Sell my 940 Turbo and get a 960?

So here is a bit of a dilemma I have: I adore my 1993 940 Turbo Wagon to death. All I've done performance wise is put a boost controller on it and is an absolute rocket ship; beating just about everything I have ever raced. It's comfy, durable, and is, by far, the most reliable brick that has ever been in my driveway. Sure the driver's seat is torn and a piece of the front fascia is missing, but it's my baby.

Like many of us, I searched Craigslist for other vehicles for sale in my area, and I really like the 960s. They seem to have a great level of refinement over the 940 along with the much more acquainted interior. The front end seems really soft compared to my 940, but still elegant. The main differentiator for me is the engine. A 2.3L Turbo vs. the N/A 2.9L six cylinder is a big difference. There is nothing like boost, and I sure would miss it very much. With 252,000 miles on my 940 and this other car only having 161,000, it would be a very nice upgrade to a newer vehicle like this 960. It's going for $1,700 and looks immaculate. I don't know how I could go wrong.

What do you guys think? Looking for some opinions on this very tough decision I'm going to make. Thanks!

I thought about a 960 but the rear suspension ran me off. If you're keeping it stock though it may be an upgrade. Also depending on the year, I believe some of the early years had issues with the block.

A near perfect Volvo to me would be a late 960 with the M90 and kaplhenke suspension....I don't have the skills or cash for that.

I hear the 940s are great cars. Fix the seat, take care of her and keep truckin. You can put a lot of miles on these cars.

It's the refinement that gets me. Doesn't seem like much, but when you're spending your time inside the car, you want it to be a nice place to be. I'm not saying the 940 is a terrible place to be, but the 960 is a nice step up.

They do seem very nice. It depends on what you want. Don't expect to find much aftermarket or performance parts. But as far as a nice cruiser I bet it beats the 940.

Trust me, I have a hard enough time finding parts for the 940.

If anything in the cam drive fails those engines are instant junk.

The level of refinement comes with a price. I used to have a 1969 164 and while I loved the car it had enough specialty parts that I ended up preferring the four cylinder cars. The 164 was a reliable , quiet, fast, smooth ride compared to the 140 series I've had. But I couldn't keep it.
I think if you stick with your turbo and fix the high mileage issues it'll get you another 200k miles before major service again.

Want more refinement? Add sound insulation and get a quiet exhaust are a couple things you can do. Fix the things the car needs and you'll feel much better about keeping it.

You guys are making some very valid points here. I do feel like the 940 is a significantly more rugged vehicle than the 960 would ever be. Keep in mind I also have a 2015 Ford F-250, and this is my secondary vehicle. You can get me out of the Volvo, but you can't get the Volvo out of me.

Keep giving me more suggestions. Much appreciated.

LOL I also have a F250 but mine is from 1986 with a base cab. Your truck is like a luxury truck compared to mine.

I believe the 940 turbo came standard with the G80 lsd. The lsd is not standard on a 960 as far as I know.

Not sure if mine has it. Every time I'm working on it in the garage I consider jacking it up and checking, but loose focus and decide not to. I'll admit, I'm a driver with lots of finesse and drive fast, and the B230FT is an outstanding performer in that category. Seems as though the 960 is more laid back and not quite as speed inspiring. I almost always take the Volvo on long trips because of its space and the fact that my SiriusXM subscription is activated in that since I never get the chance to add my truck to the account.

I can speak for both. I currently have a 1990 740 turbo wagon with a manual boost controller and agree with you that its a rocket, very dependable and a lot of fun to drive. It has certainly grown on me.

I also have a 1996 960 that I love to drive as well. I also agree that its a more refined Volvo. For me, its a nice very comfortable highway cruiser that was more comfortable than my 740 until I found and installed a set of S90 in the 740. That made a big difference in seat comfort.

But as "too old for this" mentioned, the 2.9L engine is toast, if the timing belt breaks. At minimum you will need to pull the head to replace bent valves. To prevent this, I had the timing belt, pulleys and tensioners changed at the recommended intervals but it eventually overheated and blew a head gasket. Needless to say, I bought another. More things engine wise to pay close attention to. The redblocks are a little more forgiving.

Eventually I will have to get rid of the 740 but it will be very hard parting with it.

I absolutely adore my 92 960, and really really like my moms 97 S90 (960II). It rides nice, corners nice, feels rather refined.

To what others have said - 11 years ago a freak accident occurred. The serpentine belt snapped and got bound up at the bottom, causing the timing belt to jump 3 teeth. Had to replace all the valves after we let her sit for a year. I was too young to remember then but all I know is that was very expensive, but it's worked fine all the years since. Interference engines can be nerve wracking!

Also keep in mind that the newer the 960, the longer the timing belt is supposed to last.

1992 - 25,000 miles (but most were retrofitted to 1993 type by a service bulletin)
1993 - 30,000 miles
1994-6 - not sure
1997-8 75,000 miles

Also from more of a performance stand point, the straight-6 is a great motor to drive. Decent power band, torque is plentiful around town. I also know that they use a plastic radiator which tends to like to fail. Upgrade to a metal one and roll. The 960s had a lot of cooling issues

I looooove my 940, but I am here with you. Kinda over the old beater feeling, its loud, makes noise everywhere; reliable as hell though so idk if ill ever give her up.

The thing about the 960s is the electronically controlled transmissions, i feel they would be a hoot since there is a good amount of source coding and write ups for paddle shifters

Having owned both a 940 and a 960, the 960 is far more refined and more of a highway cruiser. I currently own a 1996 960 4-door that I've been nursing back to health.

They do share a lot of the same little issues with the 940, like power seat cables, fuel level sensors and other little things.

The 1995+ 960 is far more different in terms of suspension. The rear nivomat suspension used on the 94- was replaced with a transverse leaf spring (Corvette style baby!), standard struts and more similar to the FWD cars. They ride great and handle well too. I just replaced the front struts on mine. Also check control arm bushings, they ware out. The S90/V90s had aluminum control arms which are an upgrade. The front brake rotors are the same as the P80 cars, which IMHO are undersized for the 960 and warp frequently. Rear brakes are nearly the same as the AWD P80 cars-same pads in fact.

The inline 6 is a silky smooth power plant, well suited for this type of vehicle. Things to watch out for: leaking head gaskets, check the rear corner of the engine on the passenger side. I've seen several, including mine leak coolant and or oil at that corner. I pulled my head off and had it redone with new exhaust valves (preventive maintenance, they were pretty nasty at 234K). Timing belts are a must on these cars, much like other whiteblock cars. Be sure to replaced the idler and tensioner pulleys, I've seen them seize up and knock the belt loose, bye bye valves! Intake gaskets can leak fuel trim and misfire codes. Coil packs rarely fail, but ignition modules can fail.

Fuel rails can leak on these cars. Keep and eye out at the end of the fuel rail that faces the radiator, they'll leak there. There is an updated rail kit sold at the dealer that fixes this issue.

Radiator upper hose nipples can become brittle and break, heater control valves also can leak and break.

Transmission is a fully electronic Aisin unit, same one used in the Lexus LS400. Shifts are crisp and clean, I notice mine shifts a bit harsh in sport mode, I'm assuming due to its mileage. The fluid looks to be original and I will flush it out soon, as well as add a external transmission cooler. PNP switches can fail overtime, mine did. A replacement from the dealer is around $150. Use only the OEM, not the junk parts sweden because it's a pain to replace, have to lower the exhaust and remove the cooler lines. These transmissions seem to last a good long time if driven leisurely, abused ones seem to fail more often.

The A/C system in the 960 overpowers the 940, my 960 has no problem keeping the interior cool even on the hottest Atlanta summer day where as my 940's would struggle.

Interiors are far more refined. I upgraded my seats to S90 suede/leather trimmed seats.

These are very nice cars, they don't like to be neglected and buying one that has lacked basic maintenance can become a money pit. Choose wisely.

Another option is to swap over the interior of a later 960/v90 into your 940, you get the comfort of the 960 interior with the reliability and maintenance friendliness of the redblock. While you're at it you can throw in some better sound proofing to seal the deal.

Matt86 said:

These are very nice cars, they don't like to be neglected and buying one that has lacked basic maintenance can become a money pit. Choose wisely.

Click to expand...

^^^

What he said. Whiteblock cars thrive on preventive maintenance.

I own both.
Will be selling the 940 soon.

I think I'll just keep my rocket ship for now. Thanks for all the input guys. Much appreciated.

I had a 1992 960. I loved the pick up and speed but the steering was slushy and the steering wheel vibrated without provocation. The interior was freakin' luxurious, though. Best front seats ever...

If you can get a hold of a gen II, go for it. The drive is much better and the car looks a lot nicer. Volvo seemed to iron out a lot of the kinks by that point. I could have bought a '96 but opted for an '88 780 instead. I regret that decision big time.

That said, nothing wrong with a Turbo 940. I've always wanted one those.