With this week deemed Volvo Week at CC, I thought this would be a fitting time to give an update on my 1991 740 Estate. A while back I wrote a letter to the original owner of the Volvo. Here is what I have been working on since then.
I will never have a girlfriend or friends or children watch me work on a car. I swear too much. It’s a tightrope act working on older cars. Seven out of the eight steps may go flawless, but that one piece of rusted steel is going to hold you up for the next two hours. A repair that looks easy on paper can turn into a whole afternoon of turmoil and high blood pressure. Irreplaceable parts that can only be found by relentless searching of junk yards only add to the tension.
But every repair I make to my Volvo, I take a step back in time. Each broken or worn out part I replace I get a closer look at how driving this wagon must have felt when new. I am a daydreamer, I like to pretend. On certain days my imagination runs wilder than normal. In the middle of February, when snow blankets the scenery, when I hear the groaning and crunching sound of driving over fresh snow in sub-zero temperatures. And when I see bright clear blue sky above me and snow covered conifers in backwoods of rural Indiana, I pretend I am back in Sweden where this car was built. Crossing the Scandinavian countryside as the solid B230F hums along with confidence.
Recently, I replaced the shocks and struts. I did not see any record of new struts installed during its 235,000 mile life. So I was not too surprised to see the condition of the originals once I finally got them removed. I also replaced the ball joints while everything was opened up.
After returning from a three hour road trip, I noticed some of my coolant hoses were sweating. I replaced the rubber coolant hoses and water pump seals for around $12.00.
Later that night, confident the 740 was healthy, I was driving to a friend’s house. Leaving a stoplight, shifting from 1st to 2nd, I depressed the clutch and *snap!* the pedal went limp. Without a clutch I nurse the wagon into a parking lot and get it towed right back to where it left just two hours ago. My AAA membership, the most important tool for a two decade old vehicle, paid for itself once again.
The slave cylinder, as you can see in the photo, blew up. An easy fix once the correct part arrived; Step one: Remove clutch line. Step two: Remove snap ring and pull out slave cylinder.
I bought a new battery for it. The old one was about 10 years old. But other than the updates mentioned the 740 has been running well. Next on the to-do list are new rubber bushings for the engine accessories. Once I save up a little more I plan to get the A/C in running order and see what I can do about replacing my cracked windshield.
Here it is after a clay bar and fresh wax. Ready for summer adventures!
You clay barred this 23 year old car? Wow. You are over the deep end. Seriously i am a little jealous. To find a 5sp that went through 3 very respectable owners is quite a trick. To have the time, tools and knowledge to keep it running is a lucky break for the car.
I have the curse of being one of those ‘paint guys’. I can’t help myself with the clay bar!
Joking aside, it is nice to get the winter grime completely off. Roads can get nasty around here.
Mark,
Glad to see the old 740 out on the road. I’m also glad to see that you’re repairing it a little at a time.
Surprisingly, my own ’91 hasn’t needed many repairs in the two years I’ve owned it. All I’ve had to do was replace the exhaust manifold gaskets, timing belt, and all four of the brake pads. Other than oil changes and tire rotations, it hasn’t needed much besides routine maintenance. Have you had to replace your headliner yet? I did mine the first week I owned it.
I bought it from the original owner for $950, which I thought was a deal. It’s the best-running car out of all my current Volvos. I recently saw another ’91 740, but this one was a wagon and it turned out to be a one-owner car. I made the owner an offer for it and was promptly turned down, reason being that she plans to drive it until it can no longer go on.
How did you remove it? Did you take out a front seat and push it through an open door? Remove the rear window?
The headliner is currently held up by tacks installed by the previous owner. They give the sagging fabric a nice pillow top-ish type look. Replacement is on the list, but not a priority at the moment.
These cars really are infectious. I cant stop searching the used Volvo market as well. There is a ’94 940 sedan in my area listed at $2,400 with only 101K. I have been pestering everyone in my circle of friends and family who are in the market for a vehicle to at least look at it, but no one has any interest. They just don’t get it.
Seven out of the eight steps may go flawless, but that one piece of rusted steel is going to hold you up for the next two hours.
Man do I resonate with that one. Yesterday in particular I decided to replace the u joints in my F-150. What I didn’t realize was somehow the OEMs had lasted 16 years and almost broke a ball joint press getting them out. I resorted to using a four way tire wrench to torque on the press, which finally got them to budge.
13 hours later aligning the last one to put in the last c-clip, what happens? I torqued just a little too hard and blew out the cap (that had already been clipped) on the other side. It was like Tourette’s, or a Navy convention. So now I’m waiting for the parts store to open so I can get another new u joint and replace the blasted cap and be done with the thing.
Many times I’ve learned my lesson in saying “this will be cake! I’ve got the right tools this time!”
I have wondered whether I made the right decision by paying my mechanic to replace the U joints in my son’s 89 Grand Marquis. I did that job multiple times “back in the day” but it was awfully cold out, so . . . .
Today, after your comment, I can quit worrying whether I wasted my money. 🙂
I did six of the seven u-joints on my Middle West (read: very rusty) 1995 F150 4WD – they were all about shot. There’s still a green cloud hanging around the back of the shop from that job…
Man that is a horror story. I think the worst of my repair horrors originate from my LT1 F-body ownership days.
“this will be cake! I’ve got the right tools this time!”
The last words said to so many cars.
In honor of Volvo week I just want to share this weirdness from the Swedish art pop group iamamiwhoami because the Volvo 740 wagon is featured prominently: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8f-Ss9_3Ts
Mark,
I can relate to your story of daydreaming about how an old car would have been out on its first drive. You wonder if the first owner knew that it would be well loved twenty years on.
Keep up the good work. And remember, there’s always life after death for a Volvo wagon. Found this one on http://www.volvo740.nl/
Glad to read about your contined relationship with the 740. An enjoyable read.
Your last picture looks like it could have been taken in my Indianapolis neighborhood with its mid century houses and mature trees.
HOW MANY times have I wanted to step into a time machine, with today’s income in my pocket(s), go back to (insert year), walk into (insert dealership) and purchase, brand new with zero mileage, whatever old car I am currently mentally lusting over?
Sir, I must take exception to your first paragraph as it is not complete. The words ‘blood’, ‘bruises’, ‘band-aids’, & ‘stitches’ need to be added.
He he the joys of motoring.
I did the U-joints and center bearing on the 2-piece driveshaft a few times over the 30 years of 70 C10 ownership. Having only a hammer,sockets, and C clamps my neighbor asked me after hearing me when I bashed my thumb if I wanted to go to church with her. After that fun experience the next time they were due I did it the “chicken” way and only removed and replaced driveshaft and would have the parts store machine shop (remember those?) install them.
I never realized the headliners on these were weak. My own 1991 940SE never had a headliner problem, and I kept it until August 2004. But then, it was also garaged all its life too.
This is my dream car, a 740 Wagon with manual transmission. Impossible to find out here in Cali. I remembered your awesome letter to the owner and hope you can post regular updates on the car. Knowing how easy it is to work on keeps me motivated to find a nice one, ideally an ’89 Turbo.
After reading this and the letter to the original owner, I think you’re lucky to have found such a well-maintained Volvo and the Volvo is lucky to have found you. Once you’ve got everything sorted out, 460K isn’t out of the question at all!
I have an ’87 740 GLE and the worse part of the car is the crappy plastic trim with the glued on vinyl. No problem with the headliner. I got lucky once at the junkyard and found a 740 turbo sedan with the same interior, red/maroon leather, and I pulled the entire interior which I later installed on my 740. Although the donor car had in excess of 200k miles the interior was in better shape than on mine which at the time had 150k miles.
I also have a 1986 760 Turbo with 220k miles. The interior in this car is almost perfect I prefer the cloth seats on the 760 to the leather seats on the 740. Now if I could find a 760 turbo wagon in good shape, that would complete my Volvo fantasy.
Mark, is that lift in the picture in your home garage/shop? I am looking forward to the day I can get one but can’t make up my mind which is better a two post or a drive on type like the one you showed. Love to hear your comments on why you chose this type of lift.
This is my dads lift. He purchased it to serve two purposes. For storage and for car work. The garage is only a two car garage, but with the lift we can store his Spitfire project car on top and be able to park a car (Mazda 3 hatchback) underneath. When we get to working on a car we just roll everything out and get into it.
We like the ability to simply lay down ramps and drive the car onto the lift. Also the added security and stability is nice. Sometimes it can be a little cumbersome working around the metal base but its never been a big issue. Sometimes it can be a little tiresome doing wheel/brake/suspension work because you still have to jack the car up to get the wheel off.
We had to remove half of the attic above the garage to accommodate the extra space. It’s not too cramped either, we can fit a full size truck on it and lift it about 4 ft in the air.
When we were tearing into everything of course my mom was freaking out. But now that she sees how everything works even she is a fan of the lift and thought it was a good decision. I only say that in case you have a financial gatekeeper you have to gain approval from!
Don’t skimp with the price of one either. A safe, well constructed lift is paramount. Ours is a Backyard Buddy and we have been very pleased with it.