I have made two attempts at getting the odometer working in my 1993 245 (the re-incarnation of my VolvOldsmobile). The speedo works fine. I did find broken teeth for the odometer on disassembly and cleaned it out as thoroughly as I could. At first I had difficulty getting the new gears in place--but once there they seemed OK. Speedo still works--still no odometer. Assuming I had not gotten the gears right I did it a 2nd time. All was intact on disassembly. Removed and reset the gears -- still no odo. So the question is to anyone who's done the job successfully -- is there a "trick" to setting the gears -- or is there some other fault that the system may have? thanks, Dave

Hi Dave,

Yours is for me, a Frequently Asked Question, so I can assure you you're not alone having this experience. For FAQs, a canned response has been fruitful for many. It is this:

1. Find the broken teeth and get them out of the ring gear.
2. Be sure the rotor's thrust bearing is not jammed.
3. Reflow the three motor pin terminal solder connections.
4. Check to see you didn't plug the tach wire on the cruise control tabs.
5. Read this thread 92 240 Speedo good, odometer inoperative

Understood you've done step 1, and I can guess you haven't made the mistake in step 4.


--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

"I've learned more from my kids than they ever learned from me."

WOW, Thanks Art. As for the tach wire--I tagged every wire that attached to the cluster. I've removed the original large clock and replaced it with a tachometer (that's a second cluster issue-no 4cyl now-I have a V8 under the hood). It is powered directly through a harness I made coming from the GM HEI distributor for signal and the battery junction with wire connection blades for power. I will follow through the remainder of the suggestions. Meanwhile I was in Winston-Salem recently visiting 2 of our kids. The pullapart yard nearby had 1 240 - a '91. The cluster was not in great shape with a cracked lens -- and the trip meter was zeroed out - sure indicator that it doesn't work - bought it anyway as a standby. - Dave

Hi Dave,

Even if that 91 you pulled came from an ABS car, it won't work with your 93 that has a 48-tooth wheel driving the speedometer sender.

Each year cluster had changes. Only 92-93 interchange without trouble.

--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

"Never trust the work of the last guy, even if you're the last guy"

Art, Thanks for that disappointing tip. What would be the result of not having a 48 tooth gear--truthfully I'm not sure what I have but ordered rom IPD as a '93. I'll have to at least see if the clock works in this extra cluster. I installed a 52mm clock in one spot--and a voltmeter in the other on my car. Looking for someone who might be able to convert my large 4 cyl tach to 8 cyl. I have multiples of them so could send one out. In it's first form (1976 265) the VolvOlds had the Olds auto. Now it has a Camaro 5-speed.

Hi Dave,

The 48-teeth is a reference to the tone ring or gear inside your rear axle read by the sender there. They changed from 12 to 48 pulses per rev to accommodate ABS which was optional in '91. In those 91 cars having ABS, an external converter prescaled the signal to match the speedometers used 86-91. Those speedometers built for 92 and 93 cars, all of which came with ABS, have the prescaler circuitry built into the meter.

Nothing to do with the odometer gear.

--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

"Well, here we are, Mr. Pilgrim, trapped in the amber of this moment. There is no why." -KV

Thanks for that info--I had no idea being that probably 95 percent of the Volvos I've worked on were pre-'85. It's a relief too. I can barely see the teeth on the speedo gears, let alone count them. :-) -- Dave

Art--or anyone who can answer this question---It occurred to me this additional factor - now that I know pre-'92 240's have a different differential tooth count for the sender to the speedo. I made this V8 conversion using the '93 body given to me by a family friend. It was originally an auto tranny car. That means it has a 3.73 rear axle ratio which I've found to be loads of fun but even now with a 5th gear transmission ratio of around .72 percent this translates into an rpm range near or over 3k at highway cruising speed. That's pretty much the cut off point between good gas mileage and measurably less mpg. My original conversion, performed on a '76 265 with a 3.54 rear ratio and the direct 1:1 top gear of the Olds auto, gained mpg's and less engine noise when I installed the rear from a '75 164 (3.31 ratio) yet still had plenty of oomph. I have an '89 245 (had an M46) parts car with a 3.31 ratio that I feel would be more appropriate with the V8. SO MY QUESTION - would installing this 3.31 pre-'92 rear work with a pre- '92 speedometer? Obviously I have a "work in progress". -- Dave

Any 86 and later 240 without ABS has a rear axle with a 12-tooth tone ring, meaning it produces 9800 counts per mile (245) or 10042 per mile (244). Your 93 speedometer has a label on its face K39200 or if sedan K40168, representing 4x the number on the 86-91 speedos. K=Kount.

The 89 245 will have the K9800 meter. And any K9800 or K10042 meter will work with the rear axles equipped with electronic vehicle speed sensors and 12-tooth tone rings. The difference between the two represents the tire size difference between wagons and sedans as built -- only ~3%.

So yes, that 89 rear axle will need a meter like that one you pulled from the 91. The caveat is you'll need to consider some other cluster differences between model years for changes in airbag and service indicators -- minor warning lamp wiring issues that will need specific attention depending on what year cluster you choose to fit into the '93. And I don't think you can just drop the non-93 speedometer into a 93 cluster because of the plug pin configuration both on the main board and at the power plug (L-shaped connector).

But the hard work will be manhandling that rear axle making the electrical adjustments seem a breeze, especially with the help you'll have here on the forum.

--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

An elderly father asked his son if he could borrow a newspaper.

“Father, this is the 21st century,” replied the son. “I don’t waste my money on newspapers. But if you like, you can borrow my iPad.”

The spider never knew what hit it.

Once again, thank you Art. Looks like my best bet is to just keep looking for a rear from a standard shift ABS equipped 240 if I want (which I do) the lower revs (and longer mph per gear range) provided by a 3.31 rear ratio. Meanwhile I'll just have to "suffer" with having the extra go provided by the 3.73. :-) BTW-I'm anxious to make the next trip to the scrap yard w/metal so I can get an accurate weight of the empty wagon. I had to lower my front springs, as the combo of aluminum V8 & T5 gearbox replacing the B230 and auto, had my headlights pointing into the trees. When I first put the car on the road I drove a known distance on a full tank, filled up afterwards, and calculated a little over 20 mpg. - Dave

Hi Dave,
Just throwing out some thoughts this morning, while watching the world spin outside my yogurt cup.
Yep, a young man I used to be.

This thread has been very interesting to read, especially with that bigger motor in the car.
I never realized that there is that much of a weight difference with aluminum, over an engine half its size with an iron block.
Doesn’t the V8 have more rods and crank let alone the extra head works?
I know this was one HECK of a swap out but then, that’s your name on here. (:-)

So you had to lower the front end or was it for looks too?
I told my wife I needed a car lift because when laying under a car, I couldn’t get my eyeballs far enough away from what I was looking at to focus. (:)
It also helped that her brother owned a lift, at the same time, so she didn’t tell be to get my prescription changed.

I’m sure with all your expertise that you are looking for another Dana rear differential that you are having a cross search done across other vehicles with these rear ends.
I read somewhere that Chrysler or specifically Jeeps used these differentials.
I would think they may be of a ratio is lower and so that’s not what you are looking for.

So that left me, hurting or thinking, that possibly Chrysler CARS, used a higher or a taller gear ratio in those over the years.
It might be worth asking if Dana puts a 3.31 out there from other manufacturers as well?
It should be a very common center ratio.
Dana or others changes the lengths of the tubes, axles and end plates change with brake manufacturers.
The center portions stays relatively the same as they are mass produced on dedicated equipment.
This minimizes inventory investments as a whole industry.
Or, At least it should have been done that way, until the twitching of the money fingers overrides common sense logic.

Since you still have all that extra torque and horsepower to throw around you will still be able to achieve near rocket performances but disguised in a SLEEPER Volvo 240.

If you want to still burn some tire rubber, in a donut configuration, put on some that are more narrow tires and impress someone, while going nowhere.
Cutting donuts will really hurt the MPG though. (:)

I wonder if we will see less of that nonsense from our kids.
Since gasoline is getting up, but not quite there yet, into the proper price zones to sell electric vehicles.
Nah …. they’ll just more battery cells!
We have witnessed the cordless tool racing days. Upping their voltage game and other outrageous marketing techniques.
Have you seen the price of those replacement batteries? They are off to one side, away from the tools on sale!
They are throwing one the several other tools for free!
I have learned to disregard the word FREE! Just like REBATE was a buzz word too.


Phil

Phil, Thanks for your interest in my tale and your suggestions -- but don't play the 'ol man card with me :-) --- Just returned from a 1600 mile road trip to NC where our daughter hosted a 75th birthday party for me!
I'm not the rubber burning maniac you seem to imagine. Fact is - I have great respect for my machinery. I expect a lot--but don't abuse my cars. The only "donuts" I've ever cut were Dunkin or Krispie Kreme. Your "technical" nature leaves me in awe. So I feel comfortable telling you some of the details of the VolvOlds that I wouldn't bore others with (hope that taken as a compliment). As for the weight of the aluminum 215 (BOP) - I've read 2 figures, both claiming to be "complete", that is, manifolds, flywheel, starter, alternator--318lbs and 340lbs. I've never weighed a motor - or components. It was a "HECK" of a swap. (I received much guidance in setting up my street/track 144 by one half of the Volvos From Hell race team--my car not a full race car) I have the motor low and set back as far as it could go and the motor mounts line up to the holes in the 240 crossmember for the lower aluminum brackets. I built a tower of boxed 1.5" angle iron to which the Olds mounts attach and welded a base plate made of an MGB engine to trans adapter plate. The Olds oil pan wasn't a fit for the engine bay so a machinist friend gave me a bucket of cleaned oil pickups. I assembled a new pickup point and welded the lower half of a Volvo B20 pan to the Olds flange. Resulted in a 1 quart gain in capacity from 4 to 5. The Crower cam I installed makes torque starting at 2200rpm and pretty much runs out of breath beyond 5000. My motor is the low compression, 2 barrel carb version rated at 155hp -- 220ft/lb torque. The Crower cam is similar to the 190hp 4 barrel Buick version. I built the original 265 with the Olds Roto-Hydramatic so the cam was fine. With all the torque down low I feel the longer 3.31 gears will work a lot better. Right now my speed ranges are max- 1st-25, 2nd 50, 3rd-70, 4th & 5th are immaterial. As it is now, I can start off in 2nd without having to rev the motor or slip the clutch excessively. I'm not interested in overhauling a rear--I'll wait for the proper one to come along. I did get into it with my "track" car - the Volvo From Heck -- 1969 144S. It needed rear axle seals and bearings--very expensive for the early models. I was offered a rear-from a '73 140 with the O.D. trans (M41)-so it had the 4.3 gears instead of the original 4.1 and has the later setup for bearings and seals that are-cheap and easy to find. I added a limited slip unit pulled out of junked 265. LAST THING - I lowered the front to get the headlights on the ground--but also--I think the '86 and later 240's are taller in front--at least they feel like they drive (feel) and look different than earlier models (of which we have had many). thanks again - Dave

Test the whole cluster on a bench so you know it is all working for sure before the trouble it takes to install in car. Not sure what resources you have but you need a signal generator to test the speedo/odo: 643hz for 60mph on K39200. Set Square amplitude for Low < -0.5v and Hi > +1.3v. When the speedo works, the odo should be turning. Bench is a good opportunity to check everything else too. Notice how warm that stepper motor gets.

Thank you Alex for making suggestions. I'm afraid I'm from the points and condenser generation and what you wrote might as well have been written in Martian. :-) Dave