Hey guys,

I'm brand new to the site but I've always looked on here for advice with car issues and found it to be informative. I decided to post because I'm having engine shaking issues that I couldn't find an answer on here for, and my local mechanics are baffled.

I have a 1990 240 DL with 165,000. I have been having engine shaking issues since I bought it a few months ago, but it was been getting worse. I used to be able to start the car and push on the gas for a few seconds and the shaking would cease for the rest of the trip. I then had the gaskets replaced and had a refurbished cylinder head put on because the mechanic had a spare and he recommended it to my old one. Since I got it back the engine shakes worse than before and doesn't go away, but it does seem to get a bit better after the engine is warm.

Work done to correct: Fuel injector cleaning (at shop with professional washing), new injector seals, new PCV, new engine mounts, spark plugs, cleaned MAF, mechanic said distributer and wires are fine, and he adjusted the idle higher to try and reduce the shaking.

I don't want to make this a two part question, but the temp gauge has been showing that the engine is overheating a bit (gets near the top sometimes on freeways), but am unsure if the idle adjustment or shaking has anything to do with this.

Please help! If this question has been talked about and resolved and I somehow missed the thread please direct me there.

Thanks and, I look forward to a response because it's literally baffled 3 mechanics in my town, all at Volvo shops.

Josh

 

here is a dumb question that may be because of your wording but- have you checked all the motor mounts? excessive engine vibration may just be one or more bad motor mounts. have someone watch the engine and power brake it in forward then reverse and watch each motor mount- too much play means a bad mount which equals "shaking".

 

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I had the mounts replaced recently. It seemed to help a little bit but it still shakes like crazy.

 

A rough running engine can be from one cylinder not firing, and one possible culprit if you've changed the plugs would be the plug wires.

I am not a mechanic, but one way to test if a cylinder isn't firing would be to pull a spark plug wire from the distributor cap, and see if the shaking gets worse, then reinstall it and go to the next wire. Continue on until you've pulled and reinserted all four. If any of them were pulled with no degradation in engine smoothness - then that's a cylinder that's not firing as it is. Try to get to the bottom of that (e.g. try to replace the wire, would be a simple/cheap thing to start with).

 

thats an excellent idea- some good advice to go along with it would be not to pull the wires off while the car is running. ZZZAAAAPPPP

another idea just came to me as i re-read your first post. if the car runs rough and seems to overheat you may have a head gasket problem. one great way to test is with a hydrocarbon tester. its kinda like a turkey baster that "sniffs" your coolant for hydrocarbons (unburned gas vapors). call around and see if any shops have one or buy your own:
http://www.napaonline.com/Search/Det...006_0282501448

 

My guess would be a mis-fire.

 

Thanks for all the ideas. I'll try the spark wires first and let you know what the result is. I've also noticed that it gets shakier in Drive and Reverse than in Park or Neutral.

 

Well, the spark wires were fine. I went and cleaned the IAC where the tubing goes in, as it was caked with gunk, started the car up, and the idle is much less rough. Overall the car is idling a little faster in park and in drive but the engine isn't shaking nearly as much.

 

So...have any of these guys looked at the harmonic balancer? Used to be called a crank pulley when they were solid metal. Now, two concentric rings of steel insulated with rubber. With age, the rubber splits, cracks, causes vibration and at higher speeds the motor's timing can be way off. That might be causing the overheating. More likely it is a clogged radiator. An IR heat gun is a great way to check for a clogged radiator...you can use your hand if you're careful...basically looking for areas of the radiator that remain cool...those are clogged areas. I'm a little concerned about the mechanic that increased your idle. Technically, the idle is set solely by the ecu. I suspect he screwed (literally) with the throttle stop which will increase the idle speed but throws the TPS out of whack unless he adjusted it too. Some of these old timers don't understand FI and some of the younger guys don't understand Volvos...just saying...

 

I don't believe anyone has looked at the harmonic balancer. I'll try the radiator test tomorrow to see what I find. The temp gauge hasn't gone high for a few weeks and I primarily noticed it when I was on the highway. As for the shaking/IAC, it is better but I'm getting code 144. From what I've read around here and other places it may be related to fuel pump relay, as I've had a recent string of stalls. A few minutes later it will start right up again. It's just odd because I didn't have the code until I cleaned and reinstalled the IAC. The idle is quite fast now and I can hear the fuel pump freaking out in the back.

Yeah, the mechanic I've been going to has been doing Volvos for 20+ years but I'm pretty sure he did screw with the screw. I think I may have bought one of those cars where it's either cut losses now or continue to track and fix problems and the continue to arise. One thing seems to be leading to another. It's too bad because I've been wanting a 240 for my whole life and it's been a total disappointment to this point.

Thanks for your help!

 

I just bought a 1975 245 dl and had a similar problem. Thought a good tune up may be in order but decided just to go over a few things. Check all vac lines and no leaks. Plugs etc... Okay well I am going to run the valves and check the lash. Bingo! #2 intake rocker was shot. Not opening the valve much at all. The #3 exaust valve would have been soon to follow. It was amazing I did not drop a valve! Anyway this could be a problem for you? Maybe just needing the valves ran to tolerances? Worth a look-see anyway. Ryan

 

Ryan, your 75 has a KJet B20 push rod motor. The op's car has a B230 OHC motor...both good motors but totally different in design.