u/gangcunt

Honestly I’m not too worried about doing it and am comfortable with the procedures, just want to know if anyone has some useful tips that may help with the process, and maybe save some headache. As far as tools go, I am good, only thing I don’t have is a machinist edge to check the deck of the head and block. The head gasket isn’t blown yet, this is more of a preventative measure, so I am not too worried about the head being warped, but is it necessary for me to get one? Other than that, any other little tips would be great. I made sure to get new intake, exhaust manifold gaskets, and a new valve cover gasket. Oh, and I’ve already done the timing belt, and front seals, as well as the rear cam seal/plug so I will not have to do those while the head is off which is nice. So I pretty much only have to tackle the head gasket, as the other things mentioned have already been done.

EDIT: Should have said running hot, it’s not fully in the red but it gets around 98c at the tstat housing after it idles for over 30 minutes with ac on. Also cools off once the car is driving and getting air pushed.
1990 Volvo 240. Yes i bypassed the temp faker and yes i have confirmed it is overheating with an ir gun. Honestly it’s not really a big deal doesn’t make the car any less drivable but when I have to idle for long periods it becomes an issue. Also should i wire it to the switch on the receiver drier or just wire it to a 12v toggle switch?

Some say they’ve had no issues mounting it with a 93 bracket, others have said they needed a spacer for the adjuster bracket. But i thought that was only needed for the 85-92 style bracket so i’m a bit confused as to what is actually correct

sorry for another question regarding the 4-2-1 headers just don’t want any fitment issues lol. also seems like vpautoparts has a pipe for the egr that would need to be welded up or maybe just bunged for an o2 sensor.

or should i just try to clean my stock manifold up? though it’ll probably just get surface rust again

First disconnect the battery, and pull the gauge cluster, if you’ve never done it before the accessory gauge pod fascia must be removed as well as the other trim piece on the left hand side. 4 philips head screws to remove it. Pay close attention to the where all the single prong connections go on the back of your cluster. You are looking for the speedometer connector. It is L shaped with a blue, black, and white wire. Once disconnected from the daughter board very carefully open the back of the connector, work your way around the sides to avoid breaking it. One at a time to avoid messing up the orientation of the wires, pull upwards on one of the wires, to unseat it from the connector. Next pinch the two sides together, and repeat this for each wire. This will give you a solid connection on the speedometers daughter board. It’s common especially if the tamper cover has been removed for the connection at the daughter board to not be tight enough causing a intermittent connection cause the needle to jump around. If you can smack your dash and make the speedometer work this should fix your issue. Hope this helps!!!

So my 1990 240dl has been running hot/having overheating issues. I have replaced the thermostat with a genuine volvo (87c) thermostat, water pump, and radiator. It has passed a leak combustion test. I have i believe fully burped the system, inclined the front and squeezed both hoses. Compensator board has been bypassed. The thermostat doesn’t seem to be getting past 87c but the lower radiator hose isn’t hot. I plan on fully flushing the system tomorrow. I put solution in and have been driving it about 10 minutes for the last few days. I can’t drive it much longer without it overheating, though i will note it won’t go into the red but i also haven’t driven it long enough to find out. I have gotten it up to speed to make sure it wasn’t just the clutch fan causing it to overheat at idle. When i did replace the radiator it was absolutely filthy. So i guess it’s possible there’s a blockage somewhere. I also have no external leaks. Both temperature sensor have been replaced with genuine volvo sensors. It actually started around then when i started thinking back so i assumed there was air in the system but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Only thing i can think is the wiring to the sensor, somehow still air in the system, a blockage somewhere, or the new thermostat is stuck, and YES it’s installed correctly. nipple up lol. My oil is clean as well but man even after the leak combustion test i’m still worried that it’s the head gasket. This car has been kind of a nightmare with all the issues it’s had.

I’m leaning towards it being an air lock, stuck thermostat, or maybe the connector for my single prong ect, it no longer has the plastic insulator. also the yellow wire for the ect has some sort of red heat shrink around it, is this factory? any other ideas to check?