I bought a 1992 Volvo 740 Wagon today with the SOHC non turbo 2.3l engine. It appears to be unmolested and has a little over 181k miles on it and working AC. There are a couple of things it is doing and I would love some insight.

1.) Vibration: It vibrates like crazy and it seems to be drivetrain vibration. It kinda fluctuates with RPMs and what gear it is in. It's kinda loud driving too. Never owned a Volvo before so i do not know how they drive. Good thing for you guys.

2.) Loud Valves: Yeah, they are a little loud and I'm wondering if adjustment is a solution. I have a Chilton's manual in the mail from half.com already for specs.

3.) AC Cuts Out: Going up inclines (not steep either) the HVAC fan blowers slows down to almost nothing and then blows better again at the top of the hill. Now I have heard of AC compressors shutting off under heavier loads but never the HVAC fan. Any idea what this is.

I bought all new fluids (engine oil, trans, rear diff) as well as filters (air, oil, trans) and plan on adding a bottle of Lucas trans fix and a can of SeaFoam to the crankcase when I do the oil change. What else should I do?

If anyone has any insight to this car or can share a link that lists a ton of information about it I would be very grateful.

Thanks,
Josh

 

The vibration could be several things: is it missing? Idle speed? If not, may be motor mounts are bad and collapsed. Or it could be dirveshaft related. Noisy? Well, is it from the exhaust or from the motor? Valves, I'd have them adjusted by a shop as it is a little tricky since it may need shims.
The A/C problem is a unique Volvo thing, I actually sold a nice 940SE before I found the solution. There is a little valve which causes this problem. IPD sells it for a couple of bucks, sorry, I can't recall the exact name of it. But I suggest that you look over IPD's website as they have a lot of good Volvo stuff.
Other than that, well, change the fluids and filter and it is good for awhile. I have the same car, with 180k, and I love it as well as my 1994 940.

 

I've looked into some of this and figure that my motor mounts are probably bad. Will not know until I get under there and look but should be finding out today.

The valve you were telling me about is the ACC Check Valve and I just bought one.

I may take your advice and have someone adjust the valves. Anyone know of any shops local to Middle Tennessee that specialize in Volvos?

 

I have a 91 740turbo wagon and had some bad vibrations also. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think on the SOHC models, the valves are supposed to be checked every 30,000 miles so if the valves have never been check,I would probably get that looked at. IPDrentsout avalve adjustment kit if you wanted to check it yourself ipdusa.com. I order the kit, and me and my dad replaced the shims andno more vibration. That is just my story. Couldjust bemotor mounts for you. Good luck.

 

check the universal joints on the driveshaft, any play or evidence of rust in the joint itself and they are bad.

 

One of my new buddies is a mechanic and when he took a ride with me he said it sounded like I had a bad U joint. I guess there's also a drive shaft bearing that could be bad as well.

I'm just going to replace both. I hate uneccessary rattles and vibrations.