Is she worth it?....

[Chris740R]

Leaving these problems:

The steering on full lock it grumbles and judders, almost feeling like you're driving on a loose gravel stone pathway, but is fine in all other conditions,
does it feel like the tracking is misaligned and the tires are skipping on the ground? Do you have any odd tire wear?

The anti roll bushes are rotted, and so are the nuts and bolts holding them in, (i won't be able to remove them)

New tie rods (the short rods that go from the anti roll bar to the suspension) come with replacement bushings and are about £10 each. Don't worry about the rusted nuts as they'll probably twist and snap when you remove them.

The water pump and filler cap expansion tank is leaking boiling off coolant (never has overheated)

What colour is the filler cap? And where is it leaking from the waterpump: hose connection, between the pump and the engine block, other?

Squealing rear brake i've tried allsorts on except replace pads..

brakes squeal because the pads are vibrating super fast. Replacing the pads with genuine volvo ones will probably cure it.



Have i bought a lemon?
It shouldn't cost more than £40 to fix the brakes and tie rods (assuming you do it yourself). If this is the way to define a lemon, every car I've bought would be one It should be fine once you get these last three sorted out

['88740GL]

Originally Posted by Chris740R

Leaving these problems:

The steering on full lock it grumbles and judders, almost feeling like you're driving on a loose gravel stone pathway, but is fine in all other conditions,
does it feel like the tracking is misaligned and the tires are skipping on the ground? Do you have any odd tire wear?

The anti roll bushes are rotted, and so are the nuts and bolts holding them in, (i won't be able to remove them)

New tie rods (the short rods that go from the anti roll bar to the suspension) come with replacement bushings and are about £10 each. Don't worry about the rusted nuts as they'll probably twist and snap when you remove them.

The water pump and filler cap expansion tank is leaking boiling off coolant (never has overheated)

What colour is the filler cap? And where is it leaking from the waterpump: hose connection, between the pump and the engine block, other?

Squealing rear brake i've tried allsorts on except replace pads..

brakes squeal because the pads are vibrating super fast. Replacing the pads with genuine volvo ones will probably cure it.



Have i bought a lemon?
It shouldn't cost more than £40 to fix the brakes and tie rods (assuming you do it yourself). If this is the way to define a lemon, every car I've bought would be one It should be fine once you get these last three sorted out

The tyre wear is normal, if you hold the steering wheel straight whilst driving, the car stays straight and true, so that is all good, i just need to change the rubber bushings on the track control bar? (two doughnut bushings on a vertical bar) on both sides

The coolant cap is grey, but the seal has perished and spilit, so i need to order one of those, but the water pump seal to the engine block is seeping coolant so i'm unsure whether or not to buy a new water pump + seal or just the gasket and replace the gasket, the water pump is making no grinding noises and seems to be pumping very well

I need some anti squeal shims before i put the new brake pads in, or won't that be a problem?

Thank you for all of this help!

[Chris740R]

The tyre wear is normal, if you hold the steering wheel straight whilst driving, the car stays straight and true, so that is all good, i just need to change the rubber bushings on the track control bar? (two doughnut bushings on a vertical bar) on both sides

ah, I might have experienced something similar, but not quite the same. Because these cars have a good turning circle, any inaccuracies in the tracking become apparent on full lock. My front wheels used to squabble and fight against each other on full lock, and I eventually worked out it was because the front suspension bushes were worn out. It sounds like you've got something slightly different going on by the way you describe it.

The doughnut bushings on the tie rods would not cause this problem, the anti roll bar is there to reduce body roll on cornering. Replacing the doughnut bushings would improve the stability of your car, but would not stop the juddering.

Maybe some one else can help with this one.





The coolant cap is grey, but the seal has perished and spilit, so i need to order one of those, but the water pump seal to the engine block is seeping coolant so i'm unsure whether or not to buy a new water pump + seal or just the gasket and replace the gasket, the water pump is making no grinding noises and seems to be pumping very well

I'd just get a replacement green one with a good looking seal from a scrapyard and that will sort out any coolant bottle leaks.

From what I've gathered, the water pumps on these cars go on and on and on. Personally I have never replaced one, and I can't see any reason why you couldn't just reseal your current one.



I need some anti squeal shims before i put the new brake pads in, or won't that be a problem?

Good question... not sure. It's a long time since I did my brakes. Probably best to wait for some one else to give a proper answer to this as I don't remember any 'anti squeal shims' on my calipers.

I do however remember anti rattle springs, rattles were the bane of my life before I discovered that they existed and were meant to be fitted!