Thank you V8Volvo,
your answers are always very helpful and thorough. I really appreciate it. Unfortunately I havent seen your reply until I left from where the car was.
Is there a way to rename this thread to something else in the future so I didnt have to start a new one?
ALSO, I have to figure out HOW to share pictures the right way here, to keep them enjoyable and somewhat good quality. The picts I attach are always high quality on my phone, but the forum doesnt accept them unless I reduce size etc but then they are nearly useless and annoying to see (bc they get too small and blurred/faded etc). What`s the suggestion about posting pictures? 5 picts can go in each reply i know.
I often see very very large size pictures posted on this forum in other threads and they appear to be so clear.
OK...
For those who would like to know details, here`s some basic info about the car:
Brown color 740 GLE TD 1985 with the ZF tranny. Sedan.
VIN: YV1DX7640F1187589
Other info and numbers on the vin plate were "31", "205-3", "4851"
One day in the past, many many years ago, it must have been a very beautiful car with an attractive color combination. The
brown color looked amazing under the sun and I think it is an awesome color. Tom B. really likes it too I think.
Anyway. A week ago I called the seller at 11PM and left a voicemail with an offer and asked for a call back. Next morning my phone rang and this whole turbodiesel volvo story started. Things went quickly and I was already organizing the Uhaul trailer for the following day and I was making plans to get there asap to see in person what car I bought
I hope sharing many pictures and will be trying to write how it all went.
I started `following` this car online since a few weeks earlier when it was still listed as for sale, still owned by the original owner who was born in 1929 (91yo?) and who bought this baby in 1985, brand new, from a nearby Pennsylvania
Volvo dealership and had it ever since. I have some of that paperwork and many receipts and booklets that explained basic diesel stuff to the happy owner.
The clocks shows
182580 miles and the last `trip` was 233miles by (so odometer probably works).
The car has (actually, had) nice mustard/green/
yellow-ish idk what color pluss seats. They looked very nice new and even after all this time and car sitting, felt comfy. Only the driver seat was heated, which is weird bc it is a GLE so I think it should have above-basic accessories. IDK. And there was no sunroof but that couldnt save this interior.
The car probably sat many years and the sun faded away the entire inside and ate all paint and made plastics very brittle inside.
The headliner disappeared and the entire car looked junkyard quality. In original picts it looked great but in person it looked horrible actually. Or worse. Picts also cant tell the odor it had.
The carpets showed dirt, water damage, fading, trash, fluid stains and mold etc. The rear car door seal was ductaped, inside edges reinforced with foam and alu foil etc. Probably bc always leaked.
Fast forward to when I arrive,
things went well and now I have a d24t spare with other bits that I took home.
I hope to sort out the picts and post them here in enjoyable quality. I also took videos because not everything went smoothly so I had to come up with ideas on the spot.
So far, took it home and took off the zf tranny and put the motor on the engine stand and trying to sort things while accessories were coming off.
I`ll need to post a lot to figure out what exactly was going on with this engine.
Someone did work on it and I am already seeing evidence of proper maintenance and quality parts from the factory.
That`s the good news. The bad news is that I couldnt get it to start yet, also partly bc I didnt want to.
Had to go thru some major thorough inspection.
The engine turning over (by hand, so no stuck internals) also did turn it over before I took the engine out of the car in PA.
Not super smoothly and without effort but it did and does turn.
What has been done so far:
Received a wash bc it was pretty much very dirty.
Put it on a stand and installed a new starter (long story, the starter was dead and they all said that that is why the car wasnt used for so long...idk)
Have been hand cranking it over and over, both directions.
Flushed the injection pump multiple times using ATF but havent seen much dirt nor evidence of clogging or gelling, nothing weird. Clean diesel came out of it first but this car hasnt ran for a while. I will call and ask original owner to provide me with a thorough history and stories on this car, if (he is) still available.
I removed valve cover and checked the cam, no visible issues and it does look so healthy, no bruises no visible wear. Great. Also the oil looked Very nice and no signs of water, Also no oil in water in reservoir and coolant leaking from block was also chrystal clear/blue by Volvo.
I checked the valve clearances carefully by the book and found none that need adjustment, the intakes are religiously at .2 and the exhausts are at .4 with the exception of E valve on cyl #6 being .45 which is still good. I was expecting some tighht intakes but found NONE.
The glow plugs were all dead. All six. I suspect a sticking relay bc i found a 2nd set of champions loosely thrown in trunk but they were IN oem bosch glowplug duratherm boxes but those duratherms are not the ones in the head. In the head i found I think 4-5 CH39 champions and 1 or 2 made in FRance glowplugs but all 6 tested and totally DEAD.