hey friends..i have a question...im looking to replace the cap and rotor on my car...its an '85 740 turbo wagon and my buddy who had owned one before said that there is some sort of wire that connects to the cap that is really fragile and breaks pretty easily...is this true or he full of it?? lol. cause if its true i dont wanna mess with what isnt broken in fear that i might do more damage than good..but really want to replace them because i have no clue when the last time it was replaced and it could be running better, being as that might be some of the problem why my car runs kinda rough..give me some input what care actions i need to take to replacing them...

as for the spark plugs, i want some input on what kind i should be using..the last set i was using before a few days ago were NGK iridiums gapped at .28. ran pretty good for about 6 months or so til a few days ago. started hesitating bad when trying to get on the freeway..they looked pretty cooked and somewhat fouled up when i took em out...so i replaced them with NGK platinums..fixed the problem but i think the iridiums were better, being as im running higher boost..anybody have any suggestions for better plugs that might do the job better?? trying to get the most bang for my buck and $$ is kinda tight so wanna make it worth it. thanks for your help peeps!!!

 

Does your distributor run off the camshaft at the rear of the engine? If so, go to www.stepbystepvolvo.com and click on "Repairing/Replacing the In-Line Distributor."

 

As for the plugs and wires, I've used BOSCH with no problems on my 92' 940GL non-turbo. In fact, I even ignorantly neglected to gap the damn things and she still runs fine!

 

first raise the hood to full vertical. then you'll have easy access to the three 5/16" bolts that lock down the distributor cap. before removing the cap completely I would mark the plug wires so they don't restrict your being able to remove the cap w/o a hassle. the coil wire shouldn't give you too much problem but if it is restricting you can disconnect it at the coil and easily remove the cap once the screws are loosened. you will be able to get the blade of a screwdriver under the base of the rotor and remove it easily. the only wires attached to the distributor cap are the plug and coil wires.

 

Yeah Fred - liked your comments. Came across them looking up 740 distributors cause I hosed mine down and she was flooded. Took me a while to work out how to get the cap off - trip to toolshop for an 8 mm ring spanner.
By the way about non-interference engines - I used to drive a 246 with that Peugeot motor that's liable to break in half if you overtighten the cylinder head bolts. That actually happened to me in a tunnel - fortunately she kept going for a while. Anyway one day I dropped one of the timing chains. I managed to drive the car with half a working engine home, where I took off the head with the broken chain, took out the bent valve (the Peugeot is an interference engine), stuck it in a vice and straightened it out, used a bit of valve grinding paste to re-seat it and she was as good as new. Well, as good as one of those motors goes, that is. Don't know why Volvo ever used them.

 

teenasparkle,

Yeah, those 4-cylinder, non-interference engines were the best. I have heard too many bad things about the Volvo 6-cylinder engines. And, those 5 cylinders, like the 850, have you seen the FCP Euro video on how to replace that timing belt? Unbelievable!