First off, let me explain that my experience as documented below was an extremely rare occurrence. A perfect storm of weather, new parts, and regular maintenance mixed to create a headache which was only resolved when I dug a proverbial hole to the crux of the issue. Although you may not run...

When your car just won't start, you're not usually in a dire situation. You can call a tow truck and get yourself a jump. Even better, some good Samaritans will see you with your hood lifted up and offer the use of their car and jumper cables. If it happens that your car dies on you while you're...

We live in a throw-away society. If it doesn’t work, we tend to toss it in the bin. Bike tire has a hole? Toss it instead of patching it. Oven stopped working? Get a new one. Wiper blades start streaking? Buy a new one. Hold on there. Wipers are commonly tossed out in their entirety because the...

A relay is a simple device, but when a relay fails, its can be very difficult to diagnose. The Volvo 940 has a very common failure of the Radio Suppression Relay. Despite the name, it neither suppresses anything nor is it related to the radio. What it does is simply give power to the fuel...

For many enthusiasts, increased road noise isolation simply means there is less communication between the driver and the road. A quiet engine and exhaust prevents you from knowing what’s happening under the hood. Worst of all, all of these additions to reduce noise in the cabin equals more...

If you have been experiencing poor braking performance in the form of a stiff pedal, don’t immediately think you need a new master cylinder or brake booster. The simple and cheap replacement of the one-way brake booster valve could help remedy these braking problems. My Volvo 940 recently...

A few years ago I had all four dampers on my car replaced, including the rear dampers as well as the front strut inserts. The operation went rather smoothly with the help of a friendly mechanic. It would have been a good idea to have replaced everything in the strut assembly at the same time, but...

If you own a Volvo 940, you’ll be happy to know that replacing your front wheel bearings is no more difficult than replacing a set of rotors. In many cases that I’ve seen, backyard mechanics resort to amazingly long extension bars to get the axle nut to budge, sometimes hanging off of it like a...

The Polar Vortex this past winter was quite the weather system. Temperatures regularly dipped below negative 20C, even reaching negative 30C on a few occasions. Farther up north, it was even worse. Wind chill along lake Erie reached to 48 below zero. To put this into perspective, your regular...

I bought a replacement steering rack used from the local Volvo recycler. I had begun experiencing lumpy steering, and after doing a power steering fluid flush, it wouldn't go away. For whatever reason, I guessed it was the rack as opposed to the pump. Luckily, I guessed right, and it was obvious...