Getting to the bottom of a few issues. 940s b200

[Kingfisher8]

Hey all, well I finally bought a 940. All seems pretty good apart from a few small issues that I hope to sort.

Firstly - no speedo or odo. The car has abs, no abs light at all but it seems to be working. Previous owner says the speedo was perfect before he had rear diff seal done. This is where I'm going to start - but will happily receive input on other things to check. Am hoping its not dash related.

Second - the intermittent wipers packed up on me last night, they where working ok but just stopped? Not sure where to start here other than the stalk?

Third - both wing mirrors are damaged to some degree. They are manual but only seem to see electrical ones for sale atm. Is it easy to convert to electric mirrors? Would be nice.

Forth - heater motor is squeaky, hoping to lube it but guessing its a bit of an pain to get to?

Fifth - belts are a bit squeaky so will change them, trying to find the correct belts the companies just give lots of sizes. Anybody know the correct sizes for alternator and power steering belt on a b200 engine? no AC.

Lastly - am gonna give it a service as its a new to me csr and not sure how far its gone since last service as speedo issue. What oil is recommended? Also a good brand for HT leads and cap etc?

I know I can probably find alot of this by searching but it's nice to have it on one post.
Loving the car so far though

[TonyS9]

It might be possible to convert to electric mirrors, my replacement door came with manual mirror but had the full loom, including rear electric window controls. You just need the switch panel. The motors can be a pain, especially if changing the glass as they can easily be broken.

Having said that I have a good drivers manual mirror going spare, I sprayed over some scratches, to use it temporarily but it could be refinished easily at home. The manual ones are black, electric are body colour.

[360beast]

The speedo sensor in the diff probably got damaged when they did the diff seal. However if your 940 is 1991 or 1992 chances are you've got the increasingly common knackered speedometer issue. It would be worth just checking all the wires on the back are actually attached to the gauge cluster as someone might have been in there and not reattached the wiring properly.

I have only had this issue once with the wipers and it turned out to be the stalk. What happens if you hold the stalk up in the Intermittent position with a bit of upwards pressure, do they work then?

Some cars appear to be pre wired for rear speakers and electric mirrors and some don't, if the wiring is there you just need to get the drivers switch pack with mirrors switches and the electric mirrors themselves.

Hence forth or fourth? 😜 it is easy to access the heater motor, you need to remove the glovebox which is just a few screws and then you remove a single small torx screw from the bottom of the heater box and unscrew the motor.

Phone FRF Volvo Swansea and ask them for the belts, ask for owners club discount too. I can't remember the part numbers and can't find the paperwork for the ones I ordered a few months ago (don't think any came tbh) but Simon in parts will get you the right ones and they will fit first time and be the right belts, fit and forget for a good few years.

I always use Shell Helix HX7 10W40 semi synthetic, I got some from www.carparts4less.co.uk (euro car parts) for £16 delivered a few weeks ago. Always use Bosch distributor cap and rotor arm, the HT leads you should only use Bougicord as they're the original suppliers and people have found other brands including bosch cause hesitation under load.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Kingfisher8

Hey all, well I finally bought a 940. All seems pretty good apart from a few small issues that I hope to sort.

Firstly - no speedo or odo. The car has abs, no abs light at all but it seems to be working. Previous owner says the speedo was perfect before he had rear diff seal done. This is where I'm going to start - but will happily receive input on other things to check. Am hoping its not dash related.

Second - the intermittent wipers packed up on me last night, they where working ok but just stopped? Not sure where to start here other than the stalk?

Third - both wing mirrors are damaged to some degree. They are manual but only seem to see electrical ones for sale atm. Is it easy to convert to electric mirrors? Would be nice.

Forth - heater motor is squeaky, hoping to lube it but guessing its a bit of an pain to get to?

Fifth - belts are a bit squeaky so will change them, trying to find the correct belts the companies just give lots of sizes. Anybody know the correct sizes for alternator and power steering belt on a b200 engine? no AC.

Lastly - am gonna give it a service as its a new to me csr and not sure how far its gone since last service as speedo issue. What oil is recommended? Also a good brand for HT leads and cap etc?

I know I can probably find alot of this by searching but it's nice to have it on one post.
Loving the car so far though

First, you need to sort the ABS warning light bulb - it should come on when the key is first turned to position 2 and go off when the engine starts - there is a self check function to prove the bulb works linked to the charge warning light but also if yours is post 1992, the ABS light should stay on for a few seconds after starting then remain off.

If it isn't working, you have no idea whether the diff sensor is working or not as the same diff sensor feeds the ABS and the speedo. It could be the sensor wasn't plugged in correctly or left unplugged but you need the ABS warning light working or it will fail the MoT.

Intermittent wipers - remove the ashtray and gain access to the electrical board behind with the fuses and relays. Check all relays and fuses are pushed fully down in their places - most likey to be the intermittent relay (usually red, sometimes pink) has bounced up over time and stopped working - next option is the switch but if the wipers are self-parking, wash/wipe is working - in fact everything except intermittent and the relay is secure then yes, probably the switch.

What year is your car? It might be easy to convert to electric door mirrors.

Heater motor is dead easy to get to. Lay on the passenger seat with your head in the footwell looking up - you'll see the heater fan - air-con cars have three bolts holding it in, others the motor housing screws into the heater assembly. Before trying that i'd just run the heater fan on full speed every time you drive it for a few days, chances are the motor bearings are sticky from lack of use, the heat from using the fan motor will help melt the grease a bit and get it doing what it should in the motor bearings. If you have the other type with phosphor brinze bush type bearings in the motor, lubing will need to be done with a couple of drops of engine oil except you can't exactly get to them without stripping the motor down and they don't forgive interference!

Drive belts - go to Volvo. Yes, they'll cost a bit more than Joe Bloggs Autofactors Inc but Volvo used a different belt profile to most other manufacturers so the belt sits on rather than in the pulley. FItting the wrong type of profile belt will result in the belt shredding and/or wearing prematurely.

Ignition leads - Bougicord, available from PFV i believe.

https://www.partsforvolvosonline.com/

Plugs, use NGK BCPR6E(S), set the gap to 0.65-0.7mm - make sure you have metric feeler guages!!! Also note that most NGK plugs come pregapped at 0.9mm which would be the equivalent of 20k miles use!

Dizzy cap and rotor arm - expensive! Either Bosch or Volvo but reputable pattern parts wil work except you'll hav e to replace them more often, swings and roundabouts financially. If they're not in desperate need of renewing now, wait until your budget can swallow £100 ish for genuine Volvo. Bosch is a good second as they manufacture for Volvo but the Volvo branded parts get a coating of lacquer to prolong their lives, Bosch parts don't!

Use a genuine Volvo oil filter and a good quality 10W40 semi-synthetic oil. Avoid ECPs own brand Triple QX 10W40, i've had several problems with that all suggesting it's made from recycled oil. I have 15L (3 cans) in the shed that i won't even use in my lawnmower (it causes bad starting in the mower) and made all the car engines i used it in smokey/fumey. Tradetec is a fairly good "middle of the road" brand, avoid Shell Helix unless you plan on changing it every 3k miles as the additives that make it so good when new diminish rapidly about the 3k mile point and after that it's pretty poor.

Coolant - use Ehtylene Glycol antifreeze, don't use that horrible OAT stuff that allegedly lasts a long time. THere are many reasons for this but you'll regret using OAT if you use it.

Also i suggest a new thermostat as you have no idea if/when it was last changed, they lose their effectiveness after about 4 years so i renew mine every other coolant change after a full reverse flush.

[Kingfisher8]

Thanks everyone, looks like I've got plenty to get on with.
Plus side, intermittent wipers are working again after fiddling with the stalk

Oh how much oil do these take in the engine?

[AllHailKingVolvo]

Originally Posted by Kingfisher8

Thanks everyone, looks like I've got plenty to get on with.
Plus side, intermittent wipers are working again after fiddling with the stalk

Oh how much oil do these take in the engine?

Welcome to the leisurely but enjoyable world of B200 motoring! My partner and I have had four B200 naturally aspirated cars over the years and have enjoyed every one of them. They’re not fast in stock trim but they are enjoyable cars to own, endlessly reliable motoring (as are all Redblock cars) and there are plenty of little tweaks you can do to make them a bit quicker and more punchy performance wise if you feel so inclined.

Oil wise they take 10w40 semi synthetic, around 4.4L (3.8ish plus half a litre filter capacity if I remember right) I have always used Shell Helix HX7, but recently got a very good deal on some Mobil Super 2000 as I believe they have discontinued it. I change my oil every 4000 miles as it’s a cheap bit of “up the drive” maintenance which I consider simple safeguarding for the engine. I wouldn’t go super cheap on oil, but as a relatively straightforward and tough engine you don’t need to spend telephone numbers on “posh” oil...I’ve always subscribed to the adage that fresh inexpensive oil is always better than old high-end oil.

Spark plugs I change every 20k. I always have some knocking about as I race go-karts, and my race engines use the same NGK plugs as the redblocks...a useful coincidence!

In terms of HT leads. 1000% Bougicord. I was pulling my hair out chasing hesitation and poor performance which I was convinced was down to poor spark (it was) and what cured it was Bougicord leads and genuine Volvo distributor cap and rotor arm. There is some black magic in the resistance rating of Bougicord leads which Volvo designed the Redblocks to work to, and nothing else will do at all.

Good luck with the car-you’ll love it. Once the little odds and ends are done you’ll have a faithful companion that will never let you down, and if-by chance-it does, you’ll likely be able to fix it easily yourself.

[Ian21401]

From where can I obtain Bougicord HT leads?
I fitted my current HT leads ( Bosch 847 ) back in 2009. They’ve done 76,000 miles. So when I get back to servicing the engine, soon I hope, I am considering replacing the dizzy, rotor and HT leads. OE for the dizzy and rotor and Bougicord for the HT leads
I’ve been trawling around for the Bougicords for my B200F but everywhere is informing me “Sorry, we don’t have any for your vehicle but try these”.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Ignition leads - Bougicord, available from PFV i believe.

https://www.partsforvolvosonline.com/

Originally Posted by Ian21401

From where can I obtain Bougicord HT leads?
I fitted my current HT leads ( Bosch 847 ) back in 2009. They’ve done 76,000 miles. So when I get back to servicing the engine, soon I hope, I am considering replacing the dizzy, rotor and HT leads. OE for the dizzy and rotor and Bougicord for the HT leads
I’ve been trawling around for the Bougicords for my B200F but everywhere is informing me “Sorry, we don’t have any for your vehicle but try these”.

https://www.partsforvolvosonline.com...oducts_id=7102

There you are Ian!

[Ian21401]

Thanks Dave, I missed that in your previous post.
“They who have eyes yet see not”.

[Kingfisher8]

I usually use auto doc for my parts, have been for a few years, they do Bougicord leads
I know this may be a silly question, but why is it so important to use a genuine oil filter? I've always used mann filters and been good. They have the one way valve in still.
Only reason I ask is don't wanna pay half as much again to post the filter when I get free shipping from auto doc...