[SalsaShark240DL]

Hey everyone! Let me first start by saying...what a wonderful site!!!Thank god your all out there with the same love of 240's as I. This is my first, It's an 86 240 DL wagon with somewhere around 250,000 mi. give or take (the speedo is stuck at 142,000...did extensive research on the original owner and the second owner to try and determine milage....it's as close as I can get) and i've owned it for almost a year now. I LOVE IT!!!never any problems, just average maintenence...and it just goes and goes. However, in the last week, the temp gauge keeps rising and falling and it's KILLIN" me....driving down the freeway it holds steady at about mid level (give or take a scosh) if I take my foot off the accelerator from say 70mph to 60 mph it rises up to about 3/4 or even a little higher...re-accelerate and it creeps back down...same thing at slower speeds although the average temp is just above the mid line....it's never really done this...always used to stay at mid level or a little below. It has never overheated or run funny...never creeps into the orange (but it gets alarmingly close at times)...just dont get it.
I've read some of the past posts, particularly "FarmerJohn's" posts which sounded alot like my problem....I've checked all my hoses, thermostat, fan and clutch, resavoir, flushed the system to no avail....radiator is next I guess but what about the temp sensor?...I dunno, any advice or help would GREATLY be appreciated!!! Thanks for your help!

 

[RearWheelPaul]

Re: new guy! and cooling issues (SalsaShark240DL)

Quote, originally posted by SalsaShark240DL »

I've read some of the past posts, particularly "FarmerJohn's" posts which sounded alot like my problem....I've checked all my hoses, thermostat, fan and clutch, resavoir, flushed the system to no avail....radiator is next I guess but what about the temp sensor?...

Replace the thermostat with a new Volvo 87C unit. Remove the rad and clean the dirt from the fins (use a pressure washer). Reverse spray the a/c condensor. Next, check the water pump pulley for lateral play (replacing if necessary).

Its unlikely, but not impossible, for the temp sensor to be shot. This would be my final check, after all else has failed to resolve the problem.

If the car has been regularly overheating and is equipped with an automatic, chances are that your transmission's life has been compromised. Drain and flush the transmission fluid as the old (overheated) stuff will be oxidized. If your transmission continues to function normally, count yourself lucky.

Hope this helps,

 

[SalsaShark240DL]

Hi, and thanks...
It is an automatic but has yet to really overheat. I did have the rear main seal replaced a couple of weeks ago however...but the tranny fluid was replaced and seems to shift and function fine...would having the main seal replaced have anything to do with this?

 

[VolvoBob]

Re: (SalsaShark240DL)

Is the fan clutch OK? I'd go with a bad gauge or sender. If I remember right it also has a voltage regulator for that gauge and they are troublesome.

 

[SalsaShark240DL]

yeah, the fan clutch seems fine...not frozen or anything....by gauge, do you mean the one in the dash and sender, the one in the block? sorry for all the questions...just trying to get it straight in my brain..lol

 

[VolvoBob]

Re: (SalsaShark240DL)

When I said gauge, I was talking about the whole system, sender, dash gauge and voltage stabilizer. I would try measuring the temp with one of those infrared hand held temp gauges. check the top of the radiator and see if corresponds to the gauge reading.

 

[gdill2]

Re: (VolvoBob)

Sean;

Your Volvo's AT fluid dumps much of its heat into the radiator even when all is well. If the radiator is having problems the AT heat will add to the mix.

http://www.ipdusa.com/Products...D=629

George Dill

 

[Alaric]

Re: (gdill2)

George,

I'm still relying on the factory '68 144s temp gauge and volt. stabilizer (the '70 cluster was too trashed to save) until I get my R-Sport gauges installed.

In my '68 144s, with the M40 trans and B18B (and cleaned radiator), the temp gauge lived at the first white tic (approx. 1/4 range) all the time, 100F or 16F ambient, or anywhere in between.

In my '70 144s, with the same instrument cluster but a B20 and BW35 trans (I haven't cleaned the radiator), the temp registered is about 25% higher at cruising, and at idle in the recent 90F temps, got worryingly close to the red.

Is this normal for the AT in a '70? Gauge variations have been ruled out, so I'm wondering if this is normal behavior.

 

[VolvoBob]

Re: (Alaric)

Just courious, how did you ruleout the gauge?
They are not the most reliable or acurate things going.

 

[Alaric]

Re: (VolvoBob)

Bob,

I'm not relying on the gauge giving an actual temperature reading, but rather a 'good', 'fair', 'warning', and 'bad' reading. Since I have had this cluster in my '68 (it was original to it) for the six years that I owned it, and having experienced both a bad fan belt and blown radiator hose (this last leading to a cylinder head overhaul on the B18), I know when the gauge reads 'OK', and when it's screaming "Danger, Will Robinson...Danger!!"
Since I know how the temp. gauge behaved with my '68 stick shift, I can estimate reliably how much hotter the automatic runs, even if I can't tell you an exact temperature.

Interestingly, on a hot start (even during the hottest part of midsummer), my '68 B18 with the M40 never registered more than slightly above 1/2 on the temp. guage, whereas my '70 B20 with the BW35 reads exactly at the border between green and red (slightly higher if ambient is above 90F) consistently, regardless of ambient temps. And I have done hot starts so far in the '70 at temps ranging from 40F ambient to 98F ambient (in the Pacific Northwest, the weather is certainly something not to be taken for granted).

N.B. I did test the resistance curve of the '70 temp. sender against that of the '68 before I sent the '68 off to the boneyard (food thermometer in the radiator neck, ohmmeter at the cluster connector, and a very patient helper calling out temps (happened to be my dad). They were essentially identical, and I was lazy, so although I kept the '68 sender as a spare, I'm using the '70 sender.

Modified by Alaric at 5:31 AM 7-10-2006