[[email protected]]

Okay, our Project 240 has had some issues as of late. This is the first summer we've owned it, and we're learning it has a propensity to overheat. The thermostat and the water pump have both been replaced and the radiator has been looked over pretty well and we're confident that it has full flow.

Our shop that was doing the work on it thinks it might be a head gasket failure or a crack in the head. I'm not in disagreement with that, but that's an expensive proposition and one that isn't guaranteed success (though probably will). Plus, it's more money than I'd really want to invest in a normally aspirated automatic car. However, an engine swap might be even more expensive, though I would have more hp. Trouble is, doing our kitchen this summer, the funds aren't really there to do anything crazy.

Also, Rob (Volvorules) ran a compression check on the motor and I'm good in all four cylinders. Further, the coolant is clean and I see no coolant in the oil. I'm blowing no smoke out of the exhaust. This all makes me believe that maybe I've overlooked something....somewhere.

It appears with the car that it is only overheating when the oil temp is up. I just took it out for about a mile to two mile drive and returned to the house, let it idle for about ten minutes and it was fine. However, once you get everything at full temp and run on the highway....then stop in traffic, it's a different story.

Turning the heat on high will bring it into range again, but heat in the summer is no fun.

So what I'm wondering here is if anyone has any suggestions?

I can't help but think that maybe I should try doing a larger capacity (6cyl) radiator, or an oil cooler. I know Volvo made an accessory tranny cooler, but not sure about an oil cooler.

Any of you 240 gurus wanna take a stab at that?

 

[towerymt]

I don't know much about fixing the cooling system, but clearly it doesn't have the capacity to cool the engine.

The first thing I would suspect based on the details is the fan clutch. If it's fine on the highway where it gets good air flow but can't create the same flow when slowed down, then I'm betting on a fan related problem.

quote:

Brickboard 700/900 FAQ:Thermostatic Fluid Clutch Fan Test. Fan should roar when car is first started cold engine. Within 5 minutes the roar should stop/die down. When radiator warms up, the roar should start again. For the thermostatic one (post ~1980), run engine, hang blanket over grille. If the fan starts to get loud and blow more air before the temperature gauge gets too high, the thermostatic clutch works. To check slippage (at normal engine temperature), Volvo suggests using a strobe light with adjustable frequency. You put a timing mark on the fan with chalk, and figure out the fan speed for a few different engine rpms. The chart of engine vs fan speed is in all the different repair manuals.

quote:

Bentley 240 Manual:Inspect the fan clutch by spinning the fan with the engine off and cold. The fan should spin on the clutch with slight resistance. If the fan cannot be turned by hand or if there are signs of oil leakage, the clutch is frozen and should be replaced.

Electric Fan Conversion. You have to choose a fan carefully because the 240 isn't going to handle a big current draw.

What temp t-stat is in it, and was it installed correctly with the "air hole" on the top side?

Is there any corrosion visible anywhere in the cooling system?

Has the exterior of the radiator been cleaned? Spray from the engine side outward to remove dirt & bugs.

I'm out of ideas. Let me know if you find any problems.

 

[PWSchuh]

Once you ensure that the fan clutch is working ok and it still overheats, I would invest in a Nissen 3-row radiator from ipd or other sources.

 

[[email protected]]

Good ideas thanks.

 

[Evolvo]

Did they check your oil cooler? Maybe it's clogged.

 

[[email protected]]

The clutch appears to be fine. I'll check on the Thermostat, but without AC on, and a new stock thermostat, I figure I'm safe in assuming it shouldn't be doing this.

 

[towerymt]

quote:

Originally posted by Evolvo:
Did they check your oil cooler? Maybe it's clogged.

There isn't one.

What about the other stuff: clean radiator, corrosion, properly installed t-stat?

 

[[email protected]]

I'll clean the radiator tomorrow. I'll also have to check the T-stat but it was just replaced by Rob's shop, so I am sure that part is fine....

 

[devalmyth]

i had the same problems with my 245. what i did was put an oil cooler for the transmission on it. this braing it down 20 degrees! also i ditched the thermostat in the summer.

 

[[email protected]]

I've seen the tranny cooler in teh Volvo accessories catalogues from back then, but where would I find one now?

Also, speaking of an oil cooler, anybody here ever try putting an aftermarket cooler on the car?

 

[PWSchuh]

I think he was talking about using an aux trans oil cooler as opposed to letting the trans oil be cooled by the radiator. Takes one source of heat out of the radiator. You can use a generic trans oil cooler, there is nothing special about them. An engine oil cooler might help to...

 

[11110000]

240 Turbos had an aux. engine oil cooler.

The auto tranny oil cooler kit for the 240 is P/N 1333839-7, if that helps in your search.

I also tend to suspect the fan clutch - they do sometimes fail, and that would explain the behavior you've described.

 

[devalmyth]

yeh, the oil cooler i used was pretty small,nothing special. i mounted it on the front of the radiator.cos the oil heats up the water its not reall y afective.an aux oil cooler shouldt cost much and i only paid $40 aus.i pulled back the colets on the oil lines and hose clamped the rubber hoses to the lines.took me less than half an hour.but it made a huge differance..quite suprised.i can get the dimensions and brand name if you would like.i recall the oil cooler to be made in usa..so it might not be hard to find. BTW, have you filled up the radiator to see how much water it takes?i found this a quick and effective way to find out how good my radiator was.i cant exactly rember how many liters it took but i think it was in the reigion of 8???maybe someone who has a good 240 radiator could find out...?

 

[towerymt]

quote:

Originally posted by [email protected]:
I've seen the tranny cooler in teh Volvo accessories catalogues from back then, but where would I find one now?

Also, speaking of an oil cooler, anybody here ever try putting an aftermarket cooler on the car?

The 240 Turbo had an oil cooler, and the Turbo automatic had a trans cooler. I just saw a used oil cooler from a 740 Turbo sell on ebay for ~$20, and the same seller had a trans cooler that didn't sell @ $5 (Item # 1834014516).

I'm sure Brian Leppin would have both. The last time I was down there he had a couple of 240 Turbo cars and at least a few 7/9 series turbo cars.

 

[[email protected]]

Thanks, I think I'm going to give it a try. I've been driving the car around town and it's absolutely fine. It's just when I get on the highway and get the blood pumping...

The fan clutch seems fine.

 

[[email protected]]

I've talked to a couple more people about it, and the general consensus is a radiator with deposits in it.

So here's what I'm thinking. I'm probably going to purchase an RPR all metal 3 row unit vs. a 2 row plastic/steel unit that fits it stock. We'll see what that does. I may also do a tranny oil cooler as in heavy traffic, 1st to 2nd gets a little rough. We'll see how it goes from there.

Yesterday coming back from a 1.5 mile trip, it overheated because the AC was turned on.... gotta get this fixed.

 

[towerymt]

quote:

Originally posted by [email protected]:
I've talked to a couple more people about it, and the general consensus is a radiator with deposits in it.

That wouldn't surprise me, especially if that radiator is original. I just read a post at the Brickboard RWD forum from someone experiencing a similar problem, and that was one of the suggestions.

If you haven't ordered from RPR yet, see this ebay auction (ends in 4.5 hours from the time of this message):

Item # 1833689952

 

[[email protected]]

Thanks Michael. Good spot. That's actually how I learned about them. Then I went to his site to read up on it a little more.

Interestingly, did you know that US cars had the tropical radiator to start with, so I assume our car has the higher capacity plastic/metal design.

 

[towerymt]

quote:

Originally posted by [email protected]:
Interestingly, did you know that US cars had the tropical radiator to start with, so I assume our car has the higher capacity plastic/metal design.

I did not know that. Actually, I didn't even know for a fact that there was a "tropical" radiator since no one had ever had any specs on it, or applications where it existed. It could just be in any market where A/C is widely used.

 

[[email protected]]

That could be. I was speaking with a friend at Volvo and he shared that with me. He also said the AC units on the 240 aren't as effective as that on the 700/900 series. He said the Swedes didn't get AC until VCOA sent them out in Death Valley in an automatic 240 and they got the picture....

He said the same thing happened with cruise control. They did a tour across Texas and then saw the reason it's such a popular feature for Americans.