New 949s owner

[Repulseman]

I've just bought a 1993 'L' 940 saloon, two prev owners 11,000 on the clock, to my untrained 'Volvo' eye it looks the bis, nice smooth runner, no evedence of any major problems.

Are there any things that I should be aware of, any advice for a new owner, should I carry out any major inspections (brakes-electrics etc)?

Thanx in advance

P.s I'm in the progress of converting the Volvo electrics web site for the 940 into a stand alone PDF file if anyone is interested.

[RollingThunder]

Welcome to the forum

11,000 miles eh?! Are you sure thats genuine - or was it a typo and should be 111.000 ?! Quite a find if it is 11,000!

I'd give it a thorough service including distributor cap (often missed because its a pain to change), rotor arm, NGK spark plugs, Bougicourd HT leads, Volvo/Mann oil filter, good quality oil (Mobil 1 synthetic or Magnatec GTX), air filter, clean out/replace all breather hoses, check security of vacuum pipes, change coolant, check/replace all coolant hoses - highly recommend you change the two hoses that run under the oil filter - they get covered in oil and perish.

Items to watch - heater matrix is a weak point - look for coolant loss with misting screen and damp carpet in footwell. Another sod to change. Front discs wear quickly and early ones tend to warp (they're thinner than the later type - not sure which type you'll have off hand). Turbos last to 125k usually, then seals go. Can last much longer with regular oil changes and good quality oil. Switch illumination lamps fail often - easy to fix. Auto gear selector illumination another tediuous job.

Recommend you clean the electric connectors to prevent intermittent poor running. MAF is particularly sensitive to poor connection problems. DON'T try to clean the wire sensor in the MAF - it can be done, but I've broken two of them - and I'm very very careful!

Air con (if fitted) frequently fails - usually due to the 'radiator' - which is fitted in front of the intercooler and coolant radiator - so it takes all the hits from road debris and leaks.

Bodies were all galvanised from new, so you shouldn't have any rust - if you have its probably due to a poor post accident repair.

The 940 is generally very reliable - if you service it properly. They can last for years without servicing, but the repair bills after such treatment will be high. As you'll see by my signature below, I quite like the 940

Hope this helped.

[RollingThunder]

Oops - forgot to mention another bugbear of the 940 - the fuel injection relay! These tend to suffer from loose internal connections over time, which cause intermittent running problems. Best bet is to fit a new one or take out the existing one and re-solder the joints. The relays and fuses are hidden behind the ashtray by the gear lever/selector.

I'm sure other people will add to the list Don't be put off by the number of items to watch - a thorough servicing regime will negate most of them.

All the best,