960 180/204 bhp

[T240]

Never thought about this before, but as I was thinking about buying a spare engine for mods, it came up>

What is the physical difference between the two versions of the S90 motor?
As far as I am aware, they share the same capacity, compression ratio, and Motronic 1.8 fuelling.

So is it an ecu thing that reduces the power on one of them?

Cheers,

T

[Clan]

They are all 204 bhp in UK probably some federal emission equipment and different software dropping the power . Our UK V70 2.4 petrol has two power outputs from the same engine 140 bhp or 175 bhp with just software altering the torque characteristics ... surprisingly the 140 is ideal for towing ..

[T240]

Originally Posted by Clan

They are all 204 bhp in UK probably some federal emission equipment and different software dropping the power . Our UK V70 2.4 petrol has two power outputs from the same engine 140 bhp or 175 bhp with just software altering the torque characteristics ... surprisingly the 140 is ideal for towing ..

Hi Clan,

I understood they introduced the 180 when they dropped the 2.5 as the S90 came in for the UK, and offered the manual trans with the lower output engine.

It's mentioned here: www.volvoclub.org.uk/s90v90.shtml

Sounds like an ecu mod to me. What do you think?

Cheers,

T

p.s. What is a 3 litre white block engine worth? Given whole cars with MOT are going for peanuts, I said about £200/250 for a decent one, is that fair?

[Clan]

I have never come across the B6304B 180 bhp has anyone else ?
there is also a B6304B with 184 bhp and a B6244F with 163 bhp

UK usualy only takes the most powerful versions .

i expect our dismantlers here would want a healthy profit on one of these engines , £500?? they now are fully aware of the value of them .. unlike the days when i went into a scrap yard and came to the desk with a pair of weber 40 DCOE carburettors in my hands , he said " Two carbs mate thats £5 each" :-)

[migrator]

I have always believed that the power difference was that the higher output (204) was from the '3 litre' unit and the lower output (180) was from the '2.5 litre' unit. I have not come across a '3 litre' unit outputting 180.

[NewVolvo]

I have driven the 2.5 180bhp version in Sweden back in the early 90's with a manual transmission.

Nice engine, especially as it was a 6-cyl one! The manual gearbox did not suit the car however. Brisk too.

Not much to say as it was a looong time ago, but I do remember that the engine was near silent, just like the 3.0 litre version.

[BigBas]

Dont think there is any difference power wise in the S90 whether they are manual or auto. I think they are the same engine as the 960, maybe just different ECU for better emission/economy. Doubt they did anything to the engine itself to dock the power

Bas

[Daim]

The difference consists of different camshafts (different lifter profile) and a different engine management system.

It produces (iirc) more torque than the 204 hp 3.0 at a different rev-area.

As the 204 hp engine has a too higher end power output, the M90 gearbox (fitted to the 2.5l with 170 hp and the 3.0l with 180 hp) couldn't cope with the power... Reduce hp, add a bit of torque and it works...

[space]

Originally Posted by T240

p.s. What is a 3 litre white block engine worth? Given whole cars with MOT are going for peanuts, I said about £200/250 for a decent one, is that fair?

Ive seen a few engines (complete with everthing) going on Ebay for around that price.

[TheJoyOfSix]

The 180 bhp 3.0 engine was first unveiled in 1993 for the US market in response to a lack of low down torque from the 204bhp version. The Uk still only had the higher power version available up until 1995MY when a 2.5 version was launched with 170bhp. The 3.0 204's were only ever available with auto gearboxes, whereas the 2.5's could be had with the M90 manual 'box. For the Uk market Volvo decided to drop the 2.5 litre engine for the change from the 960 to the S/V90 and offer the 'US spec' 180bhp version of the 3.0 instead, also available with auto or manual gearboxes.

The only difference between a 180 and a 204 are the camshafts. There are ECU differences between auto and manual cars (the engine limits torque momentarily during a gearshift to make a smoother change with an auto), but that's it. An auto 180 has the same ECU as a 204 (204's all being auto as mentioned above).