Hi all, new to the world of Volvo, long time lover of the 240 shape. After a long search I found a one owner 1985 244 B230E a few days ago, absolutely incredible condition single owner 320xxxkms. Purchased, filled it up with some fresh fuel (98), put rego on and have been cruising around the last couple of days. The car runs really well... Except for a rattle just before 3000rpm (consistently). Initially I thought it might be heat shields or the aluminium ducting from air box to exhaust, however these don't seem to be the problem as I've removed them (for now) to no avail. The noise seems to be mechanical and coming from engine. The previous owner had timing belt and water pump replaced three years ago before parking it up. Exhaust seems to be mounted properly and engine mounts are pretty good, but auto trans mount is pretty knackered - which I'm replacing this weekend. Noise comes both stationary and moving. So over to you brains trust, any suggestions? Thanks in advance and looking forward to being part of the Volvo community :).

Where abouts are you from?

If you're coming to Sydney any time I can listen to it and find out if it's something serious or just piston slap, however piston slap is audible at idle as well as during driving

Can you describe the rattle a bit more? One other thing you could check is the exhaust brace that comes off the side of the gearbox bellhousing, that mount often rusts out or comes loose. Beyond that, exhaust fouling on something under the car is not uncommon.

Does engine temp affect it, i.e. cold engine, still get the same noise?

The early B230's suffer from a "piston slap" rattle quite commonly, but it's usually apparent at idle, quiet when revved up, and louder as the revs drop back down. Usually louder when the engine is hot.

Leaking exhaust manifold gaskets are fairly common as well, and can cause a ticking noise, that is usually there across all revs.

Every now and then I get a rattle/chirp that sounds like the flexplate slightly rubbing against bellhousing or something. Only on low RPM acceleration... Dunno, will look into it one day!

Sounds like this guy's car.. https://youtu.be/MJ3WkHt7dkM

Can you get a video? Does it only rattle under acceleration, or all the time?

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Really appreciate it. So I got under the car after work and checked out the exhaust mount on the bellhousing again which was all good, so spent the next 15 mins shaking brake lines and hydraulics and narrowed it down to a trans pipe with metal shielding running under the back of the trans and on top of the cross member that was rubbing/rattling on the cross member (see photo) It looks like the insulation spiral wrap had come back from the cross member so smoshed it up again. Rattle gone! So happy it was something so minor and feel a bit silly for not identifying it earlier. Thanks again for all your help! Now to replace the trans mount and enjoy cruising.

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