960 II - rust?
 

So, I've decided to return to the fold of the brick - in particular a late 960/S90.

I've seen a few adverts stating 'MoT failure' - mostly due to rust. Is this a general problem now? I last had a 940 about 5-6 years ago, but even so, none of my 9x 900s have had any rust whatsoever... so I'm a bit worried.

While we're discussing the 960, which is the better engine - the 2.5 or the 3.0. Although the 3.0 is more powerful, it isn't that much quicker due to the 2.5's lower diff ratio, so I don't have a preference for one or the other - I just want to find a long term keeper :)

Finally, what is the parts situation like for them? I know they're 25+ years old now, but can you still get the usual bushes, shocks, lights, engine parts for them? I'm expect trim items to be secondhand only now.

TIA

I've found parts to be quite tricky - luckily not much has gone wrong with mine so far, but if any used major components come up on ebay for cheap i tend to add it to the parts store if I can. Classicswede has a lot of bushes and suspension components for the 960. Euro car parts has your generic brake pads and discs etc but nothing critical or bespoke. There may be other resources available that I'm not aware of.

Rust is worse than the 940, not sure why this is... it'll weld... maybe!

Fuel economy is absolutely horrendous, and performance isn't that great either in all honesty, and I have the 3.0.

I have a 1992 940, 1995 960 and a 1997 V70 T5, and the 960 is objectively the worst out of all of them, however I still love it and would have it over anything else on the road... apart from the 940 or the V70 T5.

I paid £400 for mine two years ago and it owes me nothing, but I wouldn't pay what some of them are being advertised for on ebay, mostly due to the parts issue.

I sincerely hope someone else comes along and tells me I'm talking garbage, and there are plenty of parts available, in which case yay I can keep it for longer! :teeth_smile:

Thanks for that :)

I wonder why the 960 is more rust prone than the 940??? I might have to reconsider the 6 cylinder option then and stick with a tweaked B230FK again. A shame that, as I loved the 3.0 24v engines in my 960s. Either that, or just be really patient and wait for a rust free one to pop up!

I've had a few T5s before, and as you say they beat a 960 hands down in every department - but I want a big old lazy boat this time. I'm sick n tired of chopping and changing cars tbh, and the happiest I've ever been - long term - was in my 960 barge with its sunny bright tan interior :) So thats why I set my heart on one.

Looks like I might be in for quite a wait...

Thanks again

Well, if this nivomat swap doesn't go to plan this week, then I'll let you know! :teeth_smile:

Depending on conditions they all rust. I did majorish work to my 95 940, partly blamed on the dog swimming in the sea. Both rear inner wheel arches (maybe window seal issues), the rear cubby holes, bits of the wheel well, sills. battery box and squirter bottle location. Once the zinc has gone they go quickly, usually after 20yrs.

Also have done a big sill patch a number of yrs before on a fairly non-rust 98 940.

Fancy a project one?

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=306898

Nothing to do with me, except after the seats.

James.:thumbs_up:

S90 - Happy owner here!
 

I've got a 97 S90 3-litre auto, dark nautic blue with tan leather interior, and I have to say that I've never had any difficulty in getting service or repair parts for it at all. I bought it two years ago with 88,000 miles on the clock, it's now done 120,000. It had had one owner from new before me.

There is absolutely zero rust in the body shell.

The 3-litre 24v engine is quiet and smooth, the automatic gearbox works perfectly, as does everything else on the car.

On a run I've easily topped 30mpg, but in general running around I'm getting 24-26mpg.

In my ownership it's had a new front brake caliper, new front wishbones and drop links, a new battery, brake pads all round, new discs on the front. It failed to start just once, and the fault was traced to a blown fuse on the immobiliser. The fuse was replaced and has worked perfectly ever since.

It's a glorious car to drive, with space, grace and a fair bit of pace if you want it.

There are very few on the road, and they don't come up for sale that often, but my direct experience is very positive.

Jack

capt jack - where do you get your parts from? Do you do the work yourself?

I tend to do any basic service work myself - oil and filter, brake pads etc, and have had no trouble in getting service parts from places like GSF, Eurocarparts and Andrew Page etc. I didn't do the wishbones myself but got them done at a local garage (not a Volvo specialist), and they were able to source the parts with no trouble.

Once or twice I've ordered things from www.partsforvolvo.com, and when I needed a mirror glass and motor I found these easily on Ebay.

We have an excellent Volvo independent in York called Dyrdals - a proper old school garage, and when the timing belt and water pump needs to be done I'll take it there. I've already checked with them and parts are not an issue. The only problem with Dyrdals is that they're always really busy, so getting a booking can be a challenge!

It's worth bearing in mind that some 960 / S90 parts are common with other Volvos of that period. The mirror glass and motor for example I found is the same as is fitted to the phase 1 x70 series, ditto the oil filter.

More generally I've found an Ebay shop Dumfries Volvo Spares (their username is awesome twosome) and have sourced things from them for our S70.

Trim parts for the S90 would I think be a tougher challenge, but I'm lucky in that my car's interior really is in superb condition. I did need a small piece of dash trim, but found that on here from another forum member. When I needed some paint to tidy up a grazed bumper the local branch of Wilco Motosave were able to make up a rattle-can for me, and the match is first class.

We also have a 1998 S70, and I've previously owned about a dozen Volvos, the newest of which was a 2000 W-reg V70, so I do have a fair bit of Volvo experience. And of course just about the best source of information and advice is this forum!

I think the one place I've never used for parts for the S90 is the local Volvo main dealer!

Hope that helps

Cheers

Jack

I've got loads of parts from main dealer and FRF Swansea have got me pretty much everything. Brookhouse are also very good