i am a volvo owner who has come to appreciate the many qualities of the 240 over the years. i had a 88' that traveled all over mexico and down to guatemala and though i have broken down many times it has always made it home. recently it got away from my wife on our steep driveway in the mountains (loose parking brake). it broke her ankle and smashed into our neighbors propane tank. it drove away from the accident but the cost to resurrect did not seem worth it.
so i bought another one and have encountered a few problems. it is a 1983 wagon with a manual transmission. i am not a mechanic but i am not afraid to try and gain a deeper understanding of my volvo.
OVERDRIVE QUESTION
i took it on a road trip and the overdrive worked most of the time but sometimes it would disengage. i followed the wires underneath the vehicle and the casing had deteriorated on the wires to the transmission leaving them bare. i rewrapped them so they would not have contact. after this the overdrive seemed to get worse only working very sporadicly. i traced the wires to the overdrive relay. the plug was getting power from the ignition. the power would go through the switch on the shift lever (when engaged) and back to the plug but did not seem to leave the relay to go to the solenoid on the overdrive, or the light on the instrument cluster that indicates the overdrive is engaged. when i would shift out of 4th gear it would send power to the relay plug as well. when i gave the solenoid direct power it would click so i assumed it was not at fault. i thought the relay was bad so i ordered a new one from an online source and had my wife try it out. it fit the plug but was did not fit quite as well as the old one. the overdrive did not work at al when she took it for a drive.
does anyone have any suggestions?
HEATER QUESTION
when i turn the heat on i have noticed smoke coming from the vents, a strong smell of coolant, and when i engage the defrost the windows fog up . i have not noticed any coolant leaking on the floor. from reading on this forum and talking to people i was led to believe the heater core is probably leaking. i also gather that the fact the core has failed hints at some deeper issues with the vehicle. i am considering replacing it but i understand it will be an undertaking.
does anyone have any advice on where i should buy a new heater core? while i am under there i plan to replace the blower motor. is there anything else i should replace (heater valve, etc.) or parts i might need?