89, 240
150,000


Just to orient me to how the 240's are constructed, I have a question.

I asked a guy at IPD what the unibody looks like before anything gets attached to it, and where a water leak might initially originate, to help me visualize how the 240 bodies and frames were constructed. He told me that there are all kinds of channels you can't see, similar to air ducts, that go throughout the unibody frame of the 240's. He said that after a vehicle's design is decided upon, to incorporate certain vehicle features for a given model year, Volvo often continues using that design year after year, even though a particular feature of engineering design is no longer needed. So, you have a situation where things get sealed up when they are no longer needed. For instance the air duct channels. He gave an example of the common air duct at the bottom right passenger floor side, where classically there were air vents with sliding metal slots. He said sometimes these no longer used air ducts, etc., rust out or get cracks in the seams, etc. He said for the most part this is not usually a problem, as the majority of leaks on 240's come from other areas.

To be more specific, he said that those outside air vent grills in front of the windshield let air flow into the heater box. He said the rain water is supposed to go past an internal air passageway and flow out the bottom. I am still somewhat confused about this area, because I asked him where the water would go if this area got stopped up, and he said it would drain out of a hose near the top of the transmission. But someone here said that the water that goes into the air vents can get into the inside quarter panels from the grill (i.e., air vents) in front of the windshield. Can someone clarify that for me as I will need to know I am looking in the right place and not the wrong path? ... Just as one would follow a diagram for tracing an electrical problem, I am trying to visualize the paths water can take, that is why I need to know.

Also, where is that water supposed to come out on the bottom of the vehicle if it does not get plugged/stopped up?
My understanding is that it is supposed to drain out somewhere on the bottom of the vehicle, but again, NOT into those quarter panels (the places where those several round plastic discs go every few inches).

The IPD guys said those quarter panels are part of the unibody frame that begins at the front of the vehicle and travel all the way to the back. There may be slits of creased metal that need to be unplugged from the underneath, but he also said to look for rubber drain plugs on the bottom, along the frame, and to remove them.

Btw, it has been my experience that it can be difficult to see things from below a vehicle when it has all that undercoating and road grime and grease on it, and some of it may have been improperly replaced by a former owner, plugged up, etc. That is why I am seeking help to visualize it as clear as possible how it is "supposed" to be (an underbody roadmap). Hey, can anyone download a few pics with notes to follow?

diyer