I am looking at a cheap 760 desiel. It has 320,000 miles. I didn't think any of the desiels lasted this long. What should I look for? Is this thing sure to blow any day, the compresion is good the turbo works fine. Has new stearing rack and other parts including fuel pump. Should I turn and run or enjoy 35 MPG. What was the demise of most of these cars?

hello,

before Volvo I drove Toyota CarinaII 2.0 Diesel. It retired at 580.000 kilometers. After long break in operation ( 6 weeks )shortly after engine

firing all comes to sad end - engine's out.

So one of questions/factors is how often car was used/not used.

Brgds

Peter

RUN from it!

Well Pete,

It all depends on who you ask! I've got two 760 diesels (an 84 & 85)

with 230,000 and 195,000 miles respectively. The fuel pump is one of the major expenses if it needs overhaul (usually the seals go bad and leak when they do go bad), so with a new injector pump and good compression (as in 360 psi and up): I'd run with it personnally! (that's 'with it' not 'from it') How cheap is cheap anyway? The eventual demise of these is usually low compression. Overheating the engine and using ether to attempt to start during cold weather are two of the major culprits in shortening the life of this D24T engine. No your not nuts...just different! If you do buy....enjoy! Jerry

Asking price is 800 bucks. I think I can do a little better but not much. Does the commpression fall due wear primarily or other problems. What kind of milage to you get.

I get 31-33 MPG. As far as the major contributing cause for loss of compression...320,000 miles on that engine speaks for itself. "Normal" wear is a fact of life for any engine (diesel or gas). Regular oil changes and good clean fuel go a long way in assuring many troublefree miles. One of the benifits of the diesel engine is that it is relatively maintenance free compared to a gasoline powered engine. Diesels are however more expensive to have worked on when they do need it. Mostly I think because of the scarcity of knowledgeable maintenance people (high demand). But for $800 bucks...what a deal! Drive it till it dies and bury it you'll still be money ahead. Or you may fall in love with it like I did while you are patiently waiting for it to die!-Good luck.

How about working on this thing. Have you had any experiece. It is any harder to work on than a gas engine for the above average do-it-yourselfer? I have had no problem tackling anything on my 74 145 or my 88 744.

Thanks for all the info.

You can get most of the tools needed to do the pump and cam timing from snap-on since they are the same as the Volkswagon and Audi diesels. Belt interval is 70K miles and this is definately an interference engine so don't take any chances. A copy of the Volvo "green" manuals appropriate to your engine will provide you with detailed knowledge needed to make it "run like a clock". I found it easy to make it run better than many of the "professionls" that tried when I first got my '85 car.

See http://www.kencook.com/vcna/volvo.html to find the manual/manuals you need.

As long as it has nothing to do with the engine, they are the same as any other model. Anything more involved than changing the front 4 glow plugs, and you are in professional territory.