lasercowboy
Check the specs of the tyres carefully if you're going to overpressurise. This can increase the risk of critical failure (not nice), and change the wear pattern (usually making them wear faster - there must be a trade off, right?).
The bigger issue is change in handling. If you overinflate, the tyre bulges in the middle and the actual part in contact with the road is smaller. You mostly won't notice in good conditions, but when it's wet, you'll get a nice hydrodynamic effect and aquaplane much more easily.
Slowbrick
All 240 tanks are 60L. I have a 77' and it has a 60L tank. I have an 87 240 and it has a 60L tank. I borrowed a 92 for a while and it also had a 60L tank. Maybe the reserve changed but they all have a total capacity of 60L and remember the gauges in a 240 aren't the best but they all have a 60L tank.
Regarding tyres, do not put 45psi in your tyres. Its a bad idea and will only result in your car handling poorly in the wet and will egg the middle of the tyre and break the radials resulting in a tyre that goes out of round.
Im assuming you are running with the stock 185/70/14's or something similar? If you are then 36 - 38psi will do you fine. 32 is what they put on there to make sure the ride isnt harsh for some people and also to get you back into the service department for new tyres sooner.
The general rule i follow for passenger car tyres is if the profile is greater than 60 then try not to exceed 40psi. These tyres do not benefit from overly high pressures and will just round out in the middle resulting in damage and reduced performance for the tyre.
Anything between 55-50 you should be running between 36-40 depending on other factors such as the ride you want, the width of the tyre etc.
Anything below 50 you should run 40-42 with the 42 more useful with the smaller profile stuff like the 45's, 40's etc.
For your regular plain Jane 240 i would be running between 36-38 with my preference going to 36 in the hotter months and 38 in the cooler months.
I get this knowledge from being the lead tyre fitter for 4 years at a shop i worked at while studying at uni. I also regularly drove my 240 from Sydney to Cootamundra and also drove from Sydney to Wollongong every day for uni. I had a lot of time to experiment and work out what works best for performance/life of the tyre.
familyman
Is 40psi classed as overflating though? From what I've been reading, overinflating refers to inflating above the maximum recommend pressure - which I'd guess must change for different tyres - but is about 50psi I think. (And they probably under-estimate that anyway, in case some goose decides to turn his tyres into rigid wagon wheels by running 100.) It's imprinted on the sidewall of bicycle tyres, so while I haven't noticed it myself, it must also be on car tyres(?).
The pressure a lot of people say to use - 32 - was too saggy in the sidewall for the '78 244. It made steering so heavy, and it slopped around corners like it was like sitting on one of thost sit-on inflatable balls with a handle that kids bounce around the yard on. Admittedly the car had no power steering and needed a wheel alignment, with the tread obviously wearing on the outer inch - but even so - I'm far from a weak guy. Well, back then anyway, LOL. And I had to pull the steering hard. I know that's indicative of more than just tyre pressure - but filling to 40 made that fault only slight.
The difference between 32 & 40 is not AS noticeable now, with power steering. (I tried both pressures again with this new car.) But I can definitely hear the pitch of the power steering pump - and it seems to labour at 32. (Felt like I nearly had time to microwave a pie waiting for the wheels to turn.) The tyres seemed, to me at least, to have too much sidewall bulge at 32 - allowing it slop around corners again like the 78 - and the suspension (on this car) isn't at fault, because rubber bushings were recently replaced.
Tyres still have bulge at 40, but don't look like I'm sitting on squashed balloons. (I ran 32 for a couple of days and couldn't stand the feel of the car - so I had to up it to 40 again with this car too.) Probably feels different to each person and with different brands of tyre too I guess. (I think it's running Pirelli P2000.)
<B>Maybe it's best to start with 32, up it 5psi at a time (staying below the max), until each person gets where they feel comfortable? Rico?? Others???</B>
Like you, I was going to mention tyre wear too. But figured that's a given for 240 owners anyway, isn't it? I was going to half-joke, half-serious, say - more pressure could only improve tyre wear on a 240 - LOL. ;))
Slowbrick
There is a popular misconception between bike tyres and car tyres. On a bike tyre it tells you the pressure to inflate it to. So it might say something like "inflate to 60-75 psi". On a car tyre it is telling you the maximum weight the tyre will take at a given pressure. They are two different metrics that easily get confused. Too often you see the auto filler set to 54psi because "thats what it says on the sidewall". This isnt correct. I would consider 40psi for a passenger 60 profile tyre to be the limit before overinflation. I've seen it first hand with our 77 wagon. When we moved we used it quite extensively for towing between Sydney and Griffith. It was running 205/60/15s at the time. I set them all to 40psi and away we went. Following the move we used it for regular trips between Sydney and Griffith. I thought id try out the 40psi as a regular thing to see what would happen. Within 6 months the tyres at the front had egged and were wearing in the middle with the shoulders nearly unworn. The rears had the same story but were still round. They just dont need to be inflated that high.
BradC
familyman;62018 wroteNope. It lightened the steering. And if you fill the tyres when they're cold, then drive - heat expands things anyway - which must reduce the pressure. So it probably drops to, I don't know - 35, maybe lower - anyway(?).
I'm not entirely sure you understand Boyles law. Pressure *always* goes up with temperature. You start with 45 and by the time you are at cruising temperature (not racing) you are probably up around 48.
I run 35/35 generally and 35/42 when towing the van. Pressure is very dependent on conditions and the proper way to determine the right pressure for the conditions is to measure the temperature across the tyre surface and adjust the pressure until the entire surface is as even as possible. In a road car that's not so easy as we don't tend to carry pyrometers with us, and the load changes with cargo and passengers.
What is right for me is not necessarily right for you. I've just found that in my car 35 gives me a good tradeoff between tyre life, emergency braking grip and ride comfort. Lower pressure makes handling a bit doughy and hurts the fuel economy and higher pressure reduces grip under extreme loads although the car feels quicker and lighter. Reduced grip does not sound like much of a down side until you find yourself in a tangle with an inattentive driver and you need to apply extreme braking or steering.
Horses for courses.
familyman
Hot air expands... but wouldn't hot rubber expand more (being a solid), thus making more 'room'? I'm thinking of hot air balloons... They heat the gas, it must be to make it expand. But I guess the reason that creates lift is because the balloon fabric can't expand with the gas, but stays the same size. If the fabric could expand too, heating the gas wouldn't have any effect. I think - LOL. Nvm.
familyman
Slowbrick;62037 wroteAll 240 tanks are 60L.
If I happen to find where I read it I'll mention it again. I have some UK literature and their Haynes 240 manual. May have been in some of that.
Im assuming you are running with the stock 185/70/14's or something similar?
If you mean me, I forget - 195 something I think - on 14" steel rims.
If you are then 36 - 38psi will do you fine. 32 is what they put on there to make sure the ride isnt harsh... ... For your regular plain Jane 240 i would be running between 36-38 with my preference going to 36 in the hotter months and 38 in the cooler months.
Ok thanks. I might try lowering it back to 36 for a while too and see.
240
Sorry, I know this is completely irrelevant in terms of tyre pressures - but does anyone happen to know what size the thread on the sump plug of a B230 is?
Also, out of interest: do you think an oil temp gauge is worthwhile? How does its usefulness stack up against a vacuum (fuel eco) gauge?
lasercowboy
3/4" iirc...
familyman
Personal preference, but I'd rather have oil pressure than oil temp. (I figure an engine will run on hot oil, but it won't run for long without any, LOL.)
With vacuum... Basically, the harder you press your foot down, the less efficient the gauge shows. I had one in the overheating 240 I mentioned. I'd look at the gauge, modify my driving for a couple of minutes maybe, then my mind would drift to other things and I'd forget about it. Did that a few times. But in the end it came down to only pressing your foot down the minimum distance - that slowly increases the cars speed until you're moving at the speed you want.
BradC
I have oil pressure and oil temp. To be honest you can pretty much judge oil temp on idle oil pressure. I like it but I probably don't need it. In my case, trans temp is more useful than oil temp.
egads (she/her)
Trans temp just needs a sensor and a light IMO, much smaller range of temps are good for an autobox. Used to have that as one of the 4 displays on my scanguage on the V70.
familyman
Sorry for my ignorance, can you guys please explain the reason for monitoring transmission temp? If engine oil pressure drops, I can turn the motor off and try to work out why. But at what point is transmission oil overheating, and what can you then do about it - pull over for 30 minutes - fit an inline cooler - is that the kind of thing you mean?
egads (she/her)
Less useful to monitor if you don't tow or do much mountain work but good to know you are in the right temp range for the auto box to work correctly.
BradC
Yeah, I do it when I tow. If the converter is not locked up you can put a lot of heat into the fluid pretty quickly, so it's nice to keep tabs on things. In 4th and locked up the fluid sits at 80c, but extended stretches in 3rd at wot will push it north of 120 even with a big cooler, so it's nice to know when you need to back off a bit. Around town it's more academic interest than useful.
240
As I thought, then - the oil temp probably isn't really worth it.
How hard is it to put in a transmission temp sender/gauge etc?
Now, back to the problem of the rough idle on cold -
It seems that it doesn't happen all the time; it certainly hasn't happened since I first asked about it a few days ago.
I went to replace the leads/cap/rotor this morning, but as it turned out, I had been sent leads that were too short. (They just reached plug #4, but it was a bit dodgy so I just kept the old ones on.)
New cap and rotor though and it probably is running a little bit better, I think it is a bit quicker to rev too which is good. I'll see how it goes when I next start from cold.
BradC
I sourced a VDO temp sender from a Rotax ultralight motor that is straight swap for the drain plug in the trans. Piece of cake. Standard VDO temp range.
familyman
As I thought, then - the oil temp probably isn't really worth it.
How hard is it to put in a transmission temp sender/gauge etc?
I could be wrong with my reading between the lines of your conclusion, but just in case... (I think) the general concensus is (if you're only going to fit one gauge)...
1. Engine oil temp is preferable over vacuum. (If I had it, I'd use it.)
2. But engine oil pressure is prefereable over engine oil temp.
3. If you tow often, or do a lot of mountain driving, SOME way to monitor gearbox oil temp is desireable. However:
a) egads suggests gearbox oil temp can be effectively monitored using a warning light wired to a suitable sensor (so the light comes on at a certain temp).
So, you could have both. An engine oil pressure gauge - and - a gearbox oil temp warning light. e.g. Fit the engine oil pressure gauge in the upper dash. Then drill a hole for the gearbox temp warning light in one of the centre console blank switch plates. All you need to know is what sensors with the right thread (or is this universally standard!?) and temp range - to glow a warning bulb.
(I can't help with that btw. Someone else would have to suggest a suitable sender part number.)
b) Pictures of the engine oil temp gauge online don't show "engine" on the gauge. Just "oil" (or an oil can symbol). So wIth the right gearbox oil temp sensor, you should be able to use the original Volvo engine oil temp gauge AS a gearbox oil temp gauge.
If you only want the gearbox temp monitored, maybe BradC can provide a part number for the sender he bought?
BradC
Yeah sure. It's a VDO 801/10/1. There are a couple of readily available M10x1.5 VDO sensors, but they are for 200C gauges. I wanted a 50-150 the same as the oil temperature and this was the *only* one I could find.
I bought it here
aeroplans-blaus.com/en/temperature/79-vdo-temp-probe-150c-m10x15.html and got a generic VDO 310-912 50-150C trans temperature gauge to go with it (from egauges.com).
That sender would match the range of the factory Volvo oil temp gauge. The commonly available 200C senders won't.
For the engine oil temp, I just used a cheap standard VDO 323-423 sender (M10x1.0) and bored and tapped a cheap sump plug for it. It does not poke below the crossmember, but I have had the wire knocked off a couple of times in long grass though.
If I had only one gauge to buy it'd be oil pressure. I started out with a "cheap" ebay special oil pressure gauge and sender, but a long run with the oil temp over 110C melted something inside the sender and it started getting intermittent. I replaced it with a proper VDO sender/idiot light switch (360-028 M14x1.5) and the correct VDO gauge (350-934) and it's been apples since. You pay more for genuine VDO stuff, but there's a reason for that.
Idiot lights are nice, but when it goes off you're left wondering the magnitude of the problem. I added an idiot light to the standard water temp gauge in the car for when the wife is driving, but because I re-calibrated the gauge by the time the idiot light comes on the gauge is slammed anyway and you *know* there is a problem.
240
I did think about using the "engine" oil temp gauge for transmission temp - no reason that wouldn't work as far as I can see.
I like the idea of having an oil temp gauge - because I do like the look of it. But perhaps I'd be better off sacrificing that, keeping the vacuum gauge, and having a warning light for the transmission temp.
Actually, I will be installing an oil pressure gauge regardless, so there's no reason as far as I can see why I couldn't just grab the wire for the original oil pressure warning light and hook it up to a sender in the transmission? So my oil warning light (replaced by the gauge) would now serve as a transmission temp warning light.
Still, I don't tow particularly often so it's probably not a big deal.
Talking about the transmission though has reminded me that at some stage it probably wouldn't hurt to do a flush of the transmission fluid. Is anyone here able to give some sort of outline to how this should be done, or point to a good guide? I've read some things that say it's a quick, easy job while others say that it's tedious, difficult and messy. Can anyone shed some light? I read one way that uses a kit from IPD that goes into the transmission fluid outlet in the radiator - is this the best way or is draining it from thee actual box better?
