Volvo 940 Turbo: What do I need to look out for?

I have been looking for a Volvo S90 or 960, but stumbled upon a 940 Turbo. What do I need to look out for?

I have fond memories of my 940 Turbo wagon.  It was a transitional vehicle between my 626 and my MPV.  Mine had maybe 125,000 miles on it, and it would occasionally emit a puff of smoke while idling.  I believe the turbo was about shot and there was a good bit of oil in the intercooler plumbing.  In my experience, most turbos are about used up when they get much north of 100,000 miles. 

I also had it mysteriously die on me while driving.  Not fun.  Cruising along the highway and it would just die.  I'd pull off to the shoulder.  Five or ten minutes later, it would start and act like it never happened.  On a hunch I changed the ignition module, and it never happened again.

That's all the bad stuff I can recall.  Fun to drive.  Faster than it looks.  I was kind of sad to sell it.

Generally overbuilt except interior trim. Good stout auto transmission if maintained. Depending on year it may have cold piston slap that sounds much worse than it is. Like any 80’s turbo car, ensure vacuum/PCV is maintained and leak free, no boost leaks, etc. Make sure timing belt has been done too. I had a 740 turbo sedan that was a joy, one of the few cars I thoroughly regret selling.

I'm not too Volvo-versed, but I had a 940 Turbo as a beater for 5 years before someone ran into it.

Engines are not that powerful or fuel efficient (I averaged 20-21 mpg) but are very easy to maintain.  Timing belts are a doddle compared to a Civic and the B230FT engine is non-interference.  The non-turbos have a "flame trap" that needs to be cleaned out every so often, but it's not on the turbo.  A little oil in the intake pipe is "normal".

Like other European cars the electronics can be spotty.  I had a randomly working fuel gauge, speedometer, and sunroof motor.  A loose relay on the AC control board made it quit blowing cold randomly until I did a thorough diagnosis and re-soldered it, but taking it out was easy.  I also had a fuel pump relay that would die randomly, and later something else would kill the engine at a stop light when cold but no other time.  It got rear-ended while I was looking into that.

My biggest problem was that the left rear side sagged considerably more than the opposite side.  New shocks and springs didn't help.  It's got a live axle with panhard bar and a weird multi-bushed center third link.  One of those many bushings might have been the cause but I didn't have a garage at the time to thoroughly go through it all.

Another annoying thing was that even though the trunk on the sedan is generous, rear seats don't fold down.  There's only a flap for skis or a couple of 2x4s.

Yah, fuel economy wasn't great.  Low to mid-20's highway.  Could dip to 19 around town.

Visibility is incredible compared to modern vehicles.  The greenhouse is huuuuge!

The spaciousness of the wagon shames most modern SUV's.

Carry a spare fuel pump relay and ignition module that are known good, and replace both fuel pumps every 160,000 miles. Crank sensor wire can fail, check this, it is at the rear, the wire drops straight down along the fire wall to the top of the bell housing, and the wire is part of the sensor. Easier to change than it looks. Do the water pump with every timing belt around 50,000 and replace the timing belt tensioner idler/bearing with every second belt. Do the turbo when it fails. Rest of mechanicals should go 400,000 easily. Do realize that it is early turbo tech and the turbo itself likes to be run gently when cold and not shut off super hot. Really cool down on the cool down lap! This is awkward if you live on the top of a steep hill. Absolute power is low enough that you will really drive it hard on the street. The only engine failures I have seen are caused by failed oil pressure switch. It simultainiously leaks and fails to light the lamp. Loud clatter when cold is normal piston slap. If the car has a new oil switch check the pressure with a gauge before you buy it. It is just behind the filter and hard to reach/see on a turbo. Seriously the most reliable mechanism ever made on this planet.

Had a 1991 940 T.   Thing was absolutely bulletproof.  Drove it as my daily for a couple of years and did nothing but change the oil.

One dark winter morning, I was driving to work in the teeth of a storm through the redwood forest. The wind broke about a 6" branch off, which landed across my lane.  An oncoming semi flashed his highs to warn me... which blinded me completely.  Ran over the thing with all four wheels at about 50 mph.  Scared the crap out of me.  Drove it home (slowly because obviously bent front aluminum rims) and parked it.

Couple of years later, stepdaughter is going to start her nursing degree at a college an hour and a half away.  She is driving a Suburban that gets 9 mpg.  She asks about the Volvo.

Rolled it out of the shop and started looking.  Both front wheels were really bent and one rear wheel was sorta bent, so found a set of wheels, got a new set of tires, and got them on the car.   Took it down to the tire shop to find what suspension parts I was going to be replacing after they got it off the alignment rack.

They found nothing. Nothing at all.  Car went over a 6" limb and all that was hurt was the toe in.

Stepdaughter drove it a couple more years with no drama.

I'm a 940 fan.

Looks like most of the high points have been covered here.  Pump and suppression relays can usually be resoldered.  Crank sensor.  If the main pump starts to howl at low fuel levels, replace the in tank feed pump.  Interior seats are great, all the plastic sucks.  Cluster can sometimes be made better by tightening a few screws on the circuit board, but they are typical 80's German garbage.  By the time of the 940, they got the brakes large enough to not warp every time you stop.  

Nice cars, but definitely of a prior generation in the driving experience.

Update:

Well, that was kind of disappointing. 

In no way am I implying that the seller misrepresented the car, in fact he was one of the most open and knowledgeable sellers that I have ever run into. But the car just felt very, very, very old. 

Maybe I’m just getting very, very, very old. 

If you're disappointed by a 940 Turbo, you'll really be disappointed by a 960.

The main thing going for the 960 is that the transmission can accept any whiteblock.  The downsides are that your only option is automatic (not really the  best automatic), anything other than a six cylinder will require that you get intimate with a bandsaw and TIG welder to make a new oil pan since front drive oil pans put a lot of important stuff where the 960 had a much needed clearance notch, and when you're done with everything you still basically just have a upmarket 740 with marginally more power.  (Marginally more relative to V8 swaps, that is)  Same loosey-goosey handling, same horrifically bad interior quality, and WHAT IS THAT SMELL?  I ain't mad.

In reply to Knurled. :

I’d never even consider a 960 with the DeLorean V6, just the 960/V90 with the all aluminum 3.0 DOHC 24v straight six. 

In reply to Woody :

AFAIK the 9-series didn't exist when Volvo was using the PRV in anything, so 960 = whiteblock.  (DeLorean six?  I'm surprised you don't know it from its most illustrious usage - the Eagle Premier!  )

I don't know the numbers on the six, but I know the whiteblock five weighs more than a Ford 5.0 or an LS motor.  It may be all aluminum but there's a LOT of it, and Volvo put a lot of steel in the crankshaft too.

Knurled. said:

In reply to Woody :

 

I don't know the numbers on the six, but I know the whiteblock five weighs more than a Ford 5.0 or an LS motor.  It may be all aluminum but there's a LOT of it, and Volvo put a lot of steel in the crankshaft too.

The Swedes build sturdy stuff.  Big, solid stuff.

In reply to Knurled. :

760 (and 262) had the PRV V6

I had a late 960. It was sturdy and comfortable but not terribly fun to drive. My 850 was worlds better in almost every way.

A redblock 940 should be even more reliable but that ~160bhp turbo isn't going to excite anyone.

Wiscocrashtest said:

I had a late 960. It was sturdy and comfortable but not terribly fun to drive. My 850 was worlds better in almost every way.

A redblock 940 should be even more reliable but that ~160bhp turbo isn't going to excite anyone.

I will say, having owned both a 740 turbo and an 850R, I feel like the 850 is the “sweet spot” for older Volvos by 2019 standards. Feels much more refined than the redblock RWD cars, but has more blocky Volvo DNA than the following S/V/C cars. If you can live with FWD they are a bargain right now.

The 850R is pretty much my dream Volvo.

No question the 945T felt old and quaint and a bit out of its time fifteen years ago.  It would feel much more so today.  But as a daily, it more than met my needs, and did so with a sort of understated sophistication. 

Modern conveniences have a way of spoiling drivers.  After many months driving the CX-9, I find the MPV, and even the '03 530i to require a good bit more effort in backing in or out of a parking space.  I can't help but feel that the tech on cars today serves to further insulate the driver from the reality of driving.  It might save your bacon once in a while, but I think it makes it more likely that you will find yourself in a situation that requires bacon-saving.

There!  I'm sure that made sense.