Diesel power...the D24TIC 940 rolling restoration project
 

Hi all,
As some of you may be aware, in October I became the proud owner of a '95 940 diesel estate, purchased from our very own Owen (Oman5) via this forum for an absolute steal of a price.

I gave Owen my word that I would take care of all the maintenance required, sort all of the little odds and ends that need doing and keep the car on the road as a rolling resto project and daily driver, much as I did with my old 740 saloon a few years ago. I love projects like this, and the scarcity of the diesel cars makes it all the more of a labour of love and duty...I must do my bit to make sure these cars don't die out entirely!

The big red beast got me home to Dorset from Newport with no dramas, just a nice, smooth pootle home. I noticed on the drive back that the heater didn't blow particularly hot, which is of course untypical of Volvos of this era, so immediately I ordered a new 87 Deg thermostat whilst stopping for a coffee in Bristol on my way back.

Unfortunately, two days after getting the car home I became, unexpectedly, very unwell with endocarditis, three brain abscesses and a streptococcus blood infection and was whisked off to hospital for close to a month, then endured another month of IV antibiotics as an outpatient, so, whilst I cannot express how grateful I am to the NHS for saving my life, I was in no condition to crack on with working on the red beast, and she was SORNed for a little while whilst I recovered.

Thankfully, by last week I was feeling human enough to get started on the car, and made the stat my first port of call. I fitted it with great ease, which was a relief, then drained, refilled and bled the cooling system with the green book spec antifreeze (the car came with both green books, which was a huge bonus!) and voila, the car came up to temp, idle dropped correctly (previously it had been idling at 1100 or so as per the warm up phase, but now settles at 850 when up to temp), and ran a lot more smoothly.

I still felt she was down on power compared to the published figures...of course, a 26yr old car with 280k on it is bound to have lost a few ponies, but I knew there was grunt waiting to be unleashed with some TLC and sleuthing. On closer inspection, I found all of the vacuum hoses to be completely knackered-all perished, most of them holed, so ordered a spool of fetching blue hose and fresh clips, and set about replacing them all. Unsurprisingly, this improved matters...throttle pickup was keener and the car idled more smoothly after a good run.

There was still some grunt missing, however, and I noticed the car tended to churn out a great deal of white smoke (not steam, the eye watering unburned diesel type of white smoke!), Which immediately led me to suspect that the injectors were either gummed up or in need of a rebuild. I decided to try the cheaper option first, so bought a new Bosch fuel filter and a flagon of Forte injector cleaner, always my favourite for such tasks. I spun the old fuel filter off and filled the new one to the brim with Forte, then spun it on. I then fired up the car, let it run for a full minute on injector cleaner to make sure the injectors were properly filled with the stuff, then switched her off and let the car sit for 20mins whilst the Forte went to work.

After letting it rest and percolate, I fired her up and a hefty ball of black smoke was emitted, presumably the detritus from the injectors getting blown out, then she settled to a smooth idle with NO smoke whatsoever! A quick punch of the throttle saw a small puff of black smoke as per all older diesel motors, but the cloud of white stuff was nowhere to be seen!

A good blast down some country lanes revealed that the missing ponies had come galloping back, and the car performed absolutely magnificently. Tons of power and torque and that heavenly straight six burble. I'm amazed at the difference the injector cleaning process made, and absolutely delighted.

Next up is a fresh MOT and a cambelt and injector pump change. I have had a very good quote from a Volvo specialist near me so I will use them-they look after three D24 cars, one of which has just ticked over the half a million mile mark, so they seem experienced and trustworthy. After that, I'll be refitting the cruise control module, doing the oil and filter, extensive cosmetic work inside and out, prepping her to have her bonnet and roof resprayed, then a thorough cleaning and waxoyling (or similar) of the underside...whilst I'm under there, gearbox and diff oil will be changed too.

There's a ton of tasks waiting, which I'll report back on as and when they happen. It's exactly the sort of project I need whilst I'm recovering and I'm so pleased to be the keeper of this car. Thanks for trusting me with her, Owen! You won't regret it.

I wanted to buy this but was just a bit too far from me. Glad to see it’s getting the love!

diesel leak
 

hi
i think i commented on your grand car a while back as i have the same car except for mine being a AUTOMATIC .my car has been a great servant ,but not without the odd gremlins popping up .latest being ive had a diesel leak on the throttle shaft .it had to go to the local diesel engineers for this as its way out of my caperbllaties after 2 attempts they fixed it plus they had to mess with the cold start device as its part of that set up . but my car does not seem quite the same now ,they did say once you start repairing O ring seals other leaks can appear if the said parts have to be adjusted ,so now i have a very slight leak on the cold start , so it will be repaired soon . my cold start is playing up again too i had changed the wax stat end many years ago myself .you mention injectors mine where replaced 6 years ago i have the old ones so maybe need the old ones serviced and swopping back . i have used a diesel clean for the last 15 years its millers brand , only 60 mils to 6o litres, according to the speck, keep us informed of your progress .
regards jim

Thanks gents! She's in for MOT next Wed, have been going around the car today doing some pre MOT checks, changed a couple of bulbs that were blown and replaced the hydraulic boot struts as it kept trying to eat me whenever I was fetching something from the back!

The car is great, a really lovely drive. I need to adjust the clutch bite point as it's currently very low, you need to bury the clutch to get it in gear, and it sometimes drags a little in traffic. The issue goes away if you knock it into neutral and pump the clutch a couple of times, so I suspect it needs bleeding and flushing with fresh fluid. It's perfectly driveable but is another thing on my list to sort out.

The main issue with the car is cosmetic-it has succumbed to some major lacquer peel on the bonnet and roof, which takes away from the otherwise excellent panels that will come up beautifully with a decent polish. I need to get the bonnet and roof resprayed, but at the moment funds preclude this. I really don't want to tackle it myself and leave the car looking less than great, so I will hang on a little and get it professionally sprayed. It seems to be largely rust free however, which is excellent news.

Once the MOT is done, next job is cambelt and glowplugs-it always starts on the button but is a little lumpy and smoky from cold for 30 secs or so, and I suspect one of the rearmost glowplugs (the inaccessible ones!) Has gone open circuit. When the cambelt is being done, injection timing of course has to be set too, so the injector pump can be dropped off and the plugs replaced whilst it's in for the work.

It's such a nice drive...the engine has thumping torque and really comes on song when the turbo kicks in.

jobs
 

Can I ask why you need to change the injector pump?
Also interested in how one would adjust the clutch bite point?.
I tried bleeding the clutch and had one of those oh no I've done it again moments (the pedal lost all pressure) until I saw that the clutch fluid pipe joins the reservoir at the very top, so you need to keep it almost brimmed.
I wonder if the clutch in the words of Angela Rippon is nearing the end of it's useful working life?

jor

As far as I know as the clutch is hydraulic not cable there is no adjuster so if the bite point is high then your clutch is on it's way out. For bleeding the clutch the best thing to do is buy an ezi bleed kit, you just deflate a tyre to 20psi and hook it to the resi and it keeps it topped up and forces the fluid out under pressure so no air gets trapped, best bit of kit I've bought for a long time.

I've got an ezi bleed-brilliant bit of kit!

My issue is the bite point is too low, not too high-I need to investigate, but first port of call is to flush the clutch fluid and make sure it's bled properly methinks.

Jor, I don't need to change the injector pump but will be changing the injector pump belt as it makes sense to have it done at the same time as the cambelt and glowplugs, as the pump needs to be loosened and moved out of the way a touch in order to access the rear two plugs anyway, and I have no record of the last time the injector pump belt was changed.

injector pump
 

You will be able to get at the glowplugs without moving anything.
The pump and all assorted gubbins should be left strictly alone, unless one is an expert and has a couple of fuel pipes spare.
The only thing needed to do them all is to make sure that you fiddle with the bonnet mechanism to get it to fully open i.e. almost vertical and to use a couple of pillows so that you can drape yourself over the wing with both hands free.
Perhaps a task for the first day of spring?

jor

That's very interesting, and great news! I was told the injector pump had to be moved to access the plugs for cylinders 5 and 6. Glad to hear that's not the case and that I will be able to tackle it myself!

5 and 6 glowplugs
 

hi
i have done 5 and 6 glowplugs too did not touch injector pipe , i did remove intercooler pipe and EGR valve on top of engine my EGR . i used a 12 mm cranked spanner for glow plug last time from memory i got a big piece of carpet over engine and climbed onto engine careful not to damage anything though ,its not a bad job on a sunny day just take your time and have some spare 8mm flanged nuts handy i got some extra long reach tapered pliers a good quality head torch is handy too . i will be replacing 5 and 6 in the spring too !

Bite point is too low? That's a new one haha.

My Fabia VRS clutch was biting virtually the instant the pedal started to move, great for traffic as it was a diseasel I could just use the clutch only to plod along and I could even get enough speed up to go in to third gear without even touching the accelerator! If the bite point is low then I'd say it is in good order and the cars you're used to have partially worn clutches hence the bite point being higher.

Sadly all too common, especially on hydraulic clutches. Ideally should bite about halfway up so when the clutch is disengaged there is no drag that would cause the gears to spin in the box.

Usually bleeding will cure it but some hydraulic clutches can be a real pain to bleed.

Today was MOT day...the old girl failed on a slight leak from an injector spillback pipe and a small hole in the OS sill which needs patching...she's back in on Friday to have the work done.

To my surprise, other than advisories rusty rear springs and a couple of other minor bits I can take care of in the coming months, all else was fine. Emissions were well within tolerances (helped no doubt by a bottle of Forte injector cleaner and some "spirited" driving en route to the test centre!) And they remarked on how decent the car is all round given its 26yrs of age and 280,000 miles.

Friday will see a fresh ticket on her which will be another box ticked...very much enjoyed the 1.5hr round trip to the test centre and back, such a nice and driveable car.

Spill-pipes are a common failure Phil, even on well-maintained engines. If i owned a diseasel i'd inspect them at least every 6 months and renew as/when necessary but probably every 2 years at the very most.

As for the other thing it failed on, a small hole in a sill after that mileage and age is relatively minor, i'm sure once you're back up to full-speed yourself you'll take measures to ensure it doesn't corrode further. :thumbs_up:

Absolutely, yes! Once it's drier weather and I'm feeling a bit more up to par, I'll get under the car and treat any corrosion, then either underseal it or similar. I'll do the same on my petrol 940 and make a weekend of it. I need to change the driveshaft centre support bearing on the diseasel too, the tester flagged up that it had seen better days, and I'd figured that it was on the way out as it does the telltale judder in reverse, as my old 240 used to do when the DCSB was knackered.

All relatively minor stuff that I can tackle myself when in bluer skies and better health. I put it in for the test today with a bit of trepidation as I've never been under the car-I normally like to give my cars a good going over before I put them in for a test but I fell ill a few days after buying the diseasel and have only had the time and energy to do a few minor bits since then.

I'm feeling a lot better though in general...looking forward to a summer of fettling all being well!

Had a feeling you had plans Phil! Get yourself better first though! :thumbs_up:

I'm so glad you're cracking on with her, I always felt she was way down on power compared to my previous 740td, glad you sussed out what it was. I bet she flies now! It did have clutch work carried out last year (either master or slave cylinder, can't remember now) so bleeding it again may well sort it. I'd be very surprised if the clutch itself is at fault, it's never slipped once.

I'm glad you spotted the thread! Yes she is really pulling well now. Brand new MOT as of today too! Just a small handful of advisories to take care of (clean up the rear springs and give them a lick of paint, new front brake hoses, a spot of underbody treatment, new driveshaft centre support bearing) which I'll tackle when the weather gets a little better, and a new cambelt which I'm having fitted in a couple of weeks. I'll be fitting a new set of glowplugs in the next week or two too.

I'll flush the clutch system with fresh fluid and bleed it-I'm sure that will sort the low bite point. I had a similar problem with the first 940 I owned years ago, but that was a lot worse as the pedal would sometimes arbitrarily go to the floor entirely and stay there with the clutch engaged! Cue an awkward dance which involved hooking my foot under the pedal and pulling it back up into position, where it would then stay and return to normal function. That was cured entirely by fresh fluid and bleeding, there was quite a bit of air in the system in that instance.

I'm delighted with the car and am very much looking forward to getting it fully restored over the summer. Once I've done all the little mechanical tasks I'm going to take it in for a partial respray to have the lacquer peel addressed, the paintwork on the sides is in good shape and will look great after a touch up and polish, so it will be the bonnet, scuttle, A pillars and roof that get fresh paint.

I'll post pics in due course as things progress!

I meant to ask-what engine oil did you use? I'm going to do an oil and filter change shortly and would like to keep using the same stuff as she runs very well on it.

Try wedging the clutch pedal down overnight Phil, it's an old trick but often works and saves a lot of faffing about.

Also if you're going to change the front flexis, i'd suggest doing that at the same time as bleeding the clutch, saves having the fluid open more than necessary and can probably mean less work overall. If memory serves it's a shared reservoir but i might be thinking of something else........

I always used semi synthetic (millers I think) it was recommended to me years ago when I had the 740 td, something to do with being better at dissipating heat from the turbo. I always changed it every 5000 and never had a problem.

Perfect, I've been using Shell Helix 10w40 semi synth in my redblock cars for years and have always rated the stuff, good performance to cost ratio, so I'll probably go with that as I can get it locally at a good price. Oil filter arrived today as did the glowplugs, so I'll tackle it all in a few days when the weather becomes a little less inclement!

It's good up to about 3-4k miles Phil then the additives that make it good start breaking down. I expect you change it every 3k anyway so won't be a problem for you. :thumbs_up:

You know me well! 3k has always been the interval I work to in my redblock cars and will do the same with the diesel. A small price to pay for peace of mind. Is there a similar oil that has a longer operational life, or are all semi-synth oils similar in characteristic?

Shell seems to be unique in the additives beginning to break down at 3-4k miles Phil, i used to use GulfTec 10W40 which i found to be excellent in both of my beasts. Other people who tried it reported good things too.
However, it disappeared from the market a couple of years back and i've tried a couple since, one of which is TradeTec 10W40 which was also good. That used to be all over ebay and parts shops, now in short supply as well. Once again i've been looking and the one i've settled on trying next is :

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Carlube-T...L/333525482065

Not 100% sure it will be ok for your D24 as from bits and pieces i've gleaned they seem to be a bit "fussy" on oil - maybe not quite the right words but you know what i mean.
Carlube products are made by Tetrosyl - the Hammerite, Waxoyl and loads of other products that have good names including my favourite ATF-U so should be a good oil and hopefully won't disappear off the face of the planet.

I need to do an oil/filter change on both of mine soon but won't be until the warmer, dryer weather so won't be able to report my findings until then. Also need to hunt down a "nipple" as Volvo call it for the oil cooler so i can fit it to replace the one the pervious owner had removed because it leaked ATF. :err: :nah:

Thanks Dave, I'll check out the Carlube stuff!

I have had an absolute mare of a day today, I went to do an oil and filter change on the car and found half of the the thread in the sump plug hole came out with the plug! Obviously with a car of this age it's impossible to odds the history of it, but I think it's been helicoiled previously and the helicoil has broken down.

The current drain plug is an 18mm, 1.5 pitch unit, so have ordered a 20mm tap and plug to replace it. There seems to be plenty of "meat" left around the hole, so it should tap out to 20mm just fine. I'll jack the front end of the car up and rinse any swarf out of the sump with some diesel methinks. It's a little frustrating to have the car sitting about with no oil in it as I hate leaving jobs half finished, but hopefully it will be a simple fix when the bits arrive.

940 td
 

Should it not work there's a 740 TD engine lying around, which has the d24T engine. They probably share the same oil pan.

jor

That's a definite nightmare Phil! If memory serves the tapping size for M20 is 18.5mm and that's what the hole with the stripped threads will be, give or take. Put some thick grease on the tap to not only act as a cutting lubricant but catch the swarf as well.

Good luck with it and especially keeping it square, won't be easy doing it laying on your back underneath the car! :err:

Let us now how it goes! :thumbs_up:

Yes indeed, it should be a challenge...hopefully not an insurmountable one! I must have the car back in action for Monday as it's going in for a cambelt, so hopefully it will go relatively smoothly. If all else fails I'll pick up one of those temporary sump plugs from Hellfrauds with the sprung T-bar and screw-down cap just to get it to and fro for the cambelt work, but I'd rather do it properly!

Well, I tapped the sump plug hole (in the horrible weather!) And fitted the 20mm plug, with new copper washer of course.

All seems okay, got all the swarf out (not that there was much left in there...I slathered the tap with thick grease which caught almost all of it), but there is an irritating minor, yet persistent, drip of oil from the plug area. I've tightened it as much as I dare, but I don't want to risk stripping the thread...I've asked the garage who are doing the cambelt on Monday to look it over and see if they can stop the leak, as I've had just about as much time laying under a car in the wind and rain as I can stand for one weekend!

I've put a small bowl under the car to see how much it drips overnight, I doubt very much it's losing enough for it to be a concern, but I'm determined to get it sorted. Once it's sealed I'll leave it be and extract oil by pump via the dipstick tube in the future methinks.

hi for the last 15 years or so ive been using a quick drain sump plug on my 940 diesel its been very good as no need for sump washers you remove brass dust cover then screw in the valve i put a short length of clear plastic hose to the tap end and it drains out nice and slowly ,the company is SUMPPLUGS.COM

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Stahlbus-...wAAOSw629fmSUm

This is pricey but looks very good. Can anyone confirm the correct size for a 940 ?

Try one of these (M20 size) next time Phil :

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Metric-Se...4/371115407476

You can buy 10 for about £7 ish, the "skirt" inside will screw down the thread and then it's like an "O" ring inside the bonding to the steel washer. They work well to take up discrepancies in the surface/angles and seal very tightly against pressure as well.

Every time i do my 760 i keep forgetting to check the size on it but i'm fairly sure i have the right size in my stash (i keep M14 for my other beast, both engine and gearbox use the same sump plug thread size on that and OE spec is Dowty seals/washers) so i will be upgrading mine to a Dowty soon.

They are reusable but good practice is to renew when disturbed.

Thanks Dave-I never thought of using a Dowty! I use M6/M8 Dowtys all the time when building kart engines-we rely on crankcase pulse pressure to power the fuel pumps, so always fit the breakout banjo bolts with Dowtys after drilling out the crankcase to eliminate oil seepage. It never occurred to me to fit a big one, I've ordered one from the Bay for future use. Thankyou!

I dropped the car off at Kings Motor Services in Westbury this morning for the cambelt to be done, and they are going to sort the sump leak and install the glowplugs for me whilst the car is with them. I was planning on fitting them myself, but have come down with a chest infection and don't fancy any more spanner spinning in the cold weather! My immune system took a bit of a battering when I was unwell at the end of last year, so I have to be a little careful for the time being. I chickened out, in other words!!

You're welcome Phil, Dowty washers are a much under-used commodity IMHO although Saab use them in place of the copper washers on the same fuel filter that most 7/9xx models use.

Somewhere i have a spare fuel filter that was supplied for Saab fitting with the Dowtys when i ordered a Volvo one which took longer to arrive than it should have done.

As such i bought one locally as the filter needed changing and there was a leak close by so killed two birds with one stone buying the local one and i now have a spare filter for next time too.

Good move on getting the garage to fit the glow plugs while they are doing the timing belt and hopefully sorting the sump-plug leak. Don't blame you "chickening out" - it's surprising what can lurk dormant in your system even when you feel fit and well until you get a mild infection after your immune system has taken a hammering. Only needs that little trigger, getting too cold or breathing damp air or whatever it may be and suddenly you're laid up for weeks feeling like a high-functioning zombie.
Thanks to contracting Staph A after having the flu vaccine 6 years ago and a compromised immune system due to other medical conditions, i'm now extra careful about doing anything outside in the cold/damp weather so i totally understand where you're coming from - better to chicken out for now so you're well enough to do other things come the better weather! :thumbs_up:

The garage got back to me today (incidentally I cannot fault the customer service and communication, these guys are brilliant!), They have sorted the sump plug issue, changed the cambelt and all ancillaries, and fitted the glowplugs. They tested them and confirmed that the plugs for No. 5 and 6 were both U/S, and had in fact never been changed since the car was new! All replaced with nice fresh Bosch Duratherm units now. It needed a couple of other bits such as a new rocker cover gasket as the old one was leaking, but all was done extremely reasonably.

The garage kindly wrote up a "to do" list of bits around the car which I'll work through in the coming weeks. Most of it is fairly standard minor stuff such as the rear brake pad roll pins and spreader plates being corroded, a binding NSF brake, a couple of exhaust clamps and hanger bushes etc, there are a couple of bigger jobs which I have to take care of such as the driveshaft centre support bearing and mount, gearbox mount and the retainer mounts for both, all of which are in a bit of state, but I'm sure I can cope with those.

I'm collecting on Monday, can't wait to get the car back and crack on with it!

My d24 is rapidly becoming a rolling resto too haha

Gods speed bud:cool:

940 TIC auto 1995
 

Hi phil im well impressed with the work kings have carried out for you they must have a old school technician at there workshop familiar with these engines im guessing .we would be interested in the cost of such a thorough service as some of us have paid well over for poor work on our beloved 900s hopefully you will let us know
Regards jim

Good news...I picked up the car today and it's much improved-with all six glowplugs now replaced it starts smoothly with no smoke and no lumpy running as it warms up, and with the injection timing set and the idle dialled in correctly (it always idled a little high, but now sits at 950 or just over when cold, dropping to just below 800 when warm) it is much smoother and more driveable. Power is now more progressive, with less sense of turbo lag than before, and the engine feels and sounds very sweet.

In other good news, the driveshaft centre support bearing is fine-it's the rubber mount that has seen better days. The retainer plate mounts that were mentioned in the healthcheck are the split rubber washers that the bolts for the CSB mount plate go through before bolting up to the captive nuts in the chassis rails, presumably for vibration isolation and noise reduction. I seem unable to find them anywhere so have ordered rubber penny washers to replace them. My old 245 didn't have any isolation between the CSB plate and the chassis, so I'm sure these will do!

Jim, in answer to your question, the entire job (supply and fit cambelt, tensioner, idler, injection pump belt, all other ancillary belts, all associated bolts/nuts etc, rocker cover gasket, helicoil kit for sump plug, new sump plug and crush washer, fit glowplugs as supplied by myself and carry out full health check and itemised written "to do list" style report) came out at £732.

The entire job cost me less than I was quoted anywhere else for just the cambelt, and Kings sourced the parts direct from Volvo's Classic Parts Warehouse, so all are genuine Volvo with the exception of one of the V-belts as I recall.

I really can't fault their customer service one iota, I'm not easily impressed (my dad was in the motor trade for 30yrs!) but Kings will have all of my business in the future for jobs too big for me to tackle. They look after two other D24TIC cars other than mine, one of which has done 300k and the other just over 500k, and are genuinely enthusiastic about all varieties of these cars.

The to-do list made for similar reading to the MOT advisories, but they spotted some critical stuff (lower rad hose nearly worn through from chafing on the air con compressor) that wasn't picked up by the MOT and could have killed the car if not addressed, along with some relatively minor bits such as the rear caliper roll pins and spreader plates being knackered and some exhaust rubbers and clamps being either missing or at end-stage of deterioration.

By the time I've done the gearbox and CSB mounts, rad hose, exhaust bits and the minor brake work, the car will only be a gearbox and diff oil change away from being signed off mechanically. From there on in, it's just cosmetic work (roof and bonnet respray) and some tidying of the interior, then we're ready for the summer!

More work done today...changed the bottom radiator hose that had been chafing against the air con compressor for a nice new Gates unit. Perfect fit as expected, I've had great results with Gates kit over the years and this is no different.

I think I caught it just in time as the old one was SO close to being holed. With my crocked temp gauge, if the car had lost its coolant I wouldn't have known until it was too late. Glad to have dodged that bullet!

I lost about 3.5L of coolant in the process of changing the hose of course, but much less than when I changed the thermostat previously and the block disgorged itself of all coolant contents! I filled it back up, let the car warm up with the heater on full and kept topping it up until it was settled.

One question remains...do I need to bleed the system after changing a bottom rad hose? It seems fine as is (heater is hot, coolant level is stable) but obviously if it does need bleeding I'm keen to take care of it asap.

940 tic auto 1995
 

hi phil you have had a very good deal and service from kings , only job while every thing was off the water pump could have been changed if you have no record of last time it was changed but lets stay positive ,i changed my bottom and top hose a few years back due to age .a small tip in the volvo manuel on air in system is to fill up and run engine but disconnect the uppermost hose from the cold start device put a vessel under it and this will avoid air locks coolant will eventually run out so then no air in system , i do it every time i renew coolant about every 3 years genuine 50/50 and its cheap and keeps a healthy engine im told .
regards jim