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+--- Thread: 1993 Volvo 945 NA Automatic (/showthread.php?tid=11323)
1993 Volvo 945 NA Automatic - *insertusernamehere* - 11-24-2016
Copy pasta from a post I made on the Volvo forum:
How's it going guys. I'm brand new to the Volvo community and Volvo's.
Two weeks ago I purchased my 940 for $900 and so far I'd say I made out pretty darn well on this pick up. I love the usability, space and turning radius. It's slow but steady and unfortunately horrific on gas especially considering it has a 20 gallon tank. I think my scope will adjust with time but for now half tank is my empty.
Here is a picture from the day I took it home
![[Image: dbf4352b0524dd73d78c2da4071f70e7.jpg]](http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161124/dbf4352b0524dd73d78c2da4071f70e7.jpg)
The paint is rough and needs love. I think it may have been in a fender bender on the front on end due to a poorly sprayed spot on the hood and a slightly misaligned hood. The front driver seat is completely torn up and the passenger seat could use some love. The back is good though. The entire car was just very dirty and the previous owner was not much of an enthusiast.
However, after digging through some receipts I found in the glove box and emptying old parts out of the trunk compartments I learned that the previous-previous owner was quite the enthusiast. That's where the prancing moose stickers are from and he's bought a ton of maintenance pieces from ipd and fcp. Nice to know.
But I can't leave things alone and will be picking up where he left off. I've already done the inner tie rod on the passenger side, water pump, got a new muffler (old one was rusted), new wiper blades, tag bulbs/headlights/fog bulbs. I've cleaned, cleaned, cleaned and cleaned and it STILL needs to be cleaned more. Here's a pic i shot yesterday
![[Image: 4ab6ff56097effc8dc755b6401dbb376.jpg]](http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161124/4ab6ff56097effc8dc755b6401dbb376.jpg)
Here is my list of problems/updates/fixes I would like to address for the next few months:
Trans fluid flush: shes smooth as butter when cold but starts to kick a bit when it warms up
New front seats: I can see the heating elements on the driver seat, no bueno. I removed the seat covers the previous owner had on it because they were disgusting and I just can't live with it. I have a line on a beautiful set for $100 but they're 8 hours away ugh. They even look like 960 seats!!
Oil change: this will happen as soon as I have a day off. The oil and filter is sitting at home. Will probably pick up plugs and just do those same time
Investigate turn signal issue: when I throw on the left turn signal I'm getting the fast blinking and the front turn signal isn't coming on. I believe the rear works. The left signal will work on the first time I throw it on after starting the car, blinks at normal speed too. Only the first time. After that it's fast blinking and the front cuts out.
Investigate fogs: despite changing the bulbs they aren't working. I don't know if it's the switch or the plugs yet. I want to switch out the entire setup for one solid assembly rather than the two.
All 4 shocks: meh I don't think I've ever owned a car with all good shocks. I'll probably never do this. It rides well enough. I'll keep it listed though.
Headunit and speakers: one of the previous owners was getting into something with it. All front grills aren't attached as well as they could be, front speakers are aftermarket, the rear ones are removed and the headunit doesn't work. I'll do the headunit and have somewhere install some Kenwood speakers all around for me.
AC: According to the previous owner the AC doesn't work but we're rolling into the winter season now. I'll worry about this when I need to.
Investigate creak sound when push on the brake pedal: very slight noise, only just as you engage the pedal at the same spot, you hear it right on the firewall behind the steering wheel, probably just needs something in the brake booster. Pedal feel, pressure, efficiency is consistent, doesn't have an apparent issue to me.
Wheels/grill/tint: I hate the wheels being black so I'm gonna spray them back to silver and if I see another set that I like more that fit *cough*turbo wheels* then I'll get those but far from priority. Also gonna spray the fins on the grill black or dark grey. It's very chrome-ey. I would also like tint sometime, the windows are massive and plentiful, fishbowl doesn't even describe it.
Paint: claybar, polish and wax, nothing crazy I just wanna get rid of the dullness.
Question: I would really really love it if you guys could share with me what your rpms are at 70 and 80. My car is turning 3000-3500rpms and its DRINKING the gas. I'm led to believe from another Volvo nerd that I should be turning 2500rpms at 70mph. So I'm trying to figure out if I have a different rear end than normal or what. I used a little over 1/4 tank to do 120miles and with a 20 gallon tank that's ALOT. It's $30 just to fill up a half tank at like $2.65 gallon. My old car would be full at $25 so I'm still in the shock phase lol.
But yeah all in all I'm liking the car so far, it's really solid and looks like it'll prove to be really reliable. It does GREAT at highway speeds, it's slow but very very smooth and comfortable. The 4cyl has a nice low hum, and sends no vibrations through the car. Its a very low strung engine, torque-ey (relatively) and gets all its business done below 4k, no need to rev it out really. The turning radius makes it easy to maneuver in smaller spaces so I don't even question "can it fit", I know it'll fit. I need to keep buying big things and carry lots of people to make use of all this new surface area lol.
Looking forward to doing the maintenance and bringing it back to some stock glory.
Re: 1993 Volvo 945 NA Automatic - .RJ - 11-24-2016
Why doesnt this have a v8 yet?
This would also be acceptabru <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.roadraceautox.com/showthread.php?46151-Meatball-Sushi-Volvo-build">http://www.roadraceautox.com/showthread ... olvo-build</a><!-- m -->
Re: 1993 Volvo 945 NA Automatic - JPolen01 - 11-25-2016
If you're going to to do the head unit why don't you install the speakers yourself? It's pretty simple
Re: 1993 Volvo 945 NA Automatic - *insertusernamehere* - 11-25-2016
JPolen01 Wrote:If you're going to to do the head unit why don't you install the speakers yourself? It's pretty simpleI'm actually gonna ask James to do it sometime. I don't like electrical stuff. I googled how to do the headunit and it got too complicated like 3 words in.
Re: 1993 Volvo 945 NA Automatic - Jake - 11-25-2016
I like where you're going with this.
Look up how much decent shocks cost, you may be able to do all four for a few hundred bucks and it will be a surprising difference.
Have you hand-calculated your MPG yet? Run a full tank through it and do the math, see what you're actually getting. Hard to gauge based on the fuel gauge reading as it could be slightly off car-to-car. I would bet that mileage would improve with new plugs and a new air filter (unless that looks new already). Keep in mind, you've got a naturally-aspirated 4-banger pulling a 3,300 lb wagon around and it will have to work hard-ish to do that once you add the weight of you, other passengers, kegs of Natty Ice, etc.
Looking forward to seeing what's next with it!
Re: 1993 Volvo 945 NA Automatic - Mike - 11-25-2016
You roughly estimated 24mpg highway. That doesn't sound like there's a problem. It's a heavy car with old tech.
Re: 1993 Volvo 945 NA Automatic - JustinG - 11-25-2016
If you are back in RVA we can knock out the headunit whenever you have the time.
Re: 1993 Volvo 945 NA Automatic - rherold9 - 11-25-2016
JustinG Wrote:If you are back in RVA we can knock out the headunit whenever you have the time.+juan
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Re: 1993 Volvo 945 NA Automatic - *insertusernamehere* - 11-25-2016
JustinG Wrote:If you are back in RVA we can knock out the headunit whenever you have the time.Oh oh will gladly take you up on that.
Re: 1993 Volvo 945 NA Automatic - *insertusernamehere* - 11-25-2016
Oh yeah. While I was cleaning I figured out that the plugs that came out of the dash fit perfectly into the Garmin GPS that I found in the glove box. I have no idea if I was meant to get that with the sale but its apparently not being missed. That alone made the entire purchase worth it lol
Re: 1993 Volvo 945 NA Automatic - Senor_Taylor - 11-25-2016
Jake Wrote:add the weight of you, other passengers, kegs of Natty Ice, etc.
NOW YOU'RE TALKING!
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Re: 1993 Volvo 945 NA Automatic - Beej - 11-30-2016
All that space in the Mazda got you hooked on wagons, eh? I like it! Dunno what it is about Volvos, but I just like'em. I also know, like, next to nothing about them.
Calling it a Turbobrick will just feel wrong until there's a turbo on there, so...?
Manual swap difficult on these?
*insertusernamehere* Wrote:Question: I would really really love it if you guys could share with me what your rpms are at 70 and 80.At 70mph, the M5 turns 2400 and the Jeep 1900. Haven't had the M3 out to check yet, pretty sure it's higher. EDIT: not worth a new post but the M3 is at like 2600ish.
Re: 1993 Volvo 945 NA Automatic - SlimKlim - 11-30-2016
I really hope you've started calling this "The Vo" like in Workaholics.
That does sound like a lot of RPMs to be turning on the highway, but then again it might need to be geared that way with the 4 cylinder. Are you sure it's shifting into 4th/overdrive?
Re: 1993 Volvo 945 NA Automatic - ScottyB - 11-30-2016
my 2.5RS turns 3200 RPM at 70mph.
its a big, unaerodynamic, automatic-strangled 4 cylinder using some very old tech from a time when gas was $0.99 a gallon. i doubt anything is really wrong. you came from a tiny car with a miata engine, i'm not surprised the numbers are a bit of a shock.
2 things:
- what Joey said, are you sure its kicking into overdrive or locking the converter?
- keep your speeds to 70 or less on the highway if you're really sweating the mpg's. air resistance is exponential, the difference in drag between 70 and 75 mph is quite a bit more than the difference between 40 and 45 mph for instance.
Re: 1993 Volvo 945 NA Automatic - Jake - 11-30-2016
As soon as Justin helps you get the sound system all fixed up, this has to be your "break it in" music:
[youtube]tKOVF1qwPzI[/youtube]
Re: 1993 Volvo 945 NA Automatic - rherold9 - 11-30-2016
ScottyB Wrote:my 2.5RS turns 3200 RPM at 70mph.
My little 2.0 was close to ~3.4k at 80mph and like ~3.1k at 70mph in 5th.
Re: 1993 Volvo 945 NA Automatic - SlimKlim - 11-30-2016
The BMW sits right at 3k @ 70mph with the 3.15 in it. Idk about the VW exactly but 5th and 6th gears are looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong. I averaged 36mpg on my way home for Thanksgiving.
Re: 1993 Volvo 945 NA Automatic - D_Eclipse9916 - 11-30-2016
*looks in garage and laughs at 20 something being "horrendous gas mileage" *
Land Rover struggles to get over 20 on highway
Diesel struggles to get over 20 on highway
Its a volvo brick that is old. 25mpg was good back in the day. Don't let Forum guys trick you who say " I get 70mpg in my volvo". It hurts me when I see on some of the diesel forums guys with lifts, big tires, and a 7500lb truck claiming 25-27mpg.
Re: 1993 Volvo 945 NA Automatic - rherold9 - 11-30-2016
D_Eclipse9916 Wrote:Diesel struggles to get over 20 on highway
Especially when the diesel is just sitting at 1500-1700rpm on the highway and doesn't even need to downshift to go up hills and yet it only gets 19mpg...
Lol @ 25mpg with a lift and big tires. Were the hypermilling and running at 60mph on flat highway for like 5 miles?
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Re: 1993 Volvo 945 NA Automatic - *insertusernamehere* - 11-30-2016
Yeah I forgot to report back. But basically what you all said, box shape + 3000somethingpounds + 4cyl + 4.10 diff = I should drive at 65mph for best economy according to the Volvo boys. Anything above that and it'll kill the tank.
I'll get used to it. I've done another 120 miles around town since the 120hwy and it's actually used a little bit less. I'm still above half so that's nice. I have been purposefully babying it. I'm gonna drive out this entire tank and see how many miles I get. I'm at ~250miles at half tank. I can honestly also say I wasn't expecting it to run premium gas. It's not that big a deal if the tank was smaller but I should be OK. I went by Costco last night and they had premium at $2.10 as opposed to $2.40+ that I found everywhere else so I'll be buying gas there from now on lol. I think I'm still in shock I reread this and it's really not *that* bad overall.