240 General: New (to me) 1980 Volvo 244

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

Dave,

Do you (by any chance) know whether the pressure switch lies below the oil level (obviously when the engine isn’t running!)?

I’ve ordered a switch (for about a fiver) - I was thinking that I could swap it out when it arrives if that didn’t involve dropping the oil (I only changed it a month or so ago).

Alan

I do Alan and i bet you do as well. The oil pressure switch is mounted near the oil filter on the block, correct?

Where does all the oil drain down to when the engine is off?

I'm hoping you've jumped a step or three ahead of me now but if not, i'll explain after i've walked Sasha and fed us both later.

Meanwhile it's not a problem to change it but let it cool down first, exhaust manifold burns are nasty and the cast iron holds the heat for a long time!

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

I do Alan and i bet you do as well. The oil pressure switch is mounted near the oil filter on the block, correct?

Where does all the oil drain down to when the engine is off?

I'm hoping you've jumped a step or three ahead of me now but if not, i'll explain after i've walked Sasha and fed us both later.

Meanwhile it's not a problem to change it but let it cool down first, exhaust manifold burns are nasty and the cast iron holds the heat for a long time!

I thought that would probably be the case, but I thought I'd check.

Stay safe,

Alan

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Might be worth renewing the oil pressure switch itself as well Alan. The same problem can cause the switch to leak and eventual catastrophic failure which causes instant loss of oil pressure.

... Good advice I think Dave, the old one was pretty scabby:



A fiver well spent I think :-)

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

... Good advice I think Dave, the old one was pretty scabby:



A fiver well spent I think :-)

Definitely a fiver well spent Alan! The black plastic surround on the terminal looks cracked to me? Reckon you caught it just in time!

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Definitely a fiver well spent Alan! The black plastic surround on the terminal looks cracked to me? Reckon you caught it just in time!

I think you are right Dave. There seemed to be a bit of oil mist around that area and I couldn’t see another culprit - the oil filter is secure. I’ll have a look in a couple of days.

Stay safe,

Alan

[Laird Scooby]

There's always something to do, check, test, monitor or improve on older cars Alan.

Been monitoring my fuel economy since i tweaked the mixture, slowly but steadily improving thankfully. The previous fill was on ordinary BP Unleaded, did 139.9 miles on a smidge over 7 gallons. On Ultimate i get about 15% better economy so really that would have been 23mpg but i had the engine idling at various speeds for about 1-1.5 hours to test/diagnose a cruise control system i just fitted. Normally i reckon on a gallon every 40 minutes of idling so being generous and saying i only used 1 gallon during the test/diagnostics, 140 miles on 6 gallons is a whisker under 24mpg but add the 15% on to correct it for Ultimate and it's 27.6 so back to what i used to get.

Still keeping an eye on it though!

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

There's always something to do, check, test, monitor or improve on older cars Alan.

Been monitoring my fuel economy since i tweaked the mixture, slowly but steadily improving thankfully. The previous fill was on ordinary BP Unleaded, did 139.9 miles on a smidge over 7 gallons. On Ultimate i get about 15% better economy so really that would have been 23mpg but i had the engine idling at various speeds for about 1-1.5 hours to test/diagnose a cruise control system i just fitted. Normally i reckon on a gallon every 40 minutes of idling so being generous and saying i only used 1 gallon during the test/diagnostics, 140 miles on 6 gallons is a whisker under 24mpg but add the 15% on to correct it for Ultimate and it's 27.6 so back to what i used to get.

Still keeping an eye on it though!

Indeed yes Dave - but that is why we like our older cars. Just last week I found a little oil leak under the fuel pump (the PO had over-tightened the bolts when he fitted the new pump and split the plastic spacer). Ho hum.

What you say about Ultimate fuel is interesting. I use it in the Porsche (because I have to, either that or Tesco Momentum, I find it gives does just the same - it is a little cheaper but not enough to make much difference). In the Royal Barge I use Morrison's very cheapest, mainly because I like the idea of paying under £1/litre - and the RB seems to run just fine on it.

It is interesting that you get 15% better fuel economy on Ultimate. I topped up the RB the other day and had covered 108 miles on just over 4 gallons (not a very scientific test this one) - so 25 MPG (I think a slight increase since changing the head/ignition timing). I'm happy with that considering the type of driving: almost exclusively short journeys (the longest was my 30 mile jaunt around Rutland) it is my round town car (also a few warms-ups to I test things I've changed).

I don't think there would be any value in me changing the RB to Ultimate or Momentum just because of the type of use: the first pint mostly goes down the exhaust without contributing much to motion whilst the manual choke is on. Once we get to Morrison's roundabout the choke is fully off, but many of our errands in that car aren't much further away. It would of course make more sense to use the Skoda (or even the Porsche), but that is not the point.

It is good news that your fuel economy is returning to normal - it sounds like you have tracked down the problem. Well done.

There is a certain masochistic pleasure in running a 40 year old car Dave: it makes no great sense and doesn't really save any money, but it is a sort of addiction :-)

Stay safe,

Alan

[loki_the_glt]

Originally Posted by Othen

I don't think there would be any value in me changing the RB to Ultimate or Momentum just because of the type of use: the first pint mostly goes down the exhaust without contributing much to motion whilst the manual choke is on. Once we get to Morrison's roundabout the choke is fully off, but many of our errands in that car aren't much further away. It would of course make more sense to use the Skoda (or even the Porsche), but that is not the point.

With modern, DPF-equipped, diesels short journeys aren't a good thing apparently. The DPF doesn't warm up enough to do its job and driveability and fuel economy (the raison d'etre for a diesel) suffer, necessitating either the diesel equivalent of an Italian tune-up or a replacement DPF in comparatively short order. Hence why so many taxis nowadays are Toyota Piouses(Pioux?) or the like. Use the Porsche or just accept the Royal Barge's fuel consumption for the shopping trip. And then take it for a longer run to reward it and yourself.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by loki_the_glt

With modern, DPF-equipped, diesels short journeys aren't a good thing apparently. The DPF doesn't warm up enough to do its job and driveability and fuel economy (the raison d'etre for a diesel) suffer, necessitating either the diesel equivalent of an Italian tune-up or a replacement DPF in comparatively short order. Hence why so many taxis nowadays are Toyota Piouses(Pioux?) or the like. Use the Porsche or just accept the Royal Barge's fuel consumption for the shopping trip. And then take it for a longer run to reward it and yourself.

Exactly: My lifestyle has changed a bit since I bought the Skoda - but it still fills a niche (towing bike trailers, moving Bob (the dog) and longer trips (where it is excellent - 50 MPG, which is remarkable for a car of that size). You are right about short trips not being good for the DPF, which is why I avoid them in that car (it does get an Italian tune up every now and then if I think it might need it. I'd probably have been better off with a petrol Superb, but I've taken the hit on depreciation now (I bought it new, it is now nearly 7 years old and less than 70k miles), so I might as well keep it a morte.

I'm happy enough to take the hit on the Royal Barge's fuel consumption, it is my local runabout, mostly summer car - and it does that very well indeed. I've only insured it for 3,000 miles/year - and I suspect it will do less than that. Let's think about it: 2,500 miles at 25MPG is 100 gallons of fuel at 450p/gallon = £450. I think that is fine as the car is otherwise cheap to run (£80/year insurance and it will pay me back next year when the tax will be free).

The Porsche: yes, that is Dan (my son) and my little indulgence. Great fun though, cheap to run for a car of that type and easy to drive - plus depreciation is negligible.

That was a really long winded way of saying I'm pleased the Royal Barge has a place in our lives. I can revel in the nostalgia of it being similar to my first ever new car, enjoy improving it a little and take a fair amount of pleasure in driving it.

:-)

Stay safe,

Alan

[john.wigley]

Couldn't agree more, Alan. I quite frequently have a similar conversation with people when they ask: "Why do you run a big, old, thirsty car like that?", referring to my 20 Y.O. V70. "My new xyz does over twice the MPG of that"!

I then have the exquisite pleasure of explaining that, while they may lose 60% of the value of their £20,000 super-mini in the first three years of it's life (Say £4K p.a.), the cost of production of my 20 year old Volvo has been long spent. Far from costing me money, it may even appreciate slightly in value. Likewise, the EOL costs are, hopefully, still some way off, and will almost certainly be ammortised over a much longer period than their Euro-box.

While I do not enjoy the advantage of free road tax, my insurance is cheap enough, and I feel well-justified in arguing that my car is at least as 'green', if not 'greener' than theirs. I also enjoy the benefit of a more comfortable and refined drive than their buzz-box delivers.

The same argument applies even more so to the Royal Barge (When are you going to 'spill the beans' on your choice of name?) and I would make no apology whatsoever for running the car. Even today, one can buy an awful lot of petrol for £4,000 a year!

Regards, John.