Hi all - My husband and I just purchased a 1990 240 wagon in Virginia, and drove it home 450 miles over the weekend. On the test drive, all seemed normal for one of these old wagons - I previously owned an '82 245 DL wagon with the 4-speed/OD, so having an actual 5th gear was a nice improvement in the 90! The car drove just fine for the first 250 miles - then, in traffic, I began to notice a noise with the slow, rolling stops and starts. When I would let off the accelerator with the car in gear, I began to hear a rattle - almost like the muffler was dragging on the ground - that would stop as soon as I gave the car some gas. We got out of traffic, checked the car, and drove the rest of the trip at highway speeds - the car shifted fine through stops and starts, but again, if I completely let off the accelerator while coasting, the loud rattle would occur periodically again. This car had been sitting for 6-8 mos before the sellers drove it and checked it out in preparation for sale. It has almost 99000 miles, which I felt was pretty low for a Volvo of this age. Any suggestions on what to have the mechanic check when I bring it in? I remember the synchros going on my dad's 86 740 wagon, and it doesn't seem at all like that - almost as though something is loose and hitting the muffler or something hollow when the car is in gear but I'm not accelerating, just coasting.

Most likely heat shields, but if you're unlucky the cat may have disintegrated from the inside. If it is the cat, the exhaust will start to smell noticably worse, even though the car will still run the same and have no codes (unlike newer OBDII cars with both pre- and post-cat 02 sensors).

...by the way, nice find !!
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84, 242GLTi, 167K, 4+OD, in rehab; 89, 245 DL, 254K, M 47, daily driver; 93, 245, auto, 167K ; and other toys.

I'd go with checking out the heat shield(s). I found my rattle/ scraping noise by tapping on the exhaust system with a small bit of 2 X 4....heat shield/ warm air collector wrapped around exhaust manifold was one source, the other was the heat shield on the exhaust .

Love the silence.
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84, 242GLTi, 167K, 4+OD, in rehab; 89, 245 DL, 254K, M 47, daily driver; 93, 245, auto, 167K ; and other toys.

Does the rattle occur if the engine is out of gear and idling during decelleration or just with the engine in gear. If with the engine in gear then the rattel on "overrun" might be a bad rod bearing. Sorry. How's the oil pressure? Was the oil changed after the car had sat for 6-8 months? Otherwise there could have been water in the bottom of the oil pan.

If you hear the noise with the engine out of gear and idling, then it might be a sloppy u-joint or driveshaft center bearing.

How about the heat shield on the exhaust? Easy fix.

I think this is the problem. Just tear off the heat shield. Follow the exhaust manifold unitll you see the flat metal. You can have your man look at it while you give it gas (parked) and see if that's the problem.