Newbie 340 owner!!

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robintett
Posts: 16
Joined: 14 Dec 2015 12:41 am
Location: Sheffield

Newbie 340 owner!!

Post by robintett » 14 Dec 2015 12:49 am

Hi all,

Looking to by a 1988 340 1.7 GL possibly this weekend. The car has no MOT since 2012. But has been started recently and driven round. (new battery and fuel)

Im thinking about going to look at it this week, Is there anything to look out for? Ive heard of the warped Carbs and im guessing just areas of rust.

Just wondering if its going to be a tonne of work if the car has been really used for the past 3 years.

Any info appreciated, cheers guys

Robin
Last edited by robintett on 26 Dec 2015 01:54 am, edited 1 time in total.

MCHUDD
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Re: Looking to be a 340 owner!!

Post by MCHUDD » 14 Dec 2015 11:59 am

Hi mate and welcome.
Cars of that age will always have some rust. But they are sturdy beasts.
I would renew the brake parts. Good luck.
Cheers Mark.
sm4 sm4 sm4 sm4 sm4 sm4 sm4 sm4

robintett
Posts: 16
Joined: 14 Dec 2015 12:41 am
Location: Sheffield

Re: Looking to be a 340 owner!!

Post by robintett » 14 Dec 2015 03:19 pm

MCHUDD wrote:Hi mate and welcome.
Cars of that age will always have some rust. But they are sturdy beasts.
I would renew the brake parts. Good luck.
Cheers Mark.
sm4 sm4 sm4 sm4 sm4 sm4 sm4 sm4

Cheers mark, there actually looks to be very little rust, had some pics sent of cills etc, and there looks to be no surfave rust, this could be different when properly inspected though.

Yea the guy says the brakes aren't too good, so im thinkin ill be looking to change pads/shoes re-bleed and check all lines.

Will there be any obvious signs of a warped carb?

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bogbasic
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Re: Looking to be a 340 owner!!

Post by bogbasic » 14 Dec 2015 03:39 pm

Rusting-through in the wheel arches and front suspension strut cups are things to look out for since they will be a bit pricey to repair. I've never encountered a carb warping but I've heard a lot about it on here!! My blog (link below) shows the typical spots they go in!!
1988 340 1.4 GL, 218k, 5 door (Grey Bess). Gone to CBA.
1991 340 1.7 GL, 64k, 5 door, petrol blue (Deep Blue).
1988 360 2.0 GLE, 140k, 5 door, ocean blue metallic (Blue Bess).
1989 340 1.7 GL, 108k, 3 door (Red Ness).
More info here!

robintett
Posts: 16
Joined: 14 Dec 2015 12:41 am
Location: Sheffield

Re: Looking to be a 340 owner!!

Post by robintett » 16 Dec 2015 05:18 pm

Just viewed the car today and put a deposit on it. The body work was in great condition, sill and underneath near perfect. There is a bit of rot on the front bumper where it has been knocked by the looks of it.

Only issue i was woried about is, pretty sure it seems to be leaking fuel, from near the tank. Smelt pretty strong as was signs on the floor. Also looked like gearbox/diff may have a leak. Are these common issues/something easy to fix?

Anyway, it drove sweet, started up perfect, and idle'd perfect.

Picking it up for 325, no mot, reasonable or not? These seem hard to come by. I am sold by how good condition the body work is in. Cheers guys
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Ride_on
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Location: Belfast, N. Ireland

Re: Looking to be a 340 owner!!

Post by Ride_on » 16 Dec 2015 08:18 pm

325 is a very good price. Assuming te fuel tank is ok, the fuel pipes probably need replaced (rubber sections). The main lengths are vinyl which seem to last ok. I would replace the rubber ones in the engine bay aswell.
1980 345 DL_______1987 360 GLE (project car restored to GLT spec and B230FT'd)
1984 360 GLT______1987 360 GLT
1983 360 GLS______1989 360 GLE
1985 340 GL_______1986 340 1.4
1985 360 GLS______1995 940 SE 2.3 Turbo Estate (daily)
1987 340 GL 1.7

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SteveP
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Re: Looking to be a 340 owner!!

Post by SteveP » 16 Dec 2015 09:08 pm

Looks like a nice car for that money - check the brakes, replace brake fluid and do as Ride_on says and replace them fuel hoses. 340's also have a fairly common problem with rusty fuel tanks as water collects on the top of them, but it's a fairly simply job to replace it if you need to (unlike a 360!)

If the diff end plate is dripping, check the diff oil level and get a gasket kit from Classic Swede/Mac - the diff's themselves don't hold a huge quantity so they can run dry if left.
1989 - Volvo 360 GLT
1985 - Volvo 360 GLS
2008 - Volvo S60 SE Lux

robintett
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Joined: 14 Dec 2015 12:41 am
Location: Sheffield

Re: Looking to be a 340 owner!!

Post by robintett » 16 Dec 2015 09:29 pm

Cheers for the replys guys.

Brakes seemed all good on test drive, will check over all cables/pipes when i get it. Gettin a freind of mine to have a second look for me (knows a bit more than me) but most likely should be an owner on the weekend :)

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bogbasic
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Re: Looking to be a 340 owner!!

Post by bogbasic » 16 Dec 2015 11:22 pm

Really wicked motor - the problems you mentioned should be solvable without too much trouble.
1988 340 1.4 GL, 218k, 5 door (Grey Bess). Gone to CBA.
1991 340 1.7 GL, 64k, 5 door, petrol blue (Deep Blue).
1988 360 2.0 GLE, 140k, 5 door, ocean blue metallic (Blue Bess).
1989 340 1.7 GL, 108k, 3 door (Red Ness).
More info here!

robintett
Posts: 16
Joined: 14 Dec 2015 12:41 am
Location: Sheffield

Re: Looking to be a 340 owner!!

Post by robintett » 17 Dec 2015 12:06 am

Are there any known/common places for these to have oil leaks?

360beast
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Re: Looking to be a 340 owner!!

Post by 360beast » 17 Dec 2015 07:22 pm

The diff breather hose can block up which will cause a build up of pressure in the diff causing it to blow seals and leak oil.
Last edited by 360beast on 26 Dec 2015 12:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.

robintett
Posts: 16
Joined: 14 Dec 2015 12:41 am
Location: Sheffield

Re: Looking to be a 340 owner!!

Post by robintett » 26 Dec 2015 01:43 am

Picked her up and and was well till i took her for first long drive! Around 30 min.

Idle was too high, and the engine was dieseling, think this was due to idle too high. (pretty bad aswell, blew the brake servo vacuum hose off) So i have turned this down an no longer have that issue.

Problem now is i am having issues starting up (didnt have any issues before the long drive), its fine once started. Turning over fine just not starting. Im looking to change leads and plugs tomo, should i check inside distributor cap as ive heard there prone to issues? Just wondering if the dieseling will have caused any issues within the carb or elsewhere

Cheers!

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bogbasic
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Re: Newbie 340 owner!!

Post by bogbasic » 26 Dec 2015 02:40 am

Hello and merry Crimbos,

Dieseling sounds like you may have a car that has not been converted to unleaded petrol and it will therefore benefit from super-unleaded or unleaded plus an octane-boosting additive. A bit of dieseling should not do it too much harm.

The good old idle solenoid could be dodgy and sometimes people saw the end off it to keep the car running, but it is much better to get a working one. It sounds like everything to do with the carburettor needs a very thorough oil, the accerator cable on those cars is very, very notorious for getting stuck and the engine then runs at very high revs. Cleaning inside the distributor cap is the best thing to do after that. If it still refuses to start then you need to check if there is a spark at the plugs or a lack of fuel, but you knew that anyway, if you knew how to adjust the slow-running ;-0

It is very, very likely to be something very minor, so don't jump to conclusions that its anything major just yet!! I would say that changing the plugs and leads is probably over the top until you know there is something wrong with them - better just to clean them and check the plug gaps, along with cleaning the dizzy cap.
1988 340 1.4 GL, 218k, 5 door (Grey Bess). Gone to CBA.
1991 340 1.7 GL, 64k, 5 door, petrol blue (Deep Blue).
1988 360 2.0 GLE, 140k, 5 door, ocean blue metallic (Blue Bess).
1989 340 1.7 GL, 108k, 3 door (Red Ness).
More info here!

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