Volvo 940 Torslanda - dampness investigations etc

[Marm Toastsmith]

2 hours ago, sickboy said:

Its like an old pair of boots, tatty and tired but comfy and  capable.

This is exactly the vibe I got from a brief drive (I haven’t taxed it yet...) although at the time I described it as like my favourite jeans. Lovely.

you’ve reminded me though, the sole has fallen off my favourite boots, and they’re covered in dog shit. I put them in the bin and then took them out again. Need to clean them up. Struggling to find the exact same thing for sale at the moment, and in an emergency they might be just what I need.

similarly, the Levis I’m wearing have now gone on both knees.

I really need to buy some new clothes.

Oh and re the Volvo growing on me, well, I really really like it. I love it! Just a bit nervous about it being a source of aggravation - cars that fill up with water do tend to try my patience, and more generally speaking it does need a bit of tlc. Fingers crossed I can track down the leak without too much grief. At least now the carpet’s out I know the floor’s not rotting away...

[MikeR]

that looks great ...  and 300 notes !!!

[KitKat]

1 hour ago, MikeR said:

that looks great ...  and 300 notes !!!

Agreed. I paid considerably more for my considerably worse 940. Very jealous 

[Marm Toastsmith]

31 minutes ago, sickboy said:

Agreed. I paid considerably more for my considerably worse 940. Very jealous 

Win some lose some...it cost a bit more than that to get it here, too. What’s wrong with yours then?

[KitKat]

On 4/27/2020 at 10:05 PM, marm said:

What’s wrong with yours then?

There’s not a straight panel on it. The bonnet appears to have been jumped on (with bonnet also displaying body filler residue that strongly suggests  it’s served as a mixing board to concoct a huge gob of the stuff in the rear arch). There’s a crap blow-in on the side. Scratches galore, dents etc. Rain gets into the footwells. Fuel gauge reads low or zilch, always. Radio code missing. Door trims hanging off. Interiors smells. An unnerving number of dash and centre console screws are missing. Headlining looks hideous. Power steering squeals on lock. Handbrake 9/10ths ineffectual. And it’s overdue a cambelt and brake pads

[Marm Toastsmith]

21 minutes ago, sickboy said:

There’s not a straight panel on it. The bonnet appears to have been jumped on (with bonnet also displaying body filler residue that strongly suggests  it’s served as a mixing board to concoct a huge gob of the stuff in the rear arch). There’s a crap blow-in on the side. Scratches galore, dents etc. Rain gets into the footwells. Fuel gauge reads low or zilch, always. Radio code missing. Door trims hanging off. Interiors smells. An unnerving number of dash and centre console screws are missing. Headlining looks hideous. Power steering squeals on lock. Handbrake 9/10ths ineffectual. And it’s overdue a cambelt and brake pads.

Ha, plenty of that sounds like mine too but yeah, maybe yours sounds a bit worse.

[KitKat]

Other than all that it’s spot on ?

[Dippy]

The manifold blow could be an awful but cheap fix if you diy. Its all very tight getting it off especially because of the turbo.

This is the only big job ive had to do in 3 years everything else has been consumables really. If I get to use it much this year though I might need 2 tyres and a new battery. i paid £600 for mine and its already the cheapest car I have ever owned, its currently done 221,000 and I gonna be gutted if it doesnt get to 250,000 miles which at my 6-8K a year is a few years away.

[Marm Toastsmith]

15 minutes ago, Dippy said:

The manifold blow could be an awful but cheap fix if you diy.

Tell me more!

[Dippy]

Mine started to blow between the exhaust manifold and head so an afternoons work I thought.

It was not overly complicated its just access to some nuts and bolts is very tight especially around the turbo, it turned out to take much longer than expected and my hands were full of cuts and scratches.

Im also lucky to have a ramp and all the tools needed and it was still a pain, but then I do hate fiddly jobs with no access.

[Marm Toastsmith]

1 hour ago, Dippy said:

Mine started to blow between the exhaust manifold and head so an afternoons work I thought.

It was not overly complicated its just access to some nuts and bolts is very tight especially around the turbo, it turned out to take much longer than expected and my hands were full of cuts and scratches.

Im also lucky to have a ramp and all the tools needed and it was still a pain, but then I do hate fiddly jobs with no access.

Oh well. It's not a massive priority right now. I've only noticed it when the car's cold, so it might be something I can live with.

Haven't had a proper look yet, but if I get round to it then I might pick your brains if that's OK.

Air filter arrived earlier today so once it stops raining I'll get on with giving it a basic service... hopefully have it taxed and insured by the weekend too.

[Lankytim]

Nice, bit of a weird spec I think as it's got the fake walnut fitted which I thought only went into the Celebration model. Same year as my 940 too!

[Marm Toastsmith]

Well, fitting the air filter was super easy cos there were no clips holding the lid on the box. Have used some little G clamps to hold it in place for now. Any better ideas? Old filter was pretty grim, especially given that everything was so loose (and air was probably being drawn in through the gap in the lid, not the filter). Seemed to run/idle better immediately.

Managed to get it on the ramps which was a bit of a challenge given the gradient on my new driveway and the fact that the bumper is hanging off on one side. Got there in the end.

Once the car was up in the air I found the sump plug and the filter and confirmed that:

a) I have a socket that fits the plug (badly)

b) I must have left my oil filter wrench in MIL's garage (200 miles away)

I chickened out of shoving a screwdriver through it and ordered a new wrench off eBay.

[Marm Toastsmith]

Actually tempted to drill a few holes and hold the lid on with self tapping screws...

[KitKat]

You could do that. Or get some off a breaker. There’s normally several being broken for spares on the Volvo owners forum ?

[Marm Toastsmith]

On 4/29/2020 at 5:06 PM, sickboy said:

Or get some off a breaker. There’s normally several being broken for spares on the Volvo owners forum ?

Yeah, lots of the plastic is broken around where the clips go though so might be better to bodge it... should probably register on the club forum though.

[Marm Toastsmith]

Had a go at polishing a wing and a bit of the bonnet. Paint is really badly scratched. An old bottle of T-cut didn’t seem to do much but some Mer made a difference. As you can see... it started raining so I stopped...

[Marm Toastsmith]

More polishing. Takes bloody ages, doesn't it? I'm remembering why it's so rare that I actually manage to polish a whole car... I enjoy it though... It's particularly nice getting the glass really clean. Still looks like a banger, but now it looks like a banger that someone loves.

What do people use for cleaning windscreens? Used the Mer on the rest of the glass, does a brilliant job, but it's not going to do the wipers any good...

In other news I taxed it yesterday and drove it again today. Just around the block, like. It's lovely. Hope it keeps on keeping on.

[Marm Toastsmith]

I know how to live. Spent the afternoon trying to track down the cause of the wet drivers side floor. Removed scuttle panel and cleaned it out. Wasn't too bad to be honest and experiments with pouring water down the scuttle panel indicates that whatever is inside is coming from somewhere else. My best guess right now is it's screen wash...but who knows?

That's my 6 year old son using the vacuum cleaner. He also helpfully chucked a load of water in the heater air inlet, so now the passenger floor is soaking wet too.

Found out all sorts of stuff today. The sills are crushed at the front (both sides) where some idiot has jacked it up in the wrong place. They've crushed the front drain holes, so they don't drain properly. I'll have to park it facing uphill from now on.

And it's definitely leaking PAS fluid. Seems to be a crack in the plastic reservoir itself along a seam, although it's possibly seeping from the hose.

I suppose this is progress, but it's starting to feel like I'm repeatedly hitting myself over the head with a rock.

[Shirley Knott]

They rust around where the bonnet release cable goes through the firewall often leaking through there IIRC, check that during your investigations. 

Just be glad yours doesn't have a sunroof... Mine did, the seal was borked and no longer available for the 95 onwards cars (Shock!) Trying to find a good used sunroof seal was BIG FUN. Honestly there are a huge number of places they leak from but there's a healthy chance your HCV and/or matrix causing the issue (Amongst others?). The valve is famous for it and was dripping on mine despite the level never dropping in the expansion tank. In the end I went nuclear, stripped out all carpets/trim, covered the floor in talc and after re-installing the seats ran the car like that for about 3 months to find and cure the (multiple) leaks!

[Marm Toastsmith]

On 5/5/2020 at 2:27 PM, Shirley Knott said:

They rust around where the bonnet release cable goes through the firewall often leaking through there IIRC, check that during your investigations. 

Just be glad yours doesn't have a sunroof... Mine did, the seal was borked and no longer available for the 95 onwards cars (Shock!) Trying to find a good used sunroof seal was BIG FUN. Honestly there are a huge number of places they leak from but there's a healthy chance your HCV and/or matrix causing the issue (Amongst others?). The valve is famous for it and was dripping on mine despite the level never dropping in the expansion tank. In the end I went nuclear, stripped out all carpets/trim, covered the floor in talc and after re-installing the seats ran the car like that for about 3 months to find and cure the (multiple) leaks!

The one thing that is really good about this car is that I can't really find any rust on it. Will double check that area but it's clean on the engine side at least.

As for the HCV did I read elsewhere that in air conditioned cars it's situated in the engine bay? I think so. Of course it could still be the matrix but coolant level seems fine.

I'm almost entirely convinced at this stage that it's the rear screen wash pipes - water in the car was really foamy, and it's in the right area, so at the moment it seems obvious. Funny though how you can convince yourself one thing is the problem, then change your mind. Time will tell. If I disconnect it then that will prove it. Just need to dry the car properly! Seems to have an inline filter connected by the reservoir (actually looks like a fuel filter) so maybe I'll just pull the hose off there (and hope petrol doesn't piss all over the place).

Recent rain seems to have all made it's way into the front sills. They're still slowly dripping on my driveway as it's parked the wrong way round (and I haven't got round to putting the scuttle panel back on). Better go have a look now, been home schooling so not able to get stuck in.

[Marm Toastsmith]

Disconnected the rear washer. We'll see. I've never had a properly functioning rear wash/wipe combo (if it's not one it's the other) on a car and I've never missed it/bothered to do anything about it.

Actually once I ordered a replacement rear wiper blade but gave up when they sent the wrong one. Unless you're reversing up the motorway at 70mph then what's it for?

Having a mare getting the scuttle panel back on now.

[danthecapriman]

I keep missing this thread as it’s not in the main forum now you’ve bought it. Is it worth getting a mod to move it? @brownnova

 

Anyway, regards your leak. Usually on A/C fitted cars the heater valve is in the engine bay. Non A/C cars it’s under the drivers side of the dash, just above the pedals. No longer available and a bastard to change sometimes! If it’s this the liquid on the floors will be smelly and probably a bit sticky as it’s antifreeze. You’ll notice the colour too if you’ve got light colour carpets!

Sometimes the sills can get blocked up with leaves and other shite which then blocks the drain holes. The sill can then fill up with water and overflow into the cabin through the various openings and bungs in the inner sills under the carpets/trims.

Does your car have the fresh air vents in the footwells? If it does these can leak too. On my 740 I found the seal around the vent hole through the A post had gone, letting a little dribble of water past. The scuttle drains straight down past these so that’s where the water comes from! To fix it I just cleaned it up and used seam sealer to re-seal. Mines been done a few years now and still ok!

Yours doesn’t have a sunroof so it can’t be that. The drains go down the pillars for these...

Door seals can age and shrink or split. Worth checking.

Also on mine, I noticed the front passenger door window. When it’d been operated then closed again, sometimes it would twist slightly because of wear in the mechanism which actually left a tiny opening in the bottom corner behind the internal door lock pin. I found mine by chance one day as there was a tiny bead of water droplets down my freshly polished door card!

Ive noticed as well, they can rust in the seam/corner in the engine bay behind where the pedals are, under the servo. When it rains a bit of water can run down there and if it’s crusty, it’ll possibly leak. My current estate is solid here but my old saloon had a 50p sized scab there. It looked ok, but when poked it went through! I welded it but access is poor and required a full strip out from one side or the other. As I had to do my heater valve at the same time I did it all from inside the car - removing seat, pedals, dash trims etc etc. I can’t see it being this on your car though as it’s much newer and 940’s seem less rot prone than the earlier 700 models. Worth a look though!

Are your rear floors damp? Or if parked on a slope, front end lowest? Try removing the two plastic trims on the estate rear roof section just forward of the tailgate top edge. You can use a small screwdriver to gently prise out the middle part of the trim, then a crosshead screw to remove the rest of the trim. Under this trim is a seam where the panels join, weather proofing is a smear of seam sealer across the join then the plastic trim on top to make it look nicer. However, lots of water gets directed through this area off the cars roof into the gutters. The old factory seam sealer dries out and splits letting water through the panel join. On mine I noticed a tiny drip coming down and found it after a bit of investigation! The fix is to scrape out all the old sealer, clean up any rust or dirt then apply new seam sealer and paint. When reassembling, dip the screw for the trim in the seam sealer then wind it in, as that’ll seal the screw hole too!

Heres mine if your not sure wtf I’m on about!

It’s well worth checking this regardless tbh. I’d never have thought about this but it could have started rusting the roof section out if left! I know it’s in the wrong area, but if your parked on a slope the water can leak in, then run down inside the car to the lowest point.

Failing that, you might need to strip your carpets and underfelt, then scatter some talcum powder or similar around the floors and then hose the car down. That should show where the tell tale water marks are coming in.

Edit; just noticed yours has roof bars fitted... could the fixing points be leaking?

Great job so far on this though, the paint and body looks great! It’s cleaning up really nicely.

[Marm Toastsmith]

Thanks @danthecapriman for all the comments. It is looking handsome - which is helping me to persevere with all the irritating jobs it has thrown at me...

I’m still keeping my fingers crossed that the dampness is just screenwash after all, but if not there are plenty of ideas to keep me busy in your post...

Seems to be dry at the back. 

Someone else mentioned those A post seals - fwiw I poured a large quantity of hot water down both sides of the scuttle panel to work out where it was draining to. Also in the vain hope that it might help clear any blockages. It filled the sills and struggled to drain due to the fact that someone has crushed the front drain holes (!) presumably by jacking it up in the wrong place, but none of the water made it’s way into the car... the only overflow was externally between the front wing and sill.

As for rust, I’m yet to find any...

...next to get that bloody scuttle panel back into place...frustrating...

Yes would be great if a mod could move this.

[danthecapriman]

Yeah, the scuttle panels can be a pig to refit! I did my old saloon, yet to do my current estate. It’s very tight to try to get it to fit back in place. Almost like removing it allows the car to flex slightly and stops the panel fitting back in!

From memory I sat up on top of the engine and tried to carefully bend the panel up in the centre. It was hard but it did eventually go back in! 

I need to do it on the current one but it’s not a job I’m particularly looking forward to given my previous experience. I need to reattach the mesh grill under the centre vent as it’s loose at the moment, but I’d like to clean out underneath and spray some cavity wax in there while I’m at it.

[Marm Toastsmith]

Yep. I’ve got it into place, was chuffed initially, but there are 3 clips at the back that the rear edge of the panel needs to sit under - finding it a pig to get it under the middle one...

[brownnova]

All moved for you ?

[Ghosty]

That's rather nice. I'm quite keen for one of these late LPT 940s in automatic. 

[Shep Shepherd]

Just discovered this thread. Volvo 700s and 900s are GR11 cars, as my long term ownership of The Volvo can attest to

I was only made aware of the existence of the 940 Torslanda a couple of years ago when a friend bought one almost identical to yours. Apparently, it was part of the regular late 1990s Volvo 940 range and was the entry level model, as opposed to a fully loaded special edition like the Celebration LPT, a car which I'd dearly love to own one day.

I removed the scuttle panel from The Volvo a couple of years ago in order to clean and rustproof hidden parts of the bulkhead and lubricate the wiper mechanism. It went back on without any drama or damage in a couple of minutes. I guess I must have been lucky. 

Here are some photos of what I found when I removed the scuttle panel: 

Not bad for a then 28 year old car; I was expecting widespread surface rust at best. All I encountered was dirt and cobwebs

 

[Marm Toastsmith]

Panel back on. Wasn't too bad with a clear head after a decent night's sleep.

Bonnet shuts now and I have windscreen wipers. That's good.

Was able to take it for a drive, put some petrol i, (it ran out idling on the driveway earlier this morning...) and get it warm enough that it's now almost completely dry. The heater is brilliant. We'll see what happens re the leak.

Belated pez shot:

I've promised to do some jobs in the garden now, but I wouldn't mind doing some more tinkering. There are still a couple of panels I haven't polished (one of which is the roof). And I need to work out whether the dripping PAS fluid is coming out of the hose or the reservoir itself.

Also want to sort the mirrors - the housings are completely loose and rattle around the mechanical part, which is basically OK. I ordered a pair of "90-91" mirrors off of eBay. I wonder if they'll fit?