Volvo T5 Engine Into 240 Guide (Updated 2022)

[Antz]

I wrote this guide in 2014 and since then, technology has moved on so its time I did an update with current info.

I cant post this in the guides section so please could an admin post it for me and remove the old one?

VOLVO T5 ENGINE INTO A VOLVO 240 - THE BASIC GUIDE

-Intro
So, you decided that you need the 5 cylinder rumble in your life and that the redblock no longer satisfies you. You want an all aluminium, DOHC, turbo chick magnet that will? Well here is a guide on the basics of T5 swapping a 240. But first, a speedy run down on what exactly a Whiteblock is:

Quote:
The Whiteblock series of engines is the next generation Volvo powerplant after the tried and true SOHC redblock. The engines aren't really white, more like cast aluminium silver. I'm not sure why they are called Whiteblocks, maybe the name just sounded cool.
The Whiteblock was designed as a modular inline engine in four, five, and six cylinder versions which could all be machined on a common production line to save time and money. Things like water pumps, oil pumps, valvetrain components, ancillaries, pistons and rods are all common to many different types of whiteblocks. Volvos typical engine codename procedure carries over to the new whiteblocks with one twist. The first digit of the engine code designates the number of cylinders of the engine. For example, the B5254T (found in the S60R/V70R) is a gasoline powered five cylinder with 2.5l of displacement and 4 valves per cylinder.
-- Mark Twain

The main focus of this guide will be the 5 cylinder, as it is the most common but the same rules apply for the 6 cylinder T6 variants in many cases. Five cylinder whiteblocks come in all sorts of configurations, anywhere from 2.0l to 2.5l in displacement with power output anywhere from 126hp to 300hp. The most common high performance Whiteblock we are interested in is either the 225hp 850 Turbo engine (B5234T) or the 240hp S70 T5 powerplant (B5234T5). They are quite common, provide a healthy power increase over even a modified turbo redblock, and respond well to modifications.

Disclaimer: Even though I am trying to be as comprehensive as possible, there's no way to cover all the bases of this swap in a single article but this should get you well on the way to starting your own journey into Whiteblock ownership. Another critical factor here is that you cannot, repeat cannot, get through this swap without doing some welding and metal fabrication. If you're not equipped for this then I recommend you find someone with the skills.

At the bottom is a list of links to companies who do the parts I have listed in this article.

-Engine
You'll need an engine, preferably as complete as possible. That is to say, with accessories, manifolds, turbo, and maybe even ECU and harness. I recommend you find something from a 94-97 850 T5. Basically, anything older than '99 will be your best bet when keeping it simple, since they don't come with VVT or e-throttles. The 97-98 S70 T5 is also a possible choice or you can always buy a much later 2.4 bottom end and use an early 2.3 head on it. The choice is yours.

-Transmission
This is where the first of two high-dollar decisions is going to get made. The first choice to make is if you want an automatic or manual transmission.

-Automatic
This is the cheapest and easiest choice. Nine times out of ten, the motor you just bought will have come stock with an automatic, so you might be already setup in terms of torque converter and flex plate. Just pull a transmission out of any Whiteblock 960 and bolt it up. The electronics are trickier, but theoretically, all the 850 hardware should plug right in and work plug and play. This is unconfirmed though and I’ve not personally seen one done.

-Manual
The easiest manual alternative used to be the Whiteblock M90 since it bolts up (The redblock does not!). It's a 5-speed transmission that came in 2.5 24v 960s but they are now silly money for no reason. If you do go this route You MUST get the starter motor bracket with it. It’s not the end of the world if not but you’ll have to buy one from MKMotorsport in Sweden. They're un-obtainable from Volvo and a pretty crucial piece to the 960 gearbox jigsaw. Its easiest to use a 240 manual gearbox crossmember and rubber mounting which might need slight re-location within the crossmember depending on how your engine is mounted. The gear lever arms will need shortening to fit inside the standard 240 tunnel and a small bracket to hold the lever in place at the back of the tunnel will need to be made. The stock 240 reverse light wiring will fit straight onto the M90. The stock clutch master cylinder will work just fine with the 960 slave cylinder.

That used to be your only option but now PMC Motorsport now do kits for you to use other transmissions such as BMW ones which are stronger than the M90.

If your car is an automatic originally then you will need a manual pedal box and clutch master cylinder at the very least.

-Clutch/flywheel
I recommend going with a single-mass flywheel from a manual 850 T5. Either use an OEM one or TTV Racing do lightweight versions.
If you went with the M90, then finding a pressure plate and clutch disc is as simple as buying an 850R clutch kit which will set you back about £300 from Volvo direct but it’s a good upgrade over the stock T5 clutch. This should take about 350bhp then after that the next cheapest upgrade is a 850R disc with an Audi 707 pressure plate. You can now buy lightweight flywheels direct from TTV that fit both a stock 850R clutch or the Audi 707 clutch.. You'll need to add a 4mm spacer behind the pivot ball inside the bellhousing otherwise the clutch will be super low and it'll make the car almost undriveable.

If you’re using a BMW box then a clutch option should come as part of the kit from PMC or they will be able to tell you what fits.

-Propshaft
No matter what transmission you choose, a custom propshaft will be required. I had my old 240 unit lengthened, balanced and beefed up by D&F Propshafts in Leeds. Don’t make your own, it is super important they are made properly and balanced.

-Engine mounts
These used to have to be made but now that’s no longer the case. Anderson Steel & Speed (ASS for short) do mounts which fit are a bolt in kit for most variations of the whiteblock and they are available direct from L-M-R in Sweden. The LH mount fits perfectly but being designed for LHD the RH mount will foul the steering rack. You can get around this by grinding it out for clearance and then welding a bracing plate into it. I know it sounds a faff but trust me, its better than making mounts from scratch

It's important to note that since a Whiteblock is normally mounted to tilt 11 degrees towards the rear of the engine bay in a FWD vehicle the ASS mounts will mimic this so the engine tilts 11 degrees to the toward the driver’s side.

-Anti Roll Bar
The stock 240 Anti roll bar will not fit. It'll foul the front edge of the sump so you need a 260 V6 anti roll bar. Whiteline and IPD both used to make upgraded versions but they are long out of production so unless you can convince them to remake them, you better get hunting for an OEM one.

-Oiling system
This is one of the trickiest parts of the entire swap. The stock oil pan from a five cylinder mounted in a FWD configuration will absolutely not clear the crossmember in a 240. It is simply too thick - the sump stretches the entire length of the pan. The 960 however, does have a perfect oil pan with a generous relief for the crossmember and a nice and large rear sump. The 960 is equipped with a six cylinder Whiteblock, so the cast aluminium pan needs to be cut, shortened and welded back together in order to fit the shorter five cylinder.

The pan halves should ideally be jigged to a 5 cylinder block girdle before welding, but securely clamping it to a flat surface like a chassis table is also acceptable. In any case, the mounting surface should be machined flat before installation. The added expense of doing it right the first time is absolutely critical if you want to avoid headaches in the future because it will warp and it will leak.

The 960 pickup tube will also need to be shortened to fit the shortened pan.
You can either use a 960 oil filter housing for ease which will bolt straight up and clear the V6 anti roll bar with no issues but has coolant lines in it or buy an oil filter thread adapter from MKMotorsport and do away with the OEM part simplifying everything. This still enables you run a stock Volvo 850 oil filter.

If you plan to use a adapter for an oil cooler then the OEM filter will catch the ARB so you need to run a short oil filter. A Mann W77 is apparently the one you need.

A 960 dip stick and dip stick tube are required to properly read the oil level.
You will need to make up oil feed and return lines that suit your own setup.

-Cooling system
The main problem here is the steel tube that connects to the input of the water pump and provides several barbed connections to the radiator, heater core, turbo, and overflow tank. The 850 transfer tube has the radiator return passing under the exhaust manifold and exiting by the firewall, which makes it completely unsuitable. The 960 version can be used, but still requires modification to fit, as it hits the upper engine mount, it’s too long and is missing a couple of outlets.

This is simply a case of using both an 850 pipe and a 960 pipe to fabricate up something that works for you. Everyone's solution I've seen was different in their own way so there is no set way to do it (I’ve made two now and both were different). The best way I found was bolt on the turbo manifold then get your 850 pipe, a 960 pipe, a grinder and a welder then just kept cutting bits and tacking it until you have something that works, has all the outlets you need and clears everything then get it welded up properly so its water tight. Don’t try it without your turbo and manifold on as I guarantee you’ll make it and it wont clear.

If your turbo is water cooled then you will need to make up custom water lines. Bear this in mind when making your water rail.

A few 90 degree brass elbows and some heater hose allow for a tight but problem free heater core hook up.

If your turbo is water cooled then you will need to make up custom water lines. Bear this in mind when making your water rail above.

A "low and wide" 940 radiator for a manual 940 with air-con is the easiest adaption here. It slots into the 240 radiator slots after the plastic feet are removed from the radiator and it even bolts up on the 240 radiator bracket. 960 radiator hoses line up with it but you may need to lengthen the hoses or do88 do a silicone hose kit for a 940 T5 conversion which you can use as it’s the same hoses for the 240 conversion. A 940/960 electric fan setup will fit straight onto the radiator.

Intercooler. A large universal eBay item does the job. The large intercooler from Autosiliconehoses fits fine in front of the radiator with some brackets and if needed, the lower front plastic valance holes for cooling can be enlarged to increase flow. Pipes you’ll have to make yourself and it’s your choice how you want to run them depending on what turbo you use.
The stock T5 water temp sensor will control the ECU without issue but you still need a second sensor for your temp gauge in the car. Either machine one into the block or the easiest but not 100% reliable way is to tap a thermostat housing for the 240 sensor and wire this in.

-Inlet manifold
If you buy a five cylinder built after '99 you already have the right intake manifold with a bottom mount throttle body, so you're mostly in the clear. For everyone else, the early five cylinders had a dual runner length intake which 1) is absolutely massive and adds some unneeded weight, 2) doesn't really work that well, and 3) effectively places the throttle body inside the firewall. With the throttle body removed, the throttle body flange on the intake manifold lands about 1" from the firewall. Some people have fixed this by welding the hole shut and making a new one on the opposite side. It is easier to get the newer intake manifold from an ME7 car which places the throttle body underneath the runners. The issue (because there's always an issue) with the newer manifold is that it comes on cars with electronic throttles so your throttle body probably won’t fit on so no bolt-on hook up for a cable spool exists. I used a 960 Throttle body as it’s a good upgrade but it does require a spacer block to sit on the manifold and the inside posting slightly to let the butterfly operate freely. I can’t really comment on how I got round this as I delivered a manifold and selection of cable spools to my fabricator friend who made something that worked.

MKMotorsport now do an inlet that’s already adapted so for ease, I’d buy one of those if I was doing it again.

Use a 240 K-jet throttle cable as its longer than the LH one.

If you are using PAS then you'll need to chop the front edge off and weld a plate on it. This allows clearance for the PAS lines.

-Turbo manifold
If you're just going with the stock turbo, then any variation of the stock exhaust manifold will work fine. They are OK for stock turbos but are getting old so can crack. The main issue with them is since the exhaust comes out of the RH side in a FWD car the turbo is effectively pointing 'backwards' in a RWD application. Some minor drilling is required to allow the turbo to be flipped around. Unthread the two studs from the turbine housing's flange and drill out the threads so a bolt can pass through then mount the turbo the other way. Next you just need to rotate "clock" the turbo slightly so the intercooler pipe points in a nice direction. A bracket will need to be made to hold the actuator in place.

If you’re using a big boy turbo then SwedenExhaust do aftermarket manifolds in both mild and stainless with and without wastegate fittings. They are not cheap but very good quality. These are also available from L-M-R who are a retailer for them. I do not know if the wastegate fitting on their turbo will foul the brake servo on a RHD car but if you do plan on using of these manifolds, I would recommend fitting a smaller brake servo from an earlier car to maximise room for the turbo.

-PCV
I ditched it on my first engine and ran a catch can but it filled the catch can quite quickly (plus the motor was a heavy breather) so I’d recommend keeping this.

-Power steering
The 240 high pressure line threads into the 850 pump but it does not seal! Its best to get a new pipe made up by a hydraulics company or speak to someone really good with a lathe and get them to make an adapter that’ll push in so the stock 240 pipe can bolt up.

-Fuelling
Keep it simple. Throw away the stock pumps, both in-tank and external. They aren't up to the job and its far easier to fit a single decent in-tank pump. Something such as a AEM 320LPH unit will flow far more than you ever need and its quite simple to fit into the stock in-tank assembly. After that you’ll need to make your own fuel lines to suit whatever fuel rail you use. Either OEM or a Nuke Performance one if you’re being fancy.

-ECU/Engine Management
This is the 2nd high dollar decision. You have many different options for actually getting the engine running but here are a few examples to consider.

-Stock Management
This is an OK choice if you can’t stretch on cost to an aftermarket system but I really would recommend you do. There are many issues with the stock system such as getting the wiring right and solving the distributor problem. Wiring is pretty straight forward, but requires a lot of work. Find yourself some 850 wiring diagrams, some 240 wiring diagrams, and get ready for fun times.

The distributor on an 850 is mounted on the back of the head and is driven by the intake cam. As you may have guessed, this creates some serious clearance problems with the 240's firewall. Your options are to either make a big-ass notch in the firewall, move the distributor to the front of the engine or ditch the stock management. Moving it to the front of the engine requires you to make some sort of mounting bracket that will allow the distributor to float in front of the intake cam gear. This has the added effect of making the rotor move backwards through its rotation, so the plug wires will need to be installed in reverse order but it does look rather ugly.

If you're using an ECU originally from an automatic transmission equipped 850/S70, then ditching the transmission computer entirely will not cause any major problems. The older Motronic versions (pre-99) will simply throw a code/CEL and deactivate the boost control solenoid. Adding a manual boost controller will get you back up to speed. Companies who offer chip tuning services can also 'convert' the ECU to a manual transmission version when they add their performance maps.

-Megasquirt
Running a 5 cylinder with coil on plug is about as complicated as you're likely to get with Megasquirt. It requires a modified cam trigger and some fancy pants trigger settings. A very important fact that has yet to be added to the thread is you can't use the 4-pin ignition coils with Megasquirt. They cause constant resets and general mayhem. Switching over to two-pin 960 coils with external igniters is your best bet.

-VEMS
This was the system of choice as a few people on Turbobricks a few years back. Hardware wise it is extremely capable, but the software is confusing and the documentation is even worse. It would be best asking on Turbobricks about this one.

-Haltech
This is the system that Chesh is running on his 750R and to be honest after watching a lot of Mightycarmods and dealing with Haltech on a friends project car, I’d go Haltech for anything now.

-Omex
I know the most about this one as this was my choice. On the positive side of it, they are UK based and all products are made in-house. Being in the UK they are handy to phone if you get any questions but on the downside their wiring diagrams are very vague, not easy to read at all and their ECU will not read a stock Volvo crank sensor for a reason that not even Omex knew.

-Other
Any decent system can be used but you need to make sure it supports all the bits you need. Such as 5 cylinders. A few systems only support 4,6,8,10 or 12 cylinders which would be no good.

-Summary Shopping list for engine parts
This section is intended to be a quick check list of the necessary bits you will need from other cars. The easiest option is to buy a 850/S70/V70 T5 and a Volvo 960 (ideally with manual gearbox) to raid for parts but that's not always realistic so you need the following parts for the conversion irrelevant on which transmission you choose. (other parts not listed like starter motors, fuel rails, turbos are also needed but I’m not going to list every single item that's common sense...just the main conversion parts)

T5 Engine
T5 Water rail
Coilpacks (any post-99 Whiteblock car will have these. You'll need 5 and a good length of loom with the connectors to help wire them in)
850 engine bay loom (handy for chopping lengths of loom off to join into as it saves on making new connectors)
S70/C70/V70 ME7 inlet manifold
960 Sump & pickup pipe
960 Dipstick & tube
960 Oil filter housing or a MKMotorsport thread adapter
960 Water rail
960 3" Throttle body (be rude not to upgrade)
ASS Engine mounts
960 Radiator coolant hoses
960 Electric fan
260 V6 Anti roll bar
Throttle cable spools. Its handy to have a few to choose from to help work a solution out. A 240, 960 and 850 one will give you enough parts to think of a solution.

Don't be afraid to give it a go. It seems a daunting task but in the end, its difficulty level isn’t any higher than fitting a Zetec engine into a Ford Escort mk2 except everything is available off the shelf for that whereas some parts for this still need to be made.

https://www.anderssonsteelspeed.se/en/
https://www.mkmotorsport.se/t5-rwd/
https://pmcmotorsport-shop.com/
http://ttvracing.com/
https://www.dandfltd.co.uk/
https://www.l-m-r.se/
https://www.do88.se/
http://swedenexhaust.se/en/

PLEASE DON’T DO THE SWAP AND NOT UPGRADE SUSPENSION AND BRAKES!

There are many companies out there who do good upgrade parts for the suspension and brakes. Listed below are the ones I have used and can personally recommend:
DVS Performance http://www.dvs.net.au/
BNE Dynamics http://www.bneshop.com/
Yoshifab https://yoshifab.com/store/
IPD USA https://www.ipdusa.com/
Partsforvolvos (UK retailer of IPD, do88 and others): https://www.partsforvolvosonline.com/
BC Racing for coilovers https://www.bc-racing.co.uk/
Gaz shocks for coilovers https://gazcoilovers.com/
Powerflex polybushes https://powerflexstore.co.uk/
Superflex polybushes https://www.superflex.co.uk/
Wagonmeister Blade fuse boxes (worth doing whilst you’re re-wiring the car) https://www.wagonmeister.com/

There are other retailers who do parts but as I have not used them then I have not listed them. Please do not take this personally if you are a retailer and your company is not listed here.

I do not recommend “Retroturbo”. Due to an experience in the past where they claimed the tried, tested and proven engine mounts I had purchased from another company were “life threateningly dangerous”. They asked for pics, dimensions and details on materials used so they could tell me how to “improve them”. They later admitted they wanted to copy them and market them as their own on their website.

Volvo T5 RWD Facebook page (Swedish origin but most speak English): https://www.facebook.com/groups/476053072451385

Original article from Turbobricks Karl Bucha - adapted with my own info and experiences. Original thread here: http://www.forums.turbobricks.com/sh...d.php?t=163457

[360beast]

How weird, I was looking at t5 swapped 900s on YouTube yesterday and thought "I wonder what happened with Antz 240?"

How are getting on with it?

[Antz]

Originally Posted by 360beast

How weird, I was looking at t5 swapped 900s on YouTube yesterday and thought "I wonder what happened with Antz 240?"

How are getting on with it?

Not bad thanks! Hope you're OK.

Still got the 240. Took it off the road at end of 2017 due to the lure of Japanese cars I couldn't ignore any longer and the stem seals had gone in the T5. I'm now back on with it and its got a forged 2.4 engine, Holset HX35 turbo and I'm just missing exhaust, injectors and some plumbing before I can get it fired up again. Original goal was 400bhp but I've been informed it could see 450bhp quite easily.

Re-doing my car I found there's a lot of things that are now available which weren't when I first did it so I thought it was time I published an updated version as I still get a lot of people asking for information on the swap.

[Antz]

I cant post this in the guides section so please could an admin post it for me and remove the old one?

[360beast]

Originally Posted by Antz

Not bad thanks! Hope you're OK.

Still got the 240. Took it off the road at end of 2017 due to the lure of Japanese cars I couldn't ignore any longer and the stem seals had gone in the T5. I'm now back on with it and its got a forged 2.4 engine, Holset HX35 turbo and I'm just missing exhaust, injectors and some plumbing before I can get it fired up again. Original goal was 400bhp but I've been informed it could see 450bhp quite easily.

Re-doing my car I found there's a lot of things that are now available which weren't when I first did it so I thought it was time I published an updated version as I still get a lot of people asking for information on the swap.

All good here thanks Antz

What Jap car did you go for?

The HR30 and R31 skyline are very tempting but the prices are beyond my budget sadly.

Glad to hear it is still around and coming back better than before. It was your thread on your 240 that really piqued my interest in modifying Volvo's and now I'm planning on building a 400hp redblock for my 940.

[R-P]

Looking at a 1983 245 T5. It costs 21k€. Very much in love but seems very steep. It was converted a decade ago, so probably as good as new back then, but too far away to hop in the V70 and take a look if it's still pristine until I'm really serious about it.
The V70 btw is the reason for looking: I'll pay 21k in road tax the next 8 years whereas the 245 would be taxfree as of next year... And the 240 would be allowed in all cities, whereas my V70 is not due to EURO3 diesel engine (I found out the hard way).
Loosing awd and auto is a pity, but I'll live.

Any thoughts on the price? How much would a conversion set you back (rough estimate)? I'm OK with swapping some driveshafts and replacing a clutch, but e.g. welding new enginebrackets is way beyond my capability.

[classicswede]

Great info for anyone considering this engine swap, thanks for updating.

A few items that can help with this conversion

260 Anti roll bar I have had made new https://www.classicswede.org/shop/27...-v8-conversion

And if you are wanting to run the factory ECU then the distributor can be moved to the front with this kit https://www.classicswede.org/shop/di...g-at-the-front

Also correction on the fuel pumps. If you are starting with a K jet car the pump will move huge volumes of fuel and is a go to pump in sweden for budget high power builds. The LH2.4 pump is good to around 300bhp