Hello, just bought a '89 740 GL

[stephend]

Originally Posted by ton246

Will have a look tonight, but considering it only passed its MOT 2 weeks ago, surely that would have been picked up, no ?

Unless they were completely fubar'd, to the point of having no damping action, then I don't think a bit of a sag would be a problem for the MoT. It might throw your headlamp aim off, I suppose!

[ton246]

Originally Posted by Pete940

Wow, that two tone interior is so much more interesting than the full black one.

Well, that's one word for it I suppose. Lol

[ton246]

Originally Posted by ton246

Will have a look tonight, but considering it only passed its MOT 2 weeks ago, surely that would have been picked up, no ?

Just looked under the back, and looks like conventional shocks & springs. Looks like I'll just have to lower the front to suite. Also checked the fuses and all intact there as well. So more delving to do.

[stephend]

One other possibility. Mine originally had Nivos, but I took 'em off and fitted standard shocks and heavy-duty springs, then later went back to Nivos, fitting a new set of matched Nivos and springs from Volvo. In the original set-up, there was a white spacer between the upper spring rubber and the chassis rail, which I kept when I fitted the non-Nivo parts. However, the fitting instructions for the new Nivos said to discard these spacers if fitted, which I did. I'm convinced that the rear of mine now sits slightly lower, by about the thickness of the spacers: hmm....! So it's just possible yours has had the original rear suspension replaced, minus spacers. Might be worth checking back through the history?

Of course, could just be your rear springs have sagged a bit with age.

Re dash backlights: there's lots of little bulbs, and it may just be they've all gone with age. Volvo still stock 'em.

[ton246]

Originally Posted by stephend

One other possibility. Mine originally had Nivos, but I took 'em off and fitted standard shocks and heavy-duty springs, then later went back to Nivos, fitting a new set of matched Nivos and springs from Volvo. In the original set-up, there was a white spacer between the upper spring rubber and the chassis rail, which I kept when I fitted the non-Nivo parts. However, the fitting instructions for the new Nivos said to discard these spacers if fitted, which I did. I'm convinced that the rear of mine now sits slightly lower, by about the thickness of the spacers: hmm....! So it's just possible yours has had the original rear suspension replaced, minus spacers. Might be worth checking back through the history?

Of course, could just be your rear springs have sagged a bit with age.

Re dash backlights: there's lots of little bulbs, and it may just be they've all gone with age. Volvo still stock 'em.

Yep, just gone through the history file, and it's had both front and rear shocks replaced, timing belt replaced twice ( last one at 96k ),new radiator & water pump ( @ 116k ) numerous discs & pads ( both front & rear plus handbrake shoes at 108k ), and most recently fuel pressure regulator & fuel pipes.

[stephend]

So just out of interest, if you do a bounce test, does the front end feel different to the back? On mine, the HD rear springs were quite a bit stiffer than the original front ones, and the handling/ride was consequently a bit strange, as though the rear was dancing to a different rhythm to the front - which indeed it was. With the new Nivos and springs, the rear is about as soft as the front, and the whole thing feels more normal.

Anyway, the WingCo's evidently had his ground crew keep the kite in good trim, as per your original post. :thumbs-up:

[ton246]

Originally Posted by stephend

So just out of interest, if you do a bounce test, does the front end feel different to the back? On mine, the HD rear springs were quite a bit stiffer than the original front ones, and the handling/ride was consequently a bit strange, as though the rear was dancing to a different rhythm to the front - which indeed it was. With the new Nivos and springs, the rear is about as soft as the front, and the whole thing feels more normal.

Anyway, the WingCo's evidently had his ground crew keep the kite in good trim, as per your original post. :thumbs-up:

No, everything seems normal front to back bounce wise, I can live with it being slightly lower at the back, just have to drop the front to match !

[Laird Scooby]

Nice looking car Tony!

The heated seats have a sensor to cut them out above 8C (think it's 8C) so if it was warmer than recently when you picked it up, the heated seats may not have worked but may do when it's colder again.

The bulbs in the dash are fairly easy to change - i used LEDs in mine.

[MTerry]

The rear springs will sag over time. The rear of my 740 lifted noticeably when I put the ipd sport springs on it. I hope you just have a little bad wiring with the blower fan. Volvo buried it in the panel and it's ridiculous to replace (it's behind the centre console if you want to know). If you ever want your tailgate not to rattle again, order new attachment clips for the upper edge, at least. The old ones always break when you take the plastic panel off.

[Laird Scooby]

When i mentioned the LEDs i used for the instrument and switch lighting, i forgot to include the following links :

Instrument Cluster LEDs

Switch LEDs

This is what it looks like with blue LEDs although i'm thinking of changing to green :



The links i posted are to the sort of LEDs that i've found work best for where they are being used. There are numerous different types and i've tried most of them. Some give better spreads of light but aren't bright enough, others give much more brightness but also produce "spotting" where there is one very bright area and it fades over the rest of the area etc.
The reason im thinking of changing to green is i now have a pair of 940/960 window switches in the drivers door switchpack. These have a window symbol that lights up so the switches can be found after dark. There is a green LED inside them to provide the light and it's easier to change the dash and switch LEDs as they simply plug in than the ones in the window switches as they are sort of welded in and very fiddly to change.