OT: 1990 Volvo 740GL for winter car?

[jjg43]

What's up everyone,

I know this is a liitle OT but I need some suggestions. I thought there may be someone on here with some Volvo knowlege. I am looking at a 1990 740gl with an automatic transmission and 172,000 miles. The motor is the 4cyl (2.3 I think). This is just going to be my winter car since I recently found a garage to store the E34. I don't know anything about Volvos and I am wondering if this is something I should buy or stay away from. How are the engine/transmissions in these cars? Is 172k too many miles? I will probably put 600-700 miles on it a month. The asking price for the car is $900US dollars. From the pictures I've seen the car has no rust. The reason I am posting is because the car is about two hours away and I don't want to drive that far for nothing. My mechanic has a similar car and says the drivetrain is bulletproof with proper maintenance. Do these have any issues or problem areas? Is there anything I should look for when I go to see it? Any help is greatly apprciated.


Thanks,

Phil

[Joestancampiano]

I have a 90 740 with 220k miles and it still runs good (two teenagers learned to drive on this thing). Engines and trans are good for 300k with minimal care. Get on one of the Volvo websites and read up on what to check for.

Joe

[DanDombrowski]

I pretty much have the same car, different body (a 240, same engine and transmission, I think). It is pretty much bulletproof, I beat on it awhile as a teenager and now I take care of it. The odometer stopped around 160,000 and we think it has somewhere around 190,000. Anywho, I thought about buying another one for the heck of it, and I've found that theyre priced a little wierd- either people jsut want to get rid of it and sell it for pennies, or they think a 14 year old car with 200,000 miles and rust is worth 4k....and there isnt much in between. I suppose thats probably true of all old cars, but still.

I would say that for $900, its a good deal especially for a winter car. At the shop I used to go to, most of the 240s and 740s for sale were up for sale because the A/C broke, and its not worth it to fix in a car like that.

I hate to give you bad advice, because any car with that many miles can have problems, but I know I have the same engine and transmission with about the same number of miles, and mine still runs fine. As an added bonus, you can easily find a new engine or transmission from a junkyard should anything go wrong for less than most cars. Hope this helps.

[jjg43]

I pretty much have the same car, different body (a 240, same engine and transmission, I think). It is pretty much bulletproof, I beat on it awhile as a teenager and now I take care of it. The odometer stopped around 160,000 and we think it has somewhere around 190,000. Anywho, I thought about buying another one for the heck of it, and I've found that theyre priced a little wierd- either people jsut want to get rid of it and sell it for pennies, or they think a 14 year old car with 200,000 miles and rust is worth 4k....and there isnt much in between. I suppose thats probably true of all old cars, but still.

I would say that for $900, its a good deal especially for a winter car. At the shop I used to go to, most of the 240s and 740s for sale were up for sale because the A/C broke, and its not worth it to fix in a car like that.

I hate to give you bad advice, because any car with that many miles can have problems, but I know I have the same engine and transmission with about the same number of miles, and mine still runs fine. As an added bonus, you can easily find a new engine or transmission from a junkyard should anything go wrong for less than most cars. Hope this helps.

[Renman]

I have to tell you as well. I just sold my '90 740GL w/ 192K to my niece. The car has been amazing. Most comfortable seat of any car I've owned (hate to say it but the seat just feels better than my bimmers). I would pay close attention to the motor mounts and valve adjustments as those are two known issues that can arise. I had mine mostly when I lived in Colorado Springs and w/ a set of snows it did just fine for winter driving. Good luck. -Renman

[winfred]

to bullet proof if you get it, replace the refrence mark sensor, fuel pump/main relay (white 6 pin below radio) and the RF relay on the front of one of the strut towers (it moved around) it's the same relay as the aux fan those are the 3 things that will kill a 89 and up 7/9 series volvo

[johnlee44]

to bullet proof if you get it, replace the refrence mark sensor, fuel pump/main relay (white 6 pin below radio) and the RF relay on the front of one of the strut towers (it moved around) it's the same relay as the aux fan those are the 3 things that will kill a 89 and up 7/9 series volvo

I was wondering if you have seen this problem as my son's car. He's driving and the car suddenly stalls and then when he tries to re-start, the car doesn't want to start. I have replaced the starter, battery, full tune-up and aux fan. Sometime when you try to start it after it stalls, it won't turn over at all as if the battery is dead, then when he waits an hour the car starts right up. Our mechanic can't figure out the problem.

[Bill R.]

If not then there's a good chance that its the fuel pump relay behind the ashtray..Thats if it cranks but won't start.

I was wondering if you have seen this problem as my son's car. He's driving and the car suddenly stalls and then when he tries to re-start, the car doesn't want to start. I have replaced the starter, battery, full tune-up and aux fan. Sometime when you try to start it after it stalls, it won't turn over at all as if the battery is dead, then when he waits an hour the car starts right up. Our mechanic can't figure out the problem.

[winfred]

not turnning over could be a few things, neutral safety switch could need cleaning, ignition switch crapping or a bad power/ground connection between engine and battery. neutral switch can usually be checked by holding the key in the start position while racking the shifter back and forth with a foot on the brake incase it starts, ignition switch (or neutral switch) by crossing the starter contacts, jump the main lug on starter to the small blade (green/red wire i think) and the starter should engauge

[Mobius]

The old RWD Volvo drivetrain is bulletproof as long as you don't get a V6 or the ZF-made transmission. Red-block 4-cyls are damn near un-killable. It's not at all uncommon to see them on the high side of 300,000mi without a rebuild. The AW70 and 71 transmissions are great, too - but the overdrives are comparitively short-lived.

740s are basically 240s with different styling and a nicer interior. The drivetrain is largely identical between the two. The 740 has more electrical bits that can fail; the 240 is very simple.

Both cars are exceptionally easy to work on, there's enough space under the hood to fit a large V8 comfortably, but there's just this tiny 4-cyl in there. If you can't reach something, you've got problems.

Neither, I think, are very good snow cars. Very few of them came with locking differentials, and the weight balance is very nose-heavy. Supposedly they're pretty tolerable if you get a GOOD set of snow tires, but honestly, when I had my 240, I just gave up in the winter.