240 General: New (to me) 1980 Volvo 244

[Stephen Edwin]

Originally Posted by Othen

Comrade Stephen,

My name is 'Othen' not 'Othan' - but I think you know that. The car is called the 'Royal Barge' not the 'Peasant Punt', but of course you know that as well.

I'll just pop out to Swansea and get some new Volvo plugs in the morn then, it is only 206 miles each way. I might have to pop in to a Spar shop and buy a Mars bar so I can pretend it is an essential journey for some food.

The car came with a service receipt for oil/filter/plugs dated 18 months ago.

Ho hum.

Othan is a typo (oops sorry) but I hope you guessed that. My name in the forum is Stephen Edwin, usually Stephen, not comrade. But I think comrade might be pejorative. Did I spell that right? Names can be, a little fluid? Like how I address David as David. Oops.

Surely one can have a larf about Gloriana.

The comments re plugs and FRF are there to help.

And. FRF provide an excellent postal service. THE point is. It is well worth finding a Volvo dealer with an interest in supporting older cars.

You might rely on a service receipt re plugs &c. I could not possibly comment.

Stay Safe.

Comrade Stephen Edwin
A monica I can happily larf with .....

[Laird Scooby]

Just had a quick look on the NGK webcat Alan, correct plugs for yours are BP5E or BP5ES although you can also use BPR5ES (resistor type to reduce interference on the radio) and they're fairly easy to come by as many cars use them :

http://www.ngkpartfinder.co.uk/car_c...a.php?id=19526

You could probably pick up a set of 4 on fleabay for about £8 or less delivered. Saves trotting off to the Gower just for a set of plugs...............

[Stephen Edwin]

One does not have the Gower delivered price to hand. They happen to provide a good service by post. However one is not against NGK. My answer was approximately yes car makers sell their branded plugs. And generally it s worth supporting a Volvo dealer who supports older Volvos. I recall that David uses a Volvo dealer. He is fortunate that helpful dealer is near him I think.

There is a tendency in the forum to shop on price not value by the way. I start by checking can I get and afford Volvo parts. Partly, we cannot afford to lose the helpful dealers.

If one searches the forum, there is advice of experience as to which NGK plug is best for the 240.

I hope that helps.

Comrade Stephen Edwin


.

[c1800]

I don’t know if it’s been mentioned, but beware of counterfeit spark plugs. Fleabay especially.

Lots out there.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by c1800

I don’t know if it’s been mentioned, but beware of counterfeit spark plugs. Fleabay especially.

Lots out there.

That's true enough but the price i was hinting at for a set of 4 delivered is from the more reputable sellers that are less likely to sell fake plugs.

Don't get me wrong, you make a very valid point, i've been caught out by fake Meyle drop links that failed inside 2 months, replaced with a pair of Delphi (they were cheaper as well) and 3.5 years later, no problems.
Also known a few other fake parts as well................

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Just had a quick look on the NGK webcat Alan, correct plugs for yours are BP5E or BP5ES although you can also use BPR5ES (resistor type to reduce interference on the radio) and they're fairly easy to come by as many cars use them :

http://www.ngkpartfinder.co.uk/car_c...a.php?id=19526

You could probably pick up a set of 4 on fleabay for about £8 or less delivered. Saves trotting off to the Gower just for a set of plugs...............

4xBP5E ordered (£6.63 delivered).

I'll run the compression test (properly this time - I have no idea why I forgot to open the throttle, perhaps it is more intuitive on bikes and jet-skis) when I change them.

Stay safe.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by john.wigley

Regarding coolant loss, Alan, my guess would be that the system is expelling previously trapped air (airlock) from when you refilled it. I've experienced this several times after working on the cooling system, so yes, I do think that you may be worrying about nothing. Having said that, it's not a bad idea to monitor all levels regularly to provide reassurance.

Regards, John.

... John, it would appear that you were absolutely right - it was just an airlock. I ran the car up without the expansion tank cap fitted, as per the Book of Haynes (of which I should have taken more notice), and noticed the water level rise a little before a single 'burp' of air. I'm guessing it had been sitting somewhere in the system since I changed the pump a few weeks ago (but due to the lock-down it has covered few miles and mostly on short trips). The burp happened before the thermostat opened, so I'm guessing it cannot have been in the radiator.

That seems to have solved the problem completely - the system warmed up as it should (vented), the thermal expansion pipe started flowing as soon as the thermostat opened. The whole system has settled down quite nicely now, so I think just running the system vented has solved the problem and there should be no more change in water levels now, which is nice.

I think I'll still get a new pressure cap for the expansion tank - it appears to be working properly but I have no way of testing it. I notice Volvo make two caps with the same part number (463828), one black (rated at 75 kPa) and the the other green (rated at 150kPa). Some vendors seem to claim the green one is an improved part, but I'm not convinced about running my simple 244's cooling system at double the pressure. What do you think? Unless there is a compelling reason I think I'll stick with the black one.

Stay safe.

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Othen

... John, it would appear that you were absolutely right - it was just an airlock. I ran the car up without the expansion tank cap fitted, as per the Book of Haynes (of which I should have taken more notice), and noticed the water level rise a little before a single 'burp' of air. I'm guessing it had been sitting somewhere in the system since I changed the pump a few weeks ago (but due to the lock-down it has covered few miles and mostly on short trips). The burp happened before the thermostat opened, so I'm guessing it cannot have been in the radiator.

That seems to have solved the problem completely - the system warmed up as it should (vented), the thermal expansion pipe started flowing as soon as the thermostat opened. The whole system has settled down quite nicely now, so I think just running the system vented has solved the problem and there should be no more change in water levels now, which is nice.

I think I'll still get a new pressure cap for the expansion tank - it appears to be working properly but I have no way of testing it. I notice Volvo make two caps with the same part number (463828), one black (rated at 75 kPa) and the the other green (rated at 150kPa). Some vendors seem to claim the green one is an improved part, but I'm not convinced about running my simple 244's cooling system at double the pressure. What do you think? Unless there is a compelling reason I think I'll stick with the black one.

Stay safe.

I beg to differ Alan - the airlock was more likely in the radiator or between the bottom of the expansion tank and the rad, possibly in the end tank. Because of the ATF heat exchanger mounted in the end caps, it's sometimes difficult to get rid of airlocks around them.

Think about the system as a block diagram. Ignore the heater matrix for now as that's an extension of the engine block but you have the block and the radiator and the expansion tank.
The block and radiator are both connected at the bottom and depending exactly how your system is configured, the drain hose from the expansion tank will either be common to that link between the rad and block or perhaps halfway up the rad.

The vent hose on the expansion tank links the top of the tank to the top of the rad so coolant can shift around as needed without a vacuum holding it back. However on that basis, i'd renew the expansion tank cap as a slight vacuum caused above the coolant can still hold it back as it might be more vacuum than can be overcome by the small bore vent tube.

Stick with the lower pressure cap (750kPa, 3/4 bar or atm, about 10-12psi, think it's 11.25 when you work it out exactly) rather than the 150kPa or 22.5 psi cap. Assuming you can find a black one that is. I've had to resort to the 22psi version on both of mine, no problems and you should be able to get away with it on yours but i'd suggest trying to keep it at the lower pressure.

If you do manage to find some 10psi (or even 16psi, 1.1bar) can you post a link please?

[Othen]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

I beg to differ Alan - the airlock was more likely in the radiator or between the bottom of the expansion tank and the rad, possibly in the end tank. Because of the ATF heat exchanger mounted in the end caps, it's sometimes difficult to get rid of airlocks around them.

Think about the system as a block diagram. Ignore the heater matrix for now as that's an extension of the engine block but you have the block and the radiator and the expansion tank.
The block and radiator are both connected at the bottom and depending exactly how your system is configured, the drain hose from the expansion tank will either be common to that link between the rad and block or perhaps halfway up the rad.

The vent hose on the expansion tank links the top of the tank to the top of the rad so coolant can shift around as needed without a vacuum holding it back. However on that basis, i'd renew the expansion tank cap as a slight vacuum caused above the coolant can still hold it back as it might be more vacuum than can be overcome by the small bore vent tube.

Stick with the lower pressure cap (750kPa, 3/4 bar or atm, about 10-12psi, think it's 11.25 when you work it out exactly) rather than the 150kPa or 22.5 psi cap. Assuming you can find a black one that is. I've had to resort to the 22psi version on both of mine, no problems and you should be able to get away with it on yours but i'd suggest trying to keep it at the lower pressure.

If you do manage to find some 10psi (or even 16psi, 1.1bar) can you post a link please?

Okay Dave,

I agree about sticking with a 10 PSI cap if I can, this one claims to be 0.7 bar (about right):

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CALORSTAT...MAAOSwIxVeZhAm

... it doesn't look like the right part at all, but the compatibility chart says it is okay.

This one looks like exactly the right part, and is rated at 75 kPa:

https://www.onlinecarparts.co.uk/triscan-7234144.html

... I think this might be it, how about you?

Stay safe.

[john.wigley]

'Morning, Alan. 'L.S.' beat me to it, but l fully concur with the view that he expresses in the last paragraph of his post above. If the system functions satisfactorily at the lower pressure, then - as you suggest - there is no reason to operate at the higher and, in so doing, subject it to greater stress.

If you were operating in high ambient temperatures or at altitude, it might be advantageous, but even so l think there is considerable reserve capacity in the 2 - series' cooling system.

Relax and enjoy your motor-car.

Regards, John.