240 General: Need Help With 1988 240 GL (4 door)

[88VolvJay]

I have several different questions so if you can answer some, all or simply just one of them, I’d really appreciate the help!
1. Best car battery for this model.
2. What’s the best coolent and oil for this model.
3. Steering wheel is very tough, takes a lot of muscle just to steer, how to I go about fixing it.
4. How do I detach the seats so it can be taken out? (car needs to be throughly cleaned out; rust, dirt etc)
5. Rewiring the speakers attached to the two front doors.

[360beast]

I can answer a couple of your questions

Best oil and coolant

15w40 semi synthetic
Coolant must be ethylene glycol not OAT as it will rot the block from the inside, best bet is to use genuine volvo stuff as it isn't that expensive or use castrol radicool.

Make sure to use a genuine Volvo oil filter too as they have a non return valve so the engine has oil pressure almost instantly on start up.

Make sure the tyre pressures are set correctly and if they are check the steering UJ's aren't seizing up, you may be able to help them free up a bit with some penetrating oil.

[loki_the_glt]

Originally Posted by 88VolvJay

I have several different questions so if you can answer some, all or simply just one of them, I’d really appreciate the help!
1. Best car battery for this model.
2. What’s the best coolent and oil for this model.
3. Steering wheel is very tough, takes a lot of muscle just to steer, how to I go about fixing it.
4. How do I detach the seats so it can be taken out? (car needs to be throughly cleaned out; rust, dirt etc)
5. Rewiring the speakers attached to the two front doors.

Welcome to the Forum.

I see your location is Polk City, so you'll be looking at American suppliers for your needs. So, herewith my suggestions:

Battery - Sears Diehard or equivalent; make sure it's a lead-acid battery and not a calcium one. The latter will not charge in a Volvo without making major changes to the charging circuit.

Anti-freeze - as 360beast says, ethylene glycol, mixed 50-50 with water. Don't buy pre-mixed as it usually has a lower proportion of anti-freeze, plus water is cheaper from the tap, or from a de-frosted freezer if you want de-ionized water.

Steering - check the tire pressures. Consensus is around 27/28psi but the excellent, and American-oriented, Turbobricks site suggested 32psi as a starting point and adjusting from there to suit your driving style. Then inspect the PAS fluid and pump belt; they may well need replacing. You'll find guides in this section on both matters.

Front seat removal - under the back of each seat are two bolts, concealed by plastic covers. With the seat pushed fully forward slacked the rear pair of bolts, but leave them in situ. Push the seat bck as far as it will go and you'll see two nuts or bolts (I haven't done this in several years hence the vagueness about the fastenings) attaching the slide machanism to the floorpan; unbolt these and the two rear bolts then lift the seat up and disconnect the various electrical plugs. Lift out the seat, which night be easier via the back door.

Speakers - This is more involved but essentially you'll need to remove the grilles; you may end up breaking the lugs as the plastic could be brittle. You'll see the speaker wires attached to the speakers. You'll need to remove the door cards if they need re-wiring. That means getting a suitable, two-pronged plastic trim-removal tool and running it between the door card and the metalwork and "flicking" the trim away from the door. You'll also have to remove the window lift switches. I'll try to scan the relevant section of the Haynes manual later and post it up here.

Look for a Chilton manual, if you don't already own one, as they are American published and cover the American-spec Volvos better than the UK-oriented Haynes ones do.

[Dippydog]

I would imagine the seats are bolted down.If you run the seats[front]as far forwards as they'll go then look at the seat rails you should see a bolt towards the rear end of each rail,remove those bolts and check for any electrical connections to seat heaters etc then run the seats back as far as they'll go and you should see bolts towards the front of the rails be careful that the seat doesn't tip backwards as these are removed.

[Clifford Pope]

A few obsevations:

Calcium batteries are still lead/acid batteries. The difference is that the antimony traditionally used to harden the lead plates so they are stronger has been replaced by calcium. This is more efficient but means they can be harder to charge. Also they don't gas as much so can be sealed.

Hard steering. I presume you have power steering? First check is the pump belt. If that is fine then as suggested check the steering column universal joints. Squirt with penetrating oil spray, or for a thorough check remove and soak in hot oil.

Be careful over the glycol/OAT debate. Being blue is no longer a guarantee that the coolant is the traditional ethylene glycol. Some ethylene glycol brands are advertised as containing OATs.

If the front seats are adjustable then simply operate each height lever and lift the seat off the pivot completely. Once free from the runners you can easily get at the runner bolts and remove if necessary.