or so Bricks. Doors are $36.
There hasn't been a problem yet that couldn't be fixed with a good junkyard part. I do buy new oil though. If my tan
240 gets broadsided on the right, I'll give you my LF door.

John

Just don't name it Ozymandias. -Glenn.
Goodspeed's Volvo 1800 Newsletter

Keep it in the garage. Not all the time, of course, but the weather tends to kill them before the running gear wears out.
When the car looks like it isn't worth fixing because of cosmetics, it is on its way out. Volvos may be hard to kill, but it
can be done. The basics (oil change every 3-5K) turns to 10-15K. If the care looks good, an extra $50 bucks in parts
and an afternoon to replace them is no big deal. Give it a warm home, a bath once in a while, good food, water . . . just
like any pet.

I can tell that under that gruff exterior, Evan is just an old Volvo softie.
All responses are appreciated. I especially resemble the remark about drinking
beer until you forget about all of your gasket leaks.

I will attempt to find some time in the next
week or so and put these and other ideas in brief form and return for your
use.

By the way, with high car theft rates in Phoenix, the best deterrent going
just might be mismatching body panel colors. Come to think of it, I've seen
several patchwork VW's whose drivers didn't look like car thieves.

change the motor oil and filter ofter, and do the standard services
with good quality parts.

I have driven over 600,000 miles in four Volvos, and never even
had to do a valve job, let alone an overhaul.

I GUESS I'VE BECOME A VOLVO NUT. I CHANGE MY OIL EVERY 3K MILES AND FIX
THINGS AS THE YARD GETS THEM IN, I TRY TO AVOID BUYING DEALER PARTS
WHENEVER POSSIBLE AND TO ME IF PEPBOYS MAKES PARTS THAT WORK I'LL USE
THEM, I BOUGHT BOTH MY CARS WITH HIGH MILEAGE AND DO NOT HESITATE TO
DRIVE THEM ANYWHERE,TOOK MY 245 GLT TOWING A 3000 LBS TRAILER FROM NJ TO
FLA. AND ONLY WIPED OUT THE LIGHTS OUT RELAY,PRETTY AMAZING. I PLAN ON
KEEPING THESE CARS TIL THEY CAN'T BE RESURECTED....
82 244 DL 189K
83 245 GLT 218K
CHUCK....

1. Do like some Volvo Club owners; Keep it always in the garage exept when TRAILERING to the Club events. Put
all your throphies on didpaly and don't forget "Don't Touch!" sign. 2. Marry/become room mate with Irv Gordon. Do
what he does. 3. Fill up motor with Slick 50, trans with PROLONG, rearend with STP, radiator with RESTORE,
gastank with WYNN's and interior with whore house smelling "air freshener" christmas trees.

Or maybe the question could be posed: What is a sure fire way of stopping a Brick cold? Like what would it take?
Fuses sound too easy…

Re: YOUR VOLVO WILL LAST FOREVER IF ...[850/1995] posted by Paul on
Wednesday, 11 March 1998, at 6:21 p.m.

I have an '86 760 Turbo, bought it new. 273K miles, no rust, everything works. I have changed all fluids according to
the service manual except oil and filter which I do every 2500 miles(original turbo). I change differential oil every
100,000. I try to keep the salt off of it, touch up any nicks, wax it 2 or 3 times a year, treat the leather with conditioner
a couple of times a year. I also pay attention to small things that crop and fix them before they turn in to a disabling
event.

I drive this car every day as my primary vehicle, it is not babied, 26,000 miles in '97 including two long road trips. Most
people that are not familiar with Volvo model changes do not believe the car is 12 years old and has close to 300,000
miles.

Adhering to a routine maintenance schedule even after the newness wears off will do wonders.

1.If it runs, Drive it
2.If it has fluid in it, change it
3.If a book was written for it, buy it and read it
4.When it gets dirty, clean it
5.Take it to the doctor when necessary
6.Wear glasses if you need 'em

Garages? We don't need no stinking garages. BURRRRRRRRRRRRR

7. Buy a block heater if it's a diesel or it's cold where you live
8. Your milage may vary (YMMV)