1992 Volvo 740 Turbo Wagon

Motor runs fine for the most part. It idles normally and revs strong while the car is in Park.

Get it out on the road, however, and it only drives fine at medium speeds on flat ground. If I try to accelerate quickly it struggles for power and takes a long time to shift - most noticeably from 2nd to 3rd. Also, if I'm going up an incline it struggles. But I drove took it on a leisurely drive up and down the coast yesterday with no problems because I never put the engine under any load.

The turbo gauge seems erratic, which leads me to think it might not be functioning properly. Also, the shifting/power issues also seem to occur just as the gauge is crossing into the turbo range. Could a dodgy turbo cause these symptoms?

 

in short, yes. But it may not be a dodgy turbo, it may be that you have an intake air or vacuum line leak - check to make sure the lines to the waste gate etc are in good shape as well as the intake air path.

 

Load-related running complaints can be caused by plug wires too. That is very common. I guess it makes sense that the turbo would be affected by that, but I never really tested that theory.

 

Trying to find a good photo or diagram of the turbo. It's tricky because when you search engine Volvo 740 turbo you get a ton of results about the car, not necessarily of the turbo itself. I know nothing about vacuum hoses or waste gates, but I'm keen to learn.

 

check out volvotips.com