What to look for in a used D24T

[anders]

That will end up being a nice swap, I have thought about doing a swap like that with a V90/S90 sedan. If you don't mind me asking what did you pay for all the parts from the wrecking yard? Keep us posted on the progress!

[Wren]

Originally Posted by anders

That will end up being a nice swap, I have thought about doing a swap like that with a V90/S90 sedan. If you don't mind me asking what did you pay for all the parts from the wrecking yard? Keep us posted on the progress!

My cost was about $300.

[anders]

That's a pretty good deal in my opinion.. A local yard wants $500 for a non turbo D24.

[Wren]

Some yards are best avoided. There's a local place that always tells me, "Them Volvo parts are expensive" like they pay more for a Volvo when they buy them by the pound than they do a Chevette. I'm not afraid to leave parts behind if I get a lot of high-priced nonsense from them. I just usually tell them that I'm buying to resell (which is true in most cases) and I can't make any profit buying for full retail.

[ngoma]

So, a 7xx crossmember bolts into a 9xx-series? That would make it too easy!

[Wren]

Originally Posted by ngoma

So, a 7xx crossmember bolts into a 9xx-series? That would make it too easy!

In many ways, the 7's and 9's are essentially the same car.

[v8volvo]

Nice find!

Very good idea to leave the whole drivetrain just assembled as you have it -- for converting the gas car to diesel, fastest and easiest way is to just put the engine and trans in from beneath with the crossmember attached. I just did that same thing converting a 1986 740 turbo gas wagon and found it much faster and more elegant than installing the drivetrain topside. See pictures below.

Also, from the parts car, be sure to get the important parts of the diesel fuel system as well! Most critical is the fuel filler neck assembly. The diesel filler neck is larger and does not have the vapor-catch flap, so that it can admit the larger diesel fill nozzles that stations often use. See picture below for comparison. The fillers are not hard to swap and, IIRC, are shared between sedans and wagons. Grab it regardless.

And yes, you will need the clutch pedal and its bracket, any cruise control vacuum/electrical switches related to the clutch pedal, the clutch cable (though you may want to replace with new), driveshaft with center support bearing and front and rear shaft halves marked to preserve their proper phasing, and most of the under-hood wiring harness bits.

Bummer that someone took the turbo, since they certainly will have trouble using it on anything else. I hope they left the oil supply and return lines attached to the engine? I have a couple of spare D24T turbos in good shape that I would be willing to sell. The irritating part is that whoever stole that turbocharger also stole the turbo-to-downpipe gasket, which is getting hard to find and will not be useful to whoever bought it. Too bad. You will be able to find one with some effort.

Fuel filler comparison, gasser on left, diesel on right. Good idea to get the filler cap from the diesel too. I can describe what I did to modify the fuel lines and venting system from the gas car -- that part is not hard, no need to worry about getting the tank and lines, just the filler. Plus the 960 wagons came with a nice extra large 19-gallon fuel tank anyway... which you will want to keep regardless.


And here is what it looks like installing a D24T drivetrain "module" from below... disconnect the front suspension and steering and it is a piece of cake. I did it without even unhooking the power steering hoses from the donor car.

[Wren]

Originally Posted by v8volvo

Nice find!

Bummer that someone took the turbo, since they certainly will have trouble using it on anything else. I hope they left the oil supply and return lines attached to the engine? I have a couple of spare D24T turbos in good shape that I would be willing to sell. The irritating part is that whoever stole that turbocharger also stole the turbo-to-downpipe gasket, which is getting hard to find and will not be useful to whoever bought it. Too bad. You will be able to find one with some effort.

I thought about that. If I do get a D24T turbo, I'll have to round up that gasket. I was considering putting a slightly upgraded T3 on the engine once I get it going. 115 HP isn't going to be very inspiring in a car that had a 200 HP engine from the factory. In that case, I wouldn't have to worry about the stock downpipe and would weld on a different downpipe to turbo flange.

One fly in the ointment is finding a shifter boot/console for the 960 that will work. I think I can put a later 960 center console in and install a boot. It sure would be easier to use a stock part and I've contacted a couple of guys I know in England who may can help me.

Originally Posted by v8volvo

Fuel filler comparison, gasser on left, diesel on right. Good idea to get the filler cap from the diesel too. I can describe what I did to modify the fuel lines and venting system from the gas car -- that part is not hard, no need to worry about getting the tank and lines, just the filler. Plus the 960 wagons came with a nice extra large 19-gallon fuel tank anyway... which you will want to keep regardless.

The donor car is an '83. Aren't the filler neck/fuel senders different from the early to late cars? I know the '85 740's used a different sender arrangement than the later cars; in the later cars, the fuel filler coupling hose goes directly into the sender while the earlier cars have the fill pipe go into a different part of the tank.

Originally Posted by v8volvo

And here is what it looks like installing a D24T drivetrain "module" from below... disconnect the front suspension and steering and it is a piece of cake. I did it without even unhooking the power steering hoses from the donor car.

Wow, that's crazy! How did you pick up the front of the car? Overhead beam?

[v8volvo]

Originally Posted by Wren

I thought about that. If I do get a D24T turbo, I'll have to round up that gasket. I was considering putting a slightly upgraded T3 on the engine once I get it going. 115 HP isn't going to be very inspiring in a car that had a 200 HP engine from the factory. In that case, I wouldn't have to worry about the stock downpipe and would weld on a different downpipe to turbo flange.

I used to own a 1993 960 wagon with stock B6304 gasser motor, and I have done some work on and driven a 1995 960 wagon that had a stock (but healthy) D24T w/ZF automatic swapped in. The gasser six is very strong on the top end but the D24T w/automatic is peppy and torquey in normal driving -- not much different from the B6304 unless you were really leaning on it and getting the revs up. However, since your install will be with a manual trans, a different turbo with better low-end response than the stock setup might be a smart upgrade. The stock D24T+M46 setup is fine if you want to really stand on it and row the gears, or when going down the highway, but in routine driving it can feel a little soft since the boost does not really pop up until about 2500 RPM. The automatic is nicely set up to mask the lag but you do feel it with the stick. I am working on a VNT setup for mine using a GT2056V off a Jeep Liberty CRD, hoping that will give a good blend of low-end response and high-end flow. The challenge will be controlling it and dialing it in to avoid boost spikes. Have you looked into VNT possibilities?

Originally Posted by Wren

One fly in the ointment is finding a shifter boot/console for the 960 that will work. I think I can put a later 960 center console in and install a boot. It sure would be easier to use a stock part and I've contacted a couple of guys I know in England who may can help me.

You will not believe this.... but I have the exact part you need. It is a Euro-only, 760/960 manual trans console insert, with both the heated seat switches on the pass side, just as it should have, and the opening for the shifter in front. It is brand new from Volvo, still packed in plastic shrink-wrap. I went through quite a bit of trouble to get it. I had planned to convert the 1993 965 I mentioned above and was going to use it for that, but after doing some work on the 960's gas motor it ran so nice that I couldn't bear to take it apart, and then this red '86 wagon fell into my lap so I put my diesel parts into that instead. Now the console piece is sitting on my shelf. I have debated whether I want to sell it, since I don't know if I still might end up wanting to convert another wagon someday... but if you are in need I might be able to be talked into letting it go, or I can at least give you the right part number so you can try to track one down.

Originally Posted by Wren

The donor car is an '83. Aren't the filler neck/fuel senders different from the early to late cars? I know the '85 740's used a different sender arrangement than the later cars; in the later cars, the fuel filler coupling hose goes directly into the sender while the earlier cars have the fill pipe go into a different part of the tank.

That I do not know. I swapped the filler from a 1985 745 turbodiesel into a 1986 turbo gas and they shared the same setup. The filler neck still could be and, I suspect, might well be the same even if the entry point into the tank is different. VADIS would confirm. It is worth taking a look. You can also just hollow out the gasser neck to make it work... but I usually figure that if the right, original part is sitting right there and will work, it is nice to use it.

Originally Posted by Wren

Wow, that's crazy! How did you pick up the front of the car? Overhead beam?

Engine hoist and a piece of chain secured around the front bumper. It was a piece of cake... having tried it, I would no longer want to do it any other way. The front crossmember has a very nice set of tapered locating pins between the two bolt holes that do all the work for you. There is none of the manhandling and prying and cussing that you go through when trying to lower an engine and trans into position from above and get all the mounts lined up... you just put everything in position and let it drop in.

There are a few things I would do differently a second time around... getting a couple strong wooden dollies with good wheels on them for maneuvering the drivetrains around on would be better than the pallets I used, and having two floor jacks on hand would have been better too. The hardest part was wrestling and dragging the drivetrains in and out from under the suspended car sitting on pallets on the concrete floor, but with the right equipment that part could be as seamless as the rest.

Did you get the struts and springs out of the donor car? That is the only other major difference in the front end between gas and diesel, besides the crossmember... but then again, the other TD-swap 960 I have spent some time around still has its stock front springs and it sits just about right. The huge twincam head on the B6304 probably offsets any weight savings versus the D24T that it gets by having an aluminum block and no turbo or injection pump hanging off it.

[Wren]

Originally Posted by v8volvo

I used to own a 1993 960 wagon with stock B6304 gasser motor.....Have you looked into VNT possibilities?

I haven't looked into VNT's. I'm not certain of what turbo I need to use.

Originally Posted by v8volvo

You will not believe this.... but I have the exact part you need..... but if you are in need I might be able to be talked into letting it go, or I can at least give you the right part number so you can try to track one down.

Yeah man, let's talk! If you have that part number, I would like to have it.

Originally Posted by v8volvo

That I do not know. I swapped the filler from a 1985 745 turbodiesel into a 1986 turbo gas and they shared the same setup. The filler neck still could be and, I suspect, might well be the same even if the entry point into the tank is different. VADIS would confirm. It is worth taking a look. You can also just hollow out the gasser neck to make it work... but I usually figure that if the right, original part is sitting right there and will work, it is nice to use it.

From re-thinking the recent in-tank pump work on the 940T, there is a rubber elbow from the filler neck to the tank that might make it so the diesel filler would drop in the 960. I can check this at the junkyard as there is a '90+ car there to compare them.

Originally Posted by v8volvo

Engine hoist and a piece of chain secured around the front bumper....

I've got a lift at the shop, and I'm sure I'll use this method to yank the 960 drivetrain and to swap in the D24T. I've got some good heavy-duty dollies that I can use to manuever the engine/tranny.

Originally Posted by v8volvo

Did you get the struts and springs out of the donor car? That is the only other major difference in the front end between gas and diesel, besides the crossmember... but then again, the other TD-swap 960 I have spent some time around still has its stock front springs and it sits just about right. The huge twincam head on the B6304 probably offsets any weight savings versus the D24T that it gets by having an aluminum block and no turbo or injection pump hanging off it.

Is there a difference between the diesel front springs and the ones used on the gas cars? A 14mm wrench will just fit over the spring wire on the diesel and I compared that to an '88 760 gasser and the '92 960 that I have. They all appear to use the same diameter wire, although the total spring height may be different. I'll either have to pull some springs and look, or get someone with VADIS to look up the parts numbers.

I know the early 7-series cars used a different strut than the later cars and I wonder if the springs would swap over. I imagine so, but it would be nice to know for sure.

I have a 1000 lb. scale and dressed 6304 (960) engine at the shop that I can weigh and compare to the D24T. If they weigh about the same, I won't worry about it, but I would still like to have some good dope on the springs.