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Hear are the mods for towing on my 86 245 from last spring and I did a lot of home work before doing the installation. Including getting a lot of very solid BB advice by the way.
There are a couple of pretty good options, a new unit or find find a Factory Volvo Hitch. I was about to go with new when I found an old slightly worn Volvo factory hitch. It did not have the correct bolts but you can get them from McMaster Carr. If you look at an used unit, does it have the two long mounting bolts and the factory receiver are questions you want to ask. I ended up waiting for the UPS Man and having to modify the hitch before I could use the unit I found.
Curtis makes a new unit for about $180 that comes with the hardware and bolts right on. You do have trim the valance, but not near as much as with the factory unit. It also comes with the receiver and it's hardware. It is not a bad option at all if you can't find the factory unit. You DO NOT want that unit what just clamps onto the bumper, that is just regret waiting to happen.
Installing the factory unit required trimming the rear valance quite a bit and it was not the best job I have ever done. There will a new valance installed one of these days. You will have to bend or cut off that what I call towing eye to get the hitch mounted (new or used hitch). After getting the hitch installed, could not find a receiver that would fit into the factory hitch and I looked for some time. Ended up pulling the hitch back off to drill new holes at the right distance so an off the shelf receiver would fit. Have a Curtis receiver with a 3 inch rise mounted when towing now.
Installed a new set of Heavy Duty Rear Springs, had already replaced the TAB with Poly and installed new shocks about three months before starting on the hitch. Inga was a sagin wagon before those were installed. Now with a full load inside the car and 800 lbs on a 5 x 8 trailer she sits straight, no sag at all!
You will need a Powered Light module for the trailer light, the Bulb Out Relay will not be happy when you hook the trailer lights up without it. To install it just splice the units wires into the rear brake and tail lights. Then fish one wire up to the fuse box and connect it to a switched fuse lug on the fuse panel.
This is for me the most important mod after getting the right bolts. Installed a Medium Duty Transmission Cooler, was going to install a cooler out of a 740 but after installing it, the dang thing had a leak. The much larger new cooler is a lot better choice anyway. The one I have is from Advanced Auto parts and cost less than $60. Disconnected and plugged the radiator lines off and made new metal lines from metal brake or fuel line stock and ran that over to the cooler. There is only about three inches of rubber hose from the end of the lines to the cooler connections. After the car is warmed up the out line is hot and you would not want to hang onto it long. The return line is warm but you will not get burned holding on to it.
Finally Installed a VDO transmission temp gauge, the sending unit is in the pan bolt. If you see the transmission starting to get too warm, just take a break and let the engine idle for a couple of minutes and the temps drop quickly. Never had to stop yet, but you will see a 20 to 30 degree increase in temp when you start climbing hills. Just nice to be able to see where things stand temp wise when you have the tranny under a load like that.
That's all it took to get Inga ready to two her 5 x 8 trailer.
Good Luck,
Paul
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