is it me or does the 240 have a ride turning radius. when I do a u-turn, especially a tight u-turn on a 2 lane road, I feel as if my 245's steering is being pushed to hard. sometimes I can hear like a metallic rubbing, but when I look under the car later on I don't see any rubbed parts or feel any loose parts. do any of you guys experience this when doing tight turns?

btw, last I checked my P/S resevoir was up to level, not at the max, but up to the midway point.

My understanding is that as the steering wheel is turned the power steering pump cuts in until the wheel has no 'twist' or torque applied to it. So when the wheels point in the desired direction the pump stops.

On full lock the pump will stop but if the wheel is wound hard onto the lock the pump cuts in to try and drive the rack further - so the sound everyone should hear is the pump operating normally. On tight turns the tendency is to wind the wheel as far as it will go so as to maintain full lock - so the pump operates continuously but can't move the rack - thus loading the pump giving the 'more stressed sound' - all normal.

BUT doing this too often or for too long will overheat the pump and shorten it's life, when some of the other sounds will be heard. Squealing can be the drivebelt slipping under load (which may be better than heating up the pump).

Somewhere in my history of owning 240s, beginning in 1977 with a 1975 245, I saw the specification of turning circle. It was 32 feet. Or thereabouts. Quite tight. Same as my FIAT 850 (motorized roller skate).

With the wheels turned max, go very slowly. Good for parking in small spaces and such. In hot weather, the wheels' wanting to scootch sideways can damage blacktop pavement.

I have always enjoyed the tight turning circle, makes it easy to park in a parallel spot that others have had to pass up.

Enjoy the ride.

Bob

:>)

Heck, it's a smaller turning circle than a 99 Honda Civic. Go figure.

--
alex

re: "...it's a smaller turning circle than a 99 Honda Civic. Go figure...."

Not surprising. Any FWD (or 4WD car) has a driveshaft (halfshaft?) and universal joint behind the hub to transmit power to that wheel. These hubs cannot turn as far to the right or left because there's a limit on how much contortion that universal joint (between shaft and hub) can tolerate without jamming or snapping. But the RWD Volvo, free of such limitations, can be turned almost perpendicular.

The 240's turning radius is one of the tightest of any car, for it's length (given the overhang) and wheelbase (which also affects the radius of the "circle"), and far surpasses any FWD or AWD car of the same wheelbase because, lacking a shaft and universal joint behind the hub, Volvo has designed the hub/wheel assembly so that it can be turned almost perpendicular to the long axis of the car. Take a look at a front wheel at full lock to see what I mean.

Of course, this also means that when you are in full lock, left or right, and put it in gear to make a sharp turn, the front wheels are going to slip sideways (which actually means, in that position, that they're sliding forward) a bit. I've found that this slippage produces strange rubbing sounds on certain pavements.

ken c, that makes sense. yeah, I guess I meant to say that the turning radius isn't wide but more that when I make such tight turns that I sometimes hear not-so-likeable noises and that only makes me afraid to max out my turning radius and therefore I think my car's turning radius is too wide. sorry for the run-on sentence. thanks to the other bricknuts' input. I can sleep a bit better tonight!

It's you; RWD Volvos in general have very tight turning radii.

yeah, maybe it's my imagination and unfounded fears. I don't like turning so tightly that the steering wheel stops or "hits" or maxes out at the end of a turn. is turning the steering to where it stops turning bad for the steering?

btw, maybe it's not a metallic rubbing sound as it is squealing sound when I turn too far to where the wheel stops.

I get a squealing/rubbing sound when I make tight turns. According to a mechanic, the front axle was put on slightly off center. I don't know if this is possible, but if it is, I wouldnt be suprised, from what I can tell, the PO was an idiot. Anyway, I can see a spot where the front of the passenger tire (stock size) rubs on the wheel well when turned all the way to the left. Anyway, you could have the same tire rubbing thing going on, or the noisy turns could just be a Volvo thing (I don't recall my other Volvo being super quiet, just not as bad as this one). I'll settle for some noise if I can have the great Volvo turning radius.

My '84 makes that sound too, I don't think it's necissarily a "bad" sound-Just another "Volvo noise". I love the 240's turning radius, I think it's one of the best features of the 240.