Volvo: Speedometer needle stuck at 40mph, volvo c70, speedometer needle

Question
Hi Jason,
I'm new to the Volvo world. I'm working on my brothers 86 240DL that he bought new. The speedometer needle is stuck at 40 mph,the odometer is working, do you know what the problem might be? I ordered a repair manual, but haven't received it yet. How difficult is it to change the strut inserts? I believe they're original and the car rides like it. Any help would be appreciated. What do you think of the Volvo C70's, I really like the body style.
Regards,
Joe


Answer
The internal spinner for the spedometer is probably stuck.  You'll have to remove the instrument cluster and get at the gearing from the inside to see if there is an obvious problem.  If not, the best solution is to replace the speedometer/odometer cluster with one closely matching your miles from a junkyard.  Changing the strut shocks is not a huge deal, probably an afternoon job, provided you have a way to loosen the upper strut nuts (under the plastic caps on either side inside the engine compartment).  They're usually at 160 ft/pnds of torque, and if you don't have an impact wrench of some time, you'll just end up spinning the entire shock in it's frame inside the spring.  Sometimes you can take the car to a nice shop that can loosen the nuts for you with their wrench so you can finish the job yourself.  As for the C70, it is a very refined car and looks just as good inside as out.  It drives wonderfully and has great performance.  What I don't know is it's mechanical reputation.  Some of the 5 cylinder transverse Volvo's didn't have a good history, so I would check Consumer reports on the C70 to make sure they've gotten all the mechanical bugs out.  Hope that helps.