Crazy to have a 92 940 D24tic engine rebuild?

[Laney760]

I've had my 940 td for about six weeks and am now glad that my juicy petrol 740 was stolen now. When I first got the 940 I was tearing around in it for a few days before I learned that these engines take a very long time to warm up before you can do any hard work in them and have since found out that my compression is a bit low hence some smoking when starting up and changing gears at high revs so since then I've been quite gentle with it most of the time. I like the car so much that I am thinking of saving up and having a complete engine rebuild next year - it would cost £1200 and come guaranteed and would look forward to be able to drive it properly once it had run in. I think my Dad thinks I'm a bit mad but I wouldn't get much of a newer Volvo diesel estate for £1200 and by next year the car would have had quite a lot of money put into it and better the devil you know? The car is rock solid, zero rust anywhere, immaculate, and I love everything about it, particularly the steering, brakes and suspension and it's huge capacity for carrying stuff around. Anyone think I'd be mad to do this? Anyone know of the best people to rebuild one of these engines, I wouldn't want to spend much more than the £1200 I've been quoted. I have looked around for other engines, have found one for less than £300 that is guaranteed a non-smoker and comes with a short warranty but would then need to find someone expert enough to fit it, I wouldn't entrust this to my local garage. Would welcome some opinions on this. My Dad says if I don't thrash it in low gears and at high speeds it will probably go on for years but I do like a bit of 'proper driving', lol..

[tfb]

Fitting a complete engine is not that hard. The main problems are usualy caused by having to move around such a heavy lump of iron and the D24 is quite a heavy block. In the days of my youth at banger racing we could change a MKIII Cortina engine in about 45 mins...admitadly we only bothered with 2 or 3 bolts to hold the engine to the gearbox and turning the car on it's side helped access!

If I were you I would get the cheap engine and keep it as a spare as £1200 is a fair bit of money and I bet the rebuild would end up costing more as you would find other things that needed doing.

Regards

TFB

[Laney760]

I'd have a prob storing the second hand one anywhere. The £1200 quoted for the guaranteed rebuild stated that it included all new oils, belts, gaskets, etc.. plus vat plus collection and delivery (not keen on having someone else drive my new engine hundred+ miles back to me, would collect it myself). Did you mean this sort of stuff or that when they were putting it all back together they may say that I need such and such an ancilliary that's attached to the engine? Perhaps I need to have further communication with them. Thanks

[tfb]

Not only ancillary items like alternator, water pump etc may require replacing or not be included in the cost, but you often end up with siezed nuts and sheared bolts, stripped threads which suprisingly can end up adding a lot of time and money to a job.
This is not just specific to Volvo's but can happen with any car. Pretty much any job will always take longer and cost more than you orignaly planned due to the unforseen "little" problems!

Regards
TFB

[craig8661]

i sold two good d24s one intercooled on not one low milage one high i kno he is rebuilding his high milage one and also i kno what you meen theese engines are hard to get i have seen a couple on ebay for £400 but you would def want to see them runing on there

[SeanO'Connor]

Why spend £1200+ on an engine rebuild, when I picked up a near mint 2001 S80 2.5D for £1500? It seems pointless ploughing lots of money into a car, when you can get a newer car for similar money. Just my two peneths worth. Sean.

[Laney760]

Originally Posted by SeanO'Connor

Why spend £1200+ on an engine rebuild, when I picked up a near mint 2001 S80 2.5D for £1500? It seems pointless ploughing lots of money into a car, when you can get a newer car for similar money. Just my two peneths worth. Sean.

Thats a good buy, is it an estate? (sorry, not familiar with the shapes, designs of the newer models). If not how much more would it have cost in an estate? The way I'm looking at it is - I took the plunge upgrading from a 740 petrol estate to a 940 diesel estate, in that I am not well off and a 940 is considerably more money to maintain than a 740. I'm assuming the new diesel estates will cost me more in servicing, parts, etc.. My 940 has so many extras compared to the 740 and technology on these newer vehicles must be even more complicated? There's clearly been a lot of money spent on my vehicle before, the suspension is brilliant, lots of new parts on it including radiator, battery, some stainless exhaust, etc.. A 740td (with a full service history) sold on Ebay for £1500 maybe because everything on it, barring the D24tic engine, is cheap and simple to replace/maintain? I'm female, can't do a lot of jobs myself purely through lack of strength so have to get ripped off my garages. I just thought that as my 940 is perfect, zero rot absolutely anywhere, virtually pristine, it is sometimes easier with the devil you know and wondering whether it's value after engine rebuild when it dies would be similar to the 940 I quoted at £1500, they are getting to be a rarer vehicles. I'm also assuming that by the time the engine would be due for a rebuild I'd have already have ploughed some money into it other than servicing costs. However, if I'm assuming wrongly and these newer vehicles don't cost an arm and a leg for parts, servicing, etc.. then you're probably right.......

[SeanO'Connor]

No its a saloon shape, but they do an estate, Servicing costs will be similar to your older Volvo, there are lots of pattern parts available. Depends upon your own choice, just a thought if your willing to plough an extra £1200 into your car, you could use that as a part ex and put £1200 into getting a different car. Min e came out of the autotrader but if you look on Ebay and the like they are just as cheap.

[Laney760]

Originally Posted by SeanO'Connor

No its a saloon shape, but they do an estate, Servicing costs will be similar to your older Volvo, there are lots of pattern parts available. Depends upon your own choice, just a thought if your willing to plough an extra £1200 into your car, you could use that as a part ex and put £1200 into getting a different car. Min e came out of the autotrader but if you look on Ebay and the like they are just as cheap.

I've remembered one example of the difference in maintaining the older type engine and the more modern common rail this morning. I can get my injectors reconditoned for as low as a tenner each, apparently on a modern common rail engine I'd be talking hundreds. Well, thats what the diesel specialists told me, I expect I'll get a contradictory response to this, lol. I don't just go for pattern parts, I get all my parts normally from Ebay, new, very cheap, etc.. Couldn't afford to take on a motor on hp, would if I could...

[SeanO'Connor]

I didn't mean on HP, I never get one that way either, what I meant was use your engine rebuild money and your volvo in a part ex deal. As for my engine it is a DI engine , not common rail.