Hi, I'm new to the 343 and just registered today.

When I'm not in the UK I live part-time on the Canary Island of La Palma and a re-patriating German gave me a 28 year old red 343 with CVT. It had been garaged for 8 years and took a bit of effort (and money) to get it roadworthy and through the the ITV (spanish MOT) . It must be unique to this island which doesn't even have a Volvo agent and even proper Volvos are like hens' teeth. What really worries me is from where I can source new drive belts as the existing ones must be near the end of their life, even if they haven't been used for 8 years. In the meantime I'm only using it a second car and for short trips at that.

I've googled the internet for them but not found anyone who sources them. Can I just go into a Volvo main agent in the UK and pick them up? Or must they be sourced elsewhere?

In view of the age of the car, the climate and the lay-up I'm trying to change all the rubber bits so the same question goes for radiator hoses. Renault main agent?

Any ideas about door seals?

I've ordered a pair of door lock rubbers from V3M. The existing ones have almost disappeared!

get in concact with Danny from www.dafhobby.nl he might be able to help you out

also, check the technical section on the main page of the forum; i strongly recommend checking the airgap of the clutch if the cars history isn't known for that kind of maintenance.

Many thanks for that

Sometime NOS belts come up for about fifty quid.

DAF Owners Club in the UK do belts for £160 a pair. DAF Club Nederland or Daf Hobby would be the Eurozone port of call. Last set of belts I got through the DCN were €172 for genuine Volvo ones, but the price goes up and down depending if they are on offer or not!

The odd Renault common engine bit could probably be sourced from a Renault main stealer, but finding one prepared to help you look stuff up is harder work.

AFAIK belts are still available from Volvo themselves, although that won't help you much if there isn't a dealer on your island. A problem is also finding the correct clutch adjustment shims, this very necessary service item is NLA from Volvo unfortunately. Dafhobby would be a source for these, too.

Cheers

Tom

trabitom99 wrote:AFAIK belts are still available from Volvo themselves

With the eye-watering price last time I checked of €292 for a pair.

Jesus I was quoted 200 Euros a year or so ago ...

Tom

macplaxton wrote:The odd Renault common engine bit could probably be sourced from a Renault main stealer, but finding one prepared to help you look stuff up is harder work.

Renner engine bits (eg ignition parts) can also be supplied by dafhobby. They even ship to the US of A, I highly doubt shipping to Spanish territory would pose a problem.

trabitom99 wrote:Jesus I was quoted 200 Euros a year or so ago ...

Tom

Stuff is cheap in Germany