Auto - Manual conversion questions

[66Lover]

Hi folks,

Looking at a few nice 240s currently but the majority are automatics, not something I'm interested in owning.

Luckily I have a manual donor car.

Done some reading and plenty of people do the conversion, no issues there. But a couple of questions spring to mind:

1) My donor car is a late B230F LH2.4. Can I use the flywheel from this with the slightly earlier B230E K-Jet car? I understand the later flywheel is machined for various LH sensors but I presume this won't affect its use in an earlier car?

2) Should I swap the rear axle? Some people don't bother, some do. Some say the ratios for the auto axle will make the car a bit noisy at motorway speeds with a manual fitted. Some people say it's not bothered them. Opinions?

3) Leading on from 2) - if I was to swap the axle, would the axle fitted to my b230f estate manual donor car be any better than an auto GLT saloon axle? I'm thinking the estate axle might be geared differently anyway?

Thanks
Graham

[classicswede]

You can use your flywheel, having teh timing marks on it is not going to cause you any issue and will be handy if you ever wanted to convert to LH injection in the future.

Rear axle I have never bothered in any of teh swaps I have done. You probably will not be able to use your late axle and the pattern is wrong for the speedo in the older car but would still be worth keeping as a spare

[Nicholas Lewin]

Graham

Someone else can comment on the flywheel issue, but my understanding of K-jet and LH2.2/4 is that the flywheel is different for the different systems - you are right tho' that if K-jet doesn't need the sensors, then it would seem an LH flywheel should work - I'll let an expert comment

The rear axle issue is simpler. Volvo used at least four different rear axle ratios dependent on the engine output and the model of the car (estate vs saloon, 2.0 vs 2.3 etc etc)

The outcome is simple. You could end up undergearing the car (too high revs at motorway speeds) or overgear the car (opposite) neither of which will do the car any good, nor your driving experience, nor your fuel consumption. Your wheel and tyre size will also be a factor in this equation. I am trying to recall where I have seen a table of the available ratios and the road speeds per 1000rpm - that's what you need to see...

You are going to have to do quite a bit else are you not to do a conversion? Clutch pedal (and brake pedal) and hydraulic assembly? Throttle linkage? Prop shaft? Possibly gearbox mounting? and possible interior changes to accommodate the different gear selector... just thinking...

Good luck with it

Nick

[Antz]

Simple job. I aske this question back in 2011 and here is the reply I got from redboy:

One important thing- what age is your car? Pre-86 cars used a speedo cable, whereas later ones used an electronic speedo with a sensor on the diff. If you have a later car its no big deal, but finding an early gearbox is much trickier.

I did this job myself- do a search- I logged my saga.
You can use the pedal box as a template to drill the holes from the inside- its difficult, but easier than changing the black plate- although you could do this too.

Don't bother with the original clutch pipe- its easier to make another one out of a line of brake pipe. It took alot of bother to get the used pipe in, and after all that, it leaked around the connector.

Change the rear crank seal while you're at it. ***** Use a GENUINE VOLVO seal- I've had trouble with scan tech seals, and you definately don't want to do this again.

Here's my part list:
rear crank seal
pedal box
clutch master and slave cylinder
have pipe made up with correct fittings.
hose from pipe to clutch
gearbox (obviously) Change the oil when its on the floor- its easier than filling it under the car.
prop shaft
centre bearing
bolts
rear gearbox support beam and mount for manual gearbox
clutch kit
Pilot Bearing
gearstick and gubbins- fit a new shift bushing kit while you're at it
wiring harness and relay if you're using an overdrive
bridge wire for automatic neutral safety switch.
clutch bolts! These do not come with the clutch kit

to do:
remove gearshift from inside car and bridge neutral start switch (so you don't forget later)
remove prop shaft
drain gearbox and remove filler tube
remove pipes to radiator and block off rad holes.
support gearbox
remove torque converter bolts from front- this is annoying, as you have to turn the engine over to get the next one. A large socket on the flywheel helps.
remove rear gearbox support
put thin bit of wood between cylinder head and firewall to protect
lower jack slightly under gearbox and undo two top gearbox bolts using lots of extensions and wobble bar
undo other gearbox bolts- have a helper steady
pull gearbox back ***make sure to keep torque converter on gearbox shaft or you'll get covered in oil.
take a break and change clothes if the converter fell off and dumped oil down your sleeve.
remove drive plate
remove pilot bushing
change rear oil seal- get help if you've never done this before.
fit pilot bearing
fit flywheel- make sure its in the appropriate position and bolts torqued properly
fit clutch kit and make sure its centred
fit new release bearing to gearbox fork- make sure fork is in the proper position
fit manual gearbox into position and bolt to engine
fit gearstick from above with new bushing in place
connect up reverse light
fit new gearbox mount and beam
fit propshaft and centre bearing
fit slave cylinder and hose

OK now the big work is done, its time for the fiddly part!
remove drivers seat- Trust me- you don't want to be farting around under the dash with the seat in place
remove automatic brake pedal box
fit manual brake pedal box WITHOUT pedals. only use a couple of bolts.
drill holes for slave cylinder.
take a break and a couple of co-codamols for the neck ache having been upside down under the dash.
remove manual pedal box, fit pedals back in place with springs, and refit box
fit master cylinder
make up pipe from master cylinder to slave cylinder
**** use new master and slave cylinders- I tried resealing and reusing the ones from the spares car, but they were knackered and I had to replace them with new ones anyway.
bleed clutch. Then bleed it again, as you will still have air in it.
Test out gear shift- you may need to adjust the reverse plate to get the 'lift' thing in the right place.

Double check everything and then enjoy the extra speed and MPG!

(I may have forgotten something- please add it if I did!)