Congratulations and welcome to the happy world of volvo ownership. You know when you bought your first on but you neverknow when the last one will be. They grow on you and you can't bring yourself to drive anything else(my personal experiamnce and I believe that of many others(look at the signatures at he bottom of the posts, many list multipl models, these lists are not an accumulation over the years but what they are driving now(my case)). The thermostat is an easy change, either temp works well but the higher temp is nice in the winter. For the leak check what the others have said(bad advice is advice not taken), and also I have had many leak from the turbo oil return. This tube is held to the bottom of the turbo with 2 5mm cap screws and is a slip fit into the block, change both seals(I believe a total investment of $2.00)and enjoy. Also if you go to your local parts house they sell a UV dye that you add to the oil, run the engine for 5 min and check with a uv light to find the leak. Also arould the oil filler hole is there oil? the rubber seal is often very hard, change it as a matter or routine maintenance every 2 years(another 50c part).

Enjoy an welcome
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65 122s/73 1800es/80 262c(350ci v8)/89 745t/87 780/89 740/89 740t/ 86 745

The heat may be due to a faulty heater valve, if the rest of the engine is warm that is. Volvo's have allways given superior heat for myself, in both Nevada and Sweden. The A/C is another question however.... Do check the FAQ's, but I have two turbowagons, and I had to replace the gasket between the oilfilter adapter and the engine block on both of them. The rubber gets hard and leaks. The gasket/O-ring is hard to get to, but worth it when done. The adapter is the aluminum piece between the oilfilter and engine block. By the way, to learn your car, there is no substitute for getting your hands really dirty. The faq's cover almost all of what I (read I) think you need to correct the problem.

Access the "FEATURES" menu at the top of the page, and select 700/900 FAQ. One of the 1st things to check is the OBD Fault Codes, which should point to the cause of your CEL.
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Bruce Young,
'93 940-NA (current), '80 GLE V8 (Sold), '86 240dl, '85 244 ti, '83 245t
'76 244 (R.I.P at 255k), 73 142 (98K), '71 144 (ex circle track car)
Used '70 144 from '78 to '92, New 144 from '67 to '78, Used '62 122 from '63 to '67

Change the t-stat yourself. t-stats are generally easy for the novice, and easy access on these cars. Do it with engine cold. Read FAQ for procedures and things to know. If your heating rises really slowly it is mopst likly that.

The flame trap should always be clean. If it is not it will build crankcase pressure and drive oil out the seals. If you have no oil leaks it might just be cause the previous driver neglected frequent oil changes and it slightly consumes. Keep it topped off, put good oil and a good filter (no fram crap) and after a few changes the consumpotion might go down a bit.

Enjoy! They are easy cars to work on if you understand basic mechanics.

Greg Mustang
Montreal Ottawa
Canada