New 240DL Estate owner - seat and rear wiper problems

[scandalpete]

Just bought a great '89 240 DL estate with 105000 on the clock. Only two apparent problems though -:
1. The drivers seat seems to have been bent back towards the rear on its inner edge. Thinking this was a one-off I went to the local scrap yard, saw an identical model, but it had the same problem !! Is this normal and if so can it be repaired or should I get the passenger seat from the scapper and alter it.
2. The rear window wiper seems to have a mind of its own - sometimes working partially, sometimes fully, sometimes not at all !!

Any assistance on the above gratefully received.

Pete

[migrator]

The power supply for your rear screen wiper moter (and some other things) goes through the hinge unit. You will probably find that at least one of the cables in the hinge has started to break and is now making intermittent contact. This will give the 'now it works - now it dosen't' scenario.

Repair is down to your preference - if fixing it yourself. Either get the hinge unit off to accerss all of the cables and renew them all where they go through the hinge. Fiddley but do-able asnd it keeps the cables hidden. (There are probably some in the other hinge as well that could be tackled at the same time. To ease the strain on the replacements you could re-route some so that the cable load on each hinge is about equal.)

The alternative will involve drilling a hole in the tailgate near the top/side of the window. You can then re-route the cables out of the hinge and into the tailgate. Yes this leaves a small loop of cable hanging down but is the method preferred by some.

Not sure about your seats though. On reflection this is probably caused by people repeatedly 'launching' themselves into the seat. It is likely to be common to all of the older cars in the breakers as well.

[Clifford Pope]

The seat backrests are not interchangeable left/right because the knobs will be on the wrong side and interfere with the seat belt. I think the base might be, if that is the bit that has sagged or broken.
I have successfully repaired a backrest by removing it, and then peeling off the cover. I was able to glue up and stiffen the cracked foam, and re-shape the shoulder portion. It was a bit of a bodge at the time, but it has lasted well.

I favour the total re-routing of the tailgate wires.
The proper wires are ultra-flexible, and you need the right part for the car model because the sockets and plugs differ, and I found the wires unsolderable.
You can either bundle all the wires together and then wrap them in plastic tape, or feed them down a length of plastic tube.
Pull the roof liner back to unclip it from the lip of the roof, then cut out a small section of the metal lip. Drill a small hole to fix a securing clip to clamp the wires or tube as it emerges from the roof.
You can use ordinary wires because they don't have to bend round the impossible curve inside the hinge.
By careful positioning of the bundle or tube, you can make it lie flat out of the way when the tailgate is open, so as not to catch on things as you load or unload, and then a fairly unobtrusive loop bends down as the tailgate closes.
Once done you never have to do it again. The proper wiring will fail again in a few years time.
That's just my view - some purists like the real thing.

[Mike_Brace]

Often twisting is caused by the bolts holding the backrest can come loose causing it to twist. This is easiest to check with seat out. If the squab is knackered it is often easy to repair. The underneath of the foam is supported by a metal mesh and springs. The mesh often breaks - this is available from Volvo for about £10. I've doen this on mine - a bit of a struggle to fit (2 person job) but made an amazing difference.

Mike

[scandalpete]

Many thanks for these comments. I can see the broken wires in the hinges so I think a re-wire is on the cards.

What a great resource this forum and this club is !!

Pete Lacey

[Mike_Brace]

We all love our Volvos and try to help!

Mike