Up & Down

The car is ready for sale, sometime soon. Reading through this blog, you may judge what is our main reason of selling this lovely car. My dad announced that he cannot keep the car anymore; as the mechanic passed away. We just do not trust any other mechanic to 'touch' this car. Rather than seeing it dying, to sell off (preference is to enthusiats) may be a better solution. If anyone felt interestes in this car, just put your price in the comments column.

We have almost all service records from 1989 up until now. From 1989 to 1996, this car was serviced by VOLVO Authorised Service Center, Federal Auto. Then 1996 up to 2006, we send the car to the late Mr KC Ng, ex-Federal Auto man. Service book stamped by service center, and receipts of repair works done is still well kept; for reference.

Water getting inside cabin issues, settled! Odometer fixed! New glove box! Most of bushes changed, new bushes needed for antiroll bar. The engine, and hydraulic pumps are still excellent. May need top-overhaul few thousands later as it never been top-overhauled. Minimal rusts on the body, for perfection respraying will help. Normal wear & tear only; oil seals, gaskets, carburetter adjustments.

So, how much should this car priced??

the emotional part..... :(

Our regular mechanic, Mr Ng Kok Chai or also known as KC Ng is suffering from liver disease, jaundice; for about 2 months already. He was admitted to Sri Kota Medical Center, then transferred to Subang Jaya Medical Center, and finally now at University Hospital. He got the first alarm when he did his blood test at a clinic, and they found out that his blood got contaminated. He then advised to go to hospital for further clarification. It was at SJMC, where he was confirmed having infections in liver, and he had a weak liver, which make it worse. He told me, the cost for 4 days stay at SJMC was already RM11,000; which is a good reason for him to transfer to UH.

Yesterday, I went to visit him, during my lunch hours. Oh ALLAH!! He is a different man!! His face is so thin, but he is still himself, he still can recognize me, have a normal chit chat, although the pronounciation was not that clear. He had difficulties walking (when he wanted to go to the toilet). His hands shakes vigorously at the moment he want to drink. I was touched, to see a fit and healthy man, turned out to be a weak man. He is only 48 years old, but yesterday he was like a 70 years old man. I wish I can snap some photos, but it might not be a proper thing to do when visiting sick peoples; as if you want to save the 'last' pictures. Then I know, either we have to find out a new good mechanic; which is not easy, or sell the car; which is easier!! Switching to other mechanic after 10 years with him will not be easy.

Another sad part; last Saturday, I went to his workshop for regular oil change. No choice, its due already. His assistant is taking over the business now. For normal service, he can do the job. For major repairs, he also can do the job. But he got experiences, no theoretical knowledge; which i can pretty much say that for diagnostics, he is not the man. He do not have the speciality as Mr KC has. The nice and neat workshop became messy already. KC's neat and nice table, where he reads The Star and write bills, now loaded with parts already. What a sad story. Labor charges also increased, from RM8 to RM10. The 'warmness' is not there anymore.

Anyhow, I still wish him for a speed recovery.

USB in the 240 LIVE!!

Hi all... Just want to share an information. I have bought an MP3 FM TRANSMITTER, with 2 INPUTS; USB & LINE IN , and 2 OUTPUTS; FM & LINE OUT... Bought it last weekend at Pineapple Computers, TESCO Shah Alam for RM80 (not branded laaa, build quality is cheap one), the unit transmit well, but did not play the song well, the nicely transmitted song jerks, jumps, and scratches. Yesterday I went to the same shop and asked for replacement. Yahoo!!! The replacement unit works fine.

The principle is very simple. The unit got powered from the round 12V power supply output socket (cigarette, on the center dash console). Thus, this unit can be used for all cars (and lorries too??). It came with a small antenna wire, to enhance the transmission. Fortunately, the 240 Pioneer stereo system utilize the stock BOSCH in-cabin antenna. The antenna is a small round shaped, attached to the windscreen. As the antenna and its' wiring is INSIDE the car, I do not need to attach the small antenna provided. And the quality is GREAT!!! Its just like you are listening to a digital radio station like ERA. You can notice the difference between digital and analog radio stations, for example try to compare UFM, SelangorFM, with ERA; you will know.



Now, just plug in a USB pen drive, and the songs come out!!! No more wiring hassles, no need to burn CD and all that. Next target is to get a 1GB small size pen drive, and my music store will be on the roadways :)

This picture illustrate the working principle of the FM transmitter...

My First Hit :)

Last Friday night, I accidentally hit my neighbour's car. OMG!! I reverse reverse and reverse until I felt that I hit something, but not that hard, just 'soft hit'. I take a glance at my left side mirror, oooOOOooo, I hit my neighbour's Proton Wira rear door!! I am panic!! I went out the car and told him... Fortunately he is a good uncle. He did not blame me or get angry with me, he laugh at me!! And he said "Never mind, never mind, small dent only"... But still thinking of paying him some amount of money although he did not want it. Consequently, I was thinking of reverse sensor for few days, then...'no need laa...' :)

And another story of our regular mechanic, he felt sick for 2 months now. He suffers jaundice, admitted to hospital, and now back to home. Its just he is not ready for work. Waiting and waiting and waiting for his recovery, so that we can happily get him to diagnose all the vibrations problem we had.

wet exhaust....

survived thunderstorm....

Thank GOD. Yesterday I parked the car outside the house, in the middle of the road, facing heavy rains with thunderstorm. This morning I checked the carpet. WELL DONE!!! No more pool of water. Just some moisture, I beleive the ones left inside the carpet by previous leakages. I am going to observe for few weeks more before decided to go to the next stage; welding, busting off rusts, and touchup paintings.

fix pixs (cont.)

i vacuum any dirts and water residue around leakage area first...

and start to apply silicone sealant..of you got the gun type is better!!

use ice-cream stick to spread out the sealant nicely...REMEMBER TO SOAK IN SOAPY WATER FIRST!!!

make sure everything is clean!! please cover up your windscreen first!! see i am struggling to clean up silicone residues from the screen!!

fix pixs...

see how much water gets in...

after strip off...

the leakage area...

leakage occurs around this damn clip!!

what i used~~

WINDSCREEN HEALED !!

OK guys, I went to venture the solution myself. As suggested by my dad earlier, we might be able to seal the windscreen with silicone sealant. Last Saturday, this is really an unplanned work!! DO NOT DO UNPLANNED THINGS!! I initially planned to visit my mechanic that morning for long shaft and some brake works, unfortunately he was not feeling well. After finished up house chores, do not know what to do, with itchy hands, I dismantle the windscreen moulding, broke down few clips!! My intention was just to see how the windscreen being attached to the car. It was so simple, the windscreen just 'placed by glue', no holder whatsoever. I am now very confident with my mechanic, it won't break while detachment. Because the windscreen is some sort of floating on a layer of rubber seal and another layer of black epoxy cream. Also note that clips of the moulding are attached on the windscreen!!

I then pour out water from garden hose, got my brother to capture images of leakages. Oh ALLAH!! The leakage was soooo bad. I came to note that the leak area was around a clip. As there was a clip, so I don't think it is wise to seal from outside (mean to seal the clip together?? or seal without clip??). Thus I decided to seal it from inside. I detached the side black plastic pillar cover, stripped off some portion of rubber seals along top of the dash, and have 'clear & comfort' working space. I took a tube of Black RTV Silicone Sealant, ice-cream stick, and some soapy water. I started to patch them up slowly, use the ice-cream stick to spread the silicone evenly and to ensure they are neat. SIGH!! BEFORE YOU TOUCH THE SILICONE SEALANT, PLEASE TIP OFF YOUR HANDS (OR YOUR ICE CREAM STICK) WITH THE SOAPY WATER, THEN IT WON'T STICK ON THE SILICONE.

I have to admit, I am a beginner!! This is my second time handling silicone sealant. The first one is when I tried to seal the side lamp; A COMPLETE FAILURE!! This time, got it better :) Please make sure do not mess up with your windscreen. I mess it up with some silicone residues, it was a hardwork to clean them off!! I suggest you might want to cover your windscreen with maskin tape and plastic bags or newspaper.

And on Monday, I washed the car. Spray back with garden hose to check for leakages. Thanks GOD, it was GOOD!! No more drippings, not a single. However I still can see bubbles. Never mind. Will check it later. Pictures will be posted later, I am too busy lately with so many works :)

HOW I ADMIRE THIS MACHINE....

Yeah, finally got the front tyre changed!! The 'soft' Cood Year NCT5 transferred to the rear side. And the all new Silverstone Kruizer take over the steering now. Reason being is; we have been using Silverstone for many years, Silverstone Firefox to be exact. Yeah most mechanics hate Silverstone. Yups, Silverstone produced hard tyres, which are not comfortable on normal roads with potholes. On highways?? It sound terribly, the tyres are loud!! Silverstone Firefox also produced more vibrations and freak sounds as it ages.

That was then the reason for a change to Good Year NCT5, as recommended by most mechanics. Undeniable, with extra cost (Silverstone is cheaper) the NCT5 provide 'comfort mode'. Very soft, shock absorbing tyres, handles potholes very well, also very little noise on highways..BUT it did not handles the car well...especially when I have to take sharp corners. This may be because of the sidewall characteristic. Silverstone have more 'hard' sidewall compared to NCT5. It was so soft to handle potholes, unfortunately cannot handle sharp corners. We made a decision, switch back to Silverstone. To be able to handle sharp corners is more important for us rather than having comfortable tyres.

I always got 'qok qok...quek quek' sound from rear side of the car (fitted with Silverstone Firefox then) in the morning. My mechanic checked all bushes and he said everything is OK. He suspected the Siverstone is the culprit. True enough!! This morning, no more sound!!

The all new Silverstone Kruizer diminished the Firefox, comes out with great features. It comes with Noise Suppression Technology (NST), sinusoidal tread pattern and etc.. It cost me RM165 per tyre (for 185/70/R14).. All in all plus alignment, four wheel balancing, new air valves, it cost me RM371. Looking forward for a cruise and I will update on the tyre's performance.

This morning, I woke up very early in the morning, around 5.15am if not mistaken. I have to drive my dad to the Malaysia new Low Cost Carrier Terminal, Sepang. This is his very first time travelling with Air Asia, in fact he just have to go to Johor only. He sponsored additional RM50 for petrol; WOW! Thats too much because I just filled up RM30 last evening. It has been a while for the 240 not cruising on highways.

On the way, we discussed the 'windshield leakage' problem. He was very sure that if we try to detach the windshield, it will break!! As the car counts 17 years old this September from the delivery date back in September 1989, we are very sure that the epoxy used to attach the windshield was a super duper one. Even seeing new cars with cracked windshield; when they try to detach fractions on the epoxy, they will just use hammer!! Then you know how hard the epoxy was. So he suggested, why not we try to seal it from outside. Yeah, it is logical, cause if the outer part can be sealed, then no worries anymore. The inner part will not be affected. I will ask shops for this.. And from my readings, research on Google, there are some serious warnings about windshiled works. If in case the windshiled is not properly attached with super duper epoxy, in any event of accident, there are huge potential that the windscreen might fall apart from the car..Thats cool man, it will kill anybody easily!!!

Arrived at LCC Terminal around 7.00am, WOW!! The terminal is great!! Whoever never see planes, you can go there. You can see planes from short distance, even see the take offs and landings. The terminal also great. Got McD and all that. Classy look terminal. Not as bad as what I imagine from stories of Firan and Boy :) For me it is just more than enough for budget airlines usage. CONGRATULATIONS AIR ASIA!!!

Last Tuesday I rushed home after work hours ended at 5.30pm. I go straight to the car spray workshop, who did respray the exterior of the car back in 1998. I went and explained to him my case; got leakages on windshield seals, got rusted floorboard, also need some touchup. He frankly said he is not 'brave enough' to detach and reseal the windscreen as there are high chance that the windshield will broke (and he really afraid of that). But he said he can do welding works, busting the rusts, and touchup the car.

Touchup some dents, respray bumpers, will roughly costs over RM500. For the rusted floorboard, he insists to strip the carpet first to see how much area was really eaten by the rust; before he can give quotation. Then he made another offer...RM1800 for respray the whole exterior including bumpers + welding works..Thats great!! And the last offer he made was RM3000 for all interior & exterior; and get your color changed!!

After all he insists I go for the windshield repair first before sending the car to him to bust off the rusts. Yup, there is no use if the windshield still leaks, then water will still continue coming in and new rust will be formed...

I will update soon...

FLOODED!!!

This morning, the car driver's floorboard is really really wet. I cannot imagine what had happened to the floorboard. What I can imagine now is that the noise damper sponge under the carpet will surely started to deterioriated. And sooner or later, if I am not fast enough, the same thing will occur as what happened on driver's side floor board; RUSTED!! I am targetting this week to send the car for whole body restoration. To welding back the floorboard, to seal the windshield tightly (which is the root of this so heavy flood), repair dents and some paint touch-ups... I want to strip off the carpet and see myself with my naked eyes, what had happened to the floorboard after 17 years of service; and of course make necessary repairs if needed. I will update those works soon. Watch out!!

READ THIS!!

Vehicle Repair Log 2005
Last modified: 16th November 2005
Next Timing Belt Change: 320000km / 2008
Next Service: 263000km
Year: 1989
Make: Volvo
Model: 240 GL
Vehicle ID No. (VIN): YV1244833K5-379045

Date
Description of Work
Shop Name
Mechanic
Notes
Labor Cost
Parts
Cost
Receipt No
Total Cost



07/01/2005
240035km Service, Change; Engine Oil, Oil Filter
KC Ng Auto Service & Repair
Ng
RM87.00
10190
RM87.00

17/01/2005
Change; Coil Spring Hose LHS & RHS
KC Ng Auto Service & Repair
Ng
RM90.00
10206
RM90.00

07/06/2005
252075km Service, Change; Engine Oil, Oil Filter, Plugs, 4pcs Brake Pads, 1pc LHS Ball Joint, 1pc LHS Caliper Pin
KC Ng Auto Service & Repair
Ng
All bushes inspected and OK, Center long-shaft mounting found faulty but still can use, All suspension and undercarriage bolts retightened, Hot-start problem solved by adjusting carburetter & choke setting (engine tuned)
RM130.00
RM479.00
10445
RM609.00

20/07/2005
Readjusted Front Wheel Bearings, Change; Long Shaft Rubber Mounting
KC Ng Auto Service & Repair
Ng
He installed the new rubber, there comes a very little vibration from the long shaft when in 30-40 km/h - Readjusted wheel bearings solve squeaks and uneasy handling
RM60.00
RM80.00
10568
RM140.00

22/07/2005
Change; 2pcs Good Year NCT5 tyres + 2pcs Valve + Alignment + Balancing
KYM Power Speed
Veteran Mech Biasa
Change front tyres, RHS old tyre replace spare tyre, did alignment & four wheel balancing
RM34.00
RM360.00
16738
RM394.00

27/07/2005
Change; Spark Plug Cables 5pcs HOTSHOT Australian Made (YELLOW)
Batu Gajah Spare Part
Ahmad Zhafri
Changed 4 cables, the coil cable are different
RM0.00
RM25.00
RM25.00

14/09/2005
257075km Service, Change; Engine Oil, Oil Filter, 1pc AC Fuel Pump+Gaskets(Pierburg Original)
KC Ng Auto Service & Repair
Ng
Changed AC Fuel Pump (RM275) due to excessive leakage, Carburetter's diaphragm said to have some leaks, Ng retighten/adjusted diaphragm and carburetter fittings
RM40.00
RM275.00
RM390.00

01/10/2005
Change; Pneumatic Vacuum Hose + 1 set Bosch W7DC Plugs + Pioneer Stereo 6A Fuse
Pneumatic Shop Jln Bendahara + Ecco Trading Ipoh + Hardware Shop Sect18
Ahmad Zhafri
Tangan gatal, pergi bukak plugs, then one plug jatuh, damn!! That plug broke (air gap melekat) / On the way balik SA, suddenly Pioneer on off intermittenly and dies off, found out that connection of 6A Fuse underneath carpet get corroded, the fuse itself broken
RM0.00
RM20.50
RM20.50

2x/12/2005
Change; OEM Pickup Timing Sensor
KC Ng Auto Service & Repair
Ng
Insulation of the faulty unit exposed, less pickup, notice very good pickup after change
RM20.00
RM190.00
RM210.00

Year End Tolerance (left some behind such as aircond blower motor replacement, forgot how much)
RM300.00

Total repair expenses:
RM2,265.50

-----------> people always ask me; 'doesn't it is expensive to maintain this car??' above is DATALOG for my service record for year 2005. Read the datalog and do your own judgement, because to say it is expensive or no is abstract. Some people find the price is affordable, others may find it was expensive and another level of people may find it cheap fro exactly the same price. Ponder upon this. All in all we have spent around RM2265.50 last year on the car, including changing tyres; which make the figures up. You might want to read it slowly to understand how the DATALOG being arranged :)

Da Pixs!!

Upon request, I uploaded some of the pictures of the 240. Yeah!! This is how beautiful my dad's sweet heart. Remember the first Monday I took this car from him; he called me very early in the morning, "Assalamualaikum, hi, how are you?? Everything is fine?? I am driving, on the way to office, just call to say HI".....I started to think why he act weirdly, he never called me before. Then he continued the conversation, "The car (VOLVO) is OK?? No problem??"....wahahaha...now I got it, he called me because he missed the car; for a week he keep updating on the car in the morning. Then for months he keep asking about the car now and then. Come, enjoy what my dad enjoys.

This picture taken on 2003. Nothing changed except for steering, now have to put on plain black steering cover. The original steering started to crack, hot!!

The engine bay. Also took on 2003. Some changes occured. Have changed new plug wires to OEM Bougicord (RM150 for 6 wires) and the expansion tank (RM120 ORIGINAL).

This is latest engine bay picture during recent aircond service. With new black plug wires, new plug wires holder (RM7). New battery, AAM with free delivery on Hari Raya Aidil Adha (RM160).

Posing outside the house :)

Suffering from the high petrol price!! No just kidding, this picture taken just after it got started. Add 100,000km to the one you read on board. I managed to repair the ODOMETER only after 5 years of disfunction. So promotion, anyone have ODOMETER problem just contact me, I may guide you. Regret I did not take any pictures when I got them fixed.

[CLICK TO SEE LARGER PICTURE]

Extracted from REUTERS

By Stephanie Nebehay

GENEVA (Reuters) - IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad, ranked 4th richest man in the world, drives a 15-year-old car and always flies economy class, in part to inspire his 90,000 employees worldwide to see the virtue of frugality.

The billionaire Swede, who turns 80 on March 30, explained his legendary habits during a rare television interview in Switzerland, his adoptive home for nearly 30 years.

His fortune was recently estimated at $28 billion by Forbes magazine -- trailing only Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, U.S. investor Warren Buffett and Mexican industrialist Carlos Slim.

"People say I am cheap and I don't mind if they do. But I am very proud to follow the rules of our company," Kamprad told French-language Swiss Broadcasting Corporation.
Asked to confirm he drove an old Volvo, he said: "She is nearly new, just 15 years old, or something like that."

Interviewer Darius Rochebin teased that Ikea employees were always told to write on both sides of the paper.

"Why not? If there is such a thing as good leadership, it is to give a good example. I have to do so for all the Ikea employees," Kamprad retorted. "Everything we earn we need as a reserve. We have to still develop the IKEA group. We need many billions of Swiss francs (dollars) to take on China or Russia," he added.

Ikea is the world's biggest furniture retailer, with 202 stores in 32 countries.
Known for its inexpensive self-assembly furniture, the family-owned business claims its hefty catalog is the most widely read publication after the Bible.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I searched the Googles and good to know he rides on 240!!!

MY LAST WEEK FUEL CONSUMPTION...

This is my fuel consumption, recorded last week. This might not be accurate because I just took it once, should repeat few times and take average. But its OK, just for rough idea.

I filled in with ESSO brand petrol, alongside Federal Highway Shah Alam;


Initial odometer reading : 264587km
Final odometer reading : 264667km
Distance travelled : 80km

I filled up RM20, with current petrol price RM1.92 per litre;

RM1.92 = 1 litre
RM20 = 10.416667 litre

Therefore my km/l will be;

10.46667 litre = 80km
1 litre = 7.68km
thus, 7.68km/l

My cent/km;

80km = RM20
1km = RM0.25
thus, RM0.25/km

These readings obtained from 'light footed' style of driving, morning, evening, and night drive, mostly in jams and slow traffic (going to and back from work). Seldom touch 110km/h or 3000rpm, mostly 2500rpm and below. I think it is OK. No need to worry :)

When it get wet.... for years, we suffer from water pouring off from the aircond linkages behind the center dash; again FOR YEARS!! I tried so many air-cond shops, and their answers are; "your air-cond is just too cold", thats why the hoses condensate, maybe. Until one last visit to Ah Ming, Sri Muda (tribute to him) recently, he adviced for complete servicing and cleaning of the cooling coil, and also the a/c drain hose.

Initially I am a bit worried of his capability; is he familiar enough with VOLVOs as they deal mostly with local and Japan made cars. And throughout the work, I know he can do it, he know his stuffs well. Upon dismantle the cooling coil, you can expect a problem from a bunch of wires that located just next to the coil. This is quite a challenge, to slowly bring out the cooling coil, without damaging the wires; and this took most of the time!!

Upon cleaning and all that, everything was fine, no leakages nor clogs. Everything assembled properly back. He checked the drain hose, yeah got crack on the nipple that goes to the chassis. He took one straight hose, tape it together; a creative work. AND NO MORE WATER!!!

After few weeks, I noticed water started to come back. Know what?? I took out the rubber mats, replace with newspaper only. Then I can clearly see where is the water came from. I am surprised!! My windscreen!! It leaks!! For both sides!! For driver's and passenger's side :(

What more?? It RUSTING THE FLOOR BOARD!! OMG.... speechless when I saw the rust under the car. Yeah, thats mean a big project is on the way!!! Next tough job is to 'seal' everything in the car, make it totally DRY is my next mission.

How do I celebrate life; for 3 years NOW!!

Here comes a story of me, myself. I have low back pain problems for years. I was diagnosed with prolapsed disc on L5 and S1 (for those who have spine problems will surely understand L5 and S1). As this is not a medical class, so no explanation on spine itself :). Find it from Google, easy.

I have difficult time driving on my dad's car, my back will start to complain every time I drive the car. Wonderful enough, I found that 240's seat is very comfortable and supportive. Sometimes, I even jump into the car when my back hurts. And it healed!!

During weekends, after morning prayer, I love to sit down on the seat, sometimes even got slept on it; soundly. Then I started my research on 240 seats, why they can suit me while others can't. I found out that during the design process, VOLVO man and medical practitioners worked together for the seat; or for me!! Enjoy the seat :)