240 General: New (to me) 1980 Volvo 244

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

You're relatively safe on your alloys Alan, they will only fit part of the 700 range and not much of the 900 range. Obviously they fit a lot of the 240 range but there aren't many of those left now.
The problem is the brake calipers on later models and also the larger brake discs. On many later cars equipped with 15" wheels, the Virgos on yours won't fit because of the design of the spoke, they foul the brake caliper. That means they'll usually only fit cars that originally had 14" wheels - there are a few exceptions but not many. As such, their appeal is reduced. The later Drago wheels looked similar at first glance but had more clearance so would fit almost all the range.

I've often wondered if locking wheel nuts are counter-productive. First they present a challenge to someone to defeat them, second it implies what they're on is worth stealing. It also suggests there may be other "valuable" accessories in the car.

Thank you for that. I'm quite pleased the wheels only really fit 240s and some 700s - it makes them quite unattractive to thieves.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

Dave,
Many thanks for the above, that is exactly what I have been looking for. I've read some of the reviews on Amazon, some are excellent, others not so good, so would you recommend that particular model (AEG 97135 SD 340)? If so I think I'll get one, £60 seems quite reasonable if it works.
Alan

I had the earlier Liftmaster version, same unit, different stickers and found (and fixed!) a few faults in the electronics. I'm told the same faults weren't present on the AEG version so you should be ok. I suspect the negative reviews are from people who don't actually know what they want/need and/or don't know how to use it properly - griping in other words!

Having just read some of the reviews, i definitely stand by what i just said!

As with any tool, it needs to be used correctly and it doesn't sound as if those that left negative reviews know how to sue it. Yes, there are a couple of ones where faulty units were received but these days you seem to get that with anything.
A couple of faults i recognised in the reviews could be easily sorted by firstly disconnecting the power then reconnecting and also (as stated in the instruction book) running the engine to provide extra power (or use a battery charger on the battery if running the engine isn't an option) if it won't go over a certain torque level.

[Clifford Pope]

When I've watched a mechanic refittting alloy wheels he's used the gun set to moderate torque just for speed, then changed to a torque wrench for final accuracy.
The nuts have been tighter than I'd use, but not excessively.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Clifford Pope

The nuts have been tighter than I'd use, but not excessively.

The nuts should be tigtened to 63lb/ft or ~80Nm on our Volvos Clifford, about the same tightness as the average cylinder head bolts.

Over-tightening, besides damaging the wheels as described above in my post, can cause the wheel studs to firstly stretch then shear which is a similar result to losing your wheel nuts completely.

As for the importance of getting them evenly tight, one that is slightly looser than the rest can work loose, followed by the next loosest one and so on as vibrations build up.
Sometimes if they're evenly loose (say all cracked off half a turn) the vibration won't be immediately noticed and that can be scary when a knocking noise alerts you to the fact the wheel is loose.

[Othen]

... I must be getting near the end, I'm finding little nitty-gritty issues having solved all the larger ones with the Royal Barge.

I've noticed that the instruments lights and clock are all a bit dim when driving at night. The rheostat works, the intensity goes up and down, all the bulbs are fine, they are just not all that bright on the highest setting. Before I pull the rheostat out I wonder: is this just normal?

Assuming the lights are a bit dimmer than they are supposed to be then it looks like a pretty easy job to pull the rheostat (I suppose the most likely culprit) out, but I don't know what range of resistances I should be checking it against - I can't find a specification in the Book of Haynes, does anyone happen to know the details?

I suppose an easy thing to do would be just to short over the rheostat and see if that makes much difference - perhaps leave a jumper in place all the time? Another option would be to replace it with something like this:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-Watt-Wi...hQJlCQYI_bST1w

... which looks like it would work perfectly well and no one would notice the difference from the outside.

Alan

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

... I must be getting near the end, I'm finding little nitty-gritty issues having solved all the larger ones with the Royal Barge.

I've noticed that the instruments lights and clock are all a bit dim when driving at night. The rheostat works, the intensity goes up and down, all the bulbs are fine, they are just not all that bright on the highest setting. Before I pull the rheostat out I wonder: is this just normal?

Assuming the lights are a bit dimmer than they are supposed to be then it looks like a pretty easy job to pull the rheostat (I suppose the most likely culprit) out, but I don't know what range of resistances I should be checking it against - I can't find a specification in the Book of Haynes, does anyone happen to know the details?

I suppose an easy thing to do would be just to short over the rheostat and see if that makes much difference - perhaps leave a jumper in place all the time? Another option would be to replace it with something like this:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-Watt-Wi...hQJlCQYI_bST1w

... which looks like it would work perfectly well and no one would notice the difference from the outside.

Alan

Does your clock and switch illumination seem bright enough Alan? They're all on the same circuit, post-rheostat.

If so, i suspect the "fault" may lie in the instrument cluster. Does it light up white or is it a sort of bluey-green colour?

If it's white, i'd say the instrument cluster is just plain dirty after 40 years gathering dust, dirt and so on in all atmospheres, dry, humid, damp etc causing that dirt and dust to stay where it's put making the inside of the cluster dirty. If it's bluey-green (can't remember if/when they changed on the 240) then there may be small filter behins the bulbs that have become age and heat blackened, reducing the available brightness from the bulbs.

In either case i'd suggest your first course of action is to remove and strip the cluster then clean it.

If you can strip it to a point where it's safe to put the housing (usually white) in the dishwasher, that will get it cleaner than you can manage with an old toothbrush and a bowl of warm soapy water.

Clean the backs of the dials with warm soapy water, taking care to not get any into any electronics, the front of the dials might be dirty too. Likewise the front clear screen on it.

Once you have everything clean, reassemble including the illumination bulbs, jerry-rig a feed to the lamps and test it. If it's now bright enough, all good, finish rebuilding and refit.

If not, aside from brighter bulbs which probably isn't possible given the type they are, the next step is to line the inside of the cluster housing with eithe tin foil (shiny side in) or mirror effect self-adhesive film to create a reflector. If using tin foil, use some double-sided tape to fix it in place. Might not sound as if a reflector will do much but here's an example of something i've added a reflector to, the number plate lamp lenses on mine :



This is the result on the car :



Same bulbs but you can tell how much of a better light spread there is. I've also used this method to revive headlight reflectors to great effect.

Could well be worth a try before replacing anything, especially if shorting out the rheostat doesn't give an improvement.

Note that the auto shift and seat belt buckle illumination is pre-rheostat so the brightness in those won't vary.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Does your clock and switch illumination seem bright enough Alan? They're all on the same circuit, post-rheostat.

If so, i suspect the "fault" may lie in the instrument cluster. Does it light up white or is it a sort of bluey-green colour?

If it's white, i'd say the instrument cluster is just plain dirty after 40 years gathering dust, dirt and so on in all atmospheres, dry, humid, damp etc causing that dirt and dust to stay where it's put making the inside of the cluster dirty. If it's bluey-green (can't remember if/when they changed on the 240) then there may be small filter behins the bulbs that have become age and heat blackened, reducing the available brightness from the bulbs.

In either case i'd suggest your first course of action is to remove and strip the cluster then clean it.

If you can strip it to a point where it's safe to put the housing (usually white) in the dishwasher, that will get it cleaner than you can manage with an old toothbrush and a bowl of warm soapy water.

Clean the backs of the dials with warm soapy water, taking care to not get any into any electronics, the front of the dials might be dirty too. Likewise the front clear screen on it.

Once you have everything clean, reassemble including the illumination bulbs, jerry-rig a feed to the lamps and test it. If it's now bright enough, all good, finish rebuilding and refit.

If not, aside from brighter bulbs which probably isn't possible given the type they are, the next step is to line the inside of the cluster housing with eithe tin foil (shiny side in) or mirror effect self-adhesive film to create a reflector. If using tin foil, use some double-sided tape to fix it in place. Might not sound as if a reflector will do much but here's an example of something i've added a reflector to, the number plate lamp lenses on mine :

Same bulbs but you can tell how much of a better light spread there is. I've also used this method to revive headlight reflectors to great effect.

Could well be worth a try before replacing anything, especially if shorting out the rheostat doesn't give an improvement.

Note that the auto shift and seat belt buckle illumination is pre-rheostat so the brightness in those won't vary.

Thanks Dave,
I think perhaps the perfect is the enemy of the good - the instrument back-lighting works, and works okay, but it is nowhere near as clear as my other (35 year younger) cars. I think perhaps I'm expecting a bit too much.

I was wondering whether this blue filter, through which the 3 little bulbs shine:



... is not transmitting as much light as it did when it left Gothenburg, as you suggest, a scrub up might help matters no end.

I might just try shorting out the rheostat next time I'm fiddling around with the switches just to see if that makes much difference, if it does then cleaning the connections might get a few more volts to the bulbs.

I don't think anything is broken as such, just 40 years old and slightly dusty and oxidised reducing a pretty small voltage budget a bit.

Many thanks for your advice, I think I'm running out of proper jobs to do on the Royal Barge when I start worrying aboiut how bright the instrument and clock back-lighting is :-)

Alan

[Laird Scooby]

That's quite a dark filter Alan, are there any surfaces around the bulbs that could be turned into reflectors? That and a serious clean would almost certainly improve matters without the need for trying to short out the rheostat.

As for running out of jobs to do, never!

There's always something to do on a 40 year old car, even if it's just checking things and a little preventive maintenance such as rubbing some silicone grease into the door seals and cleaning the doors where they meet.

Wipe the excess off gently but let it soak in for a good 10-15 minutes first.

I usually start on one door, work my way round and also do the boot and bonnet seals too then start wiping the excess gently from the first which normally gives me the right sort of timings.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

That's quite a dark filter Alan, are there any surfaces around the bulbs that could be turned into reflectors? That and a serious clean would almost certainly improve matters without the need for trying to short out the rheostat.

As for running out of jobs to do, never!

There's always something to do on a 40 year old car, even if it's just checking things and a little preventive maintenance such as rubbing some silicone grease into the door seals and cleaning the doors where they meet.

Wipe the excess off gently but let it soak in for a good 10-15 minutes first.

I usually start on one door, work my way round and also do the boot and bonnet seals too then start wiping the excess gently from the first which normally gives me the right sort of timings.

... of course you are right, there will always be things to do with a 40 year old car :-)

[Othen]

I have found out why I can't see the clock at night: neither of the two little bulbs has continuity. Volvo has used another different bulb in this location (and the one above the ash tray for the rear seats), is anyone able to identify it:



I've taken a SWAG at it being a '286' type, and have ordered these:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10X-286-I...53.m2749.l2649

... if anyone knows better then please do let me know in the meantime.

It will be nice to have a bit more illumination around the cabin (by the way, I'm still waiting for the interior light delay relay to arrive, it is a bit overdue).

Alan

PS. I got rid of that daft writing on the backs of the door mirrors today - 10 minutes with a razor blade and a bit of acetone to clean up has left the Royal Barge looking much nicer.