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I bought this 89 744 8 valve non turbo ,, I figured it was good for parts. the windshield was all cracked up , but intact. I didn't pay much..
I drove it home a few years ago, the dipstick was pushing itself out... It had sat quite a number of years..
I kept it for about 7 years and I'm thinking of resurrecting it. I think the flame trap is plugged up and I seem to remember that flame trap box has a hose that enters the block and I remember that years ago a mechanic encouraged me to change it during another rebuild and said sometimes the hose falls apart inside the crankcase and bits of rubber can end up floating around in the oil.. I'm trying to think back and decide if that flame trap and that hose inside the engine block are the same part? weird that an engine would have a rubber hose inside the block but I remember it does.
I didn't see any signs that it had blown the seals so Maybe I just can replace or clean out the flame trap?
the flame trap is a plastic box that lives down below the intake manifold right? then I think there is also a plastic screen thing in one of the hoses just below the manifold? maybe it's that plastic screen that plugs up? I remember buying a new screen and replacing it in another car and I think it can simply be cleaned out if that's the issue. i know this can be an issue with this engine but Ive never seen one want to push it's dipstick up. I've also never had one blow the seals out from the cam or crank ends but I've heard this can be the result of this excessive crankcase pressure issue.
It needs a headliner. I salvaged the cardboard from another car I took apart so I thought I might be able to epoxy that to make it a bit more rigid, and then coat it with some cloth then switch the two. I obtained a spare windshield and clips.. when I took that headliner out of my donor car I found a lot of the trim plastic turned to degraded plastic. Maybe I am better to just glue some cloth up there and try not to take all the plastic trim apart. I might ever get it back. I think almost every 740 with a cloth headliner had that issue where they fall down..
I'm thinking if I can resolve this issue of it having too much crankcase pressure then maybe the rest of it is worth saving. It must have sat about 20 years so it didn't climb that much in mileage so it shouldn't be super worn out otherwise. I do think the previous owner just drove it without oil changes until the dipstick started pushing itself out and he probably stopped driving there. I bought it with great tires but they were rotten so it proved it had stopped being used a while earlier.
Ive had a few cars of this era, I always felt the non turbo ones were good workhorses. after about 1990 Volvo started to get pretty complicated with the wiring and computer stuff..
I'm thinking if I can clear out the flame trap or whatever is plugged up, then maybe I can put fresh oil with sea foam in it and run it for a while and do a second oil change after it idles for an hour or so. Maybe the car can survive this situation..
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My first 740 was an '89 and I too had the problem of the dipstick being pushed out a few inches. I assumed it was because of crankcase pressure.
I cleaned the flame trap as well as the oil separator, but the problem persisted. I noticed there was an Oring on the dipstick and realized it was not providing an resistance when I pushed the dipstick all the way in. I replaced the Oring and the problem was solved.
With the car at idle remove the oil filler cap and see if a piece of letter paper will be pulled down over the opening by the vacuum that should be present in the system. If the paper is sucked down on the opening I think you are good to go.
Randy
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Any twenty minute job is just a broken bolt away from a three day ordeal
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Hi Mr. Starkie!
Sure happy we're all havin' some moar pumpkin pie holidays! I make an excellent turkey gravy (browned flour, turkey drippings, and buttermilk!), stuffing using stale ultra sour dough bread and stuff, and them frenched green beans in the cream oif mushroom soup! I like making cream of mushroom from scratch.
2nd the dipstick o-ring. These are always brittle and shrunken.
2nd to the excess crankcase pressure from a clogged PCV / oil breather box (drain back hole can clog).
Also, like Uncle Phil Machine Man says with the compression ring blow by. May want to perform a compression test on the engine with fully charged battery and all spark plugs out with wide open throttle. Have a scope to check the cylinder bores?
If the engine ran mineral oil, yet suffered from no oil changes to no oil changes to no oil changes, change the oil. Use a good filter and use a cheapo synthetic as synthetic 10W30 or 40 does great at cleaning deposits. The piston rings may be full of carbon deposits and do not float freely, causing hastening compression blow by.
Also, you may want to use your trusty and not rusty digital electric multimeter to test engine sensors like oxygen sensor, coolant temp sensor, AMM / MAF, knock sensor, and other sensors. Verify a good ground between the alternator and engine as this cable from factory is sort of frail after thirty-five or so years. Poor grounds make for weak spark. Also, failed sensor or wire harness connectors between a sensor and the ECU can make for poor (usually rich) running.
Hope that helps.
Read through the FAQ. Click FAQ above in the web page header. Good stuff in there!
Turkey tee vee dinners for me, 18 years consecutively. Fun-fun.
Eggnog and canned pumpkin boyeeeeeeee
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Beh.
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Hi,
Sure sounds like you have piston compression blow by!
If the engine has been that mistreated as you say then the rings are not seating in the bore any longer.
There is very little tension made into piston rings as they are supposed to spring out and even rotate.
The idea of kerosene as a detergent is really cheap but RUNNING the engine on it, in this questionable state, is gambling with gunk going about and that could wipe out lower end bearings.
I would have suggested using a cleaning solvent and filling the cylinders and letting it soak down to the drain pan and out. Rotate the engine by hand and add more until you know all the cylinders are emptying.
It seems to me there could be a rusted cylinder or even scored bores up for grabs. A gentle lubricated cleaning might be too late at this point and if so, you need to do a compression leak down test to give us a hint.
There are engine cleaning additives like Rislone or Marvel Mystery oil that maintains some lubrication while cleaning gently over time. It takes a while to undo what time has done.
That’s one thing you seem to have plenty of by letting the machines sit so much.
Seven years, I hope it was indoors?
Todays oils are the best we have ever had, for several applications in many industries, but a new engine they cannot make.
Good luck with all your project cars!
Phil.
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thats why you run in slow & easy.I did it about 3 yr ago w mine & afterwards I didnt have to add oil for 6 mos ,,most oil cleaners are just kerosene,,anyway/
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it runs but i haven't spent a lot of time on it.
if the flame trap is just that little plastic screen I cna clean that up. I htink I was confusing the oil separator and wondering If I should pul that out.
I had an oil leak from that thing in my 240 but just snugging the bolts fixed it. research showed sometimes the plastic oil separator box can open up at the seams.
I found some notes that say it can be hard to get the oil separator back in, as it also pushes over this rubber hose which resides down near the oil pump in the drain pan. I'm afraid to pul the thing because it could amount to having to drop the pan and I know it's hard to drop a pan without pulling the engine because you can unbolt it but then the oil pump restricts it and the front cross-member.
i think I should do an oil change and start it up with fresh oil and a bottle of sea foam in the oil and maybe run that for an hour and drain it.
if The engine seems hopeful I can perhaps do the headliner and windshield, I have the windshield in hand.
I bought the car for parts because I have a 88 740 wagon and a 240 and i also disassembled another 88 740.. If I can make it roadworthy Ill insure it and maybe keep it as a standby car. the body is ok , it has a bit of paint wear, the clearcoat almost always fails.. I think it could be put into operation if the engine is ok. It seems the price is going up on used cars so I figured it was good for parts and now I'm also considering resurrecting the thing, Yes it probably didn't run for some 20 years or so and it does live outdoors. It's been good for leaks so far, no water getting in. the blue cloth interior is ok with the exception that the headliner fell down.
if I can solve the crankcase pressure issue it might be worth a try. If the engine needs a rebuild I'd probably scrap it out at this point but I already have at least one of everything so far as the drive train is concerned from the other which was identical.
my 240 blew a headgasket so it's on hold, and my 740 runs but it's a bit weak on power.. .. I think it's some issue I can isolate to the source. I dont have a garage and I have limited time now when it's nice enough to do much outside so some work may just need to wait for better weather. a compression test , maybe after an oil change and a bit of running in the yard could prove if it's worthy of the rest of the work it needs or not. If cleaning the breather and flame trap seems to keep the oil down where it should be, then that might be a promising sign. i have a spare motor but I think swapping engines is getting into a lot more work and it may not need that. Ive definitely seen others with much higher mileage on the road. part of what I like about it is it's only half worn out after spending the latter half of it's lifetime as a lawn ornament.
other than rubber degredation , the mechanical parts inside the engine don't really get much worse over time. I could probably put a spoonful of oil or maybe oil and sea foam in each cyclinder and just give it a crank with the plugs out, then put them back and so it can sit like that for a while. if the rings are all stuck, that might help. last I tried ( a year ago) it would start and run fairly well..
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I would put a pint of keroscene in the oil& then drive slow & easy for 30 inutes at 30 max!tha wuill dissovle every bit of gunk,,& also put a new oil flame trap in
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