1983 Volvo 242 GLT Turbo Fuel-up Log
1983 Volvo 242
Property of pibyers.
Added Aug 17 2017
Showing all fuel-ups and notes
Dec 21 2023
Here's my best guess as to what is going on regarding a partially empty filter with a few questions interspersed. 1. What was the oil reading on the dipstick on the day of the oil change? 2. When was the last time you completely cleaned out the PCV system? (including the flame trap, hoses, and removed the Breather Box from below the intake manifold to get that top nipple free of the cholesterol like oil deposits that are causing back pressure in the crankcase and your rotating shaft seals to bleed oil, primarily the front cam seal) 3. Have you had this car long enough to know if it needs oil on a regular basis? Such as 1 quart every 1,000 miles, etc? If yes, what are the consumption / leakage rate per 1,000 miles? My speculation is this, having seen this scenario before and I suspect @David Samuels has probably seen this a few times as well. A. The previous owner neglects the service schedule, such as the transmission fluid, differential, greasing the joints (this is why your hood hinges bend and distort), PCV cleaning, etc. Note that there are a few things that should be on the schedule past 100,000 miles, like re-soldering the white Fuel Injection Relay on 85-93 cars, re-soldering the Overdrive Relay, and removing the Oil Trap Breather Box (below intake manifold runner #3) for a comprehensive cleaning. B. The constriction in the PCV system causes a slower venting of the blow-by gases that escape past the piston rings, and this builds pressure in the crank case and under the valve covers. C. The elevated pressure forces oil out of the rotating shaft seals, such as the front crank seal, rear crank seal, intermediate shaft seal, and the weakest seal of all is the front camshaft seal. Oil leaks down the front of the engine and saturates the upper water pump o-ring seal, causing the rubber to swell and then start leaking coolant. Look for this problem, most of the redblock Volvos on the road today have this issue and it is preventable. D. Back to the oil issue. As the restrictions in the PCV system increase (dried oil deposit in hoses, flame trap, breather box nipple, etc), the faster the oil leaks out of the engine. Eventually, there gets down to 1 quart of oil in the pan and you will not drop below this level. You are now pumping mostly air and foam, with brief spurts of oil flow as it sloshes around in the pan. E. Why does the oil light not illuminate on the dash? Two reasons, either one or both may be correct. The first is that the oil pump on these cars is very efficient and can still have a significant amount of air mixed into the pump pickup, and still build sufficient pressure (assuming an otherwise healthy engine) to prevent the pressure switch. The second reason is a wiring fault and here is the check for it. With the engine off, put the key in and turn it to Position-2 (the ON position, but do not go to position 3 to start/crank). At this time, most of the warning lights will be on (battery, etc) and this is when you check to see if the Oil Pressure light is on or off. If it is on, then the on/off pressure switch (just above the alternator on a 240 on the side of the block) is working and you have a functional wire going between the dash light and the oil pressure switch. If the oil pressure warning light is not illuminated at this time, then you have a bad wire going to the pressure switch. It is a solid brown wire bundled with the rest of the fuel injection harness and separates off below the injectors and then it runs side by side with the Alternator D+ (small red wire) under the front of the engine, below the front crank pulley and oil pan, and comes up on the far side of the engine. Of note, many of us who repair these two wires will often run both the Red D+ line from the alternator and the Brown Oil Pressure signal wire along the inside edge of the fender, contained within a 5 foot length of split sheath tubing, and tie back into the harness or connector at the firewall. Once a mechanic finds a routing for these pair of wires, he will do it almost the same way going forward. Of the people who work on these cars local to me, I can spot one of them consistently in his service work by how he runs these wires, which often surprises the owner when I tell them, "Oh, Jim Blett helped you with some work. It looks good." -to which they will wonder if we swap notes on who gets what work done on what cars, but it's nothing like that. Since the factory official MANN oil filters have a great anti-drain-back valve, I have a strong suspicion (without seeing the car or how it is kept) that it was run low on oil. Even if the drain-back valve in the filter failed, it would still be 1/3 full of oil, which leads me to believe that this car was sucking air from the oil pan and blowing mostly air mixed with a bit of oily foam through the filter and oil passegeways. Of note, I always drain the oil to a small pan, then pour it off into a graduated 5-quart jug (that the new oil comes in), and measure how much is coming out. It also gives me a chance to watch the bottom of the pan as the last of it pours out. If small, brass colored flakes are seen tumbling in slow motion across the bottom of the pan (while holding it vertical and draining it), then I know the sintered brass in the crank bearings has been damaged. What should you do if that happens? -keep driving it, but be aware that maybe your million mile engine is only good for a half million or a quarter million miles now, etc. It takes a lot to kill these engines so don't let someone talk you into a rebuild or replacement you don't need. Keep driving it and if you have audible mechanical issues, then start shopping for a replacement to drop in (and take care of the maintenance while it is on the stand before going in). I should mention that the first Volvo that I saw this happen to, (a 1987 Volvo 740 wagon, non-turbo) we drained only one quart of oil out of the pan and it had a lot of sintered brass flakes from the crank bearings. Several years later, the head gasket failed (from neglecting coolant changes and it corroded), and I wanted to see how much damage there was to the cylinder walls. I was surprised to find that the piston rings had over-bored the cylinder walls by a significant amount, but was still less than the thickness of my finger nail on my index finger. In hindsight, I should have measured it out but I didn't have tools with me to do that as I had driven an hour and a half to my friends house to do the head gasket there rather than have it come to me. When it was reassembled, I think the cylinders still had a miraculously high compression reading, like 145 to 155 each, versus the 188 or so that I would expect if the engine was in mint condition. That is a huge testimony to the durability of the piston rings that were still keeping an amazing amount of compression despite the massive amount of wear on the cylinder walls. Let me know regarding the questions above and if you think I'm on the right track or out in left field with my hypothesis above. (there are lots of things I don't know about the car). God bless and drive safe, you've got a great car that should have a lot of life left ahead of it. To do a compression test on this engine if you desire: 1. Engine up to operating temp. 2. Disable Fuel (easily done by pulling the white relay). 3. Disable the spark by disconnecting the 12v line to the ignition coil. 4. All 4 spark plugs out. 5. Compression tester threaded into the first spark plug hole with a good seal. 6. Crank the engine while holding your foot down all the way on the gas pedal (Wide Open Throttle). If you don't do WOT, then it will read 5 psi low and lots of people make that mistake. 7. Crank enough times that the gauge needle stops moving for at least 3 compression strokes. 8. Record the number, then set up for the next cylinder. 9. I expect a healthy N/A engine to read between 178 to 206.
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137,600
Added by pibyers on Dec 21 2023 at 5:20 am
Sep 15 2023
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137,564
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6.200
-
$3.226
-
$20.00
-
11.0
Added by pibyers on Sep 15 2023 at 11:55 am
Mar 27 2023
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137,496
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9.200
-
$3.043
-
$28.00
-
14.6
Added by pibyers on Mar 27 2023 at 2:53 pm
Oct 12 2022
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137,362
-
7.500
-
$3.200
-
$24.00
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6.3
Added by pibyers on Oct 14 2022 at 1:38 pm
Aug 17 2022
Added Overdrive solenoid bypass IPD- Changed oil. Could not get filter off despite trying to lift engine. I put in new motor mounts a year ago. Why is it down on the oil filter already. Purchase Mann oil filters. Maybe they are smaller. Also need to purchase copper crush rings for oil pan bolt. Consider net oil pan too.
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137,350
Added by pibyers on Aug 17 2022 at 3:30 pm
Nov 3 2021
Windshield Wipers
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137,350
Added by pibyers on Nov 3 2021 at 2:00 pm
Nov 14 2020
Testing all systems since new battery installed in trunk. Power really low when took for drive last night. Charged both batteries overnight. Hooked up ammeter on both batteries (with fuses connecting them removed). Front battery showed phantom draw of .79 amps (target <50 milliamperes). Rear battery initially showed no phantom draw, but with further checks it was showing .64 to .96 milliamperes. Disconnecting crutchfield amps pulled phantom draw to 0. Could both amps be bad? Front Battery test as illustrated in photos. Battery was from 2014 so perhaps it’s time.
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137,333
Added by pibyers on Nov 14 2020 at 3:57 pm
Nov 10 2020
New Napa Battery for trunk Rehung fog lights and replaced bulb on passenger side. I was able to get both lights to shine when testing, but when I hooked up they would not come on. Tested wiring. Ordered new 30A 5 pin relays. If that doesn’t work let’s try cleaning the terminals where the light bulb grounds to light housing. Try new headlamp relay as well since high beams won’t stay on.
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137,330
Added by pibyers on Nov 10 2020 at 2:16 pm
Sep 12 2020
Changed oil with 5qt 20W-50 since it appeared thin. Less than 4 quarts reclaimed. Used jack to lift engine to allow better access for oil wrench. Next change bend oil filter cover down to make more clearance. Lots of oil under the car so we must have a big leak somewhere. Looked to install selenoid bypass for overdrive, but wasn’t straightforward underneath. Replaced drivers side high beam light. Old one still worked but had water in lens. Worked on fog lights. Passenger side burned out, but driver side worked on voltage machine. Connections appear good. Relay suspect so ordered more as well as replacement H3 bulbs. Lost screw for relay so need to find another when installing. Also need to move fog lights inside so tow spot can be used.
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137,325
Added by pibyers on Sep 12 2020 at 2:25 pm
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137,315
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10.500
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$1.800
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$18.90
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6.0
Added by pibyers on Sep 12 2020 at 10:08 am
Aug 4 2020
R12 to R134 conversion. Used my flush, receiver-drier, and Conversion kit along with Ester oil and 3 cans of freon that I brought.
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137,305
Added by pibyers on Aug 4 2020 at 1:40 pm
Jul 19 2020
Wax
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137,300
Added by pibyers on Sep 12 2020 at 10:51 am
Jun 23 2020
Battery for stereo
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137,300
Added by pibyers on Jun 23 2020 at 4:23 pm
Sep 1 2019
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137,252
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11.500
-
$2.087
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$24.00
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11.4
Added by pibyers on Sep 1 2019 at 10:39 am
Jun 16 2019
Engine Oil, Oil Filter, Power Steering Fluid
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137,171
Added by pibyers on Jun 16 2019 at 9:18 am
May 25 2019
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137,121
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12.443
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$2.439
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$30.35
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11.7
Added by pibyers on May 25 2019 at 4:49 pm
Jul 15 2018
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136,975
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12.536
-
$2.599
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$32.58
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0.0
Added by pibyers on Aug 13 2018 at 8:03 am · missed
Jul 9 2018
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136,795
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9.000
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$2.489
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$22.40
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0.0
Added by pibyers on Jul 9 2018 at 5:34 am · missed
Jul 7 2018
1in socket for oil pan Filter hand removed (thankfully since need to find wrench like Q45) 4 quarts 5W-40 as recommended. 10-30 or 10-40 also work.
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136,740
Added by pibyers on Jul 7 2018 at 3:41 pm
Feb 6 2017
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136,615
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11.500
-
$2.097
-
$24.12
-
14.3
Added by pibyers on Aug 17 2017 at 9:36 am
Mar 18 2016
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136,451
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8.500
-
$2.047
-
$17.40
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17.2
Added by pibyers on Aug 17 2017 at 9:33 am
Nov 7 2014
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136,305
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1.800
-
$2.944
-
$5.30
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19.4
Added by pibyers on Aug 17 2017 at 9:32 am
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136,270
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4.500
-
$2.827
-
$12.72
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12.7
Added by pibyers on Aug 17 2017 at 9:31 am
Dec 6 2013
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136,213
-
8.840
-
$3.160
-
$27.93
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0.0
Added by pibyers on Aug 17 2017 at 9:29 am
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