940 turbo saloon wentworth

[RollingThunder]

Congratulations And welcome to the Volvo wonderland/loony bin!

Its nice to see that you're taking the same approach as me - ie give the car a genuinely comprehensive service as soon as you buy. IMHO its the best way to ensure reliability - and a continued Volvo love affair.

I've copied your list of parts below and have added comments where necessary - I'd reiterate CTC's comments about genuine parts - some parts you can get away with pattern bits, but others you really need OEM quality to prevent damage.


air filter - pattern/Volvo/Champion etc part should be ok - the only difference is airflow (and price). I have a K&N panel filter which allows much better airflow, but sadly doesn't filter the air quite as well. Swings and roundabouts.

oil filter - use MANN or Volvo only. They have a pressure relief valve built in which ensures that oil pressure is maintained from the instant you start the car. Pattern filters don't have this, so you risk very low oil pressure for the first few seconds. I've been told that later Champion filters now include this, but I haven't looked as at £4ish for a Mann one its not worth the risk. (Mann make the Volvo brand filters).

fuel filter - not problem in using quality pattern parts here. GSF sourced parts are fine.

spark plugs - NGK are the best fitment IMHO. There have been reports of Bosch plugs failing (as in falling apart) in the US. I use BPR6ES and love them.

sump plug gasket - OEM part only

brake pads - I'd stick with Volvo or a good brand - Ferodo or Mintex. You don't need performance pads, just good quality unless you'll be driving pretty aggressively.

timing belt tensioner - OEM or GSF. I bought a GSF one to see what it was like, and it was a good quality german made part, so I fitted it.
camshaft front oil seal - OEM only IMHO. Its cheap and seems to last better than pattern parts.

manifold gasket sets - most gaskets are fine as pattern parts IMHO, however, the Volvo headgasket has graphite layers top & bottom which help to prevent HG damage due to the different expansion rates of the iron block and aluminium head. Its expensive, and I'm sure a non OEM one would be fine, but a HG replacement is a pretty long job and I only wanted to do it once

Timing belt - OEM only - why risk it?

accessory drive belts - pattern parts should be fine.

thermostat - pattern part fine

ignition lead set - OEM quality. Volvo use Bougicord ignition leads and while the cheaper sets work ok, I've always thought that the Bougicords last longer and feel better made. Not cheap, but I've never had problems with these, whereas the Hotwires set I fitted once didn't fit correctly on the distributor cap (they weren't big enough) and one lead came adrift altogether - not good if it happens when you NEED to accelerate!

transmission oil - I think the later 5 speed box (M90) needs a synthetic oil, whereas the earlier M46 boxes were ok with the usual gear oil - you'll need to check your owners handbook for the spec required.

engine oil - Volvo spec is a semi-synthetic oil for the 940 turbo - you quoted a 5w oil which is way too thin. Correct spec is a 10w40. I use a fully synthetic (Mobil 1). I'd recommend you flush the engine, use a cheap (Comma) fully synthetic oil for a month or so, then drain that and fill with a good quality fully synthetic. Not cheap, but you know that your engine will be protected no matter what abuse you give it

Hope this helps.

9437431 Volvo Brake Fluid, DOT 4+ (0.8 Litre)

[CTCNetwork]

Hi,

Originally Posted by RollingThunder

accessory drive belts - pattern parts should be fine.

The only provso I would add would be to get belts at the same time and matched as sometimes different belt lengths can be an issue...
Depends on the engine setup and what is being driven on the belts...

Des. . .

[chopperead]

A couple more added after reading a previous post of yours Rolling thunder:


PFV902330 940 91' on Distributor Cap GB £16.39

PFV902570 900 series 91' on Rotor Arm GB £4.00

[davebslater(uk)]

and dont forget sweden as a source of parts , err , they have loads .

enem , spm , kgtrimning are pretty decent suppliers.

getrag conversions are also popular , ive got two !!

[RollingThunder]

Originally Posted by chopperead

A couple more added after reading a previous post of yours Rolling thunder:


PFV902330 940 91' on Distributor Cap GB £16.39

PFV902570 900 series 91' on Rotor Arm GB £4.00

Definitely! Some less scrupulous mechanics skip these as they're a bit of a pain to replace, but they MUST be replaced in order to retain good running/starting. Thanks for the reminder chopperead