The other day one of my gas tank straps broke where it was rusted through. I've checked the FAQ how to replace these and it implies that the two straps are not the only thing holding the tank from dropping. Is that right?

Anyway, I just checked eEuroparts.com and it looks like a pair of straps would cost me $100 including shipping, more after the gummint takes its bite. There does not appear to be anything complicated about these straps. Has anybody made their own?
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1992 745 approaching 500k km

OK, this was kind of convenient as a strap just popped on the 940 my daughter drives. If bolts arent' rusted, looks like an easy job. Need to get under there and see how bad the bolts are.

If you order straps through the dealer, order the bolts/bolts aqs well. They are cheap.
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Paul NW Indiana '89 744 Turbo 145K/ '90 745 turbo 127K

For what it is worth, I recently installed a set of straps on my 740. I have a few pics and I sent a note to Stephen Ringlee to add some words to the FAQ since the 740 is a bit different than the 940. I bought my straps from the dealer for about $18 each I think.

Bill

Well, since I had a free afternoon, I thought I'd tackle replacing the gas tank straps as described here by Bill Gas tank strap replacement - help, how to pull staps tight?

All went smoothly until I had to use vise grips to remove one of the rear nuts because it had rusted to the point where sockets or wrenches would either slip or not fit. Fortunately those 2 studs are easily accessible near the bottom of the tank, pointing down at about 45°. I had a similar problem with one of the front bolts, but it's recessed a bit and I could not get a good grip with the vise grips. I had to drill out that bolt and re-tap the hole.

The next step would be to loosen the 2 bolts holding the rear bracket up but again, the heads on those had were corroded to the point where sockets and wrenches wouldn't work. There also didn't seem to be enough clearance to get a socket squarely on and I could feel the threads of those bolts were very rusty. What to do? I decided to cheat.

I cut the new straps about 1/3 of the way from the front (but I don't think the exact location matters), drilled 5/16" clearance holes about 7/16" from the cut ends and bent the cut ends down at 90° about 7/8" from the cut ends. I then cut a couple of 3-1/2" lengths of 5/16" threaded rod and got some washers and nuts to pull the cut straps together after the ends were fastened in place. I tightened the straps to where it looked like the cut ends would have butted together if they were straight and until the bends at the front conformed to the tank. A pair of 3-1/2" bolts with long enough threads could have been used, but I didn't have any. The only down side is a loss of about 7/8" ground clearance below the gas tank. However, this is the only easy way I could see doing it when those upper bracket bolts are too rusted. I could have done the job with some heavy duty galvanized perforated strap, but the OEM straps were cheap. Here is what it looks like:


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1992 745 approaching 500k km

Nice cheat! I doubt the loss of ground clearance would ever be a problem. You could have, I suppose, made your cut at the back of the tank rather than the bottom but that might have introduced more local stress on the tank's curved surface than making the cut at the bottom where it is nice and flat.

Bill

Yes, afterwards I thought making the connection at the back of the tank would have been more out-of-the-way, but there's little room and it's on a curve. I also probably should have rounded the sharp corners of the straps where I cut them. Since the steel is exposed where the straps were cut and the coating cracked where I bent them, these straps may not last 20 years like the originals, but I probably won't have this car that long.
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1992 745 approaching 500k km

I believe the straps are the same for 1985-1993 740/940 and 1985-1987 760. The 1993+ 940s use a different strap for the 19.8 (75 liters) gallon tank. IRS 760s and 960s use a different tank and strap.

I've installed the 75 liter tanks in several earlier cars which came with the 60 liter tanks and dealt with the straps then.
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john

Yes, I saw your post on how to pull the straps tight. So far the FAQ only covers the 940, which is a bit different.

I have the straps now and they're genuine Volvo, made in Sweden. I'm really surprised they were just $15.80 each whereas on line I see them for $20 - $30 plus shipping. In preparation I've doused the fasteners with PB Blaster while I work on more urgent stuff like the brakes. With only one strap still in place, I'm keeping the tank less than half full.
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1992 745 approaching 500k km

I've fabricated them on other cars. Once when my gas tank fell while on a road trip I used some ratcheting straps from home depot to hold the tank up. Any steel straps that you can bend and drill for hardware should do the trick.

Well, after searching the board I saw someone write that these straps were something like $12 from the dealer, so I called my closest one, about 30 miles away. He's ordering them for $15 each, so it hardly seems worth my while to try fabricating them from strapping and hope I get the bends and holes positioned exactly right.

I'll have to keep the Volvo dealer in mind next time I need parts in case they're cheaper than ordering from the U.S. and paying high shipping charges.
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1992 745 approaching 500k km

Tascaparts.com is usually the best price for dealer parts. Have to add the $10 shipping but still usually much cheaper.

Be sure to use penetrant on the bolts. They are a smaller size and in a position to be corroded and the head is easily rounded
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Paul NW Indiana '89 744 Turbo 160K/ '90 745 turbo 140K

I see Tasca has the straps for $23.37 each, so at $15 the dealer is cheaper and no shipping charge. I also get nasty surprises when something needs to be shipped to Canada where the shipping cost greatly exceeds the value of the part. On to of that, I get nailed tax and brokerage at my door. However, the dealer ordered the straps a week ago and said it's usually a couple of days, but I haven't heard anything yet.

Thanks for the penetrating oil tip. The car has been oil sprayed over the years, but this is the rust belt and when I changed the fuel pump, I found the hose clamps falling apart.
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1992 745 approaching 500k km